Timurid Architecture

Timurid architecture marked an important stage in the building history of Iran and Central Asia during the late fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, under the empire founded by Timur, who died in 1405. It is distinguished by its grand scale, luxurious tilework decoration and sophisticated geometric vaulting, and the Timurid rulers patronized the construction of palaces, mausoleums and religious monuments across the region. The style subsequently influenced the architecture of later empires stretching from the Middle East to the Indian subcontinent. Its major surviving monuments, including the Gur-i Amir Mausoleum, the Bibi-Khanym Mosque and the Ulugh Beg Madrasa, are concentrated in Samarkand.