Timurid architecture
To cover large brick surfaces with colorful decoration, the banna'i tiling technique was used to create geometric patterns and Kufic inscriptions at relatively low cost, while more expensive tile mosaic, developed in previous periods, continued to be used for more curvilinear floral patterns.
Muqarnas (also known as "stalactite" or "honeycomb" sculpting) was also rendered more complex than before by using smaller individual cells to create the three-dimensional geometric forms.
[4] By combining this vaulting technique, also known as "squinch-net" vaulting,[8] with a cruciform plan and by breaking the solid mass of supporting walls with open arches and windows, the formerly strict division between dome, squinch, and wall was dissolved and an endless diversity of elaborate interior spaces could be created.
[4] The most significant preserved Timurid monuments are found in and around the cities of Khorasan and Transoxiana, including Samarkand, Bukhara, Herat, and Mashhad.
[4] One of the earliest major works under Timur is the Mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi in the city of Turkestan (present-day Kazakhstan).
[5] Other major monuments from Timur's time include the Bibi Khanum Mosque and the Gur-i Amir Mausoleum, both in his capital, Samarkand, and the Ak-Saray Palace at Shahr-i Sabz.
[4] The Gur-i Amir Mausoleum and the Bibi Khanum Mosque are distinguished by their lavish interior and exterior decoration, their imposing portals, and their prominent dome.
The eastern iwan is much larger and more elaborate and leads to the main prayer hall, covered by the largest dome of the building.
[4] Under Timur's son and successor, Shah Rukh (r. 1405–1447), the capital was moved from Samarkand to Herat (present-day Afghanistan),[14] He revived the city by rebuilding its bazaar, renovating its citadel, and building a madrasa combined with a khanqah.
[16]Some of Gawhar Shad's monuments in Herat have been destroyed or severely damaged since the 19th century, including her mausoleum and mosque complex built between 1417 and 1438, which was partly demolished by the British in 1885.
He built three structures around the square, of which only the Ulugh Beg Madrasa (1417–1420) survives today,[a] with a large façade covered by a rich variety of decoration.
Sultan Husayn Bayqara (r. 1469–1506), the last significant Timurid ruler, was a prolific builder, though his projects were limited to Herat and the areas he still controlled around it.
Only the complex's four minarets remain standing today, though they retain elaborate tile decoration attesting to the monument's richness.
[15] His vizier, Ali-Shir Nava'i, also contributed to the restoration of many shrines and mosques in the city, in addition to building his own religious complex known as the Ikhlasiyya.
[14] Timurid patronage was of high importance in the history of art and architecture across a wide part of the Islamic world.
The international Timurid style was eventually integrated into the visual culture of the rising Ottoman Empire in the west,[21] while to the east it was transmitted to the Indian subcontinent by the Mughals, who were descended from Timur.
