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The Tomb of Ahmed Sanjar was a mausoleum commemorating Ahmed Sanjar, a Seljuk ruler of Khorasan built in 1157 in the medieval city of Merv in the Karakum Desert in Turkmenistan. Throughout his reign, Sanjar fought off several invasions and uprisings until finally being defeated by the Oghuz. After being sacked by the Oghuz, Merv declined and in 1221, the Mongols attacked it and burned down the mausoleum. It would later be restored by Soviet architects during the 20th century.

The tomb was built by Sanjar’s successor, Muhammad ibn Aziz, along the Silk Road. It is shaped like a cube with a dome on top, which is 27m high. The walls are 14m high, and the entire dome is 17m by 17m wide. Despite its restorations, the Tomb is still missing features such as its second story, the turquoise covered outer dome, and the surrounding buildings in the complex.

Albeit in ruins, the tomb is one of the few surviving examples of secular Seljuk funerary architecture. Its squat proportions and hexadecagonal surrounding of the outer dome would influence later works of architecture.

Ahmed Sanjar and his Reign
The Seljuk ruler Abu’l-Harith Ahmad Sanjar ibn Malik-Shah, or Ahmed Sanjar, (b. 1085 – d. 1157) had a reign that lasted 40 years, and he ruled over eastern Persia at Merv (now in modern Turkmenistan). After wars of succession, Sanjar ascended to the throne at the age of 10 or 12, nominated and appointed by his half-brother Berk-Yaruq. Early in his reign, he defeated several uprisings and invasions such as those of the Ghaznavids in 1097 and Türkmen in 1098. However, he faced his first defeat at Qatwān in 1141 against the Qara Khitai, also known as the Western Liao Empire. The loss of Transoxiana from this defeat marked the first loss of Muslim lands to the hands of non-Muslims.

However, for the rest of his reign over the next twelve years, Sanjar continued to put down conflicts from his rivals such as the governor of Khwarazm in 1141 and the vassal ruler of the province of Ghūr in 1152. Some historians suggest that these men made the mistake of thinking he was weakened by the Qatwān defeat. Medieval sources depict his rule as one of prosperity. In 1153, Sanjar was captured by the Oghuz and escaped in 1156. During his captivity, the Türkmen raided and looted the province. Merv never recovered from this attack. The Oghuz targeted the ulema’s buildings and even killed many of the scholars, greatly harming the intellectual and religious elite. This plunder made it too difficult for Sanjar to rebuild his society.