Simplify the following text for a Grade 8 native English-speaking person.
Original: Timur gained a reputation as a patron of the arts , and Samarkand grew to have a population of about 150,000 .
Simplified: Timur gained a reputation as a patron of the arts and Samarkand grew to become the center of the region of Transoxiana . During this time the city had a population of about 150,000 .