eLibrary: The Timurid Empire (1370-1507)

Even by the standards of the time, Timur’s wars of conquest were particularly murderous but he did manage to carve an empire that stretched from Persia to the frontiers of China. He and his successors promoted the arts and sciences and embellished their cities, especially Samarkand and Herat, with beautiful examples of Islamic architecture and sumptuous gardens. The miniature paintings in the exhibition affords a glimpse into the life in the Timurid Court. This collection of free online literature allows visitors to explore more deeply.

NOTE:

Some of these links come from Academia.edu and Researchgate.net. These require a free one-time registration.

To research further yourselves, you may consider registering with Jstore.org which gives limited but free monthly access to its collections.

Articles

Abdunosirova, O.B., 2022. ‘On the sponsorship activities of the temurian prince’. Asian Journal of Multidimensional Research, 11,1, 67-70.

Akbarova, S.M., 2023. Cultural Processes in the Period of Amir Temur and Timurids. Science and innovation, 2(Special Issue 13), pp.356-360.

Arbabzadah, N., 2017. ‘Women and religious patronage in the Timurid Empire’, in N. Green (ed) Afghanistan’s Islam, from Conversion to the Taliban, 56-70.

Asadi, H. and Mahnaz, S., 2002. ‘Musical Instruments in Timurid Paintings: An Organological Approach’, The Institute of Islamic Studies.

Ashrafyan, K.Z. 1998. ‘Central Asia under Timur from 1370 to the Early Fifteenth Century’, UNESCO, History of civilizations of Central Asia, v. 4: The Age of achievement, A.D. 750 to the end of the fifteenth century; Pt. I: the historical, social and economic setting, 323-349

Bahramian, R., e.a. 2016. An Insight into the Golden Ratios in Miniature Painting of Kamal al-Din Behzad in the Timurid Era Case Study: The Construction of Samarkand Great Mosque Image. Negarineh Islamic Art, 3, 10, 16-31.

Balafrej, L., 2019. ‘Introduction’ in L. Balafrej, The Making if the Artist in late Timurid Painting, Edinburgh, 41pp,

Bruccoleri, V., Crossed Flowers: Interconnection of Decorative Patterns on Blue-and-White Ceramics in Central Asia, Iran, and Turkey (15th-17th Centuries).

Colomban, P. and Simsek Franci, G., 2023. Timurid, Ottoman, Safavid and Qajar ceramics: Raman and composition classification of the different types of glaze and pigments. Minerals, 13(7), p.977.

Dickens, M., 1990. ‘Timurid Architecture In Samarkand’, Univ of Alberta, 20pp

Erdoğan, O., 2023. Conception of Political Power and the Timurid Cultural Achievements during the Reign of Sultan Husayn Bayqara, PhD Middle East Technical University, 351pp

Field, D. Human Circus Podcast texts:

Abd-al-Razzaq Samarqandi 1: The Unwilling Envoy (March 2021)

Abd-al-Razzaq Samarqandi 2: City of Victory (March 2021)

Abd-al-Razzāq Samarqandī 3: To Home, to Herat (April 2021)

Medieval Lives 4: Chen Cheng, his Travels, and his Troubles at Work (September 2022)

Ghiyath al-Din Naqqash 1: A Timurid Painter in Ming China (August 2022)

Ghiyath al-Din Naqqash 2: AM Feasting & Other Diplomatic Concerns (September 2022)

Gholipour, S. and  Nattaj, V.H., 2016. ‘The Impact of Timurid Gardens in Samarkand on Safavid Gardens in Isfahan (Chaharbagh)’, The Scientific Journal of NAZAR Research Centre for Art, Architecture and Urbanism, 13, 10, 5-18

Golombek, L. and Koch, E., 2017. ‘The Mughals, Uzbeks, and the Timurid Legacy.’ in F.B. Flood and G. Necipoğlu (eds) A Companion to Islamic Art and Architecture, 811-845.

Haase, C-P. ‘Herat in the Timurid Period. Political History, Internal and External Relations, Economic Conditions’, Social Science Studies Journal, 393-396

Hillenbrand, Robert., 1992. ‘The Uses of Space in Timurid Painting.’ In L. Golombek and M. Subtelny (eds) Timurid art and culture: Iran and Central Asia in the fifteenth century, Leiden, 76-102.

Honchell, S.H., 2015. The Story of a Drunken Mughal: Alcohol Culture in Timurid Central Asia, PhD Thesis, Ohio. 184pp

Ibraimovna, M. F., 2023.  Palaces of the Timurid Period of the Middle Ages of Uzbekistan.’ Journal of Engineering, Mechanics and Modern Architecture 2, 2, , 24-28.

Ibadullaevich, N.M., 2025. On The Question Of Amir Temur’s Choice Of The State Capital And The Construction Of The Samarkand Citadel. Central Asian Journal of Social Sciences and History, 6(4), pp.518-522.

Jurayeva, E. and Kholdorova, D., 2023. Amir Temur And The Architectural Decorations Of The Timurid Era Of Central Asia And Their Characteristics. American Journal of Engineering, Mechanics and Architecture), 1, 9, 121-125.

Jurayeva, E. and Nurmuradova, Y., 2024. Evolution of Timurid Tile Art. American Journal of Engineering, Mechanics and Architecture (2993-2637), 2(1), pp.45-48.

Kadoi, Y. and Masuya, T., 2017. Chinese and Turko‐Mongol Elements in Ilkhanid and Timurid Arts. In F.B. Flood and G. Necipoğlu (eds) A Companion to Islamic Art and Architecture, 636-667.

Kauz, R., 2006-07. Trade and Commerce on the Silk Road after the End of Mongol Rule in China, Seen from Chinese Texts’ Silk Road Journal, 4, 2, 54-59.

Kazempour, M., Mohammadzadeh, M. and Heydari, R., 2018. The Recognition of Timurid Architectural Decorations on the Basis of Kamal Al-Din Bihzad Miniature Paintings. Journal of Archaeological Studies, 10(2), pp.239-258.

Kazimov, S.O., 2021. Timurids Eternal Garden Art, International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research and Analysis, 4, 5, 663-666.

Kim, T.S., 2018. The renaissance revisited: from a silk road perspective Acta Via Serica, 3, 1, 11-25.

Koçak, M.E., 2020. An Effective Power in Political and Social Life: Timurid Dynastic Women, MA Thesis, T.C. Ankara Yildirim Beyazit Üniversitesi, Ankara. 97pp

Kozha, M., 2018. The local legend about Timur’s death in Otrar and modern studies, Opción, 34, 15, 1295-1321.

J-Y. Lee, 2021. The Timurid View of the Mongols: An Examination of the Mongol Identity of the Timurids Iran Namag, 6, 3-4, 200-216.

Lewcock, R.B., 1991. Architecture in miniature: representation of space and form in illustrations and buildings in Timurid Central Asia PhD Thesis Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Madraimov, A., Madraimov, A. and Mamasharipova, M.A., 2025. Architectural Heritage of Central Asia: Mosques and Madrasas of The Timur And Timurid Era. Frontline Social Sciences and History Journal, 5(05), pp.09-15.

Mamadaliyev, R.R. and Inamov, O.T., 2024. The Timurid Empire through Western Eyes: Historical Studies from France, England, and America. Экономика и социум, (7 (122)), pp.140-144.

Manz, B, 2007. Power, Politics and Religion in Timurid Iran, Cambridge, 2007.

Margaryan, G., 2018. Some details about Timur Lang's lameness and origin, The Countries and Peoples of the Near and Middle East, 31, 69-72.

McChesney, R.D., 2003. Timur’s Tomb: Politics and Commemoration, Central Asia Studies Lecture, Indiana University, 37pp

Melville, C., 2021. Akbar’s History of the Timurids, Journal of the British Institute of Persian Studies, 59, 2, 203-224.

Melvin-Koushki, M., 2019. Imperial Talismanic Love: Ibn Turka’s Debate of Feast and Fight (1426) as Philosophical Romance and Lettrist Mirror for Timurid Princes, . Der Islam, 96, 1, 42-86.

Mukminova, R.G., 1998. The Timurid States in the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Centuries. UNESCO, History of civilizations of Central Asia, v. 4: The Age of achievement, A.D. 750 to the end of the fifteenth century; Pt. I: the historical, social and economic setting, 350—366

Orziyev, M., 2021. ‘On the role of bukhara in the development of science and culture during the reign of amir temur and the temurids’. Центр научных публикаций (buxdu. uz), 8, 8.

Paskaleva, E., 2017. Ideology in brick and tile: Timurid architecture of the 21st century. In G.B. Özcan (ed)  Diverging Paths of Development in Central Asia, 10-31.

Razavi, S.A., e.a., 2017. ‘Commander in Chief Bureaucrats: An Introduction to the Transformation of Timurid Military Structure in the Shahrokh Era,’ International Journal of Scientific Study, 5, 5, 111-119.

Rostami, F., 2016. ‘The Poets Condition of the Timurid Period in Majales-al Nafis’, Asian Social Sciences, 12, 11, 29-36.

Rührdanz, K., 2016. From the Mongols to the Timurids: Refinement and Attrition in Persian Painting. In B. de Nicola and C. Melville (eds) The Mongols' Middle East, Leiden, 172-192.

Sadriddinovna, M.S., 2025. Science and Culture during the Timurid Era. Central Asian Journal of Academic Research, 3(9), pp.94-98.

Salehikia, M., Salehi Kakhki, A. and Shateri, M., 2025. Survey of the Role of Emigrant Artists and Craftsmen in the Flourishing of the Civilization of the Timur's Era. Journal of Fine Arts: Visual Arts, 30(1), pp.107-119.

Salikuddin, R.K., 2018. Sufis, Saints, and Shrine: Piety in the Timurid Period, 1370-1507. PhD thesis, Harvard University. 262pp.

Sevinch, X., 2025. Amir Temur and the period of the Temurids. Ta'lim innovatsiyasi va integratsiyasi, 59(4), pp.105-114.

Sidiqi, K.A., 2023. Cultural, Architecture and Economic Situation of Herat During the Timurids, Social Sciences Studies, 9, 118, 9519-9526

Sobirovich, T.B., 2021. The Strategy of Cultural Development in Central Asia During Amir Temur and the Temurids Dynasty.  International Journal of  Scientific Research in Multidisciplinary Studies, 75-77.

Soysal, D. 2023. The Timurid Renaissance, The Era of the Revival of the Art and Science in Central Asia. 2023

Subtelny, M.E., 1997. The Timurid Legacy: A Reaffirmation and a Reassessment, Cahiers d’Asie centrale 3-4, 9-19.

Tabibian, S.H., 2012 History of Timurid architecture in second half of 14th and 15th Century In Khorasan and Transoxiana, Life Science Journal, 9, 4, 4017-4020

Taherimoghaddam, A. and Tondi, A., 2024. The Complex of Gawhar Shad in Herat: New Findings about its Architecture and Ceramic Tile Decorations. Research in History, 13(2), pp.139-206.

Teece, D.M., 2024. Monsoon Winds and Ming Porcelains: Chinese Ceramics and Their Reception in Early Modern South Asia. Muqarnas Online, 40(1), pp.103-153.

Telaumbanua, I.S.M., 2024, October. Samarkand under the Rule of Timur: Transformation of the City into a Center of Islamic Art and Architecture. In Proceeding International Seminar and Conference on Islamic Studies (ISCIS) (Vol. 3, No. 1).

Tibor, R.Z., 2007. The Timurid Empire And The Ming China: Theories And Approaches Concerning The Relations Of The Two Empires, PhD Thesis, Hungary

Тугалов, Б. and Каримов, Б., 2025. On the Cultural Environment during the reign of Amir Temur and the Temurids. Международный мультидисциплинарный журнал исследований и разработок, 1(3), pp.53-61.

Ujaeva, S., 2019. The Great Silk Road in the era of Amir Temur, Conference paper.

Wei, K-S., 1996. The Moghuls Chingizid and Timurid: Connections and Differences, 41pp

Yalman, S., 2002. ‘The Art of the Timurid Period (ca. 1370–1507)’ Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History.

Yusupboyevna, M.Z., 2025. Timurid Domes in Samarkand AND THEIR Decorative Art. Problems and solutions at the stage of innovative development of science, education and technology, 2(11), pp.7-10.

Zamanirad, S., Movahed, A. and Pourbakhtiar, G., 2024. A Study of the Influence of Manichaean Art on Timurid-Era Painting Based on Max Weber's Theory of Cultural Receptivity. Islamic Art Studies, 21(56), pp.244-260.

Zoghi, N. e.a., 2018. ‘Islamic Patterns in Persian's Herat School of Painting: A Study on Baysonghori Shahnameh’, Research in Islamic Studies, 5, 3, 65-74.

Zopoli, R., 2015. Irreverent Persia : Invective, Satirical and Burlesque Poetry from the Origins to the Timurid Periode (10th to 15th Centuries), Leiden, 233pp

Videos

The Greatest Empire You've Never Heard Of! Timurid Dynasty (Hikma History) 46 minutes

ARIC 271 | Timurid Art I (American Unv of Cairo) 65 minutes