Tughrul Tower is the
tomb for the second ruler of the Seljuk dynasty, Tughrul Beg (990–1063 CE). He is a significant figure in Islamic history because he established the Seljuk Sultanate after conquering Persia and retaking the Abbasid capital of Baghdad from the Buyid dynasty in 1055.
His
tomb is located in Ray,
Iran.
Tughrul (990–September 4, 1063) was the second ruler of the Seljuk dynasty. Tughrul united the Turkomen warriors of the Great Eurasian Steppes into a confederacy of tribes, who traced their ancestry to a single ancestor, named Seljuk, and led them in conquest of eastern
Iran.
He would later establish the Seljuk Sultanate after conquering Persia and retaking the Abbasid Capital of Baghdad from the Buyid Dynasty in 1055. Tughrul relegated the Abbassid Caliphs to state figureheads and took command of the caliphate's armies in military offensives against the Byzantine Empire and the Fatimid Caliphate in an effort to expand his empire's borders and unite the Islamic world.
The 20 meters (66ft) tall
...see more brick tower is the tomb of Seljuk ruler Tughrul, who died in Ray in 1063. Originally, like other monuments of its time, it was capped by a conical dome (gonbad), which would have added to its height.
The dome collapsed during an earthquake.
The thickness of the walls varies from 1.75 to 2.75m. The inner and outer diameters are 11 and 16m respectively. The exterior shape is that of a polygon with 24 angles in its design, which is thought to contribute to the structure's stability against tremors.
At the top of the tower Kufic inscriptions were originally observable. Nasereddin Shah ordered some restorations to be made to the top part of the tower, which was collapsing in 1884.
The tower is protected by Iran's Cultural Heritage Organization.
References:
http://en.wikipedia.org
http://www.irantouronline.com
http://teachmiddleeast.lib.uchicago.edu/foundations/golden-age-islam/image-resource-bank
