Bibi-Khanum
Bibi-Khanym, identified with Saray Mulk Khanum, Timur's chief wife, is the tragic royal lady behind Samarkand's great Friday mosque. Legend holds that she commissioned the Bibi-Khanym Mosque in 1399 as a surprise, then promised the architect a kiss that left a telltale mark; Timur's return doomed the enamored builder, and she died of grief. Her name crowns Central Asia's grandest monument.