Tamerlane (Amir Temur, Temur the Great) (lived 1336-1405) was the man of a complex, many-sided personality. He himself created his destiny and became a prominent historic figure.It was near Samarkand, in the town Kesh that later was given the name Shakhrisabz, or "a green town", where in 1336 the chief of a small tribe got a son born.The boy was named Temur. The wounding of his right thing with an arrow made him lame. That is why he is known as "Lame Temur" or Tamerlane in English literature.Since his youth he appeared on the political battlefield as an active politician and military figure. Having become the ruler of Samarkand he built a great army and carried on many annexationist campaigns. Thus he expanded his empire that stretched from the Volga River and the Caucasion ridges in the west to India in the South-West. But the centre of the empire was in Central Asia. Tamerlane wanted to designate his hometown Shakhrisabz as his capital, but certain political reasons made him leave the status with Samarkand that had been lovingly called "Shining Star of the Orient".Tamerlane made an outstanding contribution to the national state system, education and culture; to the general development of his state. He promoted the construction of monumental historic buildings, especially in Samarkand. Some of them can be seen today. The inscription on the portal of Tamerlane's Palace Ak-Sarai in Shakhrisabz reads "If you doubt our might, look at our I buildings". The impressiveness of the architecture was aimed at demonstration of the greatness of the empire. All possible means and every effort were exerted to construct these magnificent buildings. Vast range of building materials from the neighboring regions, famous architects, suppliers, and a great number of workers were brought to work. Different specialists were taken from the occupied countries. During the whole 14th century there were a lot of experienced architects and artists gathered in Central Asia, most of them particularly in Samarkand. Skilled craftsmen from Iran, Azerbaijan, Khorezm, and India were never neglected being invited. Both foreign and local masters realized the great importance of the projects. They represented different arts and crafts which were mastered by others. They adopted each other's styles which combinedtothe new original one.Tamerlane's political status required to have friendly relations with leaders of different religions. Such relations were established by constructing mosques, madrassehs, and especially mausoleums. Many of them, for example, Juma Mosque, Gur-Emir Mausoleum and Shahi-Zinda Architectural Ensemble, all in Samarkand, Dorus-Siadat Mausoleum in Shakhrisabz, Chashma-Ayub Mausoleum in Bukhara, and Hadji-Ahmad Jassaviy Mausoleum in Turkestan, passed the time-test and can be seen today