After Tamerlane'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, Shahrukh 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 region to have had made adjustments to many of the local mosques and borrowing ideas for his own buildings that he built throughout his reign,[1] also aspects of this building are a precursor to the famous Taj Mahal, as the similarities can be seen.