AHistoryIndependent states
Herat, the Timurid capital
Capital of the Timurid state under Shahrukh and Husayn Bayqara: the city of Navai, Jami and Behzad, centre of the "Timurid Renaissance".
After 1405 Timur's son Shahrukh moved the capital from Samarkand to Herat. His wife Gawhar Shad built a great mosque and madrasa complex here, and the minarets of the Musalla complex still stand.
Under Sultan Husayn Bayqara (1469-1506) Herat became the cultural capital of the Islamic world. Ali-Shir Navai wrote his Khamsa here in Chagatai Turkic and composed the Muhakamat al-Lughatayn, arguing that Turkic was in no way inferior to Persian, while Kamal ud-Din Behzad became the greatest master of miniature painting.
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Updated: November 12, 2026