The tomb of Sultan Sanjar stands in the ancient capital of Merv which, prior to the Mongol conquests of 1221, ranked among the medieval world’s finest cities. The tomb honors Ahmad Sanjar (1085-1157), the Seljuq ruler of Khorasan from 1097-1118 and Sultan of the empire from 1118-1157.
Sanjar’s tomb measures 27 x 27 meters in plan and comprises a cube-shaped sanctuary surmounted by a 38 meter high dome. This conservative design is enlivened by the treatment of the facade which includes an arcaded gallery along the cornice, a feature similar to the Ismail Samani Mausoleum in Bukhara from several centuries prior. The dome’s zone of transition features two additional arcaded bands that embellish the monument with depth and shade. The surface of the dome was originally covered in blue tiles but is now bare.
The monument’s foundations are 4.2 meters deep with walls built so strongly that Mongol invaders were unable to destroy the tomb even after setting it ablaze. The ruined hulk proved durable, becoming a place of pilgrimage for neighboring Turkmen tribes, who may have used it as a guidepost when passing through the desert. In the Soviet era the monument was haphazardly “restored” with the effacement of fine detail in favor of conjectural reconstruction. More recently, the monument was sensitively restored with Turkish assistance. One important detail that survives is the identity of the architect, Muhammad ibn Atsiz al-Sarakhsi, whose name is preserved in a medallion below the dome.