Bibi-Khanym Mosque

Samarkand, Uzbekistan

The grand congregational mosque of Timur's capital, intended to be the largest mosque in the Islamic world. Its ambitious scale pushed the limits of contemporary engineering.

Historical Context

Timur ordered the mosque's construction after his return from his Indian campaign, using elephants captured from the Delhi Sultanate to haul materials. The mosque's dome began to crack almost immediately, a victim of its own ambition, and the building slowly deteriorated over the centuries.