Brave with Beauty

Book excerpt: A 2020 Notable Social Studies Trade Book for Young People Seven centuries ago, when the great caravans journeyed to the edges of the world, there lived a girl who loved all things of beauty. Her name was Goharshad. This is the extraordinary story of Queen Goharshad, a 15th-century monarch, who many historians now believe was one of the most powerful women in world history. Ruling from the Timurid artistic and cultural center of Herat in western Afghanistan, Queen Goharshad ushered in a remarkable period when poetry, music, calligraphy, painting, and the sciences flourished as never before. A poet and an architect, she designed some of the most beautiful structures ever built on earth. This story is a celebration of a remarkable woman—talented, generous, benevolent, and brave—whose achievements are an inspiration for young readers to use their strengths to make the world a more beautiful place.