Shah Rukh (Timurid dynasty)

See Shah Rukh for other individuals of that name.

Shah Rukh Mirza (also known as Shahrukh or Shah Rokh) (August 30 1377 - March 12 1447), was the ruler of the eastern portion of the empire established by Timur (Tamerlane), governing most of Persia and Transoxiana between 1405 and 1447. He was the fourth and youngest son of Timur, the Central Asian warlord who founded the Timurid dynasty and Timurid Empire.

After Timur's death in 1405, his empire fell apart with various tribes and warlords competing for dominance. The Black Sheep Turkmen destroyed the western empire in 1410 when they captured Baghdad, but in Persia and Transoxiana Shah Rukh was able to secure effective control from about 1409. His empire controlled the main trade routes between East and West, including the legendary Silk Road, and became immensely wealthy as a result.

The devastation of Persia's main cities led to the cultural centre of the empire shifting to Samarkand in modern Uzbekistan and Herat in Afghanistan. The cities benefited from the wealth and privilege of Shah Rukh's court, which was a great patron of the arts and sciences. His wife Gauhar Shad funded the construction of two outstanding mosques and theological colleges in Mashhad and Herat. The mixed ethnic origins of the ruling dynasty led to a distinctive character in its cultural outlook, which was a combination of Persian civilization and art, with borrowings from China, with literature written in Turkic.

Shah Rukh died during a journey in Persia and was succeeded by his son, Ulugh Beg, who had been viceroy of Transoxiana during his father's lifetime.