page_title: Shah Rukh
section_title: Cultural influence
hierarchical_section_title: Shah Rukh / Cultural influence
caption_attribution_description: English: Goharshad Mosque - 1977 فارسی: گنبد و گلدسته‌های مسجد گوهرشاد در سال 1356ش/ 1977م
context_page_description: Shah Rukh was the ruler of the Timurid Empire between 1405 and 1447.
  He was the son of the Central Asian conqueror Timur, who founded the Timurid dynasty in 1370. However, Shah Rukh ruled only over the eastern portion of the empire established by his father, comprising most of Persia and Transoxiana, the western territories having been lost to invaders in the aftermath of Timur's death. In spite of this, Shah Rukh's empire remained a cohesive dominion of considerable extent throughout his reign, as well as a dominant power in Asia.
  Shah Rukh controlled the main trade routes between Asia and Europe, including the legendary Silk Road, and became immensely wealthy as a result. He chose to have his capital not in Samarqand as his father had done, but in Herat. This was to become the political centre of the Timurid empire and residence of his principal successors, though both cities benefited from the wealth and privilege of Shah Rukh's court.
  Shah Rukh was a great patron of the arts and sciences, which flourished under his rule. He spent his reign focusing on the stability of his lands, as well as maintaining political and economic relations with neighbouring kingdoms.
context_section_description: Shah Rukh's wife, Gawhar Shad, funded the construction of two mosques and theological colleges in Mashhad and Herat. The Gawhar Shad Mosque was finished in 1418. The mixed ethnic origins of the ruling dynasty led to a distinctive character in its cultural outlook, which was a combination of Persian civilization and art, with borrowings from China, and literature written in Persian as well as Chagatay and Arabic.
  Shah Rukh commissioned the production of a number of historical and geographic works by Hafiz-i Abru. Among them is Tāriḵ-e Šāhroḵ(i), the history of Shah Rukh's reign through 1413-14 (816 AH). It was later incorporated by its author into larger "universal history" compilations, Majmuʿa-ye Ḥāfeẓ-e Abru (a universal history work) and Majmaʿ al-tawāriḵ [al-solṭāni(ya)] (section Zobdat al-tawāriḵ-e Bāysonḡori).
caption: Gawhar Shad Mosque
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