Museum of Timurid History

Erected in record time for Tamerlane's 660th birthday in 1996, the outsize ribbed dome conceals a bold interior where Timurid meets independent Uzbekistan. Almost everything in the museum is copy or conjecture. Some exibits include jewellery, weaponry, military attire and regalia, musical instruments, manuscripts, personal effects of  Amir Temur,  Babur, astronomical instruments of  Ulugbek and many other cultural treasures dating back to the Temurids era.

Perhaps most interesting are the reconstructions of his architectural projects and the letter from Tamerlane to French King Charles VI in 1402.

The museum building represents the synthesis of medieval, or more exactly, the Temurids epoch and modern architectural styles. It has a circular form with ribbed dome decorated with blue majolica, parapets on the roof, open aywan and orderly pillars. White marbles were used in the decoration of pillars, floor and front stairs. The inner side of the dome is designed in accordance with the best traditions of the eastern architecture. Decorated with refined ganch-carving it is covered with thin layer of gold leaf.

The building has three floors. The entry hall leads to a copy of the Osman koran in front of the largest miniature you've ever seen. To the sides are Timurid biographies heavy on murder and violence, including that of Omar Shaykh who 'unexpectedly died falling into abyss from his pigeonry'.

The museum is also notable for the Uzbek President's attempts to align himself with the Timurid strongman, a context in which Tamerlane's quote on the inner dome 'Strength is in justice' ripples with an irony both medieval and modern.

Address:                 Tashkent, 700000, 1 Amir Temur Str.
Phone:                   (+998 71) 232 07 66, 232 02 13, 232 02 12
E-mail:                   [email protected]
Working hours:       10.00 - 17.00
Day off:                  Monday
Excursion:               on English