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02 · Medieval

Timurid

c. 1370–1507

Huge tiled portals, ribbed turquoise domes on tall drums, and facades covered in glazed brick and mosaic tile.

Look for

Dome Decorative tilework Pointed arch Minaret
Gur-e-Amir, Samarkand, Uzbekistan: an example of Timurid architecture
Gur-e-Amir, Samarkand, Uzbekistan. Photo: Arina Pan, CC BY-SA 4.0
Goharshad Mosque, Mashhad, Iran
Goharshad Mosque Mashhad, Iran · Goudarz.memar, CC BY-SA 4.0
Mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi, Turkestan, Kazakhstan
Mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi Turkestan, Kazakhstan · Yuriy75, CC BY-SA 3.0
Bibi-Khanym Mosque, Samarkand, Uzbekistan
Bibi-Khanym Mosque Samarkand, Uzbekistan · Шухрат Саъдиев, CC BY-SA 4.0
Ak-Saray Palace, Shahrisabz, Uzbekistan
Ak-Saray Palace Shahrisabz, Uzbekistan · upyernoz from Haverford, USA, CC BY 2.0

what it is

Timurid buildings are brick structures faced with glazed tile in turquoise, cobalt and white. Entrances sit in a pishtaq, a tall rectangular frame around a pointed-arched recess, sometimes flanked by minarets. Domes are usually double-shelled: a low inner dome covers the room, and a taller outer dome, ribbed and tiled in turquoise, rises on a high cylindrical drum. Walls carry mosaic faience (patterns assembled from cut tile pieces), banna'i (geometric patterns and angular inscriptions in brick and glazed brick), and muqarnas, tiers of small niches used in vaults.

Gur-e Amir in Samarkand (1403-1404) has a ribbed dome 12.5 m high. The portal of the Bibi-Khanym Mosque in Samarkand is 35 m high, and the surviving pylons of the Ak-Saray portal in Shahrisabz stand 38 m. The Goharshad Mosque in Mashhad (1418-1430) has a turquoise dome 43 m high. Islamic Medieval covers 700-1500 across many regions and materials. Timurid covers one dynasty, about 1370-1507, and differs in scale, with portals of 35 m and more, and in covering whole facades and domes with tile.

how to spot one

Dome A rounded roof shaped as half a sphere, often raised on a drum (a circular wall). Domes cover large central spaces on Roman, Byzantine, Islamic, Renaissance and Neoclassical buildings. Decorative tilework Glazed ceramic tiles, fired clay with a glassy coating, used to finish walls, floors and fireplace surrounds. Examples include Portuguese and Spanish painted azulejos, Islamic geometric patterns and Arts and Crafts art tiles. Pointed arch An arch whose two curved sides meet at a point, called the apex. It is the standard arch of Gothic and Gothic Revival buildings and pushes outward less than a round arch. Minaret A tall, slender tower attached to or near a mosque, usually with one or more balconies near the top. It is where the call to prayer, the adhan, was traditionally made.

Also look for

CourtyardGeometric ornamentArcadeSymmetrical facade

history

Timur founded the Timurid dynasty in 1370 and made Samarkand his capital. He brought craftsmen from conquered territories to build there. Work begun under him includes the Ak-Saray palace in Shahrisabz (from about 1380), the Mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi in Turkestan (begun 1389, unfinished at his death in 1405), the Bibi-Khanym Mosque in Samarkand (1399-1405) and Gur-e Amir (1403-1404), whose main architect was Muhammad ibn Mahmud Isfahani.

After Timur's death in 1405, his son Shah Rukh moved the capital to Herat. Shah Rukh's wife Gawhar Shad commissioned the Goharshad Mosque in Mashhad (1418-1430), directed by the architect Qavam al-Din Shirazi. Shah Rukh's son Ulugh Beg built the Ulugh Beg Madrasa on the Registan in Samarkand (1417-1420). Sultan Husayn Bayqara ruled from Herat from 1469 to 1506. The dynasty's main line ended in 1507, when Muhammad Shaybani of the Uzbek Khanate took Herat. Babur, a Timurid descendant, founded the Mughal Empire in 1526, and Safavid Iran inherited Timurid architectural forms.

where to find it

Samarkand in Uzbekistan (Gur-e Amir, Bibi-Khanym Mosque, Shah-i-Zinda), Shahrisabz (Ak-Saray), Turkestan in Kazakhstan, and Mashhad in Iran (Goharshad Mosque).

easy to confuse with

Dome of the Rock, an example of Islamic Medieval Islamic Medieval Domes and minarets over courtyards, pointed and horseshoe arches, and dense geometric and calligraphic ornament. Shah Mosque, an example of Safavid Safavid Large tiled domes, vaulted iwans around courtyards, seven-color tile surfaces and muqarnas vaulting in portals. Jameh Mosque of Isfahan, an example of Seljuk Seljuk Tall carved stone portals with stacked-niche muqarnas, brick minarets with turquoise tile, domed tombs and fortress-walled caravanserais. Taj Mahal, an example of Mughal Mughal Bulbous marble or red sandstone domes on drums, pointed arches, small domed pavilions, and inlaid stone patterns.