Timur commissioned Samarkand’s Bibi-Khanym Mosque, completed in 1404.
The mosque was built in Samarkand between 1399 and 1404 after Timur’s campaign in India. It was intended to be one of the grandest mosques in the Timurid capital and was named in later tradition for Bibi-Khanym, a figure associated with Timur’s family.
The complex included a monumental entrance portal, a large courtyard, a central mosque, and surrounding structures. Its scale and decorative ambition reflected Samarkand’s role as the centre of Timur’s empire.
Structural problems caused parts of the building to deteriorate, especially after earthquakes. Soviet-era and later restoration campaigns stabilized and reconstructed substantial portions. Bibi-Khanym is sometimes confused with the Gur-e-Amir, Timur’s mausoleum; the two monuments are both in Samarkand but served different purposes.