Gur-e-Amir ("Tomb of the King" in Persian) was originally built by Timur to house his grandson Muhammad Sultan, who died on campaign in 1403. When Timur himself died in 1405 near the Kazakh border on his way to invade Ming China, he was interred here in the winter of that year.
The complex ended up holding four generations of Timurids: - Timur (r. 1370–1405) - Shah Rukh (Timur's son, r. 1405–1447) - Miran Shah (Timur's son) - Ulugh Beg (Timur's grandson, r. 1447–1449) - Muhammad Sultan (Timur's designated heir) - Mir Sayyid Baraka (Timur's spiritual advisor, at whose feet Timur asked to be buried)
Architectural signatures: fluted azure dome on a tall drum (a distinctly Timurid solution), gilded muqarnas honeycomb ceiling inside, jade cenotaph over Timur's grave.
The mausoleum's dome and profile are widely credited as a direct influence on the Taj Mahal in Agra, built two centuries later by the Timur descendant Shah Jahan.
Samarkand in photos
A short visual companion to this entry — photographs of Samarkand from our travel archive.
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The death of Timur and the succession crisis
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Ulugh Beg: the astronomer-king
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Bibi-Khanym Mosque: Timur's cathedral
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