Gawhar Shad (Persian: گوهرشاد, romanized: Gawaršād; meaning "joyful jewel" or "shining jewel"; alternative spelling: Gohar Shād; died 19 July 1457) was the chief consort of Shah Rukh, the emperor of the Timurid Empire.
She was the daughter of Giāth ud-Din Tarkhān, an important and influential noble during Tīmur's reign.
For ten years she became the de facto ruler of an empire stretching from the Tigris to the borders of China.
According to legend, Gawhar Shad once inspected a mosque and a religious school (madrasah) in Herat accompanied by two hundred female attendants, after it had been cleared of its students, all of whom were male.
[2][3] Gawhar Shad's tomb is located next to the madrasah that she had built, of which the minaret remains until this day.