Essay about The Bibi-Khanym Mosque - 1720 Words

The Bibi Khanym is a congregational mosque, masjid-i jami` in Persian, built by Emperor Timur-i Leng between 1399 and 1404 in Samarkand, present day Uzbekistan. Emperor Timur remarkably expanded his small tribe into the Timurid Dynasty, which lasted from 1370 to 1507. Timur showed great leadership skills and also had an interest in architecture. The results of his artistic interests are especially apparent in Samarkand, the capital of the Timurids during Timur’s reign where art, architecture, and culture flourished. The Bibi Khanum exemplifies the vision that Timur held for Samarkand because of the monument’s dominant and massive nature. Although today the mosque is different from the time of the Timurid Dynasty because of the renovations†¦show more content†¦It was under Timur that Samarkand became one of the most outstanding capitals of the then-known world. It became a thriving city in which markets could be found containing leather, spices, silk, and preci ous stones. It was also a city of great architectural monuments where accomplished artisans and architects came or were brought from around the world to build in this capital. Timur’s goal was to dominate the world and show the dominance of the Timurid dynasty. One of the main motives behind Timurs efforts was the desire to control the trade routes, which linked East and West. With great interest in trade, Timur had an ambitious strategy to reactivate the Silk Road and make it the link between Europe and China. In 1405, at the beginning of his last and greatest campaign, Timur died. Timur is memorialized for his ability as a nomad chief to transform his tribe into an empire using Samarkand as the capital to display the Timurid dynastic power. Timur was not only a great conqueror but also an memorable builder. Whenever he conquered a city that stood in the way of his army, he would bring back the artisans and materials to embellish his royal city of Samarkand. When Timur was not working on military efforts he was constantly involved in the building of these works created in Samarkand. Although Timur built many of his architectural achievements in Samarkand, he also created monuments in other cities, such as Shahr-i-Sabz which is also