Puccini died in 1924, while working on "Turandot"; he got as far as the scene in which a major character commits suicide to avoid cracking under torture, but Franco Alfano completed it, and most critics feel that Puccini would have handled the awkward moment in the ending far better than Alfano did. One of those who believed this was conductor Arturo Toscanini, a friend of Puccini's, who led the work's world premiere in 1926. Immediately after the suicide scene, he laid down his baton and with tears in his eyes, spoke to the audience for the only time in his life: "Here Maestro Puccini laid down his pen. Death was stronger than art". Toscanini then left the orchestra pit.
The character of Timur may have been based on Abdallah Es-Zaghal, Moorish king of Grenada, who sold his kingdom for $17,000,000, then was arrested by Benimeren, King of Fez, who blinded Abdallah and took his money. Abdullah was forced to live the life of an outcast, panhandling for money while wearing a sign that read, "This is the unfortunate king of Andalusia.
Calaf may have been based on the singer Tansen, who commanded such a high price for performing that only the Sultan of India himself could hire him.