In 1370, Timur the Lame, or Tamerlane, decided to make Samarkand the capital of his empire, stretching from India to Turkey. During the next 35 years, he built a new city and populated it with artisans and craftsmen from all of the places he had conquered. Timur gained a reputation as a patron of the arts, and Samarkand grew to have a population of about 150,000.