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Samarkand (Timurid legacy)

Type Object Region Central Asia Time c. 1370

A historic Central Asian city and Timurid capital with a flourishing legacy of Islamic architecture and scholarship;…

Timeline

  1. c. 1370–1405Samarkand · UzbekistanTimur made Samarkand the imperial capital, grandly building the Bibi-Khanym Mosque, the Shah-i-Zinda mausoleum complex, and other monumental structures, relocating craftsmen and scholars from conquered lands, elevating the city to one of the most brilliant cultural centers of the Islamic world.
  2. 1405–1500Samarkand · UzbekistanUlugh Beg established his famous observatory here and oversaw compilation of the Ulugh Beg Star Catalogue; the city's madrasas gathered Central Asia's foremost scholars, making Samarkand a major center of 15th-century Islamic astronomy and philosophy, with Timurid cultural heritage at its peak.
  3. c. 1500–1520Samarkand · UzbekistanUzbeks under Shayban Khan captured Samarkand in 1500, ending Timurid rule there. In 1511 Babur briefly restored himself with Safavid forces, but the following year (1512) lost the city again after the Battle of Ghazdewan; the city then entered a long period of Uzbek-Shaybanid rule, with the Timurid architectural heritage preserved.

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