Samarqand’s congregational mosque of Bibi Khanum as a representation of Timurid legitimacy and rulership

Abstract

The Bibi Khanum Congregational Mosque is the largest Timurid monument in Samarqand. Com-missioned by Timur himself after his military campaign in India in 1399, the architecture of themosque can be interpreted as a visual representation of Timur’s ambitions to surpass the archi-tectural achievements of the preceding Islamic dynasties. Striving for political legitimacy beyondthe legacy of Chinggis Khan, Timur imitated and even e xceeded the monumental scale of the ar-chitectural ensembles in the Ilkhanid capitals of Tabriz and Sultaniyya. In an attempt to ensurethe continuity of the Timurid dynasty, Timur’s successors adopted Yuan iconography and visualvocabulary so as to forge an ancestral and artistic genealogy that directly related the Timuridswith the Mongols via the aesthetic legacy of the Ilkhanids and the Yuan. Their cultural pr oductionthus secured the continuity of the Timurid royal patrons as just successors of Chinggis Khan.