Timur, who saw himself as successor of Chingiz Khan, conquered a vast empire reaching from Central Asia until Turkey. Besides his military campaigns, he also patronized Islam and especially arts and architecture. In his capital Samarkand he ordered the building of palaces, mosques and madrasas. Today there are still the Friday mosque (Bibi Khanom), the Registan and the Gur-e Mir (mausoleum of Timur) which can be visited.
Barbara Stöcker-Parnian arbeitet an der Ludwig-Maximilian-Universität München, am Institut für den Nahen und Mittleren Osten.