Tughril Beg makes Ray his capital

1043

The Seljuk sultan established his court at Ray near modern Tehran and began issuing coins in his name. His empire, run by Turkmen warriors on horseback and Persian bureaucrats on paper, combined steppe mobility with Iranian administrative sophistication. The Great Seljuk Empire was taking institutional form before all eyes, a fusion of Turkish military power and Persian cultural prestige that would define the Islamic world for generations.