The Gur-i-Amir Mausoleum in Samarqand (1404): initially a religious complex appropriated to build a tomb for Timur's grandson Muhammad Sultan, it became the burial place for Timur and his male descendants. It formed a part of a larger religious complex, and a later madrasa abutted on its side. The double-shell dome achieves both an interior harmony and an exterior verticality.

 

General view of the mausoleum with its tiled portal and massive ribbed and tiled dome.   Detail of the tiled portal with the signature of the builder, Mohammad ibn Mahmud al-Banna al-Isfahani (the builder from Isfahan) in a cartouche in the center

 

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