This chapter sheds light on the foundational Timurid period in Afghan history during the fifteenth century, which saw important and enduring religious institutions founded in the capital city of Herat and other urban centers.1 The chapter focuses on how Timurid women of the ruling class patronized religious architecture with their own private funds. The most audacious of these female patrons was Queen Gawhar Shad, the wife and consort of the Timurid ruler Shahrukh (r. 1405–47), who spent a decade as de-facto ruler of the Timurid Empire after arranging the coronation of her young grandson upon her husband’s death in 1447.