Gur-Emir Mausoleum

Stricken by grief, Amir Timur placed his grandson’s body in a room within the madrasah and initiated the construction of a mausoleum that would complete the complex from the south. The courtyard was adorned with a decorative wall, punctuated by four minarets at its corners, and a resplendent northern entrance portal, credited to the architect Muhammad ibn Mahmud Isfahani.

Timur, however, passed away in the winter of 1405, never witnessing the mausoleum’s completion. It was his grandson Ulugbek who finished the construction. Though Timur had prepared a mausoleum for himself in Shakhrisabz, Gur-Emir became his final abode, alongside his sons Shahrukh and Miranshah, his grandsons Muhammad Sultan and Ulugbek, and his spiritual guide, Mir Said Baraka.

Within the mausoleum, the burial sites are marked by gravestones, with Timur’s own—a singular jade piece—occupying the central position. The actual interments lie beneath, in the crypt, mirroring the arrangement above. The tombs were opened only once in 1941, giving rise to a legendary tale.

The Gur-Emir Mausoleum is celebrated for its architectural finesse, with proportions that evoke a harmonious elegance. Its ribbed dome and the walls of the vault are a canvas of intricate mosaics, composed of blue glazed bricks, accented with gilding and painting. The dome’s relief rosettes mimic a celestial firmament, while the interior boasts intricate bar tracery on the windows, and panels of marble and onyx adorned with carvings and inlays of semi-precious stones.

The mausoleum’s design later inspired the iconic Mughal monuments, including the Humayun Mausoleum in Delhi and the Taj Mahal in Agra, erected by Timur’s descendants who reigned over northern India.

In the present day, the Gur-Emir Mausoleum has been meticulously restored, its entrance portal revived to its former glory. However, the khanaka and madrasah stand as mere ruins, silent witnesses to the passage of time and the enduring legacy of Timur’s Samarkand.