Building the land, literature and art

Amir Temur beautified his capital Samarkand: the defensive wall was restored, six gates led into the city, and water was brought from the Zarafshan. He had the Koksaroy palace and the Bibi-Khanym Cathedral Mosque (1399–1404) built. In 1403 a mausoleum was built for his grandson Muhammad Sultan, who died young; in 1405 Amir Temur himself was buried there too, and it is called Gur-Emir. Gardens were laid out around Samarkand, of which the Dilkusha garden was famous. The Spanish envoy Ruy González de Clavijo, who came to Samarkand in 1404, described the city in his memoirs. The Aksaray in Shahrisabz and the mausoleum of Ahmad Yassawi in Turkistan are also examples of the architecture of this period. Alisher Navoi was born in Herat on 9 February 1441 and died in 1501. He grew up with Husayn Boyqaro and wrote poems from childhood. He wrote poems in Turkic under the pen name “Navoi” and in Persian under “Foni”. His “Khamsa” is five long poems in Turkic, a great achievement of Uzbek literature; Navoi greatly advanced the Uzbek literary language. Kamoliddin Behzod (about 1455–1536) was Navoi’s contemporary, a great miniature painter. He worked in Husayn Boyqaro’s library and drew fine miniatures for hand-written books.