Tamerlane. "The Great Lame"

One of the most outstanding Turkic statesmen and the commanders were 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 a noble Turkic-Mongolian family Barlas (Barulas). His father, Targai, was a military man and a feudal lord. Tamerlane had no school education and was illiterate, but knew the Koran by heart and was a connoisseur of culture.

During Tamerlane's childhood, the Turkic Chagatai ulus collapsed. In Transoxiana, power was seized by the Turkic emirs, under whom the Chagatai khans were only nominal rulers. In 1348, the Mogul (Chagatai) emirs enthroned Khan Tughluk-Timur, who became the ruler of East Turkestan and Semirechye. This led to new civil strife, during which Turkic and Mogul rulers fought for power in Chagatai.

The first head of the Central Asian Turkic-Mogul emirs was Kazagan (1348-1360). During the same period, Timur entered the service of the ruler of Kesh, Hadji Barlas. In 1360, Transoxiana was conquered by Tughluk-Timur, as a result of which Hadji Barlas had to leave Kesh. Tamerlane entered into negotiations with the khan and was confirmed as 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 recaptured Transoxiana, and Hadji-Barlas fled to Khorasan, where he was killed. The following year, Tughluk-Timur left Transoxiana, transferring power in it to his son Ilyas-Hadji. Tamerlane was again confirmed as the ruler of Kesh and one of the prince’s assistants. However, after the departure of Tughluk-Timur, the Mughal emirs, led by Ilyas-Haji, 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 headed to Khorezm, but in the battle of 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 prison they spent 62 days. The prisoners were rescued by Alibek's elder brother, Emir Muhammadbek.

After this, Tamerlane and Hussein settled on the southern bank of the Amu Darya, where they conducted guerrilla warfare with moguls. During a clash with an enemy detachment near Seistan, Timur lost two fingers on his hand and was wounded in the leg, which made him lame (hence the nickname Timur-leng or Aksak Teymur, i.e. lame Timur).

In 1364, the Moguls left Transoxiana, where Timur and Hussein returned, placing Kabul Shah, who came from the Chagatai family (Çağatai), on the throne. 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 Mogul army led by Ilyas-Khoja. During the battle there was a rainstorm, 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 Mogul army was expelled from Samarkand by local residents. The popular rule of the Serbedars was established in the city. Having learned about this, Timur and Hussein lured the leaders of the Serbedars to negotiations and executed them. Then the Samarkand uprising itself was suppressed. Maverannahr came under the authority of both rulers, who, however, wanted to rule individually. Hussein wanted to rule the Chagatai ulus like his predecessor, Kazagan, but power from time immemorial belonged to the Genghisids. Tamerlane opposed the change in customs and intended to proclaim himself emir, since this title was originally borne 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 war with Timur. Hussein's attempt to defeat Timur by cunning failed. The latter gathered a strong army and crossed the Amu Darya, heading to Balkh, along the way to which Timur was joined by many emirs. 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. Tamerlane, who won the victory, proclaimed himself the emir of Transoxiana and located his residence in Samarkand. However, the wars with other Turkic and Mogul rulers did not end there.

Having united all of Transoxiana, Timur turned his attention to neighboring Khorezm, which did not recognize his authority. Timur was also worried about the situation on the northern and southern borders of Transoxiana, which were constantly harassed by the White Horde and the Moguls. However, at the same time, under supreme power The neighboring Turkic cities of Tashkent and Balkh crossed over Timur-Amir, but at the same time Khorezm (also Turkic), relying on the support of the Kipchak nomads, continued to resist the emir. Timur tried to negotiate peacefully with the Khorezmian Turks, but, realizing the futility of trying to negotiate peacefully, he started a war against his 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 strike back at the Turkic ulus of Jochi (Golden and White Horde) and establish his power throughout the entire territory of the former Chagatai ulus. The moguls, led by Emir Kamariddin, had the same goals as Amir Timur. Mogul troops carried out constant attacks on Fergana, Tashkent, Turkestan, Andijan and other cities of Transoxiana. 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 remain one of the many Turkic state formations in the Middle East.

Having secured the borders of Maverannahr from Mogul raids after his first campaigns, Tamerlane decided to begin a confrontation with the Jochi ulus, which by that time had split into Belaya and Golden Horde. Amir Timur did his best to prevent the unification of these territories by pitting Urus Khan, the ruler of the White Horde, and Tokhtamysh, the leader of the Golden Horde, against each other. However, soon Tokhtamysh began to pursue a policy hostile to Transoxiana. This led to three wars between Timur and Tokhtamysh, ending in 1395 with the latter's crushing defeat. The largest battles in this war were the battles on Kondurch in 1391, and on the Terek in 1395, during which 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 - Koyrichak-oglan. At the same time, he destroyed the Genoese colonies - Tanais and Caffa.

Having defeated the Golden Horde, Timur set out on a campaign to Rus'. His army passed Ryazan land and captured the city of Yelets. Then Tamerlane headed towards Moscow, but soon turned back and left the borders of Rus'. It is not known what prompted Tamerlane to leave Rus', but according to “Zafar-name” (“Book of Victories”), the reason for this was the pursuit of Horde troops, which were overtaken and finally defeated on the territory of Rus', and the conquest and plunder of Russian lands itself was not in the plans of the conqueror included.

Timur waged constant wars not only with the Moguls and the Horde. His very important opponent was the ruler of Herat, Ghiyasaddin Pir Ali II. Timur's attempts to negotiate peace led nowhere, and he had to start a war. In April 1380, Timur's army drove the Herati people out of Balkh; in February 1381, Timur occupied Khorasan, Jami, Kelat, Tuye, and then, after a short siege, he 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 following year, Timur conquered cities such as Astarabad, Amul, and Sari. In the same year, he reached Azerbaijan and captured one of its central cities, the capital of many Turkic states (Atabeks, Ilkhanids) of the Middle Ages - Tabriz. Together with these cities, a significant part of Iran came under the rule of Amir Timur. Following this, he carried out three-year, five-year and seven-year campaigns, during which he defeated the Horde, Moguls, Khorezmians, and defeated all of Northern India, Iran and Asia Minor.

In 1392, Tamerlane conquered the Caspian regions, and in 1393 he captured Baghdad, the western regions of Iran and Transcaucasia, at the head of which he placed his governors.

An important milestone in the history of Timur's conquests is the Indian campaign. In 1398, he went on a campaign against the Delhi Sultanate, defeated detachments of infidels, and near Delhi he defeated the Sultan’s army 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 great booty.

In 1400, Timur began a war with the Ottoman Sultan Bayezid the Lightning, whose army captured the city of Arzinjan, a vassal city of Amir Timur, as well as with the Mamluk Sultan of Egypt Faraj. During the war with the Ottomans and Mamluks, Timur took the fortresses of Sivas, Aleppo (Aleppo), and in 1401 Damascus.

In 1402, in the Battle of Angora (near Ankara), Tamerlane completely defeated the army of Bayazid, and he himself was captured. At a time when the Ottomans were crushing the European troops one after another, Timur literally saved them from the Ottomans. In honor of Tamerlane's victory over Bayezid, the Pope ordered all bells to be rung for three days in a row. Catholic churches Europe. This bell rang 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 ravaged Smyrna and then established order in the rebellious Baghdad. In 1404, Timur returned to Central Asia and began preparations for war with China. On November 27, 1404, his army entered the Chinese campaign, but in January 1405, the great commander died in Otrar. He was buried in the Gur-Emir mausoleum in Samarkand.

Nowadays, many people believe that Tamerlane was only involved in military campaigns, conquests and plunder 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 Chahardakhum tomb, the Bibi-Khanum madrasah, as well as many mosques, caravanserais, etc. Thanks to Tamerlane, the city was rebuilt Kesh (Kish, now Shakhrisabz), where cultural monuments of Timur’s era are located: the Dar us-Saadat tomb, the magnificent Ak-Saray palace, many madrassas and mosques.

In addition, Timur made a great contribution to the development of Bukhara, Shahrukhiya, Turkestan, Khujand and other Turkic cities. It should also be noted that under Tamerlane, such sciences as mathematics, medicine, astronomy, literature, and history became widespread. During the era of Timur, such cultural figures as astrologer Maulana (Movlana) Ahmad, theologian Ahmed al-Khwarizmi, jurists Jazairi and Isamiddin and many others lived in Transoxiana. All this suggests that under Tamerlane there were not only constant wars, but also a flourishing oriental 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.

Tamerlane's name

Timur's full name was Timur ibn Taragai Barlas (Tīmūr ibn Taraġay Barlas - Timur son of Taragay from Barlasy) in accordance with the Arabic tradition (alam-nasab-nisba). In Chagatai and Mongolian (both Altaic) Temür or Temir Means " iron».

Not being a Genghisid, Timur formally could not bear the title of Great Khan, always calling himself only an emir (leader, leader). However, having intermarried with the house of Chingizids in 1370, he took the name Timur Gurgan (Timur Gurkānī, (تيموﺭ گوركان ), Gurkān is an Iranianized variant of Mongolian kurugen or Khurgen, "son-in-law". This meant that Tamerlane, having become related to the Chingizid khans, could freely live and act in their houses.

The Iranianized nickname is often found in various Persian sources Timur-e Liang(Tīmūr-e Lang, تیمور لنگ) “Timur the Lame”, this name was probably considered at that time as contemptuously derogatory. It passed into Western languages ​​( Tamerlan, Tamerlane, Tamburlaine, Timur Lenk) and into Russian, where it does not have any negative connotation and is used along with the original “Timur”.

Monument to Tamerlane in Tashkent

Monument to Tamerlane in Samarkand

Personality of Tamerlane

Start political activity Tamerlane is similar to the biography of Genghis Khan: they were the leaders of the detachments of followers they personally recruited, who then 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 his 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 persons placed at the head of the civil administration (numerous cases of punishment for extortion of high 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 soldiers.

Timur left behind dozens of monumental architectural structures, some of which have entered the treasury of world culture. The buildings of Timur, in the creation of which he took an active part, are found in him artistic taste.

Timur cared primarily about the prosperity of his native Maverannahr and the elevation of 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 city of Yassy (Turkestan). He managed to express all the care that he put into the capital Samarkand through words about it: “There will always be a blue sky and golden stars above Samarkand.” Only in recent years did he take measures to improve the well-being of other regions of the state, mainly border ones (in 1398 a new irrigation canal was built in Afghanistan, in 1401 - in Transcaucasia, etc.)

Biography

Childhood and youth

Timur spent his childhood and youth in the Kesh mountains. In his youth, he loved hunting and equestrian competitions, javelin throwing and archery, and had a penchant for war games. From the age of ten, mentors - atabeks who served under Taragai, taught Timur the art of war and sports games. Timur was a very brave and reserved man. Possessing sobriety of judgment, he knew how to make the right decision in difficult situations. These character traits attracted people to him. The first information about Timur appeared in sources starting in 1361, when he began his political activity.

Timur's appearance

Timur at a feast in Samarkand

File:Temur1-1.jpg

As shown by the opening of the tomb of Gur Emir (Samarkand) by M. 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 and physically developed, his contemporaries wrote about him: “If Most warriors could pull the bow string to the level of the collarbone, but Timur pulled it to the ear.” His hair is lighter than most of his people. A detailed study of the remains of Timur 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, the clear relief of the bones, the almost absence of osteophytes - all this most likely indicates that the skull of the skeleton 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 relatively tall- all this gives the right to think that Timur had an extremely strong build. His strong athletic muscles, most likely, were distinguished by a certain dryness of form, 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 and other Muslims was the braids they kept, according to Mongolian custom, which is confirmed by some Central Asian illustrated manuscripts of that time. Meanwhile, examining ancient Turkic sculptures and images of Turks in the paintings of Afrasiab, researchers came to the conclusion that the Turks wore braids back in the 5th-8th centuries. The opening of Timur's grave and analysis by anthropologists showed that Timur did not have braids. “Timur’s hair is thick, straight, gray-red in color, with a predominance of dark chestnut or red.” “Contrary to the accepted custom of shaving his head, at the time of his death Timur had relatively long hair.” Some historians believe that the light color of his hair is due to the fact that Tamerlane dyed his hair with henna. But, M. M. Gerasimov notes in his work: “Even a preliminary study of beard hair under a binocular convinces that this reddish color is natural, and not dyed with henna, as historians described.” Timur wore a long mustache, not a trim one above the lip. As we managed to find out, there was a rule that allowed the highest military class to wear a mustache without cutting it above the lip, and Timur, according to this rule, did not cut his mustache, and it hung freely above the lip. “Timur’s small thick beard was wedge-shaped. Her hair is coarse, almost straight, thick, bright brown (red) in color, with significant gray streaks.” Huge scars were visible on the bones of the left leg in the area of ​​​​the kneecap, which is fully consistent with the nickname “lame”

Timur's parents, brothers and sisters

His father's name was Taragai or Turgai, he was a military man and a small landowner. He came from the Mongolian Barlas tribe, which by that time had already been Turkified 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 Kulal.

Timur is considered a Turkic conqueror in Encyclopedia Britannica.

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: his first wife was Timur's mother Tekina Khatun. There is conflicting information about its origin. And the second wife of Taragay/Turgay 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 yeah and younger sister Shirin-bek yeah. They died before the death of Timur himself and were buried in mausoleums in the Shahi Zinda complex in Samarkand. According to the source "Mu'izz al-ansab" Timur had three more brothers: Juki, Alim Sheikh and Suyurgatmysh.

Spiritual mentors of Timur

Mausoleum Rukhabad in Samarkand

Timur's first spiritual mentor was his father's mentor, the Sufi sheikh Shams ad-din Kulal. Also known are Zainud-din Abu Bakr Taybadi, a major Khorosan sheikh, and Shamsuddin Fakhuri, a potter and prominent figure in the Naqshbandi tariqa. Timur's main spiritual mentor was a descendant of the Prophet Muhammad, Sheikh Mir Seyid Bereke. It was he who presented Timur with the symbols of power: the drum and the banner, when he came to power in 1370. Handing these symbols, Mir Seyid Bereke predicted a great future for the emir. He accompanied Timur on his great campaigns. In 1391, he blessed it before the battle with Tokhtamysh. In 1403, they together mourned the unexpected death of the 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 the construction of the Rukhabad mausoleum over their graves.

Timur's knowledge of languages

During the campaign against the Golden Horde against Tokhtamysh in 1391, Timur ordered to knock out an inscription in the Chagatai language in Uyghur letters - 8 lines and three lines in Arabic containing the Koranic text near Mount Altyn-Chuku. In history, this inscription is known as the Karsakpai inscription of Timur. Currently, the stone with Timur's inscription is kept and exhibited in the Hermitage in St. Petersburg.

Tamerlane's contemporary and captive Ibn Arabshah, who knew Tamerlane personally since 1401, reports: "As for Persian, Turkic and Mongolian, he knew them better than anyone else." Princeton University researcher 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 Turkic by that time. Timur's native language was Turkic (Chagatai), although he may have had some command of Persian due to the cultural environment in which he lived. He almost certainly did not know Mongolian, although Mongolian terms had not yet completely disappeared from documents and were found on coins.”

Legal documents of Timur's state were compiled in two languages: Persian and Turkic. For example, a document from 1378 giving privileges to the descendants of Abu Muslim who lived in Khorezm was written in the Chagatai Turkic language.

The Spanish diplomat and traveler Ruy Gonzalez de Clavijo, who visited the court of Tamerlane in Transoxiana, reports that "Beyond this river(Amu Darya - approx.) the kingdom of Samarkand extends, 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, since everyone speaks Persian", then he reports “the letter that the people of Samarkant use,[living-approx.] on the other side of the river, those who live on this side do not understand and do not know how to read, but they call this letter mogali. A senor(Tamerlane - approx.) keeps with him several scribes who can read and write in this[language - note] » Orientalist professor Robert McChesney notes that by the Mugali language, Clavijo meant the Turkic language.

According to the Timurid source “Muiz al-ansab”, at Timur’s court there was a staff of only Turkic and Tajik clerks.

Ibn Arabshah, describing the tribes of Transoxiana, provides the following information: “The mentioned Sultan (Timur) had four viziers who were completely engaged in useful and harmful matters. They were considered noble people, and everyone followed their opinions. As many tribes and tribes as the Arabs had, the Turks had the same number. Each of the above-mentioned viziers, being representatives of one tribe, were a luminary of opinions and illuminated the arch of minds 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 favorite wife was the sister of Emir Hussein - Uljay-Turkan aga. According to another version, his beloved wife was Kazan Khan's daughter Sarai-mulk khanum. She did not have her own children, but she was entrusted with the upbringing of some of Timur's sons and grandchildren. She was a famous patron of science and the arts. By her order, a huge madrasah and mausoleum for her mother were built in Samarkand.

During Timur's childhood, the Chagatai state collapsed in Central Asia (Chagatai ulus). In Transoxiana, since 1346, power belonged to the Turkic emirs, and the khans enthroned by the emperor ruled only nominally. The Mogul emirs in 1348 enthroned Tughluk-Timur, who began to rule in East Turkestan, the Kulja region and Semirechye.

Rise of Timur

Beginning of political activity

Timur entered the service of the ruler of Kesh - Hadji Barlas, who was supposedly the head of the Barlas tribe. In 1360, Transoxiana was conquered by Tughluk-Timur. Haji Barlas fled to Khorasan, and Timur entered into negotiations with the khan and was confirmed 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, a bloody battle took place near Chinaz between the army of Timur and Hussein with the army of Mogolistan led by Khan Ilyas-Khoja, which went down in history as the “battle in the mud.” Timur and Hussein had little chance to defend native land, since Ilyas-Khoja’s army had superior forces. During the battle, a torrential downpour began, it was difficult for the soldiers to even look forward, and the horses got stuck in the mud. Despite this, Timur’s troops began to gain victory on his flank; at the decisive moment, he asked Hussein for help in order 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 Syrdarya River.

Composition of Timur's troops

Representatives of various tribes fought as part of Timur’s army: Barlas, Durbats, Nukuz, Naimans, Kipchaks, Bulguts, Dulats, Kiyats, Jalairs, Sulduz, Merkits, Yasavuri, Kauchins, etc.

The military organization of troops was built like the Mongols, according to the decimal system: tens, hundreds, thousands, tumens (10 thousand). Among the sectoral management bodies was the wazirat (ministry) for the affairs of military personnel (sepoys).

Hikes to Mogolistan

Despite the laid foundation of statehood, Khorezm and Shibergan, which belonged to the Chagatai ulus, did not recognize new government represented by Suyurgatmish Khan and Emir Timur. It was restless on the southern and northern borders of the border, where Mogolistan and the White Horde caused trouble, often violating borders and plundering villages. After Uruskhan captured Sygnak and moved the capital of the White Horde, Yassy (Turkestan), Sairam and Transoxiana to it were in even 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. 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 brought especially great troubles to the people. In the same year, Emir Kamar ad-din captured half of Fergana, from where its governor, Timur’s son Umar Sheikh Mirza, fled to the mountains. Therefore, solving the problem of Mogolistan was important for calm on the borders of the country.

But Kamar ad-din was not defeated. When Timur's army returned to Transoxiana, he invaded Fergana, a province that belonged to Timur, and besieged the city of Andijan. Enraged, Timur hurried to Fergana and for a long time pursued the enemy beyond Uzgen and the Yassy mountains all the way to the At-Bashi valley, the southern tributary of the upper Naryn.

The Zafarnama mentions Timur's sixth campaign in the Issyk-Kul region against Kamar ad-din in the city, but the khan again managed to escape.

Tamerlane's next goals were to curb the ulus of Jochi (known in history as the White Horde) and establish political influence in its eastern part and unite Mogolistan and Transoxiana, which had previously been divided into single state, called at one time the Chagatai ulus.

Realizing the danger to the independence of Transoxiana 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 (Sarai-Berke) and extended across the North Caucasus, northwestern Khorezm, Crimea, Western Siberia and the Volga-Kama principality of the Bulgars. The White Horde had its capital in the city of Sygnak and extended from Yangikent to Sabran, along the lower reaches 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. Khan of the White Horde Urus Khan tried to unite the once powerful state, whose plans were thwarted by the intensified struggle between the Jochids and the feudal lords of the 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, Khan Tokhtamysh seized power in the Golden Horde and began to pursue a hostile policy towards the lands of Transoxiana.

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 the Bulgar. In response to the plunder of the lands of Maverannahr, Emir Timur burned the capital of the Golden Horde - Sarai-Batu, and gave the reins of its government into the hands of Koyrichak-oglan, who was the son of Uruskhan. Timur's defeat of the Golden Horde also had widespread economic consequences. As a result of Timur's campaign, the northern branch of the Great Silk Road, which passed 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 brutal defeats on the Horde khan - at 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 benefit in the struggle of the Russian lands against the Tatar-Mongol yoke.

Three great campaigns of Timur

Timur made three large campaigns in 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 trek

For the first time, Timur was forced to return back as a result of the invasion of Transoxiana by the Golden Horde Khan Tokhtamysh in alliance with the Semirechensk Mongols ().

Death

Mausoleum of Emir Timur in Samarkand

He died during the campaign against China. After the end of the seven-year war, during which Bayezid I was defeated, Timur began preparations for the Chinese campaign, which he had long planned due to Chinese claims to the lands of Transoxiana and Turkestan. He gathered a large army of two hundred thousand, 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 not far from the confluence of the Arys and the Syr Darya), where he fell ill and died (according to historians - on February 18, according to tombstone Timur - 15th). The body was embalmed, placed in an ebony coffin, lined 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.

A look at Tamerlane in the light of history and culture

Code of laws

Main article: Code of Timur

During the reign of Emir Timur, there was a set of laws “Timur’s Code”, which set out the rules of conduct for members of society and the responsibilities of rulers and officials, and also contain rules for managing the army and the state.

When appointed to the position, the “great emir” demanded devotion and fidelity from everyone. He appointed 315 people to high positions who had been with him from the very beginning of his career and fought side by side with him. The first hundred were appointed as tens, the second hundred as centurions, and the third as thousands. Of the remaining fifteen people, four were appointed beks, one as the supreme emir, and others to the remaining high posts.

The judicial system was divided into three stages: 1. Sharia judge - who was guided in his activities by the established norms of Sharia; 2. Judge ahdos - who was guided in his activities by well-established morals and customs in society. 3. Kazi askar - who led the proceedings in military cases.

The law was recognized as equal for everyone, both emirs and subjects.

Viziers under the leadership of Divan-Beghi were responsible for general position subjects and troops, for financial condition countries and activities government agencies. If information was received that the vizier of finance had appropriated part of the treasury, then this was checked and, upon confirmation, one of the decisions was made: if the embezzled amount was equal to his salary (uluf), then this amount was given to him as a gift. If the amount appropriated is twice the salary, then the excess must be withheld. If the embezzled amount was three times higher than the established salary, then everything was taken away in favor of the treasury.

Army of Tamerlane

Drawing on the rich experience of his predecessors, Tamerlane managed to create a powerful and combat-ready army, which allowed him to win brilliant victories on the battlefields over his opponents. This army was a multinational and multi-religious association, the core of which were Turkic-Mongol nomadic warriors. Tamerlane's army was divided into cavalry and infantry, the role of which greatly increased at the turn of the 14th-15th centuries. However, the bulk of the army was made up of mounted detachments of nomads, the core of which consisted of elite units of heavily armed cavalry, as well as detachments of Tamerlane’s bodyguards. Infantry often played a supporting role, but was necessary during sieges of fortresses. The infantry was mostly lightly armed and consisted mainly of archers, but the army also included 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 pontooners, workers, engineers and other specialists, as well as special infantry units that specialized in combat operations in mountain conditions(they were recruited from residents of mountain villages). The organization of Tamerlane’s army generally corresponded to the decimal organization of Genghis Khan, but a number of changes appeared (for example, units of 50 to 300 people, called “koshuns,” appeared; the number of larger units, “kuls,” was also variable).

The main weapon of light cavalry, like infantry, was the bow. Light cavalrymen also used sabers or swords and axes. 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 common). Simple infantrymen were armed with bows, heavy infantry warriors fought with sabers, axes and maces and were protected by armor, 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 have borrowed the symbol from the Tibetans, whose 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 his campaign against China, Tamerlane ordered a golden dragon to be depicted on the banners.

Several less reliable sources also report that the tombstone contains the following inscription: "When I rise (from the dead), the world will tremble". Some undocumented sources claim that when the grave was opened in 1941, an inscription was found inside the coffin: “Whoever disturbs my peace in this life or the next will suffer and die.”.

According to sources, Timur was fond of playing chess (more precisely, shatranj).

Personal belongings that belonged to Timur, by the will of history, ended up scattered among various museums and private collections. For example, the so-called Ruby of Timur, which adorned his crown, is currently kept in London.

At the beginning of the twentieth century, Timur's personal sword was kept in the Tehran Museum.

Tamerlane in art

In literature

Historical

• Giyasaddin Ali. Diary of Timur's campaign in India. M., 1958.
• Nizam ad-Din Shami. Zafar-name. Materials on the history of the Kyrgyz and Kyrgyzstan. Issue I. M., 1973.
• Yazdi Sharaf ad-Din Ali. Zafar-name. T., 2008.
• Ibn Arabshah. Miracles of fate in the history of Timur. T., 2007.
• Clavijo, Ruy Gonzalez de. Diary of a trip to Samarkand to the court of Timur (1403-1406). M., 1990.
• Abd ar-Razzaq. The place where two lucky stars rise and where two seas meet. Collection of materials related to the history of the Golden Horde. M., 1941.

Participation in wars: War for power. Hiking to Mogolistan. War with the Golden Horde. Hikes to Iran and the Caucasus. A three-year campaign into the Mongolian possessions. March on India. War with the Ottoman Empire. War with the Egyptian Sultans. Trip to China.
Participation in battles: Battle in the gorges west of Issyk-Kul. Battle of the Kondurcha River. Battle of Terek. Angora battle. Conquest of Balkh, Shibergan, Badkhiz, Seistan. Capture of Khorasan, Serax, Jami, Qausia, Isferain, Tue, Kelat, Astrabad, Amuli, Sari, Sultaniya, Tabriz. The devastation of Azov, Kafu, Sarai-Batu, Astrakhan. Capture of Sivas, Aleppo, Damascus, Smyrna

(Tamerlan) Great commander of the Middle Ages, founder of the largest power of the era, winner of the Golden Horde

The Great Timur, who almost repeated his success Genghis Khan in creating a worldwide empire, born 1336

In Europe, he became known as Tamerlane (this comes from the Persian “Timurleng” - “lame Timur”) and as the “iron lame.” He called himself a “gurgan” - that is, a “son-in-law” of the house of the descendants of Genghis Khan, although no relative Chingizids I wasn't. The conquered peoples fearfully called it Sahibkiran, which means victorious - the owner of a lucky combination of stars. Truly he was a lucky man and a darling of fate. And truly - a horror for his enemies: one only has to remember Vereshchagin’s painting “The Apotheosis of War” with a mound of skulls. This is exactly how Timur preferred to communicate with rebellious captives who did not want to recognize his will over their fate.

And there were many of them - for Timur’s saber swing reached far. To many countries. He was a worthy spiritual successor Genghis Khan, who saw the limits of his empire where the hooves of Mongol horses could reach. Timur developed this idea even further: “The entire space of the populated part of the world does not deserve to have more than one king.” Timur himself.

Formally, Timur never proclaimed himself a khan and constantly kept with him dummy khans from Chingizidov. Thus, he demonstrated his loyalty to the covenants Genghis Khan and once again reminded everyone of his own roots. He was of Barlas origin - a representative of one of the four Chagatai tribes, descendants of nomads who once came to Central Asia with Genghis Khan and his heirs.

Timur was born into the family of Barlas bek Toragai, a poor but influential man, in the village of Khoja Ilgar, not far from the city of Shakhrisyabz. He was raised as a future warrior and early became a good horseman and an excellent archer. But Timur never forgot that he was the son of a bek, and therefore he always tried to be the leader in all children's games. By nature, he was a true leader and therefore, already in adolescence, he acquired for himself four devoted nukers (future warriors, for now - only horse servants). At the head of his nukers, he famously attacked distant and close neighbors, stealing almost every day a sheep, a cow, and occasionally a horse - the main value of yesterday's nomads.

At first, for Timur it was a brave thing, an attempt to prove to everyone, and above all to himself, that he could already live according to the great law of nomads, who consider everything that a neighbor cannot protect or hide as theirs. Over time, this great nomadic wisdom became clear to young Timur. For, following her, he became stronger and stronger. Not only yours own strength and polished military skills, but also the number of their supporters. For the captured booty testified to his luck, one of the most necessary qualities future leader. The rumor about her spread throughout the area. As did the news of his generosity, for he divided everything he got with his unstinting hand among his associates. Believing that this booty is not what he wants for himself. That everything is still ahead of him. And the surrounding youth whispered about this among themselves, deciding to throw in their lot with Timur. Soon he had more nukers. And the goals of his detachment became different - the extraction of entire villages, caravans of merchants passing by.

In 1361 Timur offered his services Mongol Khan Toklug-Timur, who appeared with his army in Transoxiana. So Timurleng became the ruler of Kashkadarya.

Soon the khan sent his son as governor of the entire country. But Timur, who spared no expense in collecting soldiers, refused to recognize the power of the khan’s son over Kashkadarya and declared himself an independent ruler.

This was largely possible thanks to Emir Hussein, grandson of the great Emir of Kazagan. The emir saw great potential in the young robber and began to help him, relying in his policy on the growing strength of Timur. They became related - and Hussein’s sister Uljay Turkan-aga became the beloved wife of Timur, from now on also the emir.

Together the two emirs went on campaigns against their neighbors. They were looking for glory, but more so for booty. For Hussein was never lazy to repeat that the strong are always right. However, he was not the only one who thought so - and therefore not every joint raid was successful. Once in Seistan, together with Hussein, they attacked shepherds guarding a flock of sheep. But this time they were ambushed. Most of Timur's detachment was cut down. He was wounded in the right leg, they threw him off the horse and tried to finish him off on the ground.

Wounded, he accepted the battle and emerged victorious. True, having lost two fingers on right hand, who fell under the cunning striking blow of the horseman. But Timur managed to kill the enemy with his left hand. In 1365, someone expelled from here after his death came to Transoxiana. Toklug-Timur his son Ilyas Khoja. Timur and Hussein, having recruited an army, went to meet him. The troops met between Chinaz and Tashkent. And so began what will go down in history as “ mud battle" Heavy rain turned the clay into sticky mud. Timur and Hussein were forced to flee to Samarkand, Hussein’s possession, and further beyond the Amu Darya, to the Balkh region, leaving the battlefield and their lands to the winner.

Luckily for the people of Samarkand, there were many serbedars in the city, which means “gallows,” for the serbedars said that it was better to die on the gallows than to submit to the Mongols. Timur and Hussein by this time had already become close to the local population, but Ilyas Khoja was a real Mongol Khan. And the Serbedars swore to defend the city from him.

They left the main roads free, but blocked the internal narrow streets with barricades and chained them on top. Archers were placed above the key barricades. And they hit the Mongols from the flanks when they, not expecting a trick, were drawn into the city. In the first ambush battle Ilyas Khoja lost about two thousand soldiers. The rest were drawn into a grueling urban war. Soon the invaders suffered another blow - a pestilence began among their horses: out of every four, only one survived. A Mongol without a horse is not a warrior, and their khan hastily retreated from Samarkand, leading his army, which was almost on foot.

The Serbedars remained the masters of the city. A few months later they returned to Samarkand Hussein and Timur. They did not return immediately - they were saving up their strength so that they would have something to oppose to the armed townspeople, who had tasted victory over a strong enemy and were now not particularly eager to submit to the old rulers again.

Without entering the city, the emirs stopped in a small village and widely informed everyone that they fully approved of all the actions of the Serbedars and invited their leaders to their headquarters. The first ceremonial reception was held in an atmosphere of love and friendship - all the Serbedar rulers were shown almost royal signs of attention. Rumors of such an honor spread widely throughout the area. The next day, Hussein and Timur again invited the people of Samarkand to their place to talk about business, about the future of the city. They invited me, knowing that they couldn’t come to an agreement. They didn’t really try - almost immediately they were captured and accused of usurping power, violating the rights of the existing dynasty, and causing offense to worthy people of the city...

Almost immediately after the accusations were made, the Serbedar leaders were executed. And Samarkand, shocked by the determination of the emirs, unconditionally recognized their power.

Soon disagreements began between father-in-law and son-in-law, each of whom wanted to be the first in the country. The disagreement ended in 1370 with the death of Hussein. In the same year, the military leaders of Maverannahr proclaimed Timur the sole sovereign of the country, and Timur himself appointed Chingizid Suyurgatmysh as khan, the first of a chain of dummy khans, under whom he would be the real ruler for many decades.

In 1372 Timur moved march to Khorezm, ancient and rich country, and a year later he made another trip. The result of the two campaigns was the humility of Khorezm and the entry of its southern part into the state of Timur.

Soon from White Horde ran to Timur Emir Tokhtamysh, the son of the closest associate of the Khan of the White Horde, who was recently executed for speaking out against the intention of the Khan of the White Horde to unite the entire ulus Jochi, subjugating the Golden Horde.

Timur helped several times Tokhtamysh organize a campaign against the Khan of the White Horde. Finally, in 1379 Tokhtamysh became the khan of the White Horde, immediately forgetting about Timur’s help and deciding to become the head of everything himself ulus Jochi.

Fulfilling this intention, he soon after the defeat Mamaia on the Kulikovo field Dmitry Donskoy in the same 1380 he defeated again Mamaia on the Kalka River. After which he became the single khan of the Golden and White Hordes, i.e. ulus Jochi.

His aggressive policy in Transcaucasia increasingly came into conflict with Timur. Thus, Tokhtamysh incited the Shah of Khorezm to fight against Timur. He responded by marching towards Northern Khorezm.

Its ruler, Yusuf Sufi, closed with his army in his capital, Urgench. Seeing the inaccessibility of the walls of this fortress city, Timur threw his army with fiery lava against the surrounding villages. Then Yusuf decided to try his luck and offered to meet Timur in a personal duel.

Timur accepted the challenge - despite everyone's persuasion. In light armor, with a saber and shield, he shouted for a long time at the city moat, calling Yusuf and reminding that death is better than breaking one's word. Yusuf did not come out, suddenly remembering Timur's glory as a skilled warrior.

Urgench held out for almost three more months. The last assault, which broke the defenders, took place after the death of Yusuf, who defended himself to the end. The city fell. For ten days it was robbed, burned and destroyed by the will of Timur. Of all the buildings, only one mosque with minarets survived as a result of this. Timur ordered the rest of the land, which until recently had been a beautiful city, to be sown with barley so that not a trace would remain of the city that dared to resist him.

Timur walked three times march on Tokhtamysh. In 1391, at the head of a 200,000-strong army between present-day Samara and Chistopol, he defeated the khan. In 1395, in the Terek valley, Timur again defeated Tokhtamysh, moved to his capital - the city of Saray Berke, in the Volga region, and captured it. The cities of Crimea also came under Timur's attack, Sea of ​​Azov, Volga delta, North Caucasus.

After this blow, the Golden Horde never recovered. Which largely ensured the end of the yoke in Rus' in 1480.

During these same years, Timur made several long campaigns. Their goal is conquest and extraction. 1381— trip to Iran, to Herat, which Timur took by storm, capturing large amounts of valuables and people.

A few years later he captured Seistan(its capital - Zaranj - will be crushed by the army of conquerors: all the walls are demolished to the ground, all the inhabitants are killed), so by the mid-80s most of Eastern Iran belonged to Timur. And by the end of the century - three campaigns later - he will conquer all of Iran. It was on these trips - when conquest of the city of Isfahan- 70 thousand people were killed, from which high towers were built by the will of the emir...

He loved such constructions from his victims. Isfahan Towers- the most famous. But there was a construction of a tower of two thousand living people, layered with broken bricks and clay, during the capture of the Afghan city of Isfizar.

Sometimes he simply ordered the rebellious to be buried alive - this is how four thousand people died during the conquest of the Asia Minor city of Sivas. And before the general battle with the Delhi Sultan, on his orders, one hundred thousand prisoners were slaughtered - Timur heard a rumor that his unarmed prisoners were allegedly preparing to stab him in the back at the most critical moment.

His troops awed not only the East, but also the West. In 1392, Armenia and Georgia became his possessions, and five years later - Azerbaijan.

The next year he goes on a campaign to India, takes over Delhi and takes out huge booty from there, including two white parrots, for many years“guarding” the peace of the Sultans of Delhi.

Immediately after completing his campaign in India in 1400, he began to fight against Turkish Sultan

Timur (Tamerlane, Timurleng) (1336-1405), commander, Central Asian emir (since 1370).

Born in the village of Khadzha-Ilgar. The son of Bek Taragai from the Mongolian Barlas tribe grew up in poverty, dreaming of the glorious exploits of Genghis Khan. Those times seemed to be gone forever. The young man’s share was only in clashes between the “princes” of small villages.

When the Mogolistan army arrived in Transoxiana, Timur happily went to serve the founder and khan of Mogolistan Togluk-Timur and was appointed governor of the Kashkadarya district. From the wound he received, he acquired the nickname Timurleng (Timur Khromets).

When the old khan died, Khromets felt like an independent ruler, entered into an alliance with the emir of Balkh and Samarkand Hussein and married his sister. Together they opposed the new Khan of Mogolistan, Ilyas Khoja, in 1365, but were defeated. Kicked out the conquerors
a rebellious people, whom Timur and Hussein then brutally dealt with.

After this, Timur killed Hussein and began to rule Transoxiana alone on behalf of the descendants of Genghis Khan. Imitating his idol in organizing the army, Timur convinced the nomadic and sedentary nobility that a place in the disciplined army of the conquerors would give them more than vegetating in their semi-independent possessions. He moved to the possessions of the Khan of the Golden Horde Mamai and took away Southern Khorezm from him (1373-1374), and then helped his ally, Khan Tokhtamysh, to take the throne.

Tokhtamysh started a war against Timur (1389-1395), in which the Horde was defeated and its capital, Sarai, was burned.

Only on the border of Rus', which seemed to Timur an ally, did he turn back.

In 1398 Timur invaded India and took Delhi. The only opponent of his huge state, which included Central Asia, Transcaucasia, Iran and Punjab, was Ottoman Empire. Having led her troops after the death of his brother right on the Kosovo field and completely defeated the crusaders, Sultan Bayezid I the Lightning entered into a decisive battle with Timur near Ankara (1402). Timur carried Sultan with him for a long time in a golden cage, showing it to the people. The emir sent the looted treasures to his capital Samarkand, where he carried out large-scale construction.

Commander, emir since 1370. Creator of the state with its capital in Samarkand. Defeated the Golden Horde. He made campaigns of conquest in Iran, Transcaucasia, India, Asia, etc., which were accompanied by the destruction of many cities, destruction and captivity of the population.

The founder of the Timurid dynasty, which ruled in Wed. Asia in 1370-1507.

Timur was born in the city of Kesh (in the Bukhara Khanate) or its environs; came from the Turkified Mongol tribe Barulas. During Timur's childhood, the Jagatai state in Central Asia collapsed. In Maverannehr, since 1346, power belonged to the Turkic emirs, and the khans enthroned by the emperor ruled only nominally. In 1348, the Mongol emirs enthroned Tukluk-Timur, who began to rule in Eastern Turkestan, the Kulja region and Semirechye. The first head of the Turkic emirs was Kazagan (1346 - 58).

Timur was originally the head of a gang of robbers formed in time of troubles. With her, he entered the service of the ruler of Kesha Haji, the head of the Barulas tribe. In 1360, Transoxiana was conquered by Tukluk-Timur; Haji fled to Khorasan, where he was killed; Timur was confirmed as the ruler of Kesh and one of the assistants of the Mongol prince Ilyas Khoja (son of the khan), appointed ruler of Transoxiana. Timur soon separated from the Mongols and went over to the side of their enemy Hussein (grandson of Kazagan); For some time they, with a small detachment, led the life of adventurers; During one skirmish in Seistan, Timur lost two fingers on his right hand and was seriously wounded in his right leg, which caused him to become lame (the nickname “lame Timur” is Aksak-Timur in Turkic, Timur-long in Persian, hence Tamerlane).

In 1364 the Mongols were forced to cleanse the country; Huseyn became the ruler of Transoxiana; Timur returned to Kesh. In 1366, Timur rebelled against Hussein, in 1368 he made peace with him and again received Kesh; in 1369, he again rebelled. In March 1370, Huseyn was captured and killed in the presence of Timur, although without his direct order. On April 10, 1370, Timur took the oath of all the military leaders of Transoxiana. Like his predecessors, he did not accept the title of khan and was content with the title of “great emir”; The khans under him were considered to be the descendant of Genghis Khan Suyurgatmysh (1370 - 88) and his son Mahmud (1388 - 1402).

Timur chose Samarkand as his residence and decorated it with magnificent construction projects. Timur devoted the first years of his autocracy to establishing order in the country and security on its borders (the fight against rebel emirs, campaigns against Semirechye and East Turkestan). In 1379, Khorezm (now the Khanate of Khiva) was conquered; from 1380, campaigns against Persia began, apparently caused only by aggressive aspirations (Timur’s saying: “the entire space of the populated part of the world is not worth having two kings”); Subsequently, Timur also acted as a representative of the idea of ​​​​state order, necessary for the benefit of the population and impossible with the existence of a number of small rulers hostile to each other. In 1381 Herat was taken; in 1382, Timur's son, Miranshah, was appointed ruler of Khorasan; in 1383 Timur devastated Seistan.

Timur made three large campaigns in 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). For the first time, Timur had to return back as a result of the invasion of Transoxiana by the Golden Horde Khan Tokhtamysh in alliance with the Semirechensk Mongols (1387). Timur in 1388 drove out the enemies and punished the Khorezmians for their alliance with Tokhtamysh, in 1389 he made a devastating campaign deep into the Mongolian possessions as far as the Irtysh to the north and to the Greater Yulduz to the east, in 1391 - a campaign against the Golden Horde possessions to the Volga. These campaigns achieved their goal, since after them we no longer see the invasions of the steppe people on Transoxiana. During the “five-year” campaign, Timur conquered the Caspian regions in 1392, and western Persia and Baghdad in 1393; Timur's son, Omar Sheikh, was appointed ruler of Fars, Miran Shah - ruler of Aderbeijan and Transcaucasia.

Tokhtamysh's invasion of Transcaucasia caused Timur's campaign to southern Russia(1395); Timur defeated Tokhtamysh on the Terek, pursued him to the Russian borders (where he destroyed Yelets), plundered the trading cities of Azov and Kafa, burned Sarai and Astrakhan; but a lasting conquest of the country was not in mind, and the Caucasus ridge remained the northern border of Timur’s possessions. In 1396 he returned to Samarkand and in 1397 appointed his youngest son Shahrukh as the ruler of Khorasan, Seistan and Mazanderan.

In 1398, a campaign was launched against India; in December, Timur defeated the army of the Indian Sultan (Toglukid dynasty) under the walls of Delhi and occupied the city without resistance, which a few days later was plundered by the army, and Timur pretended that this happened without his consent. 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, but without expanding his possessions.

The “seven-year” campaign was initially caused by the madness of Miranshah and the unrest in the region entrusted to him. Timur deposed his son and defeated the enemies who invaded his domain. In 1400, a war began with the Ottoman Sultan Bayazet, who captured the city of Arzinjan, where Timur's vassal ruled, and with the Egyptian Sultan Faraj, whose predecessor, Barkuk, ordered the death of Timur's ambassador back in 1393. In 1400, Timur took Sivas in Asia Minor and Aleppo (Aleppo) in Syria (which belonged to the Egyptian Sultan), and in 1401 Damascus. Bayazet was defeated and captured in the famous Battle of Angora (1402). Timur plundered all the cities of Asia Minor, even Smyrna (which belonged to the Johannite knights). Western part Asia Minor was returned to the sons of Bayazet in 1403, and in the east the small dynasties overthrown by Bayazet were restored; in Baghdad (where Timur restored his power in 1401, and up to 90,000 inhabitants died), the son of Miranshah, Abu Bakr, was appointed ruler, in Aderbeijan (from 1404) - his other son, Omar.

In 1404, Timur returned to Samarkand and at the same time undertook a campaign against China, for which he began to prepare back in 1398; that year he built a fortress (on the border of the current Syr-Darya region and Semirechye); Now another fortification was built, 10 days' journey further to the east, probably near Issyk-Kul. Timur gathered an army and in January 1405 arrived in the city of Otrar (its ruins are not far from 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).

Timur's career is in many ways reminiscent of the career of Genghis Khan: both conquerors began their activities as leaders of detachments of followers they personally recruited, who then 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 his 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 persons placed at the head of the civil administration (numerous cases of punishment for extortion of high dignitaries in Samarkand, Herat, Shiraz, Tabriz). The difference between Genghis Khan and Timur is determined by the latter's greater education. Timur did not receive a school education and was illiterate, but in addition to his native (Turkic) language, he spoke Persian and loved to talk with scientists, especially listen to the reading of historical works; with his knowledge of history he amazed the greatest of Muslim historians, Ibn Khaldun; Timur used stories about the valor of historical and legendary heroes to inspire his soldiers. Timur's buildings, in the creation of which he took an active part, reveal a rare artistic taste in him. Timur cared primarily about the prosperity of his native Maverannehr and about increasing the splendor of his capital - Samarkand, where he was gathered from different countries representatives of all branches of art and science; only in recent years did he take measures to improve the well-being of other regions of the state, mainly border ones (in 1398 a new irrigation canal was built in Afghanistan, in 1401 in Transcaucasia, etc.).

In Timur's attitude to religion, only political calculations are visible. Timur showed outward honor to theologians and hermits, did not interfere in the management of the property of the clergy, did not allow the spread of heresies (the prohibition of engaging in philosophy and logic), and took care of his subjects’ compliance with the rules of religion (closing entertainment establishments in large trading cities, despite the large income they generated treasury), but he personally did not deny himself the pleasures forbidden by religion, and only during his dying illness did he order the utensils of his feasts to be broken. To justify his cruelty on religious grounds, Timur in Shiite Khorasan and the Caspian regions acted as a champion of orthodoxy and a destroyer of heretics, and in Syria as an avenger for insults inflicted on the family of the prophet. The structure of military and civil administration was determined almost exclusively by the laws of Genghis Khan; Subsequently, theological authorities refused to recognize Timur as a devout Muslim, since he placed the laws of Genghis Khan above the dictates of religion. In Timur’s cruelties, in addition to cold calculation (like Genghis Khan), a painful, refined brutality 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 Shahrukh) and grandsons of Timur suffered from the same mental abnormality, as a result of which Timur, in contrast to Genghis Khan, did not find in his descendants either reliable assistants or continuers of his work. It turned out, therefore, to be even less durable than the result of the efforts of the Mongol conqueror.

The official history of Timur was written during his lifetime, first by Ali-ben Jemal-al-Islam (the only copy is in the Tashkent public library), then by Nizam-ad-din Shami (the only copy is in the British Museum). These works were supplanted by the famous work of Sheref ad-din Iezdi (under Shahrukh), translated into French) “Histoire de Timur-Bec.”, P., 1722). The work of another contemporary of Timur and Shahrukh, Hafizi-Abru, has reached us only in part; it was used by the author of the second half of the 15th century, Abd-ar-Rezzak of Samarkandi (the work was not published; there are many manuscripts). Of the authors (Persian, Arab, Georgian, Armenian, Ottoman and Byzantine) who wrote independently of Timur and the Timurids, only one, the Syrian Arab Ibn Arabshah, compiled full story Timur (“Ahmedis Arabsiadae vitae et rerum gestarum Timuri, qui vulgo Tamerlanes dicitur, historia”, 1767 - 1772).