Timurid architecture is the pinnacle of Islamic art in Central Asia. Spectacular and stately edifices erected by Timur and his successors in Samarkand and Herat helped to disseminate the influence of the Ilkhanid school of art in India, thus giving rise to the celebrated Moghol school of architecture. Timurid architecture started with the sanctuary of Ahmed Yasawi in present-day Kazakhstan and culminated in Timur's mausoleum Gur-e Amir in Samarkand. The style is largely derived from Persian architecture. Axial symmetry is a characteristic of all major Timurid structures, notably the Shah-e Zendah in Samarkand and the mosque of Gowhar Shad in Meshed. Double domes of various shapes abound, and the outsides are perfused with brilliant colors.

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Details of facade coverings in the Shah-i Zinda necropolis near Samarqand, from left to right: Turkan-aka Mausoleum 1372, Usto Ali Nesefi Mausoleum 1 380s, and Tilla Kari Madrasa 1660.

http://www.islamicarchitecture.org/art/images/techniques/timurid-khojayasawi-mausoleum.jpg


Khoja Ahmad Yasawi Mausoleum Complex, Turkestan (Jassy), 1389-1399

This ensemble, which is unique in its proportions, is typical of Timur's imperial style. The massive construction embraces a mausoleum over a venerated tomb, an enormous hall for the ritual gatherings of the Sufi dervishes, a mosque, as well as a library, and living accommodation, among other rooms. Characteristic of Timur's monumental buildings is the large-scale geometric pattern that covers wide areas of the walls like a carpet. The materials used for this were dark blue, turquoise, and white glazed bricks, set in place against the background of the natural, yellowish brick.

Tilla-Kari Madrassa

The Shir Dar or Sher Dor madrasa was built in the 17th century as a teaching institution and residential school of Islamic sciences. It forms the famed Registan Square ensemble in Samarkand, with the earlier constructed Ulugh Beg madrasa (1417-1421) and later built Tilla Kari madrasa (1646-60). The structure marks a significant continuation of the four iwan, square plan, and Iranian madrasa typology. It reinforces the Timurid emphasis on scale, and resultantly on external facades. The madrasa was constructed by a Shaybanid feudal general, Alchin Yalantush Bahadur, in erratic stages between 1619 and 1636.

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Bibi Khanum Friday Mosque, Samarqand, 1399-1404 - In contrast to the palaces and Friday mosques that usually have vaulted iwans on their cross-axes, the gigantic Timurid Bibi Khanum mosque was given "little mosques" in this position in the middle of the courtyard side arcades. They resembled the enormous, domed main building at the end of the longitudinal axis but were simply smaller in scale. The high outer dome of the building, which covers a structural inner dome, is stabilized by projecting brick ribs and is remarkable primarily for its splendid polychrome tile covering, which displays ornamental features and inscriptive bands.

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The Registan, Samarkand, Uzbekistan

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Gur-e Amir Mausoleum , Samarkand, Uzbekistan

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Ruhabad mausoleum, Samarkand, Uzbekistan

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Shah-i-Zinda Necropolis, Samarkand, Uzbekistan

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Bolo Khauz Mosque, Samarkand, Uzbekistan

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Detail of Islamic Timuri Tileworks in Smarkand

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Samarkand, Uzbekistan

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Herat, Afghanistan

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Imam Reza Mausoleum, Mashhad, Razavi Khorasan province, Iran

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Mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasavi



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In the game Civilization II one of the options for the palace complex was from Timurid architecture. I think it has become a standard representation for eastern/Islamic architecture for western imagination.

Love it!!

Illustration from Jāmī's "Rose Garden of the Pious", dated 1553. The image blends Persian poetry and Persian miniature into one, as is the norm for many works of the Timurid era.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3f/Jami_Rose_Garden.jpg/439px-Jami_Rose_Garden.jpg

"Akhangan" tomb, where Gowharšād's sister Gowhartāj is buried. The architecture is a fine example of the Timurid era in Persia.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/30/Akhangan.jpg

Lovely. I've always been fascinated with central Asia.

Persian/Iranian architecture is amazing! I love it so much. It's a shame so much of the great Persian/Iranian architectural masterpieces have been destroyed over the years though.