The Elderly Wife of Amir Timur — Bibi Khanym's Lasting Legacy in Samarkand

The great Uzbek warrior statesman Amir Timur ruled via the puppet khans in the khanate kingdoms in which he managed to consolidate his power. This was because Amir Timur himself was not a descendant of the Genghis Khan. Without this lineage he could not become the Khan. He became qurkan to the Khan’s family, meaning the “son-in-law,” by his marriage with his chief consort Saray Mulk Khanum. Saray Mulk Khanum, now known commonly as Bibi Khanym, meaning “the elder wife,” was the wife of Amir Timur’s predecessor, Amir Husayn of Balkh. After Amir Timur defeated and killed Amir Husayn, he married Saray Mulk Khanum, a daughter of Qazan Khan. She was a descendant of Genghis Khan.


And this is the beginning of Bibi Khanym’s legacy in Samarkand. The group of monuments that bear her name originally consisted of three complexes. There was the madrasa, the Bibi Kanym Mosque, and Bibi Khanym’s Mausoleum. The Bibi Khanym madrasa was built to a very grand scale, but the structure was destroyed by Nadir Shah’s Persian troops when they invaded in 1740. By commissioning the madrasa, Bibi Khanym had intended to be the patron of education for Samarkand and the kingdom.


Bibi Khanym is the chief consort of Amir Timur. The fact that she had access to the resources required to construct these three significant monuments (the mosque was built during his absence in Samarkand when he raged his military campaigns) that were named after her already suggests her influence in Amir Timur’s royal court. She oversaw not only his harem but also the affairs of the state.


There is an interesting story about Bibi Khanym’s effort to build the mosque. She had intended the mosque to be a surprise for Amir Timur upon his return. The mosque’s architect fell deeply in love with her, and when she urged him to hurry to complete the work he demanded he be allowed to give her a kiss. The kiss left a permanent stain on her cheek; Timur saw it on his return and had the architect executed for his insolence. Legend has it that Bibi Khanym was beheaded too, but in fact she outlived Timur by four years.


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Post by Helen Yu (Chestnut Journal) | Feb 25, 2025