Gur-e-Amir
mausoleum in Samarkand, Uzbekistan
The Gūr-i Amīr or Guri Amir (Uzbek: Amir Temur maqbarasi, Goʻri Amir, Persian: گورِ امیر) is a mausoleum of the Turco-Mongol conqueror Timur (also known as Tamerlane) in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. It occupies an important place in the history of architecture of Turkestan as the precursor for and having influence on the later Mughal tombs, including the Bagh-e-Babur in Kabul, Humayun's Tomb in Delhi and the Taj Mahal in Agra, built by Timur's descendants, the Mughals, that shaped Indian culture with Central Asian influences. The mausoleum has been heavily restored over the course of its existence.
Background
Gur-e Amir means "Tomb of the King" in Persian. This architectural complex with its azure dome contains the tombs of Timur, his sons Shah Rukh and Miran Shah and grandsons Ulugh Beg and Muhammad Sultan. Also honoured with a place in the tomb is Timur's teacher Sayyid Baraka.
The earliest part of the complex was built at the end of the 14th century by the orders of Muhammad Sultan. Now, only the foundations of the madrasah and khanqah, the entrance portal, and a part of one of four minarets remains.
The construction of the mausoleum began in 1403 after the sudden death of Muhammad Sultan, Timur's heir apparent and his beloved grandson, for whom it was intended. Timur had built for himself a smaller tomb in Shahrisabz near his Ak-Saray Palace.
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Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 18, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1256223. VIAF identifies the subject as 306290161. The Library of Congress control number is no93024466. Authority coordinates are 39.648, 66.969. 2 of 5 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1403.
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This entry incorporates text from “Gur-e-Amir” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.