Herat Becomes Timurid Cultural Capital

1410

Under Shah Rukh and his formidable wife Goharshad, Herat in modern Afghanistan became the undisputed jewel of the Timurid Renaissance. Mosques clad in turquoise tile rose beside madrasas where Persian miniature painting reached its zenith of refinement. The Goharshad Mosque complex, designed by the architect Qavam al-Din Shirazi, would stand as Central Asia's greatest architectural achievement of the century, rivaling anything built in Europe.