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Emerging in the 15th and 16th centuries, the Timurid dynasty, a Turkic-Mongol lineage descended from Timur (Westernised as Tamerlane), oversaw a cultural and intellectual renaissance in Central Asia and Iran. Following Timur's death in 1405, the vast empire fractured. His sons divided his territories, with Miranshah gaining Iraq, Azerbaijan, Moghan, Shirvan, and Georgia, and Shah Rokh receiving Khorasan. Shah Rokh subsequently reunified most of the lands by 1417, with Mazandaran, Sistan, Transoxania, Fars, and Kerman now under his control, and also the territories of Miranshah. He established Herat as his capital. In effect, he restored Timur's empire, with a nominal claim of suzerainty over China and India, but without Syria and Khuzistan. During his reign, economic stability returned, and artistic endeavours flourished, drawing upon Seljuq architectural traditions. However, internal conflicts weakened the dynasty after Shah Rokh's death. By the late 15th century, the Timurids faced pressure from Uzbek tribes and retreated to Khorasan. Despite political decline, artistic pursuits, particularly literature, historiography, and miniature painting, thrived under patrons such as Husayn Bayqara, the last great Timurid ruler. Mir 'Ali Shir, the vizier, actively promoted both Chagatai Turkish and Persian literature. The Timurid ruler in Herat, Badi 'al-Zaman, fell to Uzbek forces led by Muhammad Shaybani in 1507, but the Timurid lineage in Fergana continued. Zahir al-Din Babur, a Timurid descendant, established the Mughal dynasty in India in 1526.

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