A tower is encountered and the rajah's wife is held up (7)
I believe the answer is:
minaret
'a tower' is the definition.
(I know that minaret is a type of tower)
I don't understand how the rest of the clue works.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for minaret that I've seen before include "Muezzin's tower" , "Slender tower with balconies" , "Building" , "Mosque spire" , "tower in Istanbul, say" .)