Altun Tash was Khwarazm-Shah from 1017 until his death.

Altun Tash was originally a slave commander serving the Ghaznavid Sebük Tigin

Sebük Tigin

Abu Mansur Sabuktigin , also spelled as Sabuktagin, Sabuktakin, Sebüktegin and Sebük Tigin, is generally regarded by historians as the founder of the Ghaznavid Empire...

. In 1008 he played a leading role in a battle against the Karakhanids at Sharkhiyan near Balkh

Balkh

Balkh , was an ancient city and centre of Zoroastrianism in what is now northern Afghanistan. Today it is a small town in the province of Balkh, about 20 kilometers northwest of the provincial capital, Mazar-e Sharif, and some south of the Amu Darya. It was one of the major cities of Khorasan...

, in which the Ghaznavids were victorious. By 1011 he had been made governor of Herat

Herat

Herāt is the capital of Herat province in Afghanistan. It is the third largest city of Afghanistan, with a population of about 397,456 as of 2006. It is situated in the valley of the Hari River, which flows from the mountains of central Afghanistan to the Karakum Desert in Turkmenistan...

 by Sebük Tigin's son, Mahmud.

In 1017 Mahmud conquered Khwarazm from its Ma'munid rulers, and made Altun Tash its governor. Altun Tash's tenure as Khwarazm-Shah consisted of preventing the Oghuz

Oghuz Turks

The Turkomen also known as Oghuz Turks were a historical Turkic tribal confederation in Central Asia during the early medieval Turkic expansion....

 and Qarluq

Qarluq

The Karluks were a prominent nomadic Turkic tribe residing in the regions of Kara-Irtysh and the Tarbagatai Mountains west of the Altay Mountains...

s from making raids into the region. He also participated in Mahmud's 1025 campaign against the Karakhanid ruler of Transoxiana

Transoxiana

Transoxiana is the ancient name used for the portion of Central Asia corresponding approximately with modern-day Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, southern Kyrgystan and southwest Kazakhstan. Geographically, it is the region between the Amu Darya and Syr Darya rivers...

, 'Ali-tigin, in which Samarkand

Samarkand

Although a Persian-speaking region, it was not united politically with Iran most of the times between the disintegration of the Seleucid Empire and the Arab conquest . In the 6th century it was within the domain of the Turkic kingdom of the Göktürks.At the start of the 8th century Samarkand came...

 was temporarily occupied, and was present at the meeting between Mahmud and his ally, the Karakhanid ruler of Kashgar

Kashgar

Kashgar or Kashi is an oasis city with approximately 350,000 residents in the western part of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China. Kashgar is the administrative centre of Kashgar Prefecture which has an area of 162,000 km² and a population of approximately...

, Qadir-khan Yusuf.

In 1032 Mahmud's successor, Mas'ud

Mas'ud I of Ghazni

Mas'ud I seized the throne of the Ghaznavid Empire upon the death of his father Mahmud from his younger twin Mohammad who had been nominated as the heir upon the death of their father Mahmud of Ghazni. His twin was blinded and imprisoned...

 struck a new alliance with Qadir-khan Yusuf against 'Ali-tigin, who had recovered his realm shortly after the Ghaznavids had left Transoxiana. Mas'ud ordered Altun Tash to undertake a campaign against 'Ali-tigin, and he dutifully responded, invading Transoxiana. He met up with the Karakhanid army near Bukhara

Bukhara

Bukhara , from the Soghdian βuxārak , is the capital of the Bukhara Province of Uzbekistan. The nation's fifth-largest city, it has a population of 263,400 . The region around Bukhara has been inhabited for at least five millennia, and the city has existed for half that time...

 and engaged them in battle, but was mortally wounded. His lieutenant Ahmad Sirazi was able to conclude a peace with 'Ali-tigin, and shortly afterwards Altun Tash died.

Altun Tash never wavered in his loyalty to the Ghaznavids and in 1032 led an army at the battle of Dabusiyya against the Kara-Khanid ruler, Ali Tigin Bughra Khan. Though he was able to extricate his army from the indecisive battle, Altun died of wounds received in the conflict. Harun

Harun, Ghaznavid Governor of Khwarezm

Harun was the de facto ruler of Khwarazm from 1032 to 1035. He was the son of Altun Tash.Following his father's death in 1032, Harun was effectively made governor of Khwarazm by the Ghaznavid sultan Mas'ud...

was not made Khwarazm-Shah following his death, although he was effectively ruler of Khwarazm.