Timur (Timur-Leng - Iron Chromets), a famous conqueror of the eastern lands, whose name sounded on the lips of Europeans as Tamerlane (1336 - 1405), was born in Kesh (modern Shakhrisabz, "Green City"), fifty miles south of Samarkand in Transoxiana (region of modern Uzbekistan between the Amu Darya and the Syr Darya). According to some assumptions, Timur's father Taragai was the leader of the Mongol-Turkic tribe of Barlas (a large clan in the Mongol-Chagatai tribe) and a descendant of a certain Karachar noyon (a large feudal landowner in Mongolia in the Middle Ages), a powerful assistant to Chagatai, the son of Genghis Khan, the last and distant relative ... Reliable "Memoirs" of Timur say that he led many expeditions during the unrest that followed the death of Emir Kazgan, the ruler of Mesopotamia. In 1357, after the invasion of Tughlak Timur, khan of Kashgar (1361), and the appointment of his son Ilyas-Khoja as governor of Mesopotamia, Timur became his assistant and ruler of Kesh. But very soon he fled and joined the Emir Hussein, the grandson of Kazgan, becoming his son-in-law. After many raids and adventures, they defeated the forces of Ilyas-Khodja (1364) and set off to conquer Mesopotamia. Around 1370, Timur revolted against his ally Hussein, captured him in Balkh and announced that he was the heir to Chagatai and was going to revive the Mongol empire.
Tamerlane devoted the next ten years to the struggle against the khans of Djenta (Eastern Turkestan) and Khorezm, and in 1380 captured Kashgar. Then he intervened in the conflict between the khans of the Golden Horde in Russia and helped Tokhtamysh take the throne. He, with the help of Timur, defeated the ruling khan Mamai, took his place and, in order to take revenge on the Moscow prince for the defeat he inflicted on Mamai in 1380, captured Moscow in 1382.
Timur's conquest of Persia in 1381 began with the capture of Herat. Unstable political and economic situation while in Persia contributed to the conqueror. The revival of the country, which began during the reign of the Ilkhanov, slowed down again with the death of the last representative of the family of Abu Said (1335). In the absence of an heir, rival dynasties took turns on the throne. The situation was aggravated by the clash between the dynasties of the Mongol Jalair, ruling in Baghdad and Tabriz; the Perso-Arab clan of the Muzafarids, ruling in Fars and Isfahan; Harid-Kurtov in Herat; local religious and tribal unions, such as the Serbedars (rebels against Mongol oppression) in Khorasan and the Afghans in Kerman, and small princes in the border areas. All these warring principalities could not jointly and effectively resist Timur. Khorasan and all of Eastern Persia fell under his onslaught in 1382-1385; Fars, Iraq, Azerbaijan and Armenia were conquered in 1386-1387 and 1393-1394; Mesopotamia and Georgia came under his rule in 1394. In between the conquests, Timur fought with Tokhtamysh, now the khan of the Golden Horde, whose troops invaded Azerbaijan in 1385 and Mesopotamia in 1388, defeating Timur's troops. In 1391, Timur, pursuing Tokhtamysh, reached the southern steppes of Russia, defeated the enemy and overthrew him from the throne. In 1395, the Horde Khan again invaded the Caucasus, but was finally defeated on the Kura River. To top it off, Timur ravaged Astrakhan and Sarai, but did not reach Moscow. Rebellions that broke out throughout Persia during this campaign demanded his immediate return. Timur suppressed them with extraordinary cruelty. Whole cities were destroyed, The inhabitants were exterminated, And their heads were walled up in the walls of the towers.
In 1399, when Timur was already over sixty, he invaded India, outraged that the sultans of Delhi were showing too much tolerance towards their subjects. On September 24, Tamerlane's troops crossed the Indus and, leaving a bloody trail behind them, entered Delhi.
Having laid the stone foundation of the mosque, at the end of the same year, Timur undertook his last great expedition, the purpose of which was to punish the Egyptian Sultan Mameluk for supporting Ahmad Jalair and the Turkish Sultan Bayazet II, who conquered Eastern Anatolia. After restoring his power in Azerbaijan, Tamerlane moved to Syria. Aleppo was taken by storm and plundered, the Mameluk army was defeated, and Damascus was captured (1400). A crushing blow to the well-being of Egypt was that Timur sent all the masters to Samarkand to build mosques and palaces. In 1401, Baghdad was taken by storm, twenty thousand of its inhabitants were killed, and all monuments were destroyed. Tamerlane overwintered in Georgia, and in the spring he crossed the border of Anatolia, defeated Bayazet near Ankara (July 20, 1402) and captured Smyrna, which was owned by the Rhodes knights. Bayazet died in captivity, and the story of his imprisonment in an iron cage forever entered the legend. As soon as the resistance ceased, the Egyptian sultan and John VII (later co-ruler of Manuel II Palaeologus). Timur returned to Samarkand and immediately began to prepare for an expedition to China. He performed at the end of December, but fell ill in Otrar on the Syr Darya River and died on January 19, 1405. Tamerlane's body was embalmed and sent in an ebony coffin to Samarkand, where he was buried in a magnificent mausoleum called Gur-Emir. Before his death, Timur divided his territories between his two surviving sons and grandchildren. After many years of war and enmity over the left will, the descendants of Tamerlane were united by the youngest son of the khan, Shahruk.
During the life of Timur, contemporaries kept a thorough chronicle of what was happening. It was supposed to serve to write the official biography of the khan. In 1937, the works of Nizam ad-Din Shami were published in Prague. The revised version of the chronicle was prepared by Sharaf ad-Din Yazdi even earlier and in 1723 was printed in the translation of Petit de la Croix. The opposite point of view was reflected by another contemporary of Timur, Ibn-Arabshah, who was extremely hostile towards the khan. His book was published in 1936 in Sanders' translation under the title Tamerlane, or Timur, the Great Emir. The so-called "Memoirs" of Timur, published in 1830 in Stuart's translation, are considered forgeries, and the circumstances of their discovery and presentation to Shah Jahan in 1637 are still questioned.
Portraits of Timur by Persian masters have survived to this day. However, they reflected an idealized view of him. They in no way correspond to the description of the khan by one of his contemporaries as a very tall man with a large head, blush on his cheeks and blond hair from birth.
Tamerlane's name
Timur's full name was Timur ibn Taragay Barlas (Tīmūr ibn Taraġay Barlas - Timur, son of Taragai from Barlas) in accordance with the Arab tradition (alam-nasab-nisba). In Chagatai and Mongolian languages (both Altaic) Temür or Temir means " iron».
Not being a Chingizid, Timur formally could not bear the title of great khan, always calling himself only an emir (leader, leader). However, having become related in 1370 with the house of Genghisids, he took the name Timur Gurgan (Timūr Gurkānī, (تيموﺭ گوركان ), Gurkān is an Iranian version of the Mongolian kүrүgen or khurgen, "Son-in-law". This meant that Tamerlane, having become related to the Chingizid khans, could freely live and act in their homes.
In various Persian sources, an Iranized nickname is often found Timur-e Liang(Tīmūr-e Lang, تیمور لنگ) "Timur the Lame", this name was probably considered contemptuous and derogatory at the time. It passed into Western languages ( Tamerlan, Tamerlane, Tamburlaine, Timur Lenk) and in Russian, where it has no negative connotation and is used along with the original "Timur".
Monument to Tamerlane in Tashkent
Monument to Tamerlane in Samarkand
Tamerlane's personality
The beginning of Tamerlane's political activity is similar to the biography of Genghis Khan: they were the leaders of the detachments of adherents they personally recruited, who later remained the main support of their power. Like Genghis Khan, Timur personally entered into all the details of the organization of military forces, had details about the forces of enemies and the state of their lands, enjoyed unconditional authority among his army and could fully rely on his associates. Less successful was the choice of the persons placed at the head of the civil administration (numerous cases of punishment for the covetousness of the highest dignitaries in Samarkand, Herat, Shiraz, Tabriz). Tamerlane loved to talk with scientists, especially to listen to the reading of historical works; with his knowledge of history, he surprised the medieval historian, philosopher and thinker Ibn Khaldun; Timur used stories about the valor of historical and legendary heroes to inspire his warriors.
Timur left behind dozens of monumental architectural structures, some of them entered the treasury of world culture. Timur's buildings, in the creation of which he took an active part, reveal an artistic taste in him.
Timur was primarily concerned about the prosperity of his native Maverannahr and about raising the splendor of his capital, Samarkand. Timur brought craftsmen, architects, jewelers, builders, architects from all the conquered lands in order to equip the cities of his empire: the capital Samarkand, his father's homeland - Kesh (Shakhrisyabz), Bukhara, the border town of Yassy (Turkestan). All his care, which he put into the capital Samarkand, he managed to express through the words about it: “There will always be blue sky and golden stars over Samarkand”. Only in last years he took measures to raise the welfare of other regions of the state, mainly bordering (in 1398 a new irrigation canal was built in Afghanistan, in 1401 in the Transcaucasus, etc.)
Biography
Childhood and youth
Childhood and youth of Timur were spent in the Kesha mountains. In his youth, he loved hunting and horse racing, javelin throwing and archery, and had a penchant for war games. From the age of ten, the atabeks mentors who served with Taragay taught Timur the art of war and sports games. Timur was a very brave and reserved man. With a sobriety of judgment, he knew how to accept the most the right decision in hard situations. These character traits also attracted people to him. The first information about Timur appeared in sources since 1361, when he began his political activities.
Timur's appearance
Timur at a feast in Samarkand
File: Temur1-1.jpg
As shown by the opening of the Gur Emir tomb (Samarkand) by M. Gerasimov and the subsequent study of the skeleton from the burial, which is believed to belong to Tamerlane, his height was 172 cm. Timur was strong, physically developed, his contemporaries wrote about him: “If most of the warriors could pull the bowstring up to the level of the collarbone, then Timur pulled it up to the ear ”. Hair is lighter than most of his fellow tribesmen. A detailed study of Timur's remains showed that anthropologically he was characterized by the Mongoloid South Siberian type
Despite Timur's old age (69 years), his skull, as well as his skeleton, did not have pronounced, actually senile features. The presence of most of the teeth, a clear relief of the bones, the almost absence of osteophytes - all this suggests that the skeleton's skull belonged to a person full of strength and health, whose biological age did not exceed 50 years. The massiveness of healthy bones, their highly developed relief and density, the width of the shoulders, the volume of the chest and the relatively high growth - all this gives the right to think that Timur had an extremely strong constitution. His strong athletic muscles, most likely, were distinguished by some dryness of forms, and this is natural: life on military campaigns, with their difficulties and hardships, almost constant stay in the saddle could hardly contribute to obesity. ...
A special external difference between Tamerlane and his warriors from other Muslims was the braids they preserved, according to Mongol custom, which is confirmed by some Central Asian illustrated manuscripts of that time. Meanwhile, examining ancient Türkic statues, images of Türks in Afrasiab painting, researchers came to the conclusion that the Türks wore braids as early as the V-VIII centuries. An autopsy of Timur's grave and an analysis of anthropologists showed that Timur had no braids. "Timur's hair is thick, straight, gray-red in color, with a predominance of dark brown or red." "Contrary to the accepted custom of shaving his head, by the time of his death, Timur had relatively long hair." Some historians believe that light hair color is due to the fact that Tamerlane dyed his hair with henna. But, MM Gerasimov in his work notes: "Even a preliminary study of the hair of the beard under the binoculars convinces that this reddish-reddish color is her natural, and not dyed with henna, as historians described." Timur wore a long mustache, not a mustache cut over his lip. As we found out, there was a rule that allowed the upper military class to wear a mustache without cutting them above the lip, and Timur, according to this rule, did not cut his mustache, and they hung freely over his lip. “Timur's small, thick beard had a wedge-shaped shape. Her hair is coarse, almost straight, thick, of a bright brown (red) color, with significant graying. " Huge scars were visible on the bones of the left leg in the area of the patella, which is fully consistent with the nickname "lame"
Parents, brothers and sisters of Timur
His father's name was Taragay or Turgai, he was a military man, a small landowner. Descended from the Mongolian tribe of Barlas, which by that time was already Turkic and spoke the Chagatai language.
According to some assumptions, Timur's father Taragay was the leader of the Barlas tribe and a descendant of a certain Karachar Noyon (a large feudal landowner in the Middle Ages), a powerful assistant to Chagatai, the son of Genghis Khan and a distant relative of the latter. Timur's father was a pious Muslim, his spiritual mentor was Sheikh Shams ad-din Kulyal.
In the encyclopedia Britannica, Timur is considered a Turkic conqueror.
In Indian historiography, Timur is considered the head of the Chagatai Turks.
Timur's father had one brother, whose name in Turkic was Balta.
Timur's father was married twice: the first wife was Timur's mother Tekin-Khatun. Conflicting information has been preserved about its origin. And the second wife of Taragai / Turgai was Kadak-Khatun, the mother of Timur's sister Shirin-bek aga.
Muhammad Taragay died in 1361 and was buried in Timur's homeland - in the city of Kesh (Shakhrisabz). His tomb has survived to this day.
Timur had older sister Kutlug-Turkan aga and younger sister Shirin-bek aha. They died before the death of Timur himself and were buried in the mausoleums in the Shahi Zinda complex in Samarkand. According to the source "Mu '' Izz al-ansab, Timur had three more brothers: Djuki, Alim Sheikh and Suyurgatmysh.
Spiritual guides of Timur
Rukhabad mausoleum in Samarkand
The first spiritual mentor of Timur was the mentor of his father - the Sufi sheikh Shams ad-din Kulyal. Also known are Zainuddin Abu Bakr Taybadi, a large Khorosan sheikh and Shamsuddin Fakhuri - a potter, a prominent figure in the Naqshbandi tariqah. The main spiritual mentor of Timur was a descendant of the Prophet Muhammad, Sheikh Mir Seyid Bereke. It was he who gave Timur the symbols of power: a drum and a banner when he came to power in 1370. Handing over these symbols, Mir Seyid Bereke predicted a great future for the emir. He accompanied Timur on his long campaigns. In 1391 he blessed him before the battle with Tokhtamysh. In 1403, they mourned together the unexpectedly deceased heir to the throne - Muhammad Sultan. Mir Seyid Bereke was buried in the Gur Emir mausoleum, where Timur himself was buried at his feet. Another mentor of Timur was the son of the Sufi sheikh Burkhan ad-din Sagardzhi Abu Said. Timur ordered to build the Rukhabad mausoleum over their graves.
Knowledge of languages by Timur
During the campaign against the Golden Horde against Tokhtamysh in 1391, Timur ordered to knock out the inscription in the Chagatai language in Uyghur letters - 8 lines and three lines in Arabic containing the Koranic text near the Altyn-Chuku mountain. In history, this inscription is known as the Karsakpay inscription of Timur. Currently, the stone with Timur's inscription is kept and exhibited at the Hermitage in St. Petersburg.
A contemporary and prisoner of Tamerlane, Ibn Arabshah, who had known Tamerlane personally since 1401, reports: "As for Persian, Turkic and Mongolian, he knew them better than anyone else." Researcher from Princeton University Svat Soucek writes about Timur in his monograph that “He was a Turk from the Barlas tribe, Mongolian in name and origin, but in all practical senses of Turkic by that time. Timur's native language was Turkic (Chagatai), although it is possible that he also spoke Persian to some extent due to the cultural environment in which he lived. He practically did not know Mongolian for sure, although Mongolian terms had not completely disappeared from documents and were found on coins ”.
The legal documents of Timur's state were drawn up in two languages: Persian and Turkic. For example, a document dated 1378 giving privileges to the descendants of Abu Muslim who lived in Khorezm was drawn up in the Chagatai Turkic language.
The Spanish diplomat and traveler Ruy Gonzalez de Clavijo, who visited the court of Tamerlane in Maverannahr, reports that “Beyond this river(Amu Darya - approx.) the kingdom of Samarkand stretches, and its land is called Mogalia (Mogolistan), and the language is Mughal, and this language is not understood in this(southern - approx.) side of the river, as everyone speaks Persian ", then he informs “The letter used by the Samarkants is[living-approx.] on the other side of the river, do not disassemble and do not know how to read those who live on this side, but they call this letter mogali. A senor(Tamerlane - approx.) keeps several scribes with him who can read and write on it[language - approx.] » Orientalist professor Robert McChesney notes that by Mugali Clavijo meant the Turkic language.
According to the Timurid source "Muiz al-ansab", at the court of Timur there was only a staff of Turkic and Tajik scribes.
Ibn Arabshah, describing the tribes of Maverannahr, gives the following information: “The aforementioned sultan (Timur) had four viziers who were fully engaged in useful and harmful deeds. They were considered noble people, and all were followers of their opinions. The number of tribes and tribes among the Arabs was the same among the Turks. Each of the aforementioned viziers, being representatives of one tribe, were the beacon of opinion and illuminated the dome of the mind of their tribe. One tribe was called Arlat, the second - Zhalair, the third - Kavchin, the fourth - Barlas. Temur was the son of the fourth tribe. "
Timur's wives
He had 18 wives, of which his beloved wife was the sister of Emir Hussein - Uldjay-Turkan aga. According to another version, his beloved wife was the daughter of Kazan-khan Sarai-mulk khanim. She did not have children of her own, but she was entrusted with the upbringing of some of Timur's sons and grandchildren. She was a renowned patron of the arts and sciences. By her order, a huge madrasah and a mausoleum were built in Samarkand for her mother.
During Timur's childhood, the Chagatai state in Central Asia (Chagatai ulus) collapsed. Since 1346, power in Maverannahr belonged to the Turkic emirs, and the khans who were enthroned by the emperor ruled only nominally. In 1348, the Mogul emirs elevated Tugluk-Timur to the throne, who began to rule in East Turkestan, the Kuldzhinsky region and Semirechye.
The ascent of Timur
The beginning of political activity
Timur entered the service of the ruler of Kesh - Hadji Barlas, who presumably was the head of the Barlas tribe. In 1360 Maverannahr was conquered by Tugluk-Timur. Haji Barlas fled to Khorasan, and Timur entered into negotiations with the khan and was approved as the ruler of the Kesh region, but was forced to leave after the departure of the Mongols and the return of Haji Barlas.
The next year, at dawn on May 22, 1365, near Chinaz, a bloody battle took place between the army of Timur and Hussein with the army of Mogolistan led by Khan Ilyas-Khoja, which went down in history as a "battle in the mud." Timur and Hussein had few chances to defend native land, since the army of Ilyas-Khoja had superior forces. During the battle, there was a torrential downpour, it was difficult for the soldiers even to look ahead, and the horses were stuck in the mud. Despite this, Timur's troops began to win on their flank, at the decisive moment he asked for help from Hussein to finish off the enemy, but Hussein not only did not help, but also retreated. This predetermined the outcome of the battle. The warriors of Timur and Hussein were forced to retreat to the other side of the Syr Darya river.
The composition of Timur's troops
Representatives of various tribes fought as part of Timur's army: Barlas, Durbats, Nukuz, Naimans, Kipchaks, Bulguts, Dulats, Kiyats, Jalair, Sulduz, Merkits, Yasavuri, Kauchins, etc.
The military organization of the troops was built like the Mongols, according to the decimal system: tens, hundreds, thousands, tumens (10 thousand). Among the sectoral administration bodies was the wazirat (ministry) for military affairs (sepoys).
Hiking to Mogolistan
Despite the laid foundation of statehood, Khorezm and Shibirgan, which belonged to the Chagatai ulus, did not recognize the new power in the person of Suyurgatmish Khan and Emir Timur. There was restlessness on the southern and northern borders of the border, where Mogolistan and the White Horde caused trouble, often violating the borders and plundering villages. After the capture of Sygnak by Uruskhan and the transfer of the capital of the White Horde to it, Yassa (Turkestan), Sairam and Maverannahr ended up in another greater danger... It was necessary to take measures to strengthen statehood.
The ruler of Mogolistan, Emir Kamar ad-din, tried to prevent the strengthening of Timur's state. Mogolistan feudal lords often carried out predatory raids on Sairam, Tashkent, Fergana and Turkestan. Especially big troubles were brought to the people by the raids of Emir Kamar ad-din in the 70-71s and the raids in the winter of 1376 on the cities of Tashkent and Andijan. In the same year, Emir Kamar ad-din captured half of Fergana, from where her governor, Timur's son Umar Sheikh-Mirza, fled to the mountains. Therefore, the solution of the Mogolistan problem was important for the calmness on the borders of the country.
But Kamar ad-din was not defeated. When Timur's army returned to Maverannahr, he invaded Fergana, a province that belonged to Timur, and laid siege to the city of Andijan. The enraged Timur rushed to Fergana and for a long time pursued the enemy beyond Uzgen and the Yassy mountains to the very valley of At-Bashi, the southern tributary of the upper Naryn.
In "Zafarnam" the sixth campaign of Timur to the Issyk-Kul region against Kamar ad-din in the city is mentioned, but the khan again managed to escape.
The next goals of Tamerlane were to curb the Jochi ulus (known in history as the White Horde) and the establishment of political influence in its eastern part and the unification of Mogolistan and Maverannahr, previously divided into a single state, which at one time was called the Chagatai ulus.
Realizing all the danger to the independence of Maverannahr from the Jochi ulus, from the very first days of his reign, Timur tried in every possible way to bring his protege to power in the Jochi ulus. The Golden Horde had its capital in the city of Sarai-Batu (Saray-Berke) and stretched across the North Caucasus, northwestern part of Khorezm, Crimea, Western Siberia and the Volga-Kama principality of Bulgar. The White Horde had its capital in the city of Sygnak and stretched from Yangikent to Sabran, along the lower course of the Syr Darya, as well as on the banks of the Syr Darya steppe from Ulu-Tau to Sengir-Yagach and the land from Karatal to Siberia. The Khan of the White Horde, Urus Khan, tried to unite the once powerful state, whose plans were prevented by the intensified struggle between the Jochids and the feudal lords of Dashti Kipchak. Timur strongly supported Tokhtamysh-oglan, whose father died at the hands of Urus-khan, who eventually took the throne of the White Horde. However, after ascending to power, Tokhtamysh Khan seized power in the Golden Horde and began to pursue a hostile policy towards the lands of Maverannahr.
Timur's campaign against the Golden Horde in 1391
Timur's campaign against the Golden Horde in 1395
After the defeat of the Golden Horde and Khan Tokhtamysh, the latter fled to Bulgar. In response to the plundering of the lands of Maverannahr, Emir Timur burned the capital of the Golden Horde - Saray-Batu, and gave the reins of its rule into the hands of Koirichak-oglan, who was the son of Uruskhan. The defeat of the Golden Horde by Timur also had broad economic consequences. As a result of Timur's campaign, the northern branch of the Great Silk Road, passing through the lands of the Golden Horde, fell into decay. Trade caravans began to pass through the lands of Timur's state.
In the 1390s, Tamerlane inflicted two cruel defeats on the Horde Khan - on Kondurch in 1391 and Terek in 1395, after which Tokhtamysh was deprived of the throne and forced to wage a constant struggle with the khans appointed by Tamerlane. With this defeat of the army of Khan Tokhtamysh, Tamerlane brought indirect benefits in the struggle of the Russian lands against the Tatar-Mongol yoke.
Three big campaigns of Timur
Timur made three large campaigns to the western part of Persia and the adjacent regions - the so-called "three-year" (from 1386), "five-year" (from 1392) and "seven-year" (from 1399).
Three-year hike
The first time Timur was forced to return back as a result of the invasion of Maverannahr by the Golden Horde Khan Tokhtamysh in alliance with the Semirechye Mongols ().
Death
Mausoleum of Emir Timur in Samarkand
He died during a campaign in China. After the end of the seven-year war, during which Bayazid I was defeated, Timur began preparations for the Chinese campaign, which he had long planned because of China's claims to the lands of Maverannahr and Turkestan. He gathered a large two hundred thousandth army, with which he set out on a campaign on November 27, 1404. In January 1405, he arrived in the city of Otrar (its ruins are near the confluence of the Arys and the Syr-Darya), where he fell ill and died (according to historians, on February 18, according to Timur's tombstone, on the 15th). The body was embalmed, placed in an ebony coffin covered with silver brocade, and taken to Samarkand. Tamerlane was buried in the Gur Emir mausoleum, which was still unfinished at that time. Official funeral events were held on March 18, 1405 by Timur's grandson Khalil-Sultan (1405-1409), who seized the Samarkand throne against the will of his grandfather, who bequeathed the kingdom to his eldest grandson Pir-Muhammad.
A look at Tamerlane in the light of history and culture
Code of laws
Main article: Timur's Code
During the reign of Emir Timur, there was a code of laws "Timur's code", which set out the rules of conduct for members of society and the duties of rulers and officials, and also contains the rules for managing the army and the state.
When appointed to the post, the "great emir" demanded loyalty and loyalty from everyone. He appointed 315 people to high positions who had been by his side from the very beginning of his career and fought side by side with him. The first hundred were appointed by the ten's managers, the second hundred by the centurions, and the third by the thousand's managers. Of the remaining fifteen people, four were appointed beks, one was the supreme emir, and the others were appointed to the remaining high posts.
The judicial system was divided into three stages: 1. Judge of Sharia - who was guided in his activities by the established norms of Sharia; 2. Judge ahdos - who was guided in his activities by the customs and customs of the society. 3. Kazi askar - who was in charge of military proceedings.
The law was recognized as equal for everyone, both for emirs and subjects.
The viziers under the leadership of Divan-Begi were responsible for general position subjects and troops, for financial condition countries and activities government agencies... If information was received that the finance vizier appropriated part of the treasury for himself, then this was checked and, upon confirmation, one of the decisions was made: if the assigned amount was equal to his salary (uluf), then this amount was given to him as a gift. If the assigned amount is twice the salary, then the excess must be withheld. If the appropriated amount was three times higher than the established salary, then everything was taken away in favor of the treasury.
Tamerlane's army
Relying on the rich experience of his predecessors, Tamerlane was able to create a powerful and efficient army, which allowed him to win brilliant victories on the battlefield over his opponents. This army was a multinational and multi-confessional association, the core of which was the Turkic-Mongolian nomadic warriors. Tamerlane's army was divided into cavalry and infantry, the role of which greatly increased at the turn of the XIV-XV centuries. Nevertheless, the bulk of the army was made up of nomadic cavalry units, the backbone of which consisted of elite units of heavily armed cavalrymen, as well as detachments of Tamerlane's bodyguards. The infantry often played a supporting role, but was necessary in the siege of fortresses. The infantry was mostly lightly armed and mainly consisted of archers, but the army also consisted of heavily armed shock troops infantrymen.
In addition to the main types of troops (heavy and light cavalry, as well as infantry), Tamerlane's army included detachments of pontoons, workers, engineers and other specialists, as well as special infantry units specializing in military operations in mountainous conditions (they were recruited from the inhabitants of mountain villages). The organization of Tamerlane's army generally corresponded to the decimal organization of Genghis Khan, however, a number of changes appeared (for example, units of 50 to 300 people, called "koshuns", appeared, the number of larger units, "kuls" was also inconsistent).
The main weapon of the light cavalry, like the infantry, was the bow. Light cavalrymen also used sabers or swords and axes. The heavily armed riders were clad in armor (the most popular armor was chain mail, often reinforced with metal plates), protected by helmets, and fought with sabers or swords (in addition to bows and arrows, which were ubiquitous). Ordinary infantrymen were armed with bows, heavy infantry warriors fought with sabers, axes and maces and were protected by shells, helmets and shields.
Banners
During his campaigns, Timur used banners with the image of three rings. According to some historians, the three rings symbolized earth, water and sky. According to Svyatoslav Roerich, Timur could borrow a symbol from the Tibetans, in whom three rings meant the past, present and future. Some miniatures depict the red banners of Timur's army. During the Indian campaign, a black banner with a silver dragon was used. Before the campaign against China, Tamerlane ordered to depict a golden dragon on the banners.
Several less reliable sources also report that the tombstone bears the following inscription: "When I rise (from the dead), the world will shudder."... Some, not documented, sources claim that when the grave was opened in 1941, an inscription was found inside the coffin: "Anyone who breaks my peace in this life or in the next will be subjected to suffering and perish.".
According to sources, Timur was fond of playing chess (more precisely, in shatranj).
By the will of history, personal belongings that belonged to Timur were scattered across various museums and private collections. For example, the so-called Timur's Ruby, which adorned his crown, is currently kept in London.
At the beginning of the 20th century, Timur's personal sword was kept in the Tehran Museum.
Tamerlane in art
In literature
Historical
- Giyasaddin Ali. Diary of Timur's campaign to India. M., 1958.
- Nizam ad-Din Shami. Zafar-name. Materials on the history of the Kirghiz and Kirghizia. Issue I. M., 1973.
- Yazdi Sharaf ad-Din Ali. Zafar-name. T., 2008.
- Ibn Arabshah. Miracles of the fate of Timur's history. T., 2007.
- Clavijo, Rui Gonzalez de. Travel diary to Samarkand to the court of Timur (1403-1406). M., 1990.
- Abd ar-Razzak. Places of the rising of two lucky stars and the confluence of two seas. Collection of materials related to the history of the Golden Horde. M., 1941.
Great Emir Tamerlane (Timur the Lame)
Oh, if only, taking with you a sofa of poetry
Yes, in a jug of wine and putting bread in his pocket,
I spend a day with you among the ruins, -
Any sultan could envy me.
Rubai
Timur is undoubtedly a lame person of no less mysterious historical genius. Born 109 years after the death of Genghis Khan.
Timur - iron, was born on April 9, 1336 s. Khoja-Ilgar, modern Shakhrisabz, Uzbekistan, died on February 18, 1405 Otrar, Kazakhstan - a Central Asian commander and conqueror who played a significant role in the history of Central, South and Western Asia, as well as the Caucasus, the Volga region and Russia. Commander, founder of the Timurid empire (1370) with the capital in Samarkand. Great Emir of the Timurid Empire. Timur's full name was Timur ibn Taragay Barlas - Timur is the son of Taragay from Barlas in accordance with the Arab tradition (alam-nasab-nisba). In Chagatai and Mongolian languages Tem; r or Temir means "iron". In medieval Russian chronicles he was referred to as Temir Aksak.
Not being Chingizid, Timur formally could not bear the khan's title, therefore he was always called only emir (leader, leader). However, having become related in 1370 with the house of the Chingizids, he took the name Timur Gurgan - an Iranized version of the Mongolian k; r; gen or x; rgen, "son-in-law"). This meant that Timur was a relative of the Chingizids and could live and act freely in their homes.
Portrait of Tamerlane. 15th century miniature
Father Muhammad Taragay Noyon (Barlas), he was a military man, a small landowner. Descended from the Barlas tribe and was a descendant of a certain Karachar noyon (a large feudal landowner in the Middle Ages), a powerful assistant to Chagatai, the son of Genghis Khan, the mother of Tekin Khatun (a female alternative to the title of khan - Khatun).
Timur was a very brave and reserved man. Possessing a sobriety of judgments, he was able to make the most correct decision in difficult situations. These character traits also attracted people to him.
A far-sighted ruler and a talented organizer, Timur was at the same time a cruel conqueror who mercilessly suppressed any manifestations of disobedience. The majestic pyramids of severed heads, wiped off the face of the earth of the city, hundreds of thousands of prisoners and civilians deliberately killed - all this was customary for the conquest and punitive campaigns of Tamerlane. For example, having invaded Afghanistan, Timur ordered to erect a tower of two thousand living prisoners mixed with clay and broken brick to intimidate the population. It should be noted, however, that the sophisticated cruelty common for medieval wars assumed such impressive proportions in the conquests of Timur precisely because of the scale of these conquests and the unprecedented mass of battles.
Timur left behind dozens of monumental architectural structures, some of them entered the treasury of world culture. Timur's buildings, in the creation of which he took an active part, reveal in him an outstanding artistic taste.
He was an educated man, his maternal grandfather Sadr al-Shari "and a famous scholar of one of the Shariah directions - Hanafi. He was the author of Sharh al-Wikaya, a commentary on al-Wakaya, which in turn is a commentary on al-Marghinana - al -Hidaya, which is a classic guide to the laws of Hanafi.He is also probably the famous traveler Ibn Batut.
Timur at a feast in Samarkand
As shown by the opening of the Gur Emir tomb (Samarkand) by M. Gerasimov and the subsequent study of the skeleton from the burial, which is believed to belong to Tamerlane, his height was 172 cm. Timur was strong, physically developed, his contemporaries wrote about him: “If most of the warriors could pull the bowstring up to the level of the collarbone, then Timur pulled it up to the ear ”. Hair is lighter than most of his fellow tribesmen. A detailed study of Timur's remains showed that in anthropological terms he belonged to the South Siberian race.
The appearance of Timur, reconstructed based on the results of a study of his remains.
Despite Timur's old age (69 years), his skull, as well as his skeleton, did not have pronounced, proper senile features. The presence of most of the teeth, a clear relief of the bones, the almost complete absence of osteophytes - all this suggests that the skeleton's skull belonged to a person full of strength and health, whose biological age did not exceed 50 years. The massiveness of healthy bones, their highly developed relief and density, the width of the shoulders, the volume of the chest and the relatively high growth - all this gives the right to think that Timur had an extremely strong constitution. His strong athletic muscles, most likely, were distinguished by some dryness of forms, and this is natural: life on military campaigns, with their difficulties and hardships, almost constant stay in the saddle could hardly contribute to obesity.
A special external difference between the warriors of Tamerlane and other Muslims was the Mongol braids they preserved, which is confirmed by some Central Asian illustrated manuscripts of that time. Meanwhile, examining ancient Türkic statues, images of Türks in Afrasiab painting, researchers came to the conclusion that the Türks wore braids as early as the V-VIII centuries. An autopsy of Timur's grave and an analysis of anthropologists showed that Timur had no braids. "Timur's hair is thick, straight, gray-red in color, with a predominance of dark brown or red." "Contrary to the accepted custom of shaving his head, by the time of his death, Timur had relatively long hair." Some historians believe that the light hair color is due to the fact that Tamerlane dyed his hair with henna. But MM Gerasimov in his work notes: "Even a preliminary study of the hair of the beard under the binoculars convinces that this reddish-reddish color is her natural, and not dyed with henna, as historians described." Timur wore a long mustache, not a mustache cut over his lip. As we found out, there was a rule that allowed the upper military class to wear a mustache without cutting them above the lip, and Timur, according to this rule, did not cut his mustache, and they hung freely over his lip. “Timur's small, thick beard had a wedge-shaped shape. Her hair is coarse, almost straight, thick, of a bright brown (red) color, with significant graying. "
Timur's image by a French artist
On the bones of the right leg, lesions were visible in the area of the patella, which is fully consistent with the nickname "Lame".
A contemporary and prisoner of Tamerlane, Ibn Arabshah, who had known Tamerlane personally since 1401, reports: "As for Persian, Turkic and Mongolian, he knew them better than anyone else."
The Spanish diplomat and traveler Ruy Gonzalez de Clavijo, who visited the court of Tamerlane in Maverannahr, reports that “Beyond this river (Amu Darya) lies the kingdom of Samarkand, and its land is called Mogalia (Mogolistan), and the language is Mughal, and this language is not understood on this (southern) side of the river, since everyone speaks Persian, "he further says," the letter used by the Samarkands living on the other side of the river cannot be disassembled and cannot read by those who live on this side, but they call this letter mogali. And Señor Tamerlane keeps several scribes with him who can read and write in this language. "
According to Svat Sou; ek Timur was a Turkic from the Barlas tribe, Mongolian in name and origin, but in all practical senses of Turkic by that time. Timur's native language was Turkic (Chagatai), although it is possible that he also spoke Persian to some extent due to the cultural environment in which he lived. He practically did not know Mongolian for sure, although Mongolian terms had not yet completely disappeared from documents and were found on coins.
During a campaign against Tokhtamysh in 1391, Timur ordered to knock out an inscription in the Chagatai language in Uyghur letters near the Altyn-Chuku mountain - 8 lines and three lines in Arabic containing the Koranic text. In history, this inscription is known as the Karsakpay inscription of Timur. Currently, the stone with Timur's inscription is kept and exhibited in the Hermitage.
Timur loved to talk with scientists, especially to listen to the reading of historical works; with his knowledge of history, he surprised the medieval historian, philosopher and thinker Ibn Khaldun; Timur used stories about the valor of historical and legendary heroes to inspire his warriors.
According to Alisher Navoi, although Timur did not write poetry, he knew poetry and prose very well, and, by the way, knew how to bring the proper beit to the place.
Childhood and youth of Timur were spent in the Kesha mountains. In his youth, he loved hunting and horse racing, javelin throwing and archery, and had a penchant for war games. From the age of ten, the Tatabek mentors who served with Taragay taught Timur the art of war and sports games.
The first information about Timur appeared in sources starting from 1361. The beginning of Tamerlane's political activity is similar to the biography of Genghis Khan: they were the leaders of the detachments of adherents they personally recruited, who later remained the main support of their power. Like Genghis Khan, Timur personally entered into all the details of the organization of military forces, had detailed information about the forces of enemies and the state of their lands, enjoyed unconditional authority among his army and could fully rely on his associates. Less successful was the choice of the persons put at the head of the civil administration (numerous cases of punishment for the covetousness of high dignitaries in Samarkand, Herat, Shiraz, Tabriz).
In 1362 Timur was approved as the ruler of the Kesh region and one of the assistants of the Mogul prince.
Ilyas-Khoja, together with Emir Bekchik and other close emirs, agreed to remove Timur from public affairs, and, if the opportunity offered, to destroy him physically. Intrigues intensified more and more and took on a dangerous character. Timur had to separate from the Mughals and go over to the side of their enemy - Emir Hussein, the grandson of Emir Kazagan. For some time they, with a small detachment, led the life of adventurers and went towards Khorezm, where in a battle near Khiva they were defeated by the ruler of those lands Tavakkala-Kongurot and with the remnants of their soldiers and servants were forced to retreat into the depths of the desert. Subsequently, reaching the aul of Mahmudi in the area controlled by Makhan, they were taken prisoner by the people of Alibek Dzhanikurban, who spent 62 days in captivity. According to the historian Sharafiddin Ali Yazdi, Alibek intended to sell Timur and Hussein to Iranian merchants, but in those days not a single caravan passed through Mahan. The prisoners were rescued by Alibek's elder brother, Emir Muhammad-Bek.
Until 1364, the emirs Timur and Hussein lived on the southern bank of the Amu Darya in the regions of Kakhmard, Daragez, Arsif and Balkh and waged a partisan war against the Moguls. During a skirmish in Seistan, which took place in the fall of 1362 against the enemies of the ruler Malik Qutbiddin, Timur lost two fingers on his right hand and was seriously wounded in right leg, which made him lame.
In 1364, the moguls were forced to leave the country. Having returned back to Maverannahr, Timur and Hussein put Kabul Shah from the Chagataid clan on the throne.
The next year, at dawn on May 22, 1365, near Chinaz, a bloody battle took place between the army of Timur and Hussein with the army of Khan Ilyas-Khoja, which went down in history as the "Battle in the mud". Timur and Hussein had little chance of winning, since the army of Ilyas-Khoja had superior forces. During the battle, there was a torrential downpour, it was difficult for the soldiers even to look ahead, and the horses were stuck in the mud. Despite this, Timur's troops began to win on their flank, at the decisive moment he asked for help from Hussein to finish off the enemy, but Hussein not only did not help, but also retreated. This predetermined the outcome of the battle. The warriors of Timur and Hussein were forced to retreat to the other side of the Syr Darya river.
Meanwhile, the army of Ilyas-Khoja was expelled from Samarkand by a popular uprising of the Serbedars, led by the teacher of the Mavlanazad madrasah, artisan Abubakr Kalavi and the shooter Mirzo Khurdaki Bukhari. People's rule was established in the city. The property of the wealthy strata of the population was confiscated, so they turned to Hussein and Timur for help. Timur and Hussein agreed to oppose the Serbedars. In the spring of 1366, Timur and Hussein suppressed the uprising by executing the Serbedar leaders, but by order of Tamerlane they left alive one of the leaders of the uprising, Mavlana-zade, who was very popular among the people.
Timur during the siege of the Balkh fortress in 1370
Hussein hatched plans to take the post of supreme emir of the Chagatai ulus, like his grandfather Kazagan, who seized this position by force during the time of Kazan Khan. A split began to emerge in relations between Timur and Hussein, and each of them began to prepare for a decisive battle. In this situation, Timur was greatly supported by the clergy in the person of the Termez seids, the Samarkand sheikh-ul-Islam and Mir Seyid Bereke, who became Timur's spiritual mentor.
Having moved from Sali-Saray to Balkh, Hussein began to strengthen the fortress. He decided to act by deception and cunning. Hussein sent Timur an invitation to a meeting in the Chakchak gorge to sign a peace treaty, and as proof of his friendly intentions, he promised to swear on the Koran. Going to the meeting, Timur, just in case, took two hundred horsemen with him, Hussein brought a thousand of his soldiers and for this reason the meeting did not take place. Timur recalled this case as follows: “I sent a letter to Emir Hussein with a Turkic beit of the following content:
Who intends to deceive me,
It will lay itself in the ground, I'm sure.
Showing its insidiousness,
He himself will perish from it.
When my letter reached Emir Hussein, he was extremely embarrassed and asked for forgiveness, but the second time I did not believe him. "
Gathering all his strength, Timur crossed over to the other side of the Amu Darya. The forward units of his troops were commanded by Suyurgatmysh-oglan, Ali Muayyad and Hussein Barlas. On the way to the village of Biya, Barak, the leader of the Andkhud Sayinda, advanced to meet the army and handed him the kettledrum and the banner of the supreme power. On the way to Balkh, Timur was joined by Jaku Barlas who arrived from Karkara with his army and Emir Kaykhusrav from Khuttalan, and on the other bank of the river the Emir Zinda Chashm from Shibirgan, the Khazarians from Khulm and Badakhshan Muhammadshah also joined. Upon learning of this, many of Emir Hussein's warriors left him.
Before the battle, Timur gathered a kurultai, at which Suyurgatmysh Khan, the son of Kazan Khan, was elected Khan of Maverannahr. Not long before Timur was approved as “the great emir”, a certain good messenger, a sheikh from Mecca, came to him and said that he had a vision that he, Timur, would become a great ruler. On this occasion, he handed him a banner, a drum, a symbol of supreme power. But he personally does not take this supreme power, but remains by her side.
On April 10, 1370, Balkh was subdued, and Hussein was taken prisoner and killed by the ruler of Khutallan Kaykhusrav as a blood feud, since before that Hussein had killed his brother. A kurultai took place here, in which the Chagatai beks and emirs, high-ranking dignitaries of regions and tumans, Termezshakhs took part. Among them were Timur's former rivals and childhood friends: Bayan-suldus, emirs of Uljaytu, Kaihosrov, Zinda Chashm, Jaku-barlas and many others. Kurultai elected Timur the supreme emir of Turan, as the state of Timur was henceforth called, making him responsible for establishing the long-awaited peace, stability and order in the country. The marriage with the daughter of Chingizid Kazan-khan, the captive widow of Emir Hussein Sarai-mulk khanim, allowed Timur to add the honorary title "Guragan", that is, "(khan's) son-in-law" to his name.
At the kurultai, Timur took the oath of allegiance from all the military leaders of Maverannahr. Like his predecessors, he did not accept the khan's title and was content with the title of “great emir” - the descendant of Genghis Khan, Suyurgatmysh Khan (1370-1388), and then his son Mahmud Khan (1388-1402) were considered khans. Samarkand was chosen as the capital of the state. Timur began to fight for the creation of a centralized state.
Map of the Timurid empire in 1405.
Despite the laid foundation of statehood, Khorezm and Shibirgan, which belonged to the Chagatai ulus, did not recognize the new power in the person of Suyurgatmysh Khan and Emir Timur. There was restlessness on the southern and northern borders of the border, where Mogolistan and the White Horde caused trouble, often violating the borders and plundering villages. After the capture of Sygnak by Urus-khan and the transfer of the capital of the White Horde to it, Yassy (now Turkestan), Sairam and Maverannahr found themselves in even greater danger. It was necessary to take measures to protect and strengthen statehood.
Soon Balkh and Tashkent recognized the power of Emir Timur, but the Khorezm rulers continued to resist the Chagatai ulus, relying on the support of the Dashti Kipchak rulers. In 1371, the ruler of Khorezm attempted to seize southern Khorezm, which was part of the Chagatai ulus. Emir Timur demanded from Khorezm to return the seized lands first by peaceful means, sending first tavachi (quartermaster) to Gurganj, then sheikh-ul-Islam (head of the Muslim community), but the ruler of Khorezm Hussein Sufi refused to fulfill this demand both times, taking the ambassador prisoner. Subsequently, Emir Timur made five campaigns against Khorezm.
Mogolistan had to be conquered to ensure the security of the borders of the state. Mughal feudal lords often carried out predatory raids on Sairam, Tashkent, Fergana and Yassy. Especially big troubles were brought to the people by the raids of the Moghulistan ulusbegi of the emir Kamar ad-Din in 1370-1371.
From 1371 to 1390, Emir Timur made seven campaigns against Mogolistan, finally defeating the army of Kamar ad-Din and Anka-tur in 1390. Timur undertook the first two campaigns against Kamar ad-Din in the spring and autumn of 1371. The first campaign ended in a truce; during the second Timur, leaving Tashkent, moved towards the village of Yangi to Taraz. There he put the moguls to flight and captured a large prey.
In 1375 Timur made his third successful campaign. He left Sairam and passed through the Talas and Tokmak regions along the upper reaches of the Chu River, returning to Samarkand through Uzgen and Khojent. However, Qamar ad-Din was not defeated. When Timur's army returned to Maverannahr, Kamar ad-Din invaded Fergana in winter 1376 and laid siege to the city of Andijan. The governor of Fergana, Timur's third son Umar-sheikh, fled to the mountains. Furious, Timur rushed to Fergana and pursued the enemy for a long time beyond Uzgen and the Yassy mountains to the very valley of At-Bashi, the southern tributary of the upper Naryn.
In 1376-1377 Timur made his fifth campaign against Kamar ad-Din. He defeated his army in the gorges west of Issyk-Kul and pursued him to Kochkar. The Zafar-name mentions Timur's sixth campaign in the Issyk-Kul region against Kamar ad-Din in 1383, but the ulusbegi again managed to escape.
In 1389-1390 Timur stepped up his actions to finally defeat Kamar ad-Din. In 1389 he crossed Ili and crossed the Imil region in all directions, to the south and east of Lake Balkhash and around Ata-Kul. Meanwhile, his vanguard pursued the Mughals as far as the Black Irtysh, south of Altai. His forward detachments reached in the east as far as Kara Khoja, that is, almost as far as Turfan. In 1390, Kamar ad-din was finally defeated, and Mogolistan finally ceased to threaten the power of Timur. However, Timur reached only the Irtysh in the north, Alakul in the east, Emil and the headquarters of the Mongol khans Balig-Yulduz, but he could not conquer the lands east of the Tangri-tag and Kashgar mountains. Kamar ad-Din fled to the Irtysh and subsequently died of dropsy. Khizr-Khoja was established as Khan of Moghulistan.
In 1380, Timur set out on a campaign against Malik Giyas-ad-din Pir-Ali II, since he did not want to recognize himself as a vassal of Emir Timur and in response began to strengthen the defensive walls of his capital, the city of Herat. At the beginning, Timur sent an ambassador to him with an invitation to a kurultai in order to solve the problem peacefully, but Giyas ad-din Pir-Ali II rejected the offer, detaining the ambassador. In response to this, in April 1380, Timur sent ten regiments to the left bank of the Amu Darya. His troops captured the regions of Balkh, Shibirgan and Badkhyz. In February 1381, Emir Timur himself set out with troops and took Khorasan, the cities of Serakhs, Jami, Kausiya, Tue and Kelat, and the city of Herat was taken after a five-day siege. In addition to Kelat, Sebzevar was taken, as a result of which the Serbedar state finally ceased to exist.
In 1382, Timur's son Miran Shah was appointed the ruler of Khorasan. In 1383 Timur devastated Sistan and brutally suppressed the Serbedar uprising in Sebzevar.
In 1383 he took Sistan, in which the fortresses of Zirekh, Zaveh, Farah and Bust were defeated.
In 1384 he captured the cities of Astrabad, Amul, Sari, Sultania and Tabriz, actually capturing all of Persia.
The next goals of Tamerlane were to curb the Golden Horde and establish political influence in its eastern part and unite Mogolistan and Maverannahr, previously divided into a single state, which was called at one time the Chagatai ulus.
Realizing all the danger posed by the Golden Horde, from the very first days of his reign, Timur tried in every possible way to bring his protege to power there. The Khan of the White Horde, Urus Khan, tried to unite the once powerful ulus of Jochi, but his plans were prevented by the intensified struggle between the Jochids and the feudal lords of Desht-i Kipchak. According to Yuri Shpilkin, Urus Khan is fair-haired, with green eyes, one of the descendants of Genghis Khan's eldest son Jochi, whose mausoleum is 50 km away. from Zhezkazgan, who, in all likelihood, had ancestors from the Andronov Aryans - Saki or Scythians. Iranian-speaking and Turkic authors call him "Urus-khan Uzbeks", or simply Urus-khan, and behind the eyes of Kokkoz - Green-eyed or Blue-eyed. The word urus is a phonetic variant of the ethnonym Russian. The initial r- is alien to the Türkic languages, the word Russian has acquired the vowel and form of Urus, Orus, Orys. The fact that the founder of the dynasty of Kazakh khans was called Urus should not surprise us. The name or nickname Urus was quite widespread among the Turkic beks and Chingizids. According to modern researchers, the name Urus was usually given the name “fair-haired child”, and the birth of such was not so rare.
Urus Khan
Timur strongly supported Tokhtamysh-oglan, whose father died at the hands of Urus-khan, who eventually took the throne of the White Horde. However, after coming to power, Tokhtamysh Khan began to pursue a hostile policy towards the lands of Maverannahr. In 1387 Tokhtamysh together with the ruler of Khorezm Hussein Sufi made a predatory raid on Bukhara, which led to Timur's last campaign against Khorezm and further military actions against Tokhtamysh (Tamerlane made three campaigns against him, finally defeating him only in 1395).
Khan Tokhtamysh-oglan
The first, so-called "three-year" campaign to the western part of Persia and the adjacent regions Timur began in 1386. In November 1387, Timur's troops took Isfahan and captured Shiraz. Despite the successful start of the campaign, Timur was forced to return as a result of the invasion of Maverannahr by the Golden Horde Khan Tokhtamysh in alliance with the Khorezmians (1387).
A garrison of 6,000 soldiers was left in Isfahan, and Timur took its ruler Shah-Mansur from the Muzaffarid dynasty with him. Soon after the departure of the main troops of Timur, a popular uprising took place in Isfahan under the leadership of the blacksmith Ali Kuchek. The entire garrison of Timur was killed. Johann Schiltberger tells about Timur's retaliatory actions against Isfahan in his travel notes:
“The latter returned immediately, but for 15 days he could not take possession of the city. Therefore, he offered the inhabitants a truce on the condition that they hand over 12 thousand riflemen to his submission for some kind of campaign. When these soldiers were sent to him, he ordered to cut off their thumb on their hand, after which he sent them back to the city, which was soon taken by him by attack. Gathering the inhabitants, he ordered to kill everyone who was over 14 years old, sparing those who were less years old. The heads of those killed were piled in the form of a tower in the center of the city. Then he ordered the women and children to be taken out into the field outside the city, where he separated the children under the age of seven. After that, he ordered his soldiers to run over them with their horses. Tamerlane's own advisers and the mothers of these children fell on their knees before him and begged him to spare the children. But he did not heed their pleas, repeated his order, which, however, not a single soldier dared to carry out. Angry with them, Tamerlane himself ran into the children and said that he would like to know who would dare not follow him. Then the soldiers were forced to follow his example and trample the children with the hooves of their horses. In total, the trampled were counted about seven thousand. After that, he ordered to set fire to the city, and took the women and children to his capital Samarkand, where he had not been for 12 years. "
It should be noted that Schiltberger himself was not an eyewitness to these events, but learned about them from third parties while in the Middle East in the period from 1396 to 1427.
In 1388 Timur drove out the Tatars and took the capital of Khorezm, Urgench. By order of Timur, the Khorezmians who resisted were mercilessly exterminated, the city was destroyed to the ground, and barley was sown in its place. In fact, Urgench was not completely destroyed, since the masterpieces of Urgench architecture, built before Timur, have survived to this day, for example, the Il-Arslan mausoleum (XII century), the Khorezmshah Tekesh mausoleum (1200), etc.
In 1389, Timur made a devastating campaign deep into the Mongol possessions to the Irtysh in the north and to Bolshoi Zhyldyz in the east, and in 1391 - a campaign to the Golden Horde possessions to the Volga, defeating Tokhtamysh in the battle on the Kondurcha River. After that, Timur sent his troops against Mogolistan (1389-1390).
Timur began his second long, so-called "five-year" campaign in Iran in 1392. In the same year, Timur conquered the Caspian regions, in 1393 - western Persia and Baghdad, and in 1394 - Transcaucasia. Georgian sources provide several information about Timur's actions in Georgia, about the policy of Islamization of the country and the capture of Tbilisi, about the Georgian military alliance, etc. Tsar George VII by 1394 was able to carry out defensive measures on the eve of the next invasion - he gathered a militia, to which he joined Caucasian highlanders, including the Nakhs.
Tamerlane's army (attacks the Georgian city of Nerges.)
At first, the combined Georgian-mountain army had some success; they were even able to push back the advance detachments of the conquerors. Ultimately, however, Timur's approach with the main forces decided the outcome of the war. The defeated Georgians and Nakhs retreated north into the mountain gorges of the Caucasus. Given the strategic importance of the pass roads on North Caucasus, in particular, the natural fortress - the Darial Gorge, Timur decided to capture it. However, a huge mass of troops was so mingled in mountain gorges and gorges that it turned out to be incapable of combat. The defenders managed to kill so many people in the front ranks of the enemies that, unable to bear it, they "turned ... Timur's soldiers."
Timur appointed one of his son, Umar Sheikh, the ruler of Fars, and another son, Miran Shah, the ruler of Transcaucasia. Tokhtamysh's invasion of Transcaucasia provoked Timur's retaliatory campaign to Eastern Europe (1395); Timur finally defeated Tokhtamysh on the Terek and pursued him to the limits of the Moscow principality. With this defeat of the army of Khan Tokhtamysh, Tamerlane brought indirect benefits in the struggle of the Russian lands against the Tatar-Mongol yoke. In addition, as a result of Timur's victory, the northern branch of the Great Silk Road, passing through the lands of the Golden Horde, fell into decay. Trade caravans began to pass through the lands of Timur's state.
Pursuing the fleeing troops of Tokhtamysh, Timur invaded the Ryazan lands, ravaged Yelets, posing a threat to Moscow. Having launched an offensive on Moscow, he unexpectedly turned back on August 26, 1395 (possibly due to the uprisings of previously conquered peoples) and left the Moscow lands on the very day when Muscovites met the image of the Vladimir Icon Holy Mother of God brought from Vladimir (from that day on the icon is revered as the patroness of Moscow), Vitovt's army also went to help Moscow.
According to "Zafar-name" by Sharaf ad-Din Yazdi, Timur was on the Don after his victory over Tokhtamysh on the Terek River and until the defeat of the cities of the Golden Horde in the same year 1395. Timur personally pursued the retreating commanders of Tokhtamysh after the defeat until their complete defeat on the Dnieper. Most likely, according to this source, Timur did not set the goal of a campaign specifically on the Russian lands. Some of his troops approached the borders of Russia, but not himself. Here, on the comfortable summer pastures of the Horde, stretching in the floodplain of the Upper Don to modern Tula, a small part of his army stopped for two weeks. Although the local population did not offer serious resistance, the region was severely devastated. As evidenced by the Russian chronicle stories about the invasion of Timur, his army stood on both sides of the Don for two weeks, the land of Yelets was “captivated” and the prince of Yelets was “seized” (captured). Some coin hoards in the vicinity of Voronezh date back exactly to 1395. However, in the vicinity of Yelets, which, according to the aforementioned Russian written sources, was subjected to pogrom, treasures with such a dating on currently not found. Sharaf ad-Din Yazdi describes a large booty taken in the Russian lands and does not describe a single combat episode with the local population, although the main purpose of the "Book of Victories" ("Zafar-name") was to describe the exploits of Timur himself and the valor of his warriors. In "Zafar-name" contains a detailed list of Russian cities conquered by Timur, where there is also Moscow. Perhaps this is just a list of Russian lands that did not want armed conflict and sent their ambassadors with gifts.
Then Timur plundered the trading cities of Azov and Kafa, burned Sarai-Batu and Astrakhan, but the lasting conquest of the Golden Horde was not the goal of Tamerlane, and therefore the Caucasian ridge remained the northern border of Timur's possessions. The Horde cities of the Volga region never recovered from the ruin of Tamerlane until the final collapse of the Golden Horde. Many colonies of Italian merchants in the Crimea and in the lower reaches of the Don were also destroyed. The city of Tana (modern Azov) rose from the ruins for several decades.
In 1396 he returned to Samarkand and in 1397 appointed his youngest son Shah Rukh as the ruler of Khorasan, Sistan and Mazanderan.
Timur defeats Sultan of Delhi Nasir ad-Din Mahmud, winter 1397-1398, painting dated 1595-1600.
1398 Timur undertook a campaign against India, on the way the highlanders of Kafiristan were defeated. In December, Timur defeated the Delhi Sultan's army under the walls of Delhi and occupied the city without resistance, which a few days later was plundered by his army and burned. By order of Timur, 100 thousand captured Indian soldiers were executed for fear of a mutiny on their part. In 1399, Timur reached the banks of the Ganges, on the way back he took several more cities and fortresses and returned to Samarkand with huge booty.
Returning from India in 1399, Timur immediately began a "seven-year" campaign to Iran. This campaign was initially triggered by riots in the area ruled by Miran Shah. Timur deposed his son and defeated the enemies invading his domain. Moving westward, Timur collided with the Turkmen state of Kara-Koyunlu, the victory of Timur's troops forced the leader of the Turkmen, Kara Yusuf, to flee west to the Ottoman Sultan Bayazid Lightning. After that, Kara Yusuf and Bayazid agreed on joint action against Timur. Sultan Bayazid responded with a stinging refusal to Timur's demand to hand over Kara Yusuf to him.
In 1400, Timur began military operations against Bayazid, who captured Erzinjan, where Timur's vassal ruled, and against the Egyptian sultan Faraj al-Nasir, whose predecessor, Barkuk, ordered the assassination of Timur's ambassador back in 1393. In 1400, Timur took the fortresses of Kemak and Sivas in Asia Minor and Aleppo in Syria, which belonged to the Egyptian sultan, and in 1401 he occupied Damascus.
On July 28, 1402, Timur won a major victory over the Ottoman Sultan Bayezid I, defeating him at the Battle of Ankara. The sultan himself was taken prisoner.
Stanislav Khlebovsky, "Capture of Bayazid by Timur", 1878
As a result of the battle, Timur captured the whole of Asia Minor, and Bayazid's defeat led to the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, accompanied by peasant war and the feuds of his sons.
March of that very year 1402 (when the battle of Timur with Bayazid took place) marked a short article by a Russian chronicler, giving a remarkable in its scale generalization of a military and geopolitical nature: "... when a sign appears in the west, in the evening dawn, the star is great in an extremely spear fashion .. behold, show a sign, before the tongues rise up to fight each other: Turks, Lyakhs, Ugrians, Germans, Lithuania, Czechs, Horde, Greeks, Rus, and other many lands and countries are crumpled and pitted against each other; the seas have also begun appear ".
There is no exaggeration in this image of widespread strife between peoples: it was an era of truly tectonic shifts on the ethnic map of the Eurasian continent. The era of great battles and invasions (Kulikovo, Kosovo field, the destruction of Moscow by Tokhtamysh, the Battle of Nikopol, the Battle of Vorskla, Ankara, Grunwald, the Battle of Maritsa, the invasion of Edigey, the Hussite wars ...) covered the living space of most Slavic states and peoples. She deeply shocked the Orthodox world. The result of this era was the collapse of Byzantium, the birth of a new center of Orthodoxy in Moscow Russia.
The fortress of Smyrna, which belonged to the knights-johannites, which the Ottoman sultans could not take for 20 years, Timur seized by storm in two weeks. Western part Asia Minor in 1403 was returned to the sons of Bayazid, in the east, the local dynasties deposed by Bayazid were restored.
Upon his return to Samarkand, Timur planned to announce his eldest grandson Muhammad-Sultan (1375-1403) as his successor, who in his actions and mind was similar to his grandfather. However, in March 1403, he fell ill and died suddenly.
The fortress at Jiayuguan was strengthened for fear of Timur's invasion, while he decided to attack China.
When Timur was 68 years old - in the fall of 1404, he began to prepare an invasion of China. The main goal was to capture the rest of the Great Silk Road. to maximize profits and ensure the prosperity of his native Maverannahr and its capital Samarkand. Timur also believed that the entire space of the inhabited part of the world was not worth having two overlords. In August 1404, Timur returned to Samarkand and a few months later undertook a campaign against China, for which he began to prepare back in 1398. In that year, he built a fortress on the border of the present Syr-Darya region and Semirechye; now another fortification was built, 10 days further east, probably near Issyk-Kul. The campaign was terminated due to the onset of a cold winter, and in February 1405 Timur died.
Timur, who created a huge empire, established diplomatic ties with a number of states, including China, Egypt, Byzantium, France, England, Castile and others. In 1404, the ambassador of the Castilian king Gonzalez de Clavijo, Rui, visited the capital of his state, Samarkand. The originals of Timur's letters to the French king Charles VI have survived.
During the reign of Emir Timur, a set of laws was created, known as the Timur Code, which set out the rules of conduct for subjects and the duties of rulers and officials, as well as the rules for managing the army and the state.
When appointed to the post, the "great emir" demanded loyalty and loyalty from everyone. Timur appointed 315 people to high positions, who fought side by side with him from the very beginning of his political career. The first hundred were appointed by the ten's managers, the second hundred by the centurions, and the third by the thousand's managers. Of the remaining fifteen people, four were appointed beks, one was the supreme emir, and the others were appointed to the remaining high posts.
The judicial system was divided into three stages: 1. Judge of Sharia (Qadi) - who was guided in his activities by the established norms of Sharia; 2. Judge ahdos - who was guided in his activities by the customs and customs of the society. 3. Kazi askar - who was in charge of military proceedings. All were equal before the law, both rulers and subjects.
The viziers under the leadership of Divan-Begi were responsible for the general position of the subjects and the troops, for the financial condition of the country and the activities of state institutions. If information was received that the finance vizier appropriated part of the treasury for himself, then this was checked and, upon confirmation, one of the decisions was made: if the assigned amount was equal to his salary (uluf), then this amount was given to him as a gift. If the appropriated amount was twice the salary, then the excess was withheld. If the appropriated amount was three times higher than the established salary, then everything was taken away in favor of the treasury.
Emirs, like the viziers, were appointed from a noble family and had to possess such qualities as insight, courage, enterprise, caution and thrift, conduct business, comprehensively considering the consequences of each step. They had to "know the secrets of fighting, how to disperse the enemy troops, not lose their presence of mind in the midst of a battle and be able to lead troops without trembling and hesitation, and in case of a breakdown of the battle order, be able to restore it without delay."
The law secured the protection of soldiers and common people. The Code obliged village and district elders, tax collectors and khakims (local rulers) to pay a fine to a commoner in the amount of damage caused to him. If a warrior caused harm, then it should have been handed over to the victim, and he himself determined the punishment for him.
As far as possible, the code secured the protection of the people in the conquered lands from humiliation and plunder.
A separate article is devoted in order to pay attention to the beggars, who should be gathered in a certain place, given them food and work, and also branded them. If after that they continued to beg, then they should have been expelled from the country.
Emir Timur paid attention to the purity and morality of his people, he introduced the concept of the inviolability of the law and ordered not to rush to punish criminals, but to carefully check all the circumstances of the case and only after that make a verdict. The faithful Muslims were explained the basics of religion for the establishment of Sharia and Islam, taught tafsir (interpretation of the Koran), hadith (collections of legends about the Prophet Muhammad) and fiqh (Muslim jurisprudence). Also, ulema (scientists) and mudarris (madrasah teachers) were appointed to each city.
The legal documents of Timur's state were drawn up in two languages: Persian and Chagatai. For example, a document dated 1378 giving privileges to the descendants of Abu Muslim who lived in Khorezm was drawn up in the Chagatai Turkic language.
Tamerlane and his warriors. Miniature
Timur had a huge army of up to 200 thousand soldiers at his disposal. Representatives of various tribes fought as part of Timur's army: Barlas, Durbats, Nukuz, Naimans, Kipchaks, Dulats, Kiyats, Jalair, Sulduz, Merkits, Yasavuri, Kauchin, Kangly, etc.
The military organization of troops was built like the Mongols in a decimal system: tens, hundreds, thousands, tumens (10 thousand). Among the sectoral administration bodies there was a wazirat (ministry) for military affairs (sepoys).
Relying on the rich experience of his predecessors, Tamerlane was able to create a powerful and efficient army, which allowed him to win brilliant victories on the battlefield over his opponents. This army was a multinational and multi-confessional association, the core of which was the Turkic-Mongolian nomadic warriors. Tamerlane's army was divided into cavalry and infantry, the role of which greatly increased at the turn of the XIV-XV centuries. Nevertheless, the bulk of the army was made up of nomadic cavalry units, the backbone of which consisted of elite units of heavily armed cavalrymen, as well as units of Tamerlane's bodyguards. The infantry often played a supporting role, but was necessary in the siege of fortresses. The infantry was mostly lightly armed and consisted mainly of archers, but the army also consisted of heavily armed infantry shock troops.
In addition to the main types of troops (heavy and light cavalry, as well as infantry), Tamerlane's army included detachments of pontoons, workers, engineers and other specialists, as well as special infantry units specializing in military operations in mountainous conditions (they were recruited from the inhabitants of mountain villages). The organization of Tamerlane's army generally corresponded to the decimal organization of Genghis Khan, however, a number of changes appeared (for example, units of 50 to 300 people, called "koshuns", appeared, the number of larger units, "kul", was also unstable).
The main weapon of the light cavalry, like the infantry, was the bow. Light cavalrymen also used sabers or swords and axes. The heavily armed horsemen were clad in armor (the most popular armor was chain mail, often reinforced with metal plates), protected by helmets, and fought with sabers or swords (in addition to bows and arrows, which were ubiquitous).
During his campaigns, Timur used banners with the image of three rings. According to some historians, the three rings symbolized earth, water and sky. According to Svyatoslav Roerich, Timur could borrow a symbol from the Tibetans, in whom three rings meant the past, present and future. Some miniatures depict the red banners of Timur's army. During the Indian campaign, a black banner with a silver dragon was used. Before the campaign against China, Tamerlane ordered to depict a golden dragon on the banners.
There is a legend that before the battle of Ankara, Timur and Bayazid Lightning met on the battlefield. Bayazid, looking at Timur's banner, said: "What the audacity to think that the whole world belongs to you!" In response, Timur, pointing to the Turk's banner, said: "It is even more impudent to think that the moon belongs to you."
During the years of his conquests, Timur brought into the country not only material booty, but also brought with him prominent scientists, artisans, artists, architects. He believed that the more there will be in the cities cultured people, the faster its development will go and the more comfortable the cities of Maverannahr and Turkestan will be. In the course of his conquests, he put an end to political fragmentation in Persia and the Middle East, trying to leave a memory of himself in every city he visited, he built several beautiful buildings in it. So, for example, he restored the cities of Baghdad, Derbend, Baylakan, forts destroyed on the roads, parking lots, bridges, irrigation systems.
Timur was primarily concerned about the prosperity of his native Maverannahr and about raising the splendor of his capital, Samarkand. Timur brought craftsmen, architects, jewelers, builders, architects from all the conquered lands in order to equip the cities of his empire: the capital Samarkand, his father's homeland - Kesh (Shakhrisyabz), Bukhara, the border town of Yassy (Turkestan). All his care, which he put into the capital Samarkand, he managed to express through the words about it: “There will always be blue sky and golden stars over Samarkand”. Only in recent years did he take measures to raise the welfare of other regions of the state, mainly bordering (in 1398 a new irrigation canal was built in Afghanistan, in 1401 in the Transcaucasus, etc.).
In 1371, he began the restoration of the destroyed fortress of Samarkand, the defensive walls of Shahristan with six gates, and two four-storey buildings Kuksaray were built in the arch, in which the state treasury, workshops and a prison were located, as well as Buston-Saray, in which the emir's residence was located.
Timur made Samarkand one of the centers of trade in Central Asia. As the traveler Clavijo writes: “Goods brought from China, India, Tatarstan (Dasht-i Kipchak - BA) and other places, as well as from the richest kingdom of Samarkand, are sold annually in Samarkand. Since there were no special lanes in the city where it would be convenient to trade, Timurbek ordered to build a street through the city, on both sides of which there would be shops and tents for the sale of goods. "
Timur paid great attention to the development of Islamic culture and the improvement of sacred places for Muslims. In the mausoleums of Shahi Zinda, he erected tombs over the graves of his relatives, at the direction of one of his wives, whose name was Tuman aka, a mosque, a dervish abode, a tomb and a Chartagh were erected there. He also erected Rukhabad (burial vault of Burkhaniddin Sogardzhi), Qutbi chakhardakhum (tomb of Sheikh Khoja Nuriddin Basir) and Gur-Emir (family tomb of the Timurid clan). Also in Samarkand, he erected many baths, mosques, madrasahs, dervish monasteries, caravanserais.
During 1378-1404 in Samarkand and nearby lands, 14 gardens of Bag-zogcha (garden of rooks) and others were cultivated. Each of these gardens had a palace and fountains. In his writings, the historian Hafizi Abru mentions Samarkand, in which he writes that “Samarkand, built earlier from clay, was rebuilt by erecting buildings of stone”. Park complexes of Timur were open to ordinary townspeople who spent days of rest there. None of these palaces have survived to this day.
In 1399-1404, a cathedral mosque and a madrasah were built in Samarkand. The mosque was later named Bibi Khanum (Mrs. grandmother - in Turkic).
Cathedral Mosque of Timur
Shakhrisabz (in Tajik "green city") was developed, in which destroyed city walls, defensive structures, tombs of saints, majestic palaces, mosques, madrasahs, tombs were erected. Timur also devoted time to building bazaars and baths. From 1380 to 1404, the Aksaray palace was built. In 1380, the family tomb Dar us-saadat was erected.
The cities of Yassy and Bukhara were also equipped.
In 1388, the city of Shakhrukhiya was restored, which was destroyed during the invasion of Genghis Khan.
In 1398, after the victory over the Khan of the Golden Horde Tokhtamysh, in Turkestan a mausoleum was built over the grave of the poet and Sufi philosopher Khoja Akhmad Yassavi by order of Timur by Iranian and Khorezm masters. Here, a Tabriz master cast a two-ton copper boiler, in which they were supposed to prepare food for those in need.
Applied art became widespread in Maverannahr, in which artists could show all their mastery of their skills. It got its distribution in Bukhara, Yassy and Samarkand. Drawings in the tombs of Shirinbek-aga and Tuman-aga, made in 1385 and 1405, respectively, have survived. The art of miniature was especially developed, which adorned such books of writers and poets of Maverannahr as "Shahnameh" by Abulkasim Ferdowsi and "Anthology of Iranian Poets". At that time, the artists Abdulhai, Pir Ahmad Bagishamali and Khoja Bangir Tabrizi achieved great success in art.
In the tomb of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi, located in Turkestan, there was a large cast-iron cauldron and candlesticks with the name of Emir Timur inscribed on them. A similar candlestick was also found in the tomb of Gur-Emir in Samarkand. All this testifies to the fact that Central Asian craftsmen have also achieved great success, especially wood and stone craftsmen and jewelers with weavers.
In the field of science and education, jurisprudence, medicine, theology, mathematics, astronomy, history, philosophy, musicology, literature and the science of versification have spread. Jalaliddin Ahmed al Khorezmi was a prominent theologian at that time. Maulana Ahmad achieved great success in astrology, and Abdumalik, Isamiddin and Sheikh Shamsiddin Muhammad Jazairi in jurisprudence. In musicology, Abdulgadir Maragi, father and son of Safiaddin and Ardasher Changi. In painting Abdulhai Baghdadi and Pir Ahmad Bagishamoli. In philosophy Sadiddin Taftazzani and Ali al-Jurjani. In the history of Nizamiddin Shami and Hafizi Abru.
The first spiritual mentor of Timur was the mentor of his father - the Sufi sheikh Shams ad-din Kulyal. Also known are Zainuddin Abu Bakr Taybadi, a large Khorosan sheikh and Shamsuddin Fakhuri - a potter, a prominent figure in the Naqshbandi tariqah. The main spiritual mentor of Timur was a descendant of the Prophet Muhammad, Sheikh Mir Seyid Bereke. It was he who gave Timur the symbols of power: a drum and a banner when he came to power in 1370. Handing over these symbols, Mir Seyid Bereke predicted a great future for the emir. He accompanied Timur on his long campaigns. In 1391 he blessed him before the battle with Tokhtamysh. In 1403, they mourned together the unexpectedly deceased heir to the throne - Muhammad Sultan. Mir Seyid Bereke was buried in the Gur Emir mausoleum, where Timur himself was buried at his feet. Another mentor of Timur was the son of the Sufi sheikh Burkhan ad-din Sagardzhi Abu Said. Timur ordered to build the Rukhabad mausoleum over their graves.
Rukhabad mausoleum in Samarkand
He had 18 wives, of whom his beloved wife was the sister of Emir Hussein - Uljay-Turkan aga. According to another version, his beloved wife was the daughter of Kazan-khan Sarai-mulk khanim. She did not have children of her own, but she was entrusted with the upbringing of some of Timur's sons and grandchildren. She was a renowned patron of the arts and sciences. By her order, a huge madrasah and a mausoleum were built in Samarkand for her mother.
In 1352 Timur married Turmush-aga, the daughter of Emir Jaku-barlas. Khan Maverannahr Kazagan, convinced of Timur's merits, in 1355 gave him his granddaughter Uldzhai-Turkan aga as his wife. Thanks to this marriage, an alliance between Timur and Emir Hussein, the grandson of Kazagan, arose.
In addition, Timur had other wives: Tugdi bi, daughter of Ak Sufi kungrat, Ulus aga from the Sulduz tribe, Nauruz aga, Bakht sultan aga, Burkhan aga, Tavakkul-khanim, Turmish aga, Jani-bik aga, Chulpan aga, etc.
Mausoleum of the sons of Timur Jahangir and Umar Sheikh in Shakhrisabz
Timur had four sons: Jahangir (1356-1376), Umar Sheikh (1356-1394), Miran Shah (1366-1408), Shahrukh (1377-1447) and several daughters: Uka run (1359-1382), Sultan Bakht agha (1362-1430), Bigi jan, Saadat sultan, Musalla.
Mausoleum of Emir Timur in Samarkand.
He died during a campaign in China. After the end of the seven-year war, during which Bayazid I was defeated, Timur began preparations for the Chinese campaign, which he had long planned because of China's claims to the lands of Maverannahr and Turkestan. He gathered a large two hundred thousandth army, with which he set out on a campaign on November 27, 1404. In January 1405, he arrived in the city of Otrar (its ruins are near the confluence of the Arys and the Syr-Darya), where he fell ill and died (according to historians, on February 18, according to Timur's tombstone, on the 15th). The body was embalmed, placed in an ebony coffin covered with silver brocade, and taken to Samarkand. Tamerlane was buried in the Gur Emir mausoleum, which was still unfinished at that time. Official mourning events were held on March 18, 1405 by Timur's grandson Khalil-Sultan (1405-1409), who seized the Samarkand throne against the will of his grandfather, who bequeathed the kingdom to his eldest grandson Pir-Muhammad.
After the death of Tamerlane, a tomb was built - the majestic mausoleum of Gur-Emir, where a jade sarcophagus with the ashes of Tamerlane and two smaller marble sarcophagi with the ashes of his beloved wives are placed.
The Russian politician and public figure Illarion Vasilchikov, who traveled around Central Asia, recalled his visit to Gur-Emir in Samarkand: ... Inside the mausoleum, in the middle, there was a large sarcophagus of Tamerlane himself, all of dark green jade, with ornaments and sayings from the Koran carved on it, and on the sides of it are two smaller sarcophagi of white marble - the beloved wives of Tamerlane.
According to the legend, the source and time of origin of which is not possible to establish, there was a prediction that if the ashes of Tamerlane were disturbed, a great and terrible war would begin.
In the tomb of Timur Gur Emir in Samarkand, on a large dark green jade gravestone in Arabic script in Arabic and Persian, it is inscribed:
“This is the tomb of the great Sultan, the merciful Khakan, Emir Timur Gurgan; son of Emir Taragay, son of Emir Bergul, son of Emir Aylangir, son of Emir Anjil, son of Kara Charnuyan, son of Emir Sigunchinchin, son of Emir Irdanchi-Barlas, son of Emir Kachulai, son of Tumnay Khan. This is the 9th generation.
Genghis Khan comes from the same family from which the grandfathers of the praiseworthy Sultan buried in this sacred and beautiful tomb descend: Hakan-Chingiz-son. Emir Maysukai-Bahadur, son of Emir Barnan-Bahadur, son of Kabul-Khan, son of the aforementioned Tumnay-Khan, son of Emir Baisungara, son of Kaidu-Khan, son of Emir Tutumtin, son of Emir-Buk, son of Emir-Buzanjar.
Who wants to know further, let it be known: the mother of the latter was called Alankuva, who was distinguished by her honesty and her impeccable morality. She once became pregnant from a wolf who appeared to her in the opening of the room and, assuming the form of a man, announced that he was a descendant of the ruler of the faithful, Aliyah, the son of Abu Talib. This testimony given by her was taken as true. Her praiseworthy descendants will rule the world forever.
He died on the night of 14 Shahban in 807 (1405). "
At the bottom of the stone there is an inscription: "This stone was put by Ulugbek Gurgan after the campaign to Jitta."
Several less reliable sources also report that the tombstone bears the following inscription: "When I rise (from the dead), the world will shudder." Some unconfirmed documents claim that when the grave was opened in 1941, the inscription was found inside the coffin: "Anyone who breaks my peace in this life or in the next will be subjected to suffering and perish."
Another legend says: In 1747, the Iranian Nadir Shah took this tombstone from jade, and on that day Iran was destroyed by an earthquake, and the Shah himself fell seriously ill. The earthquake was repeated when the Shah returned to Iran and the stone was returned.
From the memoirs of Malik Kayumov, who was a cameraman at the opening of the grave: I entered the nearest teahouse, I look - there are three ancient old men sitting there. I also noted to myself: they are alike, like siblings. Well, I sat down nearby, they brought me a kettle and a bowl. Suddenly one of these old men turns to me: "Son, you are one of those who decided to open the grave of Tamerlane?" And I take it and say: "Yes, I am the most important in this expedition, without me all these scientists - nowhere!" With a joke I decided to drive away my fear. Only, I see, the old men frowned even more in response to my smile. And the one who spoke to me beckons to him. I come closer, I look, in his hands is a book - old, handwritten, the pages are filled with Arabic script. And the old man leads his finger along the lines: “Look, sonny, what is written in this book. “Whoever opens the grave of Tamerlane will release the spirit of war. And there will be a massacre so bloody and terrible, such as the world has not seen forever and ever "" ...
An article from the Izvestia newspaper dated 22.06.1941
He decided to tell the others, and he was laughed at. It was June 20th. Scientists disobeyed and opened the grave, and on the same day the Great Patriotic War... No one was able to find those elders: the owner of the teahouse said that on that day, June 20, he saw the old people for the first and last time.
The autopsy of Tamerlane's tomb was carried out on the night of June 20, 1941. Later, as a result of the study of the commander's skull, the appearance of Tamerlane was recreated by the Soviet anthropologist M.M. Gerasimov.
However, a plan for a war with the USSR was developed at Hitler's headquarters back in 1940, the date of the invasion was limitedly known in the spring of 1941 and was finally determined on June 10, 1941, that is, long before the opening of the grave. The signal to the troops that the offensive should begin as planned was transmitted on June 20.
According to Kayumov, while at the front, he achieved a meeting with General of the Army Zhukov in October 1942, explained the situation and offered to return Tamerlane's ashes back to the grave. This was done on November 19-20, 1942; these days there was a turning point in the Battle of Stalingrad.
The criticism of Aini by the Kayumovs provoked counter-criticism from the Tajik society. Another version of events, belonging to Kamal Sadreddinovich Aini (the son of a writer who participated in the excavations), was published in 2004. According to her, the book was dated to the end of the 19th century, and Kayumov did not know Farsi, so he did not understand the content of the conversation and thought that Aini had shouted at the elders. The words written in Arabic in the margins are "these are traditional sayings, which are similarly applied to the burials of Ismail Somoni, and Khoja Akhrar, and Khazrati Bogoutdin and others, in order to protect burials from easy money seekers looking for value in the graves of historical figures." , as he said to the old people.
When everyone left the crypt, I saw three elders talking in Tajik with my father, with A. A. Semyonov and T. N. Kary-Niyazov. One of the elders was holding an old book in his hand. He opened it and said in Tajik: “This book is old-written. It says that whoever touches Timurlan's grave will be overtaken by misfortune, war. " All those present exclaimed: "O Allah, save us from troubles!" S. Aini took this book, put on his glasses, looked through it carefully and addressed the elder in Tajik: "Dear, do you believe in this book?"
Answer: "Why, it begins with the name of Allah!"
S. Aini: "And what kind of book is this, you know?"
Answer: "An important Muslim book that begins with the name of Allah and protects the people from disasters."
S. Aini: “This book, written in Farsi, is just“ Jangnoma ”- a book about battles and fights, a collection of fantastic stories about certain heroes. And this book was compiled only recently, at the end of the 19th century. And the words that you say about Timurlan's grave are written in the margin of the book with the other hand. By the way, you probably know that according to Muslim traditions, it is generally considered a sin to open graves and sacred places - mazars. And those words about the grave of Timurlan are traditional sayings that similarly exist in relation to the burials of Ismail Somoni, and Khoja Akhrar, and Khazrati Bogoutdin Balogardon and others, in order to protect burials from easy money seekers looking for value in the graves of historical figures. But for scientific purposes in different countries, like ours, they opened ancient burial grounds and graves of historical figures. Here is your book, study it and think with your head. "
T.N.Kary-Niyazov took the book into his hands, looked it over carefully and nodded his head in agreement with S. Aini. Then he took the book into the hands of Malik Kayumov, whom everyone there called "Suratgir" (photographer). And I saw that he was turning the pages not from the beginning of the book, as it should be from right to left, but, on the contrary, in a European way from left to right. - From S. Aini's diary
According to sources, Timur was fond of playing chess (more precisely, in shatranj).
Iranian shatranj.
In Bashkir mythology, there is an ancient legend about Tamerlane. According to him, it was by order of Tamerlane in 1395-96 that the mausoleum of Hussein-bek, the first disseminator of Islam among the Bashkir tribes, was built, since the commander, having accidentally found a grave, decided to show him great honors as a person who spread Muslim culture. The legend is confirmed by six graves of the princes-military leaders at the mausoleum, who for unknown reasons perished along with part of the army during the winter camp. However, who exactly ordered the construction, Tamerlane or one of his generals, is not known for certain. Now the mausoleum of Khusein-bek is located on the territory of the village of Chishmy, Chishminsky district of the Republic of Bashkortostan.
By the will of history, personal belongings that belonged to Timur were scattered across various museums and private collections. For example, the so-called Timur's Ruby, which adorned his crown, is currently kept in London.
Timur's personal sword was kept in the Tehran Museum.
The official history of Tamerlane was written during his lifetime, first by Ali-ben Jemal-al-Islam (the only copy is in the Tashkent public library), then Nizam ad-din Shami (the only copy is in the British Museum). These works were superseded by the well-known work of Sheref ad-din Ezdi (under Shah Rukh) translated into French ("Histoire de Timur-Bec", P., 1722). The work of another contemporary of Timur and Shakhrukh, Hafizi-Abru, has come down to us only in part; it was used by the author of the second half of the 15th century, Abd-ar-Rezzak Samarkandi (the work has not been published; many manuscripts).
Of the authors (Persian, Arab, Armenian, Ottoman and Byzantine) who wrote independently of Timur and the Timurids, only one, the Syrian Arab Ibn Arabshah, compiled the complete history of Timur ("Ahmedis Arabsiadae vitae et rerum gestarum Timuri, qui vulgo Tamerlanes dicitur, historia" , 1767-1772).
Wed See also F. Neve "Expose des guerres de Tamerlan et de Schah-Rokh dans l'Asie occidentale, d'apres la chronique armenienne inedite de Thomas de Madzoph" (Brussels, 1859).
The authenticity of Timur's autobiographical notes, allegedly discovered in the 16th century, is more than doubtful.
Of the works of European travelers, the diary of the Spaniard Clavijo is especially valuable ("Diary of a trip to Timur's court in Samarkand in 1403-1406", text with translation and notes, St. Petersburg, 1881, in the "Collection of the Department of Russian Language and Literature of the Imperial Academy of Sciences", v. XXVIII, No. 1).
People's writer of Uzbekistan, Soviet author Borodin Sergei Petrovich began writing an epic novel entitled "Stars over Samarkand". The first book, published under the title "Lame Timur", he wrote in the period from 1953 to 1954. The second book entitled "Campfires of the Campaign" was completed by 1958, and the third book "Lightning Bayazet" was completed by 1971, the publication of which was completed by the journal "Friendship of Nations" by 1973. The author also worked on a fourth book called The White Horse, however, having written only four chapters, he died.
The theme with Tamerlane and his curse is played up in the novel "Day Watch" by Sergei Lukyanenko, according to the plot of which Tamerlane finds a special chalk with which it is possible to change fate with one chalk outline.
Edgar Allan Poe - the poem "Tamerlane".
Timur appears as a sovereign in many parables about Khoja Nasreddin.
Timur the Magnificent
According to Alexander Vorobyov: Even during his lifetime, such a strong knot of contradictions was intertwined around the appearance and deeds of Timur Gurigan - Timur the Magnificent that it is no longer possible to cut it today. He even went down in history under none of his names: Timur, Tamerbek, Timur Gurigan, but under the nickname given to him by his enemies because of his lameness - “Lame Timur”. Otherwise - Aksak-Timur in Turkic, Timur-leng in Persian, Tamerlane in European languages. And since then we have called the invincible emir an insulting nickname - Tamerlane.
The news of his campaigns instantly reached the Europeans, and they, too, began to tremble before the name of the "Great Lame".
Europe swept another attack horror, she expected the invasion of the Central Asian hordes. Timur then defeated and captured at Angor (Ankara) the great Ottoman Sultan Bayazid I of Lightning (Thunder) - the son of Osman Murad, who was killed in the Kosovo field by the Serbian prince Lazar in 1389. But the Lightning Sultan was considered invincible: before that he conquered Anatolia and most Balkan. After a long blockade from 1394 to 1400, he almost captured Constantinople. It was he who put an end to the crusades against Muslims, defeating the army of the crusaders near Nikopol (Bulgaria) in 1396. This defeat for many years discouraged Europeans from rattling their weapons in the East. And this great Ottoman was defeated and captured!
The Genoese raised the Tamerbek standard over the towers of the Pera fortress in the Golden Horn Bay. The Emperor of Constantinople and the Sultan of Egypt hastened to recognize Timur's authority and offered to pay tribute. King Henry IV of England and Charles VI of France congratulated the Emir on his great victory in the most benevolent tone. King Henry III of Castile of Spain sent his ambassadors to Tamerbek, led by the valiant knight Rui Gonzalez de Clavijo. Europe was preparing for the worst; it was expecting the invasion of Tamerbek. But Timur Gurigan once again surprised everyone - his soldiers turned their war horses back towards Samarkand.
Timur's numerous historiographers have described all aspects of his life. They paid so much attention to him that they collected any information about him, even the most ridiculous. Therefore, many of the surviving testimonies are not just contradictory - they sometimes lead to complete bewilderment. So, medieval biographers and memoirists note the phenomenal memory of Timur, his command of Turkish and Persian, say that his knowledge of numerous stories from the lives of great conquerors and heroes helped him to inspire soldiers before the battle. And at the same time, the same sources claim that Tamerbek was illiterate. How could it happen that a person who knew several languages could not read, while possessing a phenomenal memory? Why then did he need to keep personal readers with him if they could not teach Tamerbek to read? How then did he manage his great empire, led the army, determined the number of his troops, the amount of the remaining forage? How could an illiterate person amaze the greatest of Muslim historians Ibn Khaldun with his knowledge of history? The most controversial interpretation of historians is an attempt to present Timur in the image of a ruthless butcher who exterminates his opponents, carving out entire cities. If you believe this version, it turns out that Tamerbek is not a great warrior and builder, but a beast in the form of a human.
Apparently, he was an educated person, his maternal grandfather Sadr al-Shari "and a famous scholar of one of the Shariah directions - Hanafi. He was the author of Sharh al-Wikaya, a commentary on al-Wakaya, which in turn is a commentary on al - The Marghinans are al-Khidaya, which is a classic guide to the laws of Hanafi. He may also be the famous traveler of Ibn Batut.
According to Victor Tukmachev: In 1852. "Kazanskie provincial vedomosti" published excerpts from the work of the Bulgarian chronicler Sherif-Eddin, where it was said: "... Khan Temir-Aksak, having ruined the Devil's settlement, visited the graves of the followers of Mohammed, located at the mouth of the river Toima, which flows into the Kama under the settlement. .. "
Historians deeply doubt the fact that Tamerlane was in Yelabuga. Elabuga residents have a legend about why the Devil's settlement was not destroyed by the legendary Tamerlane. Allegedly, the besieged carried out the will of the "iron lame" and surrounded the entire tower from the base to the top with the severed heads of their soldiers. According to this little-known legend, Timur laid siege to the fortress and imminent death threatened all those besieged. A secret underground passage, along which one could go to a safe place, was discovered by Timur's warriors and filled up. It was still possible to defend the fortress: there were people, there were forces and weapons. It just didn't make sense. Everyone would die. And then all the people living here would disappear. Timur, famous not only for his cruelty, but also for keeping his word, said that he would leave alive those who would hide in the extreme tower of the fortress (it was the smallest one). But at the same time, the tower itself from top to bottom should be covered with severed human heads. And not those warriors who had already died in the battle with Tamerlane, but the heads of those defenders of the fortress who are still alive and ready to fight.
After a painful night conference, women and children entered the indicated tower (they had to revive great people, who lived here for centuries), and in the morning the warriors chopped off each other's heads and folded them near the tower so that the tower disappeared under the pyramid of human heads ... Tamerlane kept his word: the tower remained intact, and those who took refuge in it remained alive. The people were reborn. But at what cost!
Archaeologists have not found a single confirmation. Not a single significant fragment has been found, nor any of the towers constructed from the "severed heads".
How can we take on faith all the reports about the atrocities of Tamerbek, if we know that during the monstrous night of St. Bartholomew on August 24, 1572, Catholics in Paris slaughtered their "brothers in the Christian faith", but were able to destroy only 3 thousand Huguenots? And then more than 30 thousand were exterminated throughout France. Moreover, the Catholics prepared for this operation for a long time and carefully. Timur, on the assurances of some historians, spontaneously destroyed hundreds of thousands of people.
It should not be forgotten that people were then common prey that could be resold profitably. Slaves are money. Who will destroy their property with their own hands? Why did Timur want to slaughter civilians if he could always sell them?
Most likely, the example of the distorted history with the emir once again proves how skillfully it can be done, how skillfully it is to reshape history. After all, a lie, repeated many times and by many, becomes the truth. It is not who you are that matters, it is what others say about you. So with Timur, apparently, this history, as ancient as the world, was repeated: the image of a butcher was created from a warrior and a builder.
The lot of the rootless
Numerous biographers of Timur, vividly describing his campaigns and deeds, left very little information about his appearance. Moreover, many of them contradict the idea of Timur's belonging to the Mongolian tribe of Barlas. So, Ibn Arabshah, an Arab captured by the emir, informs us that Timur was tall, had a large head, and a high forehead. He was very strong and brave, strong built, with broad shoulders... He wore a long beard, limped on his right leg, spoke in a low voice, and turned gray early. The skin color was white!
The most interesting "portrait" of Tamerbek was obtained by the anthropologist M.M. Gerasimov, who, as you know, was able to reconstruct the image of the emir.
Based on the remains recovered during excavations in the Gur-Emir mausoleum on the night of June 22, 1941, Gerasimov scientifically confirmed Tamerbek's limp and dry hands. Gerasimov presented the results of his work in the article "Portrait of Tamerlane". If you carefully read the conclusions made by Gerasimov, it turns out that Timur was ... a European!
However, the evidence that Timur comes from a Turkic Mongolian clan is such a document that will give the right to categorically refuse to consider Iranian and Indian miniatures that endow Timur with the typical features of an Indo-European.
Timur's image by a French artist of the 16th century
More recently, it was customary to stigmatize Timur. Visitors to the Gur-Emir mausoleum were sure to be told about the monstrous cruelty of the Great Conqueror, about the sufferings of the peoples he defeated. Today Tamerbek is the personified national idea of Uzbekistan. He is everywhere. Monuments are erected to him, he looks from banknotes, historical science is only concerned with him and his descendants, the Timurids. His name crowns the highest state awards- On April 26, 1996, the law “On the Establishment of the Order of Emir Timur” was adopted.
Students study his life and deeds. It seems to foreigners who come to Uzbekistan that, apart from Timur and his descendants, no one has lived here before. And the canonization of Timur began with a very remarkable event. In Soviet times, a bust of Karl Marx, made of red marble, stood in the center of Tashkent. In early 1995, the statue of a communist theorist was demolished, and a monument to an Asian hero from the distant past was erected in its place. After his death, Timur won a victory over Marx. And now the glitter of the greatness of his empire, stretching from Egyptian pyramids to the Great Wall of China, illuminates the future of Uzbekistan.
The war cried with bloody eyes of wounds.
The spiky row of her teeth is bared with a smile.
Ibn Hamdis
Tamerlane went down in history as an outstanding military leader and cruel ruler. So, at the beginning of his military career, he was once overtaken by a thousandth enemy army. At that time, Timur himself had only 60 soldiers. But he was not afraid to enter into battle with his small detachment and won - after a bloody battle he had only ten people out of sixty, and his opponents had 50 people out of a thousand, after which Timur's enemies fled.
In 1395, Tamerlane was about sixty years old. He was a man of medium height but strong build. One of his legs was damaged in his youth, but those around him hardly noticed his limp. Timur's voice was loud, spreading far across the area, which helped him a lot to lead his soldiers in the roar of the battle. Until old age, despite constant battles and campaigns, he was in good health. Only his eyesight began to deteriorate by the age of seventy.
Sergei Petrovich Borodin in his book "Lame Timur" tells about him: Tamerlane, the most cruel of the generals known to the world. The thirst for power burned in his heart and strengthened his resolve to subordinate everyone and everything to his will, no one could count on leniency. The great warrior, nicknamed Lame Timur, was a powerful politician not only on the battlefields. In his capital Samarkand, he was a clever merchant and a talented city planner. Inside the tents embroidered with gold - a wise father and grandfather amid the intrigues of numerous heirs. “The entire space of the World should belong to only one king” - this was the rule of his life and the basic law of the legendary empire of Tamerlane. At the door to the garden, on a small carpet, sat a long, lean old man in a black robe trimmed with a green border. Dark, almost black, with a copper tint, his dry face turned to the boy, and his eyes — quick, intent, young — ran vigilantly over the entire small, light, beloved appearance of his grandson. He told his grandson: “I stopped running since my leg was broken. But since my right hand withered away, no one pulled out of my hands. Before that I was running, but they were catching me. And then I was much older than you. I was already ... twenty-five then. " “Rarely did a grandfather tell someone so simply about his past affairs. There was a lot in them that the Lord of the World need not remember. After all, there was no one in the whole world who could compete in strength and power with this long, like a shadow, dry, sick, dry-handed, lame old man. "
This description of Timur is somewhat reminiscent of Stalin (lame, dry-handed with a penetrating gaze of tiger's eyes).
On solemn occasions, Timur wore a wide silk robe, and on his head he wore a high felt hat with an oblong ruby on the top, showered with pearls and precious stones. In his ears he wore large and expensive earrings according to the Mongolian custom. In general, in peacetime, he loved jewelry and splendor. During military campaigns, he always served as an example of Spartan simplicity.
In his character, strict Sufi views on life were surprisingly combined with impulses of a wildly warlike spirit and unbridled lust for power. The latter qualities, it seems, prevailed in him, as he himself said: "only with a sword in hand can dominance be established."
During his life, Tamerlane made dozens of campaigns and conquered a huge territory by the force of his weapons. Timur himself said: “With the help of the valiant leaders and my soldiers, I became the ruler of 27 states. All these countries have recognized my authority and I have prescribed laws for them
Timur's conquests
Great Russia was part of the Tokhtamyshev ulus. The same bitter fate awaited her as the rich Zolotordyn cities of the Volga region. Tamerlane entered the Russian borders, took Yelets, captured his prince, devastated the surroundings and moved to Moscow. But he did not reach the city. After standing within the Ryazan principality for fifteen days, Tamerlane left on August 26.
According to church legend, in order to save Moscow from invasion, Metropolitan Cyprian ordered the revered icon of the Vladimir Mother of God to be transferred to Moscow, "then commanding all people to fast and pray."
Our Lady of Vladimir. Icon of the XII century.
The envoys from Moscow arrived in Vladimir on August 15, on the day of the Assumption of the Most Holy Theotokos. After serving a moleben, the icon was taken out of the Assumption Cathedral and along the Vladimir road they marched towards Moscow. The whole city went to see off the icon. For eleven days, the procession with the icon went along the Vladimir road. On August 26, all of Moscow, from small to large, led by Metropolitan Cyprian, met the icon outside the city on Kuchkovo Pole.
Prayer to the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God.
Miniature of the Radziwill Chronicle of the 15th century.
The icon was placed in the Assumption Cathedral. Soon the news spread throughout Moscow that on the day of the meeting of the icon, Tamerlane left the camp on the Don and went into the steppe. Allegedly, he had a terrible dream, and he took his troops away.
... At the same time, the troops of Vasily Dmitrievich, who had already left Moscow to meet Timur, were prepared for the war. Having passed Kolomna, the Moscow prince took up defensive positions on the banks of the Oka, and ordered his governors and city governors to "strengthen the siege." At the same time, the Grand Duke of Lithuania Vitovt gathered his troops, spreading the rumor everywhere that he was going to the Tatars. Thus, Tamerlane was clearly shown that, having attacked Moscow, he would have to deal not with the remnants of the Tokhtamyshev possessions, but with the forces of all Orthodox Russia... It was this demonstration of the unity of the Russian and Lithuanian princes that caused “ bad dream"Tamerlane.
In 1393 an embassy with a label was sent from Tokhtamysh to Lithuania. The text of this label has been preserved in Russian chronicles: “God granted us again, our enemies-enemies, gave us all into our hands. We executed them in such a way that again they will not do anything to us. " At the same time, the khan asks his "brother" Yagailo, so that he "from the volosts that are our subjects" captured by Lithuania, "collecting the outputs (tribute.) Handed to the ambassadors on the way for delivery to the treasury." This label confirms the fact that during the reign of Tokhtamysh, the Lithuanians paid tribute to the Horde. Further, the label proposes the restoration of trade relations between states "without admission", that is, without duties! In addition, it is proposed to conclude a military alliance.
A military alliance was sought in 1394 by the ambassadors of Tokhtamysh from the Egyptian sultan.
From the narration of Anna Vladimirovna Kornienko: "To my children, to the happy conquerors of states, to my descendants - to the great rulers of the world ..."
These words begin the notorious "Code", one of two unique written sources that have come down to us, the author of which is presumably Amir Timur himself, Timur the Magnificent, "Thunderstorm of the East and West", the conqueror of lands and peoples, the fearless and invincible commander, the Great Emir Tamerlane. Even after the first lines of the text, the reader, even if he has never heard of the Central Asian conqueror of the XIV century, begins to realize that he is holding in his hands the life story of one of the most outstanding and mysterious personalities who ever appeared on the world stage.
A complex and multifaceted personality, Timur is a warrior of Islam, a man who called himself “the shadow of Allah on earth”, a legendary warrior before whom powerful empires bowed their heads, a wise political and statesman who possessed a truly iron will and character (translated, the name Timur means “ iron "), managed to weave around his image such a tangled and solid web of contradictions that it was not possible to unravel or even cut it, neither then, nor even more so now, hundreds of years later.
Timur's image in Italian painting XVI century
There is very little unambiguously reliable information about the Sovereign of the Happy Constellations, as Timur's contemporaries "christened" for their rare luck, or rather, it would be more accurate to say that they do not exist at all.
According to legend, he was born with a lump of caked blood in his hand and with white hair, like an old man's (the same was said about Genghis Khan). Hearing about this, the local residents came to the general opinion that, of course, a great man was born in the Taragay family.
Timur's father, Taragai, most likely came from the nobility of the Turkic Mongol tribe of Barlas, who settled in Maverannekhra (between the Syr Darya and Amu Darya rivers) in the 13th century, and was a descendant of Noyon (a large feudal landowner in Mongolia in the Middle Ages) Karagochar, an assistant and distant relative of Chagatai, son of Genghis Khan. Thus, Taragai, and along with him, of course, his son themselves belonged to the Chinggis family, although some sources say that Timur was the maternal great-grandson of the Golden Horde Khan. Whatever it was, direct relationship between Timur and Genghis Khan did not exist. Timur grew up without a mother. She died when the boy was still very young.
Since childhood, Timur was distinguished by his curiosity. For hours he could listen with rapture to the amazing stories told by the caravan men. He was silent, never laughed, and even in games he was purposeful and, perhaps, overly serious. Timur loved hunting, and from the age of 18, when he matured, he literally became addicted to this occupation. He shot well with a bow and was superb in the saddle. In addition, even as a child, Timur was able to show his influence on his peers, both in various war games and in everyday life. From an early age, he only talked about campaigns and conquests, his fun consisted of endless battles, he persistently exercised his body, which strengthened day by day; the mind, developed beyond his years, gave rise to endless grandiose plans, about the ways of implementation of which the future emir was already seriously thinking about, as if guessing what a significant role he was to play in the lives of many thousands of people.
Many years later, in his "Autobiography" (the second source that has come down to us, the author of which is presumably the great emir himself), written from his words, Timur will tell an amazing story he heard from his father. Allegedly, once Amir Taragay saw in a dream how a handsome young man, with an Arab appearance, approached him and handed him a sword. Taragai took the sword in his hands and began to swing it in the air, and then the steel of the blade shone so that it illuminated the whole world. Shocked, Taragay asked Saint Amir Kulyal to explain this dream to him. Amir Kulyal said that this dream has a prophetic meaning and that God will send him a son who is destined to take over the whole world, convert everyone to Islam, free the earth from the darkness of ignorance and delusion.
Having told about this, Taragai confessed to Timur that as soon as he was born, the emir immediately realized that the dream was fulfilled, and immediately took his son to Sheikh Shamsuddin. When Taragay entered the house of the sheikh, he read the Koran aloud and in the verse on which he stopped, the name Timur was encountered, as a result of which the baby was named so.
Thanking Allah for the fact that his name was borrowed from the Koran, Timur tells another dream that he himself had already dreamed. As if one day he saw in a dream how he was throwing a net into a large river. The network covered the entire river, after which the future conqueror pulled ashore all the fish and animals that inhabited the waters. The dream interpreters also explained this dream as foreshadowing the great and glorious reign of Amir Timur. So glorious that all the peoples of the universe will be subject to him.
Timur understood perfectly well that alone, no matter how strong, courageous and decisive he was, he would never be able to achieve anything. Who needs a throne in the wilderness? He depended on many as much as many depended on himself. Timur appreciated people, but only as much as they could be useful to him.
He knew how to bind to himself those in whom he needed, and did not spare either time or money for this.
“Some of them (people) help me with their exploits, others - with advice, both in the conquest of states and in their administration. I use them to strengthen the castle of my happiness: they are the decoration of my yard. " “To inspire officers and soldiers, I spared neither gold nor precious stones; I allowed them to my table, and they sacrificed their lives for me in battles. By showing them mercy and entering into their needs, I secured their affection for myself, "- said the great emir.
At the age of 19, Timur fell seriously ill. He was treated with all kinds of means, but nothing helped. The seven days spent by the young men in the heat and delirium, led the desperate courtiers, like himself, to the thought of an unfavorable outcome of the disease, the cause of which, most likely, was a neglected abscess on the hand between the fingers. The young man cried and said goodbye to life. However, after seven days the mighty organism of the future emir managed to overcome the infection and quickly recovered. Some time later, as Tamerbek himself says, he had a vision of a certain pollock (translated from Arabic - "happy", "successful" - a form of respectful treatment) with long hair who predicted to the young man that he would be a great king.
In the future, Amir Timur will say that he owes such success to a just and impartial attitude towards people, thanks to which he “acquired the favor of God's creatures”, that “with wise policy and strict justice” he “kept his soldiers and subjects between fear and hope”. He will say that in the name of the triumph of justice, which he considered godly, he freed the oppressed from the hands of the persecutors, that only true justice ruled his decisions, the sentence was always carried out according to the law and the innocent was never punished ...
In an effort to win the hearts of people, Timur extended blessings to everyone, regardless of their position and origin, showered gifts on his soldiers, openly sympathized with the lower and disadvantaged, and his generosity ensured him universal human affection. “Even my enemy,” said the commander, “when he felt guilty and came to ask for my protection, received forgiveness and found a benefactor and friend in me ... and if his heart was still bitter, then my treatment with him was such that I had time finally, blot out the very trace of his displeasure. "
Surely these words sound too good to be true. However, one wants to believe in them simply because the great conqueror, while maintaining his own high position, managed to live up to such an old age for that era - 69 years, and not be stabbed, poisoned, strangled or killed in any other way by someone from former friends or current enemies. Neither Alexander the Great, nor Gaius Julius Caesar, nor most other world leaders were so lucky ...
In the cruelties of Tamerlane, in addition to cold calculation (as in Genghis Khan), a painful, refined atrocity is manifested, which, perhaps, should be explained by the physical suffering that he endured all his life (after the wound received in Seistan). The sons (except for Shakhrukh) and grandchildren of Tamerlane suffered from the same mental abnormality, as a result of which Tamerlane, in contrast to Genghis Khan, did not find in his descendants either reliable assistants or continuers of his work. It turned out, therefore, even less durable than the result of the efforts of the Mongol conqueror.
One of the most prominent Turkic statesmen and commanders was the great Tamerlane (Timur, Amir Teymur, Timur Gurigan, Teymur-leng, Aksak Teymur) - the Central Asian ruler and conqueror.
Tamerlane was born on April 8, 1336 in the village of Khoja-Ilgar near the city of Kesh (Kish). He came from the noble Turkic-Mongolian clan Barlas (Barulas). His father, Targai, was a military man and a feudal lord. Tamerlane did not have a school education and was illiterate, but he knew the Koran by heart and was a connoisseur of culture.
During Tamerlane's childhood, the Turkic Chagatai ulus disintegrated. In Maverannahr, power was seized by the Turkic emirs, under whom the Chagatai khans were only nominal rulers. In 1348, the Mogul (Chagatai) emirs elevated the Khan Tugluk-Timur to the throne, who became the ruler East Turkestan and Semirechye. This led to a new civil strife, during which the Turkic and Mogul rulers fought for power in Chagatay.
The first head of the Central Asian Turkic-Mogul emirs was Kazagan (1348-1360). In the same period, Timur entered the service of the ruler of Kesh - Hadji Barlas. In 1360, Maverannahr was conquered by Tugluk-Timur, as a result of which Hadji Barlas had to leave Kesh. Tamerlane entered into negotiations with the khan and was approved by the ruler of the Kesh region, but was forced to leave Kesh after the withdrawal of Tughluk-Timur's troops and the return of Hadji-Barlas.
In 1361, the Khan's troops again captured Maverannahr, and Khadzhi-Barlas fled to Khorasan, where he was killed. V next year Tugluk-Timur left Maverannahr, transferring power in it to his son Ilyas-Khadzhi. Tamerlane was again confirmed as the ruler of Kesh and one of the prince's assistants. However, after the departure of Tugluk-Timur, the Mughal emirs, led by Ilyas-Khadzhi, conspired to eliminate Tamerlane. As a result, the latter had to retreat from the Moguls and go over to the side of the Turkic Emir Hussein, who was at war with them. The detachment of Hussein and Timur went to Khorezm, but in the battle near Khiva they were defeated by the local Turkic ruler Tavakkala-Kungurot. Tamerlane and Hussein retreated with the remnants of their army into the desert. Later, near the village of Mahmudi, they were taken prisoner by the people of the local ruler, Alibek Dzhanikurban, in whose dungeon they spent 62 days. The prisoners were rescued by Alibek's elder brother, Emir Muhammadbek.
After that, Tamerlane and Hussein settled on the southern bank of the Amu Darya, where they fought a partisan war against the moguls. During a clash with an enemy detachment near Seistan, Timur lost two fingers on his hand and was wounded in the leg, which is why he became lame (hence the nickname Timur-leng or Aksak Teymur, that is, lame Timur).
In 1364, the Moguls left Maverannahr, where Timur and Hussein returned, who placed Kabul Shah on the throne, who came from the Chagatai clan (Çağatai). However, the confrontation with the moguls did not end there. On May 22, 1365, a major battle between the troops of Timur and Hussein took place with the army of the Moguls led by Ilyas-Khoja. During the battle, a downpour occurred, due to which the warriors got stuck in the mud. As a result, the opponents had to retreat to the opposite banks of the Syr Darya. Meanwhile, the army of the Moguls was expelled from Samarkand. local residents... A popular rule of the Serbedars was established in the city. Upon learning of this, Timur and Hussein lured the leaders of the Serbedars into negotiations and executed them. Then the Samarkand uprising itself was suppressed. Maverannahr came under the rule of both rulers, who, however, wanted to rule alone. Hussein wanted to rule the Chagatai ulus like his predecessor, Kazagan, but power from time immemorial belonged to the Chingizids. Tamerlane opposed the change in customs and intended to proclaim himself emir, since this title was originally held by representatives of the Barlas clan. Former allies began to prepare for battle.
Hussein moved to Balkh and began to strengthen the fortress, preparing for a war with Timur. Hussein's attempt to defeat Timur by cunning failed. The latter gathered a strong army and crossed the Amu Darya, heading for Balkh, on the way to which many emirs joined Timur. This weakened the position of Hussein, who lost many of his supporters. Soon Timur's army approached Balkh and, after bloody battles, took the city on April 10, 1370. Hussein was captured and killed. The victorious Tamerlane proclaimed himself the emir of Maverannahr and located his residence in Samarkand. However, the wars with other Turkic and Mogul rulers did not end there.
Having united the entire Maverannahr, Timur drew attention to neighboring Khorezm, which did not recognize his power. Timur was also worried about the situation on the northern and southern borders of Maverannahr, which constantly disturbed the White Horde and the moguls. However, at the same time, the neighboring Turkic cities - Tashkent and Balkh - came under the supreme power of Timur-Amir, but at the same time Khorezm (also Turkic), relying on the support of the Kypchak nomads, continued to resist the emir. Timur tried to peacefully come to terms with the Khorezm Turks, but realizing the futility of trying to come to terms with peace, he started a war against a rebellious neighbor. Timur-leng made five campaigns against Khorezm and finally conquered it in 1388.
Having achieved success in the fight against the Khorezmians, Timur decided to retaliate against the Turkic ulus of Jochi (Golden and White Horde) and establish his power over the entire territory of the former Chagatai ulus. The moguls headed by Emir Kamariddin had the same goals as Amir Timur. Mogul troops made constant attacks on Fergana, Tashkent, Turkestan, Andijan and other cities of Maverannahr. This led Timur to the need to curb the aggressive moguls, as a result of which he made seven campaigns against them and finally defeated Moghulistan in 1390. Despite its defeat, Moghulistan retained its independence and continued to be one of the many Turkic state formations of the Middle East.
Having secured the borders of Maverannahr from the raids of the Moguls after his first campaigns, Tamerlane decided to start a confrontation with the Jochi ulus, which by that time had disintegrated into the White and Golden Hordes. Amir Timur in every possible way prevented the unification of these territories by playing off Urus Khan, the ruler of the White Horde, and Tokhtamysh, who headed the Golden Horde, against each other. However, Tokhtamysh soon began to pursue a policy hostile to Maverannahr. This led to three wars between Timur and Tokhtamysh, which ended in 1395 with a crushing defeat of the latter. The largest battles in this war were the battles on Kondurcha in 1391, and on the Terek in 1395, during which the victory remained with Timur.
After the defeat inflicted by Timur, Tokhtamysh fled to Bulgaria, and Amir Timur, meanwhile, burned the capital of the Golden Horde - the city of Sarai-Batu, and transferred power in the Jochi ulus to the son of Urus-khan - Koirichak-oglan. At the same time, he defeated the Genoese colonies - Tanais and Kaffa.
Having defeated the Golden Horde, Timur set out on a campaign against Russia. His army passed the Ryazan land and captured the city of Yelets. Then Tamerlane headed towards Moscow, but soon turned back and left the borders of Russia. It is not known what prompted Tamerlane to leave Russia, but according to “Zafar-name” (“Book of Victories”), the reason for this was the pursuit of the Horde detachments, which were overtaken and finally defeated on the territory of Russia, and the conquest and plundering of the Russian lands in the plans of the conqueror was not included.
Timur waged constant wars not only with the moguls and the Horde. His very important opponent was the ruler of Herat - Giyasaddin Pir Ali II. Timur's attempts to reach an agreement with peace did not lead to anything, and he had to start a war. In April 1380, Timur's army drove the Heratis from Balkh, in February 1381 Timur occupied Khorasan, Jami, Kelat, Tue, and then, after a short siege, took Herat itself. In 1382, Tamerlane defeated the Khorasan state of the Serbedars, and in 1383 he ravaged the Seistan region, in which he stormed the fortresses of Zire, Zaveh, Bust and Farah. The next year Timur conquered such cities as Astarabad, Amul, Sari. In the same year, he reached Azerbaijan and captured one of its central cities, the capital of many Turkic states (Atabeki, Ilkhanids) of the Middle Ages - Tabriz. Together with these cities, a significant part of Iran came under the rule of Amir Timur. After that, he spent three, five and seven-year campaigns, during which he defeated the Horde, Moguls, Khorezmians, defeated all of Northern India, Iran and Asia Minor.
In 1392, Tamerlane conquers the Caspian regions, and in 1393 captures Baghdad, the western regions of Iran and the Transcaucasus, at the head of which he puts his governors.
An important milestone in the history of Timur's conquests is indian hike... In 1398, he launched a campaign against the Delhi Sultanate, defeated the detachments of the Kafiristans, and defeated the Sultan's army near Delhi and occupied the city, which his army plundered. In 1399, Amir Timur reached the Ganges, but then turned the army back and returned to Samarkand with a big booty.
In 1400, Timur begins a war with Ottoman Sultan Bayazid Lightning, whose army captured the city of Arzinjan, vassal Amir Timur, and also with the Mamluk Sultan of Egypt Faraj. During the war with the Ottomans and Mamluks, Timur took the fortresses of Sivas, Aleppo (Aleppo), in 1401 - Damascus.
In 1402, in the Angora (near Ankara) battle, Tamerlane utterly defeated Bayazid's army, and took him prisoner. During the period when the Ottomans, one after another, crushed the troops of the Europeans, Timur literally saved them from the Ottomans. In honor of Tamerlane's victory over Bayezid, the Pope ordered the ringing of all bells in all Catholic churches in Europe for three days in a row. This ringing thundered over the Turkic tragedy - for it taught the Europeans how to defeat the Turks in the future, pitting them against each other ...
... In 1403, Tamerlane plundered Smyrna, and then established order in the rebellious Baghdad. In 1404, Timur returned to Central Asia and began preparations for a war with China. On November 27, 1404, his army embarked on a Chinese campaign, but in January 1405 in Otrar great commander died. He was buried in the Gur-Emir mausoleum in Samarkand.
In our time, many believe that Tamerlane was only engaged in military campaigns, conquests and plundering of neighboring lands, but this is not so. For example, he restored many cities: Baghdad (Iraq), Derbent and Baylakan (Azerbaijan). Tamerlane also made a great contribution to the development of Samarkand, which he turned into the main trade and craft center of the Middle East. Amir Timur contributed to the development of Islamic culture, architecture and literature. During his reign, masterpieces of medieval Muslim architecture were built in Samarkand: the Gur-Emir and Shahi-Zinda mausoleums, the Rukhabad tomb, the Qutbi Chakhardakhum tomb, the Bibi-Khanum madrasah, as well as many mosques, caravanserais, etc. Thanks to Tamerlane, the city was rebuilt. Kesh (Kish, now Shakhrisabz), where the cultural monuments of the Timur era are located: the tomb of Dar us-Saadat, the magnificent Ak-Saray palace, many madrasahs and mosques.
In addition, Timur made a great contribution to the development of Bukhara, Shakhrukhia, Turkestan, Khujand and other Turkic cities. It should also be noted that under Tamerlane such sciences as mathematics, medicine, astronomy, literature, history became widespread. In the era of Timur, such cultural figures as the astrologer Maulana (Movlana) Ahmad, the theologian Ahmed al-Khorezmi, the jurists Jazairi and Isamiddin, and many others lived in Maverannahr. All this suggests that under Tamerlane not only constant wars were fought, but also the flourishing of Eastern culture. Amir Timur had a great influence on the development of the entire Middle East, and he can rightfully be considered not only a great commander, but also one of the greatest Turkic statesmen in the history of mankind.
The full name of the great conqueror of antiquity, which will be discussed in our article, is Timur ibn Taragay Barlas, but in literature he is often referred to as Tamerlane, or the Iron Chromets. It should be clarified that he was nicknamed Zhelezny not only for his personal qualities, but also because this is how his name Timur is translated from the Turkic language. Lameness was the result of a wound received in one of the battles. There is reason to believe that this mysterious commander of the past was involved in the great blood that was shed in the 20th century.
Who is Tamerlane and where is he from?
First, a few words about the childhood of the future great khan. It is known that Timur-Tamerlane was born on April 9, 1336 on the territory of the present Uzbek city of Shakhrisabz, which was at that time a small village called Khoja-Ilgar. His father, a local landowner from the Barlas tribe, Muhammad Taragay, professed Islam, and raised his son in this faith.
Following the customs of those times, from early childhood he taught the boy the basics of the art of war - horseback riding, archery and javelin throwing. As a result, barely reaching maturity, he was already an experienced warrior. It was then that the future conqueror Tamerlane received invaluable knowledge.
The biography of this person, or rather, that part of it that has become the property of history, begins with the fact that in his youth he won the favor of Khan Tuglik - the ruler of the Chagatai ulus, one of Mongolian states, on the territory of which the future commander was born.
Appreciating the fighting qualities, as well as the extraordinary mind of Timur, he brought him closer to the court, making his son a tutor. However, the prince's entourage, fearing his rise, began to build intrigues against him, and as a result, fearing for his life, the newly-minted educator was forced to flee.
At the head of a squad of mercenaries
The years of Tamerlane's life coincided with the historical period when it was a continuous theater of military operations. Fragmented into many states, it was constantly torn apart by feuds of local khans, who were constantly trying to seize neighboring lands. The situation was aggravated by countless robber gangs - jette, who did not recognize any power and lived exclusively by robberies.
In this situation, the failed teacher Timur-Tamerlane found his true calling. Having united several dozen ghouls - professional mercenary warriors - he created a detachment that surpassed all the other surrounding gangs in its fighting qualities and cruelty.
First conquests
Together with his thugs, the newly-minted commander made daring raids on cities and villages. It is known that in 1362 he stormed several fortresses that belonged to the Sarbadars - members of the popular movement against Mongol rule. Capturing them, he ordered to wall the surviving defenders into walls. This was an act of intimidation of all future opponents, and such cruelty became one of the main features of his character. Very soon the whole East learned about who Tamerlane was.
It was then that in one of the fights he lost two fingers. right hand and was seriously wounded in the leg. Its consequences survived until the end of his life and served as the basis for the nickname - Timur the Lame. However, it did not prevent him from becoming a figure who played a significant role in the history of not only Central, Western and South Asia, but also the Caucasus and Russia in the last quarter of the XIV century.
Leadership talent and extraordinary audacity helped Tamerlane to conquer the entire territory of Fergana, subjugating Samarkand, and making the capital of the newly formed state the city of Ket. Further, his army rushed to the territory belonging to present-day Afghanistan, and, having ruined it, seized the ancient capital Balkh by storm, the emir of which - Huseyn - was immediately hanged. Most of the courtiers shared his fate.
Cruelty as a deterrent
The next direction of attack by his cavalry was the cities of Isfahan and Fars located south of Balkh, where the last representatives of the Persian dynasty of the Muzaffarids ruled. Isfahan was the first on his way. Capturing it, and giving it to his mercenaries to plunder, Timur the Lame ordered to lay down the heads of those killed in a pyramid, the height of which exceeded the height of a person. This was a continuation of his constant tactics of intimidating opponents.
It is characteristic that the entire subsequent history of Tamerlane, the conqueror and commander, was marked by manifestations of extreme cruelty. In part, it can be explained by the fact that he himself became a hostage to his own policies. Leading a highly professional army, Lame had to regularly pay his mercenaries, otherwise their scimitars would turn against him. This forced them to achieve new victories and conquests by any available means.
The beginning of the fight against the Golden Horde
In the early 80s, the next stage of Tamerlane's ascent was the conquest of the Golden Horde, or, in other words, the Dzhuchiev ulus. From time immemorial, it was dominated by the Euro-Asian steppe culture with its own religion of polytheism, which had nothing to do with Islam, professed by the majority of its warriors. Therefore, the hostilities, which began in 1383, became a clash not only of opposing armies, but also of two different cultures.
Ordynsky, the one who made a campaign against Moscow in 1382, wishing to get ahead of his enemy and strike first, undertook a campaign against Kharezm. Having achieved a temporary success, he also captured a significant territory of present-day Azerbaijan, but soon his troops were forced to retreat, having suffered significant losses.
In 1385, taking advantage of the fact that Timur and his hordes were in Persia, he tried again, but this time he failed. Upon learning of the invasion of the Horde, the formidable commander urgently returned his troops to Central Asia and utterly defeated the enemy, forcing Tokhtamysh himself to flee to Western Siberia.
Continuation of the fight against the Tatars
However, the conquest of the Golden Horde was not over yet. Its final defeat was preceded by five years filled with incessant military campaigns and bloodshed. It is known that in 1389 the Horde Khan even managed to insist that Russian squads support him in the war with the Muslims.
This was facilitated by the death of the Grand Duke of Moscow Dmitry Donskoy, after which his son and heir Vasily had to go to the Horde for a label to reign. Tokhtamysh confirmed his rights, but subject to the participation of Russian troops in repelling the Muslim attack.
Defeat of the Golden Horde
Prince Vasily agreed, but it was only formal. After the defeat perpetrated by Tokhtamysh in Moscow, none of the Russians wanted to shed blood for him. As a result, in the very first battle on the Kondurcha River (a tributary of the Volga), they abandoned the Tatars and, having crossed to the opposite bank, left.
The end of the conquest of the Golden Horde was the battle on the Terek River, in which the troops of Tokhtamysh and Timur met on April 15, 1395. Iron Chromets managed to inflict a crushing defeat on his enemy and thereby put an end to the Tatar raids on the territories under his control.
The threat to the Russian lands and the campaign to India
The next blow was being prepared by him in the very heart of Russia. The purpose of the planned campaign was Moscow and Ryazan, who until then did not know who Tamerlane was, and were paying tribute to the Golden Horde. But, fortunately, these plans were not destined to come true. The uprising of the Circassians and Ossetians prevented, which broke out in the rear of Timur's troops and forced the conqueror to turn back. The only victim then was the city of Yelets, which found itself on his way.
Over the next two years, his army made a victorious campaign in India. Having captured Delhi, Timur's warriors plundered and burned the city, and killed 100 thousand defenders who were in captivity, fearing a possible rebellion on their part. Having reached the banks of the Ganges and seizing several fortified fortresses along the way, the army of many thousands returned to Samarkand with rich booty and a large number of slaves.
New conquests and new blood
Following India, it was the turn of the Ottoman Sultanate to submit to the sword of Tamerlane. In 1402, he defeated the hitherto invincible janissaries of Sultan Bayezid, and took him prisoner. As a result, the entire territory of Asia Minor was under his rule.
Could not resist the troops of Tamerlane and the Ionite knights, who held the fortress in their hands for many years ancient city Smyrna. Having repelled the attacks of the Turks more than once, they surrendered to the mercy of the lame conqueror. When Venetian and Genoese ships with reinforcements arrived to their aid, the victors threw them from the fortress catapults with the severed heads of the defenders.
A plan that Tamerlane could not carry out
The biography of this outstanding commander and evil genius of his era ends with the last ambitious project, which was his campaign against China, which began in 1404. The goal was to capture the Great Silk Road, which made it possible to receive tax from passing merchants and replenish their already overflowing treasury due to this. But the implementation of the plan was prevented by sudden death, which cut short the life of the commander in February 1405.
The great emir of the Timurid empire - under this title he went down in the history of his people - was buried in the Gur Emir mausoleum in Samarkand. A legend is associated with his burial, passed down from generation to generation. It says that if Tamerlane's sarcophagus is opened, and his ashes are disturbed, then a terrible and bloody war will be the punishment for this.
In June 1941, an expedition of the USSR Academy of Sciences was sent to Samarkand to exhume the remains of the commander and study them. The grave was opened on the night of June 21, and the next day, as you know, the Great Patriotic War began.
Another fact is also interesting. In October 1942, a participant in those events, cameraman Malik Kayumov, meeting with Marshal Zhukov, told him about the curse that had been fulfilled and offered to return the remains of Tamerlane to their original place. This was done on November 20, 1942, and on the same day a radical change followed in the course of the Battle of Stalingrad.
Skeptics are inclined to argue that in this case there was only a number of accidents, because the plan of attack on the USSR was developed long before the opening of the tomb by people who, although they knew who Tamerlane was, but, of course, did not take into account the spell weighing on his grave. Without entering into polemics, we will only say that everyone has the right to have their own point of view on this matter.
Conqueror's family
Timur's wives and children are of particular interest to researchers. Like all Eastern rulers, this great conqueror of the past had a huge family. Only one official wives (not counting concubines) he had 18 people, the favorite of whom is considered to be Sarai-mulk khanim. Despite the fact that a lady with such a poetic name was barren, the master entrusted her with the upbringing of many of his sons and grandchildren. She went down in history as the patroness of art and science.
It is quite understandable that with such a number of wives and concubines, there was no shortage of children either. Nevertheless, only four of his sons took the places befitting such a high lineage, and became rulers in the empire created by their father. In their person, the story of Tamerlane found its continuation.
