The development, and peculiarities, of Central Asian architecture between the middle of the 14th and the middle of the 15th centuries were determined by the existence of the world empire created by the military commander, Timur. Timur - pillaged and massacred, and destroyed great centers of learning during his conquests - built an enormous empire that stretched from Asia Minor to India - taking in Delhi on its way - and from the Caucasus and the Kazakh steppes all the way to the Arabian Sea.

Timur decided upon Samarqand in present-day Uzbekistan as the capital of this huge empire and made it dazzle with the splendor and radiance of its monumental and magnificent buildings. The building activity of this period was dominated by Timur's own passion for construction and his efforts to give his limitless power the architecture it deserved. Architects and artists from all of the lands he had conquered, from Asia Minor, Azerbaijan, the Caucasus, India, Iran, and elsewhere, were forced to contribute to the construction of often colossal state buildings of both a sacred and secular nature. In this fashion, completely different artistic schools and traditions were fused together, united by Timur's determination to achieve monumentality and splendor, and a characteristic international style was developed - what is now known as the style of the Timurid empire.

The imposing external appearance of the monumental buildings now became the number one priority. These majestic structures were topped with domes, the enormous portals developed into a virtually free-standing architectural form and kind of status symbol, and proportions became more slender. High drums and external domes, stabilized by projecting brick ribs and wooden struts, were placed over the structural inner domes. These were merely external, decorative additions, not affecting the interior space. This idea originated as far back as the 11th century, but did not become widespread until the 14th and 15th centuries, when it gave these monumental buildings their characteristic appearance.

Details of facade coverings in the Shah-i Zinda necropolis near Samarqand, from left to right: Turkan-aka Mausoleum 1372, Usto Ali Nesefi Mausoleum 1 380s, and Tilla Kari Madrasa 1660.

The most striking characteristic of Timurid architecture is the radiant tile mosaic and carved, glazed terracotta decoration which covers its surfaces. The usual facade coverings of the previous period, the 11th and 12th centuries, consisting of double brick bonds of a natural yellowish color, were now only used on the back or side facades. The decoration displays geometric designs such as the unusual pattern formed of large, 16-point stars (middle), vegetal motifs, and inscriptions of a poetic content or of Quranic scripture. On the right is a late example of a portal arch decorated with continuous, rope-like twisted ribbons of painted tile resting on a sort of column base.

One structural innovation of the 15th century was to set the dome on two pairs of overlapping arches rather than on the traditional octagonal squinch. For this, two brick arches were built over a square chamber at an equal distance from the walls, and another two at right angles to them. Overlapping at the top, they formed a square base for the dome. A dome of this type was significantly smaller than one that sat on corner squinches, whose diameter was equivalent to the length of the room's sides. "The spaces between the vertices of the arches were filled in with shield-shaped spandrels - rhombus-like concave in-filling between the overlapping ribs of the arches." This type of spandrel was also used between the squinches of the traditional, octagonal, lower part of a dome.

This construction method, which was extremely successful despite the seismic conditions that prevailed in Central Asia, changed the character of the interior space radically. Whereas previously the vertical progression of square hall and octagonal squinch area had made it seem static, it was now given a dynamic plasticity. This technique had originated in the Middle East, probably in Armenia, where it had been known since the 12th century. In the 14th century it started being used in Russian church architecture, and it is possible that Armenian building masters, who had fled from the lands conquered by Timur to their brothers in faith in Russia, were responsible for this.

Khoja Ahmad Yasawi Mausoleum Complex, Turkestan (Jassy), 1389-1399
This ensemble, which is unique in its proportions, is typical of Timur's imperial style. The massive construction embraces a mausoleum over a venerated tomb, an enormous hall for the ritual gatherings of the Sufi dervishes, a mosque, as well as a library, and living accommodation, among other rooms. Characteristic of Timur's monumental buildings is the large-scale geometric pattern that covers wide areas of the walls like a carpet. The materials used for this were dark blue, turquoise, and white glazed bricks, set in place against the background of the natural, yellowish brick.

An even more striking feature of the architecture of the Timurid Empire is its multicolored, sparkling tile mosaic facings, which covered the brickwork like a glistening skin. For the architecture of the preceding era, the 11th and 12th centuries, the very opposite had been the case: the aestheticizing of brickwork and construction itself, the natural, yellowish color of the bricks and terracotta, and the retention of clear architectonics even in the decoration. The buildings erected by Timur, however, were "dressed," in such a way that their structural organization was no longer visible. The interiors of the imperial buildings of the 14th and 15th centuries are dominated by wall paintings, the inside of the domes by gilt papier-mâché relief ornament, and also frequently encountered are wall coverings consisting of paneling of glazed, finely-painted individual sections. Stalactite decorations or muqarnas, which coated and disguised brick vaulting and domes, were also widespread.

The striving for monumentality produced buildings of proportions not previously known and not achieved since. Even in the memorial architecture of the time, along with small mausoleums of the traditional type, that is to say domed buildings of square design, there arose magnificently decorated tombs of generous proportions which looked more like palaces. Their central chambers were surrounded by rooms of different shapes and functions. That this architecture was commissioned by the state, and developed in the service of the empire, is also evident in the construction of larger ensembles of sacred, memorial, and secular buildings regular in their design.