The tower is in the vicinity of Ray and probably it is the resting abode of Toqrol I of the Saljuqi Dynasty. This tower is in the form of panels and is 20 m. in height. In 1300 AH. it had gone under repair, but unfortunately most of its focal elements such as engravings and inscriptions have been destroyed. There is a stone slab on which the date of repair has been noted.

The 20 meters (66ft) tall brick tower is the tomb of Seljuk ruler ToÄŸrül, 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.

ToÄŸrül

ToÄŸrül (TuÄŸril, TuÄŸrul or Toghrïl Beg; c. 990–September 4, 1063) was the second ruler of the Seljuk dynasty. TuÄŸril 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. TuÄŸril 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.

Career

He ascended to power c. 1016. In 1025 he, his nephew Arslan, and his brother Chaghri (ÇaÄŸrı) served under the Kara-Khanids of Bukhara who was defeated by the Ghaznavid Empire under Mahmud of Ghaznavid, and ToÄŸrül was forced to flee to Khwarezm while Arslan settled in Khorasan. When their uncle was later driven out of Khorasan by Mahmud, ToÄŸrül and his brother moved onto Khorasan and conquered the cities of Merv and Nishapur in 1028–1029. They then extended their raids to Bokhara and Balkh and in 1037 sacked Ghazni and in 1038 he was crowned Sultan at Nishapur. In 1040 they decisively won the Battle of Dandanaqan against Mahmud's son, Mas'ud I forcing Mas'ud I to abandon his western provinces and flee towards Lahore. ToÄŸrül then installed Chagri to govern Khorasan and prevent a Ghaznavid reconquest, then moved on to the conquest of the Iranian plateau in 1040-1044. By 1054 his forces were contending in Anatolia with the Byzantines and in 1055 he was commissioned by the Abbassid Caliph Al-Qa'im (caliph) to recapture Baghdad from the Fatimids. A revolt by Turken forces under his foster brother Ibrahim Yinal, Buyid forces and an uprising against the Seljuks led to the loss of the city to the Fatimids Caliph in 1058. Two years later ToÄŸrül crushed the rebellion, personally strangling Ibrahmin with his bowstring and entered Baghdad. He then married the daughter of the Abbasid Caliph.

Succession

He died childless in the city of Rayy in modern Iran and was succeeded by his nephew Suleiman which was contested by Alp Arslan, both of them sons of his brother Chagri Begh. His cousin Kutalmish who had both been a vital part of his campaigns and later a supporter of Yinal's rebellion also put forth a claim. Alp Arsalan defeated Kutalmish for the throne and succeed on April 27th, 1064.