Great generals. Tamerlane. Who is Tamerlane in history: lame Khan Timur

Tamerlane

General biography

Tamerlane (Timur; April 9, 1336, v. Khoja-Ilgar, modern. Uzbekistan - February 18, 1405, Otrar, modern. Kazakhstan; Chagatai (Temur, Temor) - "iron") - Central Asian conqueror, who played a significant role in the history of Central, South and West Asia, as well as the Caucasus, the Volga region and Russia. Outstanding military leader, emir (since 1370). Founder of the empire and the Timurid dynasty, with the capital in Samarkand. The ancestor of Babur - the founder of the Mughal Empire in India.

Thanks to the efforts of this particular person, as a result of the almost complete extermination of the troops of the Golden Horde under the leadership of Khan Tokhtamysh on the Dnieper and the destruction of the capital of the Golden Horde by Tamerlane, liberation from the Mongol Tatar yoke in Russia became possible.

Tamerlane's name

monument to Tamerlane in Samarkand

Timur's full name was Timur ibn Taragay Barlas (Timur bin Taragay Barlas - Timur is the son of Taragay from Barlas) in accordance with the Arab tradition (alam-nasab-nisba). In Chagatai and Mongolian languages (both Altaic) Temur or Temir means "iron". The word (Temur) probably goes back to the Sanskrit * cimara ("iron").

After Timur became related to the clan of Genghis Khan, he took the name Timur Gurkani (Timur Gurkani, Gurkan - an Iranized version of the Mongol krgen or khrgen, "son-in-law".

In various Persian sources, the Iranized nickname Timur-e Lang (Timur-e Lang,) "Timur the Lame" is often found, this name was probably considered contemptuous-derogatory at that time. It passed into Western languages (Tamerlan, Tamerlane, Tamburlaine, Timur Lenk) and into Russian, where it has no negative connotation and is used along with the original "Timur".

Tamerlane's personality

monument to Tamerlane in Tashkent

Timur's biography is in many ways reminiscent of the biography of Genghis Khan: both conquerors began their activities as 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 placed at the head of the civil administration (numerous cases of punishment for the covetousness of the highest dignitaries in Samarkand, Herat, Shiraz, Tabriz).

The difference between Genghis Khan and Timur is determined by the great education of the latter. Genghis Khan was deprived of any education. Timur, in addition to his native (Turkic) language, spoke Persian and loved to talk with scientists, in particular to listen to the reading of historical works; with his knowledge of history, he astonished the greatest of Muslim historians, Ibn Khaldun; Timur used stories about the valor of historical and legendary heroes to inspire his warriors.

Timur's buildings, in the creation of which he took an active part, reveal in him a rare artistic taste.

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 Samarkand. All his care, which he put into this city, he managed to express through his 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

Chagatai Khanate

Timur was born on April 8 (9), 1336 in the village of Khoja-Ilgar near the city of Kesh (now Shakhrisabz, Uzbekistan) in Central Asia.

As the opening of the tomb by M.M. Gerasimov and the subsequent study of the skeleton of Tamerlane from his burial showed, his height was 172 cm. Timur was strong, physically developed, his contemporaries wrote about him: “If most of the soldiers could pull the bowstring to the level of the collarbone, then Timur pulled it up to his ear. " Their hair was lighter than most of their fellow tribesmen.

His father's name was Taragay, he was a military man, a petty feudal lord. Descended from the Mongolian tribe Barlas, who by that time already spoke the Turkic Chagatai language. Didn't have school education and was illiterate, but knew the Koran by heart. He had 18 wives, of which his beloved wife was the sister of Emir Hussein - Uljay Turkan-aga. The people called him "not a very noble bey".

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

Fight against Mogolistan

Mongol possessions as a whole across the continent in the 13th - 14th centuriesand territories conquered from the Horde by Tamerlane

The first head of the Turkic emirs was Kazagan (1346-1358). Timur entered the service of the ruler of Kesh - Hadji Barlas (his uncle), 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.

In 1361, Khan Tugluk-Timur again occupied the country, and Khadzhi Barlas again fled to Khorasan, where he was later killed. In 1362 Tughluk-Timur hastily left Maverannahr as a result of the mutiny of a group of emirs in Mogolistan, transferring power to his son Ilyas-Khoja. Timur was confirmed as the ruler of the Kesh region and one of the assistants of the Mogul prince. No sooner had the khan crossed the Syr Darya river than Ilyashodzha-oglan, together with the emir Bekchik and other close emirs, conspired to remove Timurbek from state 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 moguls and go over to the side of their enemy - Emir Hussein (Kazagan's grandson). 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, going out to the aul of Mahmudi in the area controlled by Makhan, they were taken prisoner by the people of Alibek Dzhanikurban, in whose dungeons they 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.

In 1361-1364 Timurbek and Emir 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 Mongols. 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 right hand and was seriously wounded in the right leg, which made him lame (the nickname "lame Timur" - Aksak-Temir in Turkic, Timur-e lang in Persian, hence Tamerlane).

In 1364, the moguls were forced to leave the country. Returning back to Maverannahr, Timur and Hussein put the ulus of Kabul Shah from the Chagatand 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 Mogolistan under the leadership of Khan Ilyas-Khoja, which went down in history as a "battle in the mud." Timur and Hussein had little chance of defending their native land, since the army of Ilyas-Khoja had superior forces. During the battle, there was a torrential downpour, during which it was difficult for the soldiers even to look ahead, and the horses got stuck in the mud, so the opponents had to retreat - the soldiers of Timur and Hussein 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 his teacher at the Mavlanazada madrasah, artisan Abubakr Ka-lavi and a well-aimed shooter Khurdaki Bukhari. People's rule was established in the city. Upon learning of this, Timur and Hussein agreed to come forward forgiving the Serbedars - they lured them with kind speeches to negotiations, where in the spring of 1366 the troops of Hussein and Timur suppressed the uprising, executing the Serbedar leaders, but by order of Tamerlane they left the leader of the Serbedars, Mualan-zadeh, alive. popular preferences were converted.

Election as "Great Emir"

siege of the Balkh fortress in 1370

Hussein wanted to rule on the throne of the Chagatai ulus among the Turkic-Mongol people, like his uncle Kazagan, but according to the established tradition, power from time immemorial belonged to the descendants of Genghis Khan. Hussein did not belong to the Chingizids, then Timur opposed the change in customs, and the title of the supreme emir (emir ul-umaro), from the time of Genghis Khan, passed from generation to generation to the leaders of the Barlas tribe, who are the ancestors of Timurbek. This is confirmed by the written agreement between Genghis Khan's great-grandfather Tuminakhan and Kachuvli-bahadur, Timur's first great-grandfather. During the reign of Kazankhan, the post of supreme emir was forcibly appropriated by the grandfather of Emir Husayn, Emir Kazagan, which served as a reason for breaking the already not very good relations between the beks Timur and Hussein. Each of them began to prepare for the decisive battle.

Having moved from Sali-Saray to Balkh, Hussein began to strengthen the fortress and prepare for the decisive battle. Hussein decided to act by deception and cunning. He sent Timur an invitation to a meeting in the Chakchak gorge to sign a peace treaty, and as proof of his friendly intentions 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 recalls this case: “I sent a letter to Emir Hussein with a Turkic beit of the following content:

Whoever intends to deceive me will lie in the ground, I'm sure. Having shown his deceit, 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 began to redirect to the other side of the Amu Darya River. The forward units of his troops were commanded by Suyurgatmish-oglan, Ali Muayyad and Khusapn barlas. On the way to the village of Biya, Barak, the leader of the Andkhud Sayind, 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 assembles a kurultai, at which a man from the Chingizid clan of Suyurgatmysh is elected khan.

Not long before Timur was approved as “the great emir”, a certain good messenger came to him, a certain sheikh from Mecca, who said that he had a vision that he, Timur, would be 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 captured and killed. At the kurultai, Timur took the oath of allegiance from all the military leaders of Maverannahr. Like his predecessors, he did not accept the title of khan and was content with the title of "great emir" - the descendant of Genghis Khan Suyurgatmysh (1370-1388), his son Mahmud (1388-1398) and Satuk Khan (1398-1405) were considered khans. Samarkand was chosen as the capital, an end to feudal fragmentation was put.

Strengthening the state of Timur

Battle with Mogolistan and the Golden Horde

State of Tamerlane

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 Uruskhan seized Sygnyak and transferred the capital of the White Horde to it, Yassa (Turkestan), Sairam and Maverannahr found themselves in even greater danger. It was necessary to take measures to strengthen statehood.

In the same year, the authorities of Amir Timur were recognized in the cities of Balkh and Tashkent, however, the Khorezm rulers continued to resist the Chagatai ulus, relying on the support of the Dashti Kipchak rulers. Emir Timur demanded the return of the captured lands of Khorezm, first by peaceful means, sending first tavachi (quartermaster) to Gurganj, then shaykhulislam (head of the Muslim community), but Khusain-Sufi refused to fulfill this demand both times, taking the ambassador prisoner. Since then, Emir Timur made five campaigns against Khorezm. It was finally taken in 1388.

The next goals of Amir Timur 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. The ruler of Moghulistan, Emir Kamariddin, had the same goals as Timur. 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 Kamariddin in the 70-71s and the raids in the winter of 1376 on the cities of Tashkent and Andijan. In the same year, Emir Kamariddin captured half of Fergana, from where its governor Umar Shah-Mirza fled to the mountains. Therefore, the solution of the Mogolistan problem was important for the calmness on the borders of the country. From 1371 to 1390, Emir Timur made seven campaigns against Mogolistan, finally defeating the army of Kamariddin and Anka-tyur in 1390 during the last campaign. However, Timur reached only the Irtysh in the north, Alakul in the east, Emil and the headquarters of the Mongol khans of Balig-Yulduz, but to conquer the lands east of the mountains Tangri-taga and Kashgar he could not. Kamariddin fled and subsequently died of dropsy. The independence of Mogolistan was preserved.

"the door to the chambers of Khan Tamerlane" painting by Vasily Vereshchagin 1875

Realizing all the danger to the independence of Maverannahr from the unification of the Jochi ulus, from the very first days of his reign, Timur tried in every possible way to prevent its unification into a single state, once split into two - the White and Golden Hordes. The Golden Horde had its capital in the city of Sarai-Batu (Saray-Berke) and stretched across the North Caucasus, north-western 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 Uruskhan, 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. Amir Timur made three campaigns against Khan Tokhtamysh, finally defeating him on February 28, 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. In search of Tokhtamysh, Timur began a campaign against Russia.

In 1395, Tamerlane, marching on Russia, passed the Ryazan region and took the city of Yelets, in the same year Yelets was devastated by the troops of Tamerlane, and the prince was captured, after Tamerlane moved towards Moscow, but unexpectedly turned around and left on August 26 back. According to church tradition, it was at that time that Muscovites greeted the revered Vladimir Icon Mother of God, moved to Moscow to protect it from the conqueror. On the day the image met Tamerlane in a dream, according to the chronicle, the Mother of God appeared and told him to immediately leave the borders of Russia. At the meeting point Vladimir icon The Sretensky Monastery was founded by the Mother of God. Tamerlane did not reach Moscow, his army passed along the Don and took full.

Tamerlane

There is also another point of view. According to “Zafar-name” (“Book of Victories”) by Sheref-ad-din Yezdi, Timur ended up on the Don after his victory over Tokhtamysh near the Terek River and before the total defeat of the cities of the Golden Horde in the same year 1395. Tamerlane personally pursued the retreating commanders of Tokhtamysh after the defeat until their complete defeat. On the Dnieper, the enemy was finally defeated. 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 Horde pastures 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 underwent severe devastation. 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 Eletsk was "captivated" (occupied) and the prince of Yelets was "withdrawn" (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 pogromous, no treasures with such a date have been found to date. Sheref ad-din Yezdi 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" was to describe the exploits of Timur himself and the valor of his soldiers. According to the legends of the Yelets ethnographers of the 19th-20th centuries, the residents of Yelets put up stubborn resistance to the enemy. Nevertheless, in the "Book of Victories" there is no mention of this, the names of the fighters and commanders who took Yelets are not named, the first to climb the rampart, personally capturing the Yelets prince. Meanwhile, Russian women made a great impression on Timur's warriors, about whom Sheref-ad-din Yezdi writes in a poetic line: "Oh, beautiful peri like roses stuffed into a snow-white Russian canvas!" Then in "Zafar-name" follows a detailed list of Russian cities conquered by Timur, where there is also Moscow. Perhaps this is just a list of Russian lands who did not want armed conflict and sent their ambassadors with gifts. After the defeat of Bek Yaryk Oglan, Tamerlane himself began to methodically destroy the lands of his main enemy Tokhtamysh. The Horde cities of the Volga region never recovered from the ruin of Tamerlane until the final collapse of this state. 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. Yelets, according to Russian chronicles, existed for about twenty more years and was completely ruined by some "Tatars" only in 1414 or 1415.

Defeated Khan Tokhtamysh, who was the head of the Golden Horde state at that time. Fearing the transition of Transcaucasia and Western Iran under the rule of the enemy, Tokhtamysh undertook an invasion of this region in 1385. Having captured Tabriz and plundered it, the khan retreated with rich booty; Among the 90,000 captives was the Tajik poet Kamal Khojendi. In the 1390s, Tamerlane inflicted two severe defeats on the Horde Khan - on Kondurch in 1391 and on 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.

Hiking to the Caucasus, India, Syria, Persia and China

In 1380 Timur went on a campaign against Malik Giyasiddin Pir Ali II, who ruled in the city of Herat. At first, he sent an ambassador to him with an invitation to a kurultai in order to solve the problem peacefully, but Malik rejected the offer, detaining the ambassador. In response to this, in April 1380, Timur, under the leadership of Emirzade Pirmuhammad Ja Khangir, sent ten regiments to the left bank of the Amu Darya River. He captured the regions of Balkh, Shebergan and Badhiz. In February 1381, Emir Timur himself set out with troops and took the cities of Khorasan, Seraks, Jami, Kausiya, Tue and Kelat, and Herat was taken after a five-day siege. also, in addition to Kelat, Sebzevar was taken, as a result of which the Serbedar state ceased to exist; in 1382 the son of Timur, Miranshah, was appointed the ruler of Khorasan; in 1383 Timur devastated Seistan and brutally suppressed the Serbedar uprising in Sebzevar.

In 1383 he took Seistan, in which the fortresses of Zireh, Zaveh, Farah and Bust were defeated. In 1384 he captured the cities of Astrabad, Amul, Sari, Sultania and Tabriz, in fact, capturing all of Persia. After that, he went on a campaign to Armenia, after which he made several more aggressive campaigns to Persia and Syria. These campaigns are known in world history as three-year, five-year and seven-year campaigns, during which he fought wars in Syria, India, Armenia, Georgia, Turkey and Persia.

In 1402, Timur won a major victory over the Ottoman Sultan Bayazid I of Lightning, defeating him at the Battle of Ankara on 28 July. The sultan himself was taken prisoner. As a result of the battle, the entire Asia Minor, and the defeat of Bayezid led to the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, accompanied by a peasant war and civil strife among his sons. The official reason for the war was the alleged offering of gifts to Timur by the Turkish ambassadors. Outraged that Bayazid acts as a benefactor, Timur declared military action
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 (1387).

In 1388, Timur drove away the enemies and punished the Khorezmians for an alliance with Tokhtamysh, in 1389 he made a devastating campaign deep into the Mongol possessions to the Irtysh to the north and to Bolshoy Zhyldyz to the east, in 1391 - a campaign to the Golden Horde possessions up to the Volga. These campaigns have achieved their goal.

In 1398, a campaign was undertaken against India, and the highlanders of Kafiristan were defeated on the way. In December, Timur defeated the army of the Indian sultan (the Toglukid dynasty) under the walls of Delhi and occupied the city without resistance, which was plundered by the army a few days later. 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.

Five year hike

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 Transcaucasia. Tokhtamysh's invasion of the Transcaucasus caused Timur's campaign to South Russia (1395); Timur defeated Tokhtamysh on the Terek, pursued him to the limits of the Muscovy. There he invaded the Ryazan lands, ruined Yelets, posing a threat to Moscow. Having launched an offensive on Moscow, he unexpectedly turned back and left Muscovy 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). 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. In 1396 he returned to Samarkand and in 1397 appointed his youngest son Shah Rukh as the ruler of Khorasan, Seistan and Mazanderan.

Seven year hike

The "seven-year" campaign was originally prompted by Miranshah's madness and unrest in the area entrusted to him. Timur deposed his son and defeated the enemies invading his domain. In 1400, a war began with the Ottoman Sultan Bayazet, who seized the city of Arzinjan, where Timur's vassal ruled, and with the Egyptian Sultan Faraj, whose predecessor, Barkuk, back in 1393 ordered the assassination of Ambassador Timur. In 1400, Timur took Sivas in Asia Minor and Aleppo in Syria (belonging to the Egyptian sultan), in 1401 - Damascus. Bayazet was defeated and taken prisoner in the famous battle of Ankara (1402). Timur plundered all the cities of Asia Minor, even Smyrna (which belonged to the Knights of John). The western part of Asia Minor in 1403 was returned to the sons of Bayazet, in the eastern part, the minor dynasties deposed by Bayazet were restored. In Baghdad (where Timur restored his power (1401), and up to 90,000 inhabitants died), the son of Miranshah, Abu Bekr, was appointed ruler. In 1404, Timur returned to Samarkand and then 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.

Death

Mausoleum of Tamerlane 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.

Tamerlane came from the Barlas family. The ethnonym "Barlas" has been known since the time of Genghis Khan.

In most sources the Barlas are mentioned as one of the most powerful Turkic tribes. The Arab historian Rashid ad-Din writes that the four thousandth army, which Genghis Khan allocated to his son Chagatay, consisted, in particular, of Barlas and they were originally a Mongolian tribe called Barulos, which means "thick, strong" in Mongolian. It also meant "commander, leader, brave warrior" and was associated with the military courage of the tribe.

Tamerlane always boasted that his ancestors were from the tree of Genghis Khan and attached great importance to kinship with this dynasty. Most of Tamerlane's commanders were exactly barlas.

Interestingly, when the Persian Shah Mansour Muzaffari in his message he called Tamerlane an "Uzbek", the "iron lame" was greatly offended. This was the reason for the campaign against the Persian Shiraz, as a result of which the city was destroyed and plundered.

Tamerlane, one of the greatest conquerors in world history, was born on April 8, 1336 in the village of Khoja-Ilgar, now known as the Uzbek city of Shakhrisabz.

Here are 12 facts about the conqueror Timur, known as Tamerlane or the Great Lame.

1. The real name of one of the greatest military leaders in world history is Timur ibn Taragay Barlas, which means "Timur, the son of Taragai from the Barlas clan." A derogatory nickname is mentioned in various Persian sources Timur-eLiang, that is "Timur the Lame" given to the general by his enemies. "Timur-e Lyang" migrated to western sources how "Tamerlane"... Having lost its derogatory meaning, it became Timur's second historical name.

2. Since childhood, who loved hunting and war games, Timur was a strong, healthy, physically developed person. Anthropologists who studied the commander's tomb in the 20th century noted that the biological age of the conqueror who died at 68 years old, judging by the state of the bones, did not exceed 50 years.

Reconstruction of Tamerlane's appearance based on his skull. Mikhail Mikhailovich Gerasimov, 1941 Photo: Public Domain

3. From the time of Genghis Khan the title of the great khan could only be carried by the Genghisids. That is why Timur formally bore the title of emir (leader). Moreover, in 1370 he managed to intermarry with the Chingizids by marrying his daughter Kazan KhanShed mulkhanym... After that Timur received the prefix Gurgan to his name, which means “son-in-law,” which allowed him to live and act freely in the houses of the “natural” Chingizids.

4. In 1362, Timur, who was waging a partisan war against the Mongols, was seriously injured during the battle in Seistan, losing two fingers on his right hand and receiving a severe wound on his right leg. The injury, the pains from which haunted Timur for the rest of his life, led to a limp and to the emergence of the nickname "Timur the Lame".

5. For several decades of virtually continuous wars, Timur managed to create a huge state that included Maverannahr (the historical region of Central Asia), Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan. The conqueror Timur himself gave the created state the name Turan.

Conquests of Tamerlane. Source: Public Domain

6. At the peak of his power, Timur had at his disposal an army, numbering about 200 thousand soldiers. It was organized according to the system created by Genghis Khan - tens, hundreds, thousands, as well as tumens (units of 10 thousand people). A special command body was responsible for order in the army and its provision with everything necessary, the functions of which were similar to the modern ministry of defense.

7. In 1395, Timur's army for the first and last time was in Russian lands. The conqueror did not consider the Russian territories as an object for annexation to his state. The reason for the invasion was the struggle of Timur with the Golden Horde Khan Tokhtamysh... And although Timur's army devastated part of the Russian lands, capturing Elets, on the whole the conqueror with his victory over Tokhtamysh contributed to the fall of the influence of the Golden Horde on the Russian principalities.

8. The conqueror Timur was illiterate and in his youth did not receive any education, except for the military, but at the same time he was a very talented and capable person. According to the chronicles, he was fluent in several languages, loved to talk with scientists and demanded to read books on history aloud to him. Possessing a brilliant memory, he then gave historical examples in conversations with scientists, which greatly surprised them.

9. Fighting bloody wars, Timur from campaigns brought not only material booty, but also scientists, artisans, artists, architects. Under him, there was an active restoration of cities, the foundation of new ones, the construction of bridges, roads, irrigation systems, as well as the active development of science, painting, secular and religious education.

Monument to Tamerlane in Uzbekistan. Photo: www.globallookpress.com

10. Timur had 18 wives, among whom are often distinguished Uldjay-Turkanyeah and Shed mulkhanym... These women, who are called "Timur's beloved wives", were relatives of each other: if Uldzhai-Turkan aga was the sister of Timur's comrade-in-arms Emir Hussein, then Sarai-mulk khanim is his widow.

11. Back in 1398, Timur began to prepare for an aggressive campaign in China, which was launched in 1404. As often happens in history, the Chinese were saved by chance - the campaign that had begun was interrupted by an early and extremely cold winter, and in February 1405 Timur was gone.

12. One of the most famous legends associated with the name of the great commander tells about "the curse of Tamerlane's grave." Allegedly, immediately after the opening of Timur's grave, a great and terrible war should begin. Indeed, the opening of the tomb of Timur in Samarkand was carried out by Soviet archaeologists on June 20, 1941, that is, two days before the start of the Great Patriotic War. Skeptics, however, remind that the plan of attack on the USSR was approved in Nazi Germany long before the opening of Timur's grave. As for the inscriptions promising trouble for the one who opens the grave, they did not differ in any way from similar ones made on other burials of the Timur era, and were intended to scare away the grave robbers. It is worth noting one more point - the famous Soviet anthropologist and archaeologist Mikhail Gerasimov, who not only participated in the opening of the tomb, but also restored the appearance of Timur from his skull, survived safely until 1970.

In 1336 in the village. Khoja-Ilgar near Keshe (the territory of present-day Uzbekistan) in the family of a bek from the Barlas tribe was born the son of Timur ibn Taragay Barlas (in history he is known as Timur Tamerlane). In Mongolian, the name Timur means "iron".

Timur Tamerlane is an emir who is associated with the last conquests of the Mongols in Asia. He led the Mongols and was only an emir, since not being a descendant of the Chingizid house, he could not be a khan and bear this title. Although in 1370 he became related to this house and became their relative, taking the name Timur Gurgan.

For the first time, historical sources remember him since 1361 - this is the year of the beginning of his political career. This year he began to serve with Khan Togluk - a direct descendant of Genghis Khan.

He quickly increased his influence: first he was appointed to the post of adviser to the son of Khan Ilyas-Khoja - the ruler of Maverannehr, then he received the post of governor of the Kashkadarya vilayet (the possession of the khan). His own equestrian detachment of 60 people was always present with him.

After a couple of years, Timur became objectionable to the khan and therefore was forced to flee. Having concluded a military alliance with Emir Hussein, he began to fight against the Mongols.

As a result of these wars in 1370 he captured Maverannehr and became emirs, taking the oath. Samarkand became the capital - an important center in Asia at that time.

Beginning in 1371, Tamerlane's army began to conquer new territories - until 1380 many of the neighboring territories and most of the territory of Afghanistan were captured. Over the next 10 years, Tamerlane conquered Georgia, Armenia, Khorezm, and in 1388, the lands from the Pamirs to The aral sea.

Since 1389, the emir was at war with the Golden Horde. His main opponent was Tokhtamysh (a descendant of Genghis Khan), whom he helped in 1376 to become the khan of the Golden Horde.

In 1391, after the defeat of Tokhtamysh's troops, Tamerlane ravaged the capital of the Horde, Saray-Berke.

In 1394 Tamerlane conquered Persia, in 1398 he plundered Delhi - the capital of India, in 1401 - he captured Damascus and conquered Syria, in 1402 - Ankara, the capital of the Ottoman Empire.

All his trips are divided into three large ones:

three-year (campaign to Persia);
five-year (war with the Golden Horde);
seven years (campaign in Iran and the war with the Ottoman Empire).

Tamerlane died in 1405 during a campaign in China. After him, the rule was seized by his grandson Khalil-Sultan.

Tamerlane had 18 wives and four sons.

Timur did not even have a school education, but he knew the Persian language and loved history (they say that with his knowledge in this area he amazed Ibn Khaldun, the most famous Muslim historian).

Islam-today

Timur (Tamerlane, Timurleng) (1336 - 1405), military leader, Central Asian emir (C 1370).

Born in the village of Khadzha-Ilgar. The son of Bek Taragai from the Mongolian tribe Barlas grew up in poverty, dreaming of the glorious exploits of Genghis Khan. Those days seemed to be gone forever. Only the skirmishes of the "princes" of small villages fell to the lot of the young man.

When the Mogolistan army appeared in Maverannahr, Timur gladly went to serve with Togluk-Timur, the founder and khan of Mogolistan, and was appointed governor of the Kashkadarya district. From the resulting wound, he acquired the nickname Timurleng (Timur Khromets).

When the old khan died, Khromets felt himself an independent ruler, made an alliance with the emir of Balkh and Samarkand Hussein and married his sister. Together, in 1365, they opposed the new Khan of Mogolistan, Ilyas Khoja, but were defeated. Conquerors drove out
the rebellious people, whom Timur and Hussein then cruelly dealt with.

After that, Timur killed Hussein and began to rule Maverannahr 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 a disciplined army of conquerors would give them more than vegetation in their semi-independent domains. He moved to the possessions of the Khan of the Golden Horde Mamai and took away from him South Khorezm (1373-1374), and then helped his ally, the khan, Tokhtamysh, to take the throne.

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

Only on the border of Russia, which seemed to Timur to be 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 the Ottoman Empire. Sultan Bayazid I of Lightning, who led her troops after the death of his brother right on the Kosovo field and utterly defeated the crusaders, entered a decisive battle with Timur near Ankara (1402). Timur took Sultan with him for a long time in a golden cage, showing the people. The emir sent the plundered treasures to his capital Samarkand, where he carried out a large construction.

Tamerlane

Central Asian military leader-conqueror.

Tamerlane, the most powerful of the generals of Central Asia in the Middle Ages, restored the former Mongol empire of Genghis Khan (No. 4). His long life The commander went through almost constant battles, as he sought to expand the borders of his state and hold the conquered lands stretching from the Mediterranean coast in the south to India in the west and to Russia in the north.

He was born in 1336 into a Mongolian military family in Kesh (present-day Shakhrisab, Uzbekistan). His name comes from the nickname Timur Leng (Lame Timur), which is associated with his lameness on left leg... Despite his ignoble origin and physical disability, Timur, thanks to his abilities, reached high degrees in the Mongol Khanate, whose territory covers present-day Turkestan and central Siberia. In 1370, Tamerlane, who became the head of the government, overthrew the khan and seized power in the Dzhagatai ulus. After that, he proclaimed himself a direct descendant of Genghis Khan. In the next thirty-five years, Tamerlane waged wars of conquest, capturing more and more territories and suppressing all internal resistance.

Tamerlane strove to take the wealth of the conquered lands to his palace in Samarkand. Unlike Genghis Khan, he did not unite the newly conquered lands into an empire, but left behind a monstrous destruction and erected pyramids of enemy skulls to commemorate his victories. Although Tamerlane greatly appreciated literature and art and turned Samarkand into a cultural center, he and his people carried out military operations with barbaric cruelty.

Starting with the subordination of neighboring tribes, Tamerlane then began to fight with Persia. In 1380-1389. he conquered Iran, Mesopotamia, Armenia and Georgia. In 1390 he invaded Russia, and in 1392 he went back through Persia, suppressing the uprising that broke out there, killing all his opponents along with their families and burning their cities.

Tamerlane was an excellent tactician and fearless commander who knew how to raise the morale of his soldiers, and his army often numbered more than one hundred thousand people. The military organization of Tamerlane was partly similar to that of Genghis Khan. The main impact force were cavalry, armed with bows and swords, and on spare horses they carried supplies for long campaigns.

Obviously, only because of the love of war and imperial ambitions in 1389 Tamerlane invaded India, captured Delhi, where his army staged a massacre, and destroyed what he could not take to Samarkand. Only a century later, Delhi was able to recover from the damage suffered. Not content with the casualties among the civilian population, Tamerlane, after the Battle of Panipat on December 17, 1398, destroyed one hundred thousand captured Indian soldiers.

In 1401, Tamerlane conquered Syria, killing twenty thousand inhabitants of Damascus, and the next year defeated the Turkish sultan Bayezid I. After that, even those countries that were not yet subject to Tamerlane recognized his power and paid tribute to him, just to avoid invasion his hordes. In 1404, Tamerlane received tribute even from the Egyptian sultan and the Byzantine emperor John.

Now the empire of Tamerlane could compete in size with Genghis Khanova, and the palace of the new conqueror was full of treasures. But although Tamerlane was well over sixty, he did not calm down. He plotted an invasion of China. However, on January 19, 1405, not having time to realize this plan, Tamerlane died. His tomb, Gur Emir, is today one of the great architectural monuments of Samarkand.

By the will of Tamerlane, the empire was divided between his sons and grandchildren. It is not surprising that his heirs turned out to be bloodthirsty and ambitious. In 1420, after many years of war, the youngest son of Tamerlane, Sharuk, the only survivor, received power over his father's empire.

Of course, Tamerlane was a powerful commander, but he was not a politician capable of creating a true empire. The conquered territories only provided him with booty and soldiers for robbery. He left no other accomplishments besides the scorched earth and the pyramids of skulls. But it is indisputable that his conquests were very extensive, and his army kept all neighboring countries at bay. His direct influence on the life of Central Asia continued for most of the 14th century, and his conquests led to a rise in militancy, as the peoples had to arm themselves in order to protect themselves from the hordes of Tamerlane.

Tamerlane carried out his conquests thanks to the size and power of his army and merciless cruelty. In our series, he can be compared with Adolf Hitler (No. 14) and Saddam Hussein (No. 81). Tamerlane took a place between these two historical figures, because in cruelty he surpassed the latter, although he is far inferior to the first.

Timur, the son of a bek from the Turkic Mongolian tribe Barlas, was born in Kesh (present-day Shakhrisabz, Uzbekistan), southwest of Bukhara. His father had a small ulus. The name of the Central Asian conqueror comes from the nickname Timur Leng (Lame Timur), which was associated with his limp on his left leg. From childhood, he persistently engaged in military exercises and from the age of 12 began to go with his father on hikes. He was a zealous Mohammedan, which played a significant role in his struggle against the Uzbeks.

Timur early showed his military abilities and ability not only to command people, but also to subordinate them to his will. In 1361 he entered the service of Khan Togluk, a direct descendant of Genghis Khan. He owned large territories in Central Asia. Pretty soon Timur became an advisor to the khan's son Ilyas Khoja and the ruler (governor) of the Kashkadarya vilayet in the domain of Khan Togluk. By that time, the son of a bek from the Barlas tribe already had his own detachment of mounted warriors.

But after a while, falling into disgrace, Timur with his military detachment of 60 people fled across the Amu Darya River to the Badakhshan Mountains. There his squad was replenished. Khan Togluk sent a thousandth detachment in pursuit of Timur, but he, having fallen into a well-arranged ambush, was almost completely exterminated in battle by Timur's warriors.

Gathering his strength, Timur entered into a military alliance with the ruler of Balkh and Samarkand, Emir Hussein, and began a war with Khan Togluk and his heir son Ilyas Khodja, whose army consisted mainly of Uzbek soldiers. On the side of Timur, the Turkmen tribes came out, giving him numerous cavalry. Soon he declared war on his ally, the Samarkand emir Hussein, and defeated him.

Timur captured Samarkand, one of the largest cities in Central Asia, and intensified military operations against the son of Khan Togluk, whose army, according to exaggerated estimates, numbered about 100 thousand people, but 80 thousand of them were garrisons of fortresses and almost did not participate in field battles. The equestrian detachment of Timur numbered only about 2 thousand people, but these were tried and tested warriors. In a number of battles, Timur defeated the Khan's troops and by 1370 their remnants retreated across the Syr River.

After these successes, Timur went to the military trick, which he succeeded brilliantly. On behalf of the khan's son, who commanded the troops of Togluk, he sent the commandants of the fortresses an order to leave the fortresses entrusted to them and with the garrison troops to withdraw across the Syr River. So, with the help of military cunning, Timur cleared all the enemy's fortresses from the khan's troops.

In 1370, a kurultai was convened, at which the wealthy and noble Mongolian owners elected Kobul Shah Aglan, a direct descendant of Genghis Khan, as khan. However, Timur soon removed him from his path. By that time, he significantly replenished his military forces, primarily at the expense of the Mongols, and now he could lay claim to an independent khan's power.

In the same 1370, Timur became emir in Maverannahr - the region between the Amu Darya and Syr Darya rivers and ruled on behalf of the descendants of Genghis Khan, relying on the army, nomad nobility and Muslim clergy. He made the city of Samarkand his capital.

Timur began to prepare for big campaigns of conquest by organizing strong army... At the same time, he was guided by the combat experience of the Mongols and the rules of the great conqueror Genghis Khan, which his descendants had by that time managed to completely forget.

Timur began his struggle for power with a detachment of 313 soldiers loyal to him. It was they who made up the backbone of the commanding staff of the army he created: 100 people began to command dozens of soldiers, 100 - hundreds and the last 100 - thousands. The closest and most trusted associates of Timur received the highest military posts.

He paid special attention to the selection of military leaders. In his army, the foremen were chosen by a dozen soldiers themselves, but Timur personally appointed centurions, thousand and higher commanders. “A leader whose power is weaker than a stick and a stick is not worthy of the title,” said the Central Asian conqueror.

His army, in contrast to the troops of Genghis Khan and Khan Batu, received a salary. An ordinary soldier received from two to four prices for horses. The amount of such a salary was determined by the serviceability of a soldier. The ten's manager received the salary of his ten and therefore was personally interested in the proper performance of service by his subordinates. The centurion received a salary of six foremen and so on.

There was also a system of awards for military distinctions. This could be the praise of the emir himself, an increase in salary, valuable gifts, the awarding of expensive weapons, new ranks and honorary titles - such as, for example, Brave or Bogatyr. The most common punishment was withholding a tenth of the salary for a specific disciplinary offense.

Timur's cavalry, which formed the basis of his army, was divided into light and heavy. Simple light-skinned warriors were required to have a bow, 18-20 arrows, 10 arrowheads, an ax, a saw, an awl, an igloo, a lasso, a tursuk bag (water bag) and a horse. For 19 such warriors in the campaign, one wagon was relied on. Selected Mongol warriors served in the heavy cavalry. Each of her warriors had a helmet, iron protective armor, a sword, a bow and two horses. One wagon was relied on for five such horsemen. In addition to the obligatory armament, there were pikes, maces, sabers and other weapons. The Mongols carried everything necessary for the marching life on spare horses.

Light infantry appeared in the Mongol army under Timur. These were horse-drawn archers (carrying 30 arrows) who dismounted before the battle. Thanks to this, the accuracy of shooting increased. Such horse-drawn arrows were very effective in ambushes, during military operations in the mountains and during the siege of fortresses.

Timur's army was distinguished by a well-thought-out organization and a strictly defined order of formation. Each warrior knew his place in the ten, ten in a hundred, a hundred in a thousand. Individual units of the army differed in the colors of the horses, the color of clothing and banners, and military equipment. According to the laws of Genghis Khan, before the campaign, the soldiers were examined with all the severity.

During the campaigns, Timur took care of a reliable outpost in order to avoid a surprise attack by the enemy. On the way or in a parking lot, security detachments were separated from the main forces at a distance of up to five kilometers. From them, sentinel posts were dispatched even further, which, in turn, sent horse sentries ahead.

As an experienced commander, Timur chose for the battles of his mainly cavalry army flat terrain, with sources of water and vegetation. He lined up the troops for the battle so that the sun did not shine in the eyes and thus did not blind the archers. He always had strong reserves and flanks to encircle the enemy involved in the battle.

Timur began the battle with light cavalry, which bombarded the enemy with a cloud of arrows. After that, horse attacks began, which followed one after another. When the opposing side began to weaken, a strong reserve was brought into battle, consisting of heavy armored cavalry. Timur said: "The ninth attack gives victory." This was one of his main rules in the war.

Timur began his campaigns of conquest outside his original possessions in 1371. By 1380, he made 9 military campaigns, and soon all neighboring regions inhabited by Uzbeks and most of the territory of modern Afghanistan were under his rule. Any resistance to the Mongol army was severely punished - after himself the commander Timur left huge destruction and erected pyramids from the heads of the defeated enemy soldiers.

In 1376, Emir Timur provided military assistance to the descendant of Genghis Khan Tokhtamysh, as a result of which the latter became one of the khans of the Golden Horde. However, Tokhtamysh soon repaid his patron with black ingratitude.

The Emir's Palace in Samarkand was constantly replenished with treasures. It is believed that Timur brought to his capital up to 150 thousand of the best artisans from the conquered countries, who built numerous palaces for the emir, decorating them with paintings depicting the conquest campaigns of the Mongol army.

In 1386, Emir Timur made campaign of conquest to the Caucasus. Near Tiflis, the Mongol army fought with the Georgian and won a complete victory. The capital of Georgia was destroyed. The defenders of the Vardzia fortress, the entrance to which led through the dungeon, showed courageous resistance to the conquerors. Georgian soldiers repulsed all enemy attempts to break into the fortress through an underground passage. The Mongols managed to take Vardzia with the help of wooden platforms, which they lowered on ropes from the neighboring mountains. Simultaneously with Georgia, neighboring Armenia was conquered.

In 1388, after a long resistance, Khorezm fell, and its capital Urgench was destroyed. Now all the lands along the course of the Jeyhun (Amu Darya) River from the Pamir Mountains to the Aral Sea have become the possessions of Emir Timur.

In 1389, the cavalry army of the Samarkand emir made a campaign in the steppe to Lake Balkhash, to the territory of Semirechye - the south of modern Kazakhstan.

When Timur fought in Persia, Tokhtamysh, who became the khan of the Golden Horde, attacked the emir’s possessions and plundered their northern part. Timur hastily returned to Samarkand and began to carefully prepare for a big war with the Golden Horde. Timur's cavalry had to cover 2,500 kilometers across the arid steppes. Timur made three large campaigns - in 1389, 1391 and 1394-1395. In the last campaign, the Samarkand emir went to The Golden Horde on west coast Caspian Sea through Azerbaijan and the fortress of Derbent.

In July 1391, the largest battle between the armies of Emir Timur and Khan Tokhtamysh took place near Lake Kergel. The forces of the parties were approximately equal - 300 thousand horse soldiers each, but these figures in the sources are clearly overestimated. The battle began at dawn with a mutual skirmish of archers, followed by horse attacks on each other. By noon, the army of the Golden Horde was defeated and put to flight. The winners got the khan's marching camp and numerous herds.

Timur successfully waged a war against Tokhtamysh, but did not begin to annex his possessions. Emir Mongolian troops plundered the Golden Horde capital Saray-Burke. Tokhtamysh with his troops and nomads fled to the most remote corners of his possessions more than once.

In the campaign of 1395, after another pogrom of the Volga territories of the Golden Horde, Timur's army reached the southern borders of the Russian land and laid siege to the border fortress city of Yelets. Its few defenders could not resist the enemy, and Yelets was burned. After that Timur unexpectedly turned back.

The Mongol conquests of Persia and neighboring Transcaucasia lasted from 1392 to 1398. The decisive battle between the army of Emir Timur and the Persian army of Shah Mansur took place near Patila in 1394. The Persians vigorously attacked the enemy center and almost broke his resistance. Assessing the situation, Timur strengthened his reserve of heavy armor cavalry with troops that had not yet joined the battle, and he himself led a counterattack, which was victorious. The Persian army in the battle of Patil was utterly defeated. This victory allowed Timur to completely subjugate Persia.

When an anti-Mongol uprising broke out in a number of cities and regions of Persia, Timur again set out on a campaign there at the head of his army. All the cities that rebelled against him were subjected to destruction, and their inhabitants were ruthlessly exterminated. In the same way, the Samarkand ruler suppressed resentments against Mongol rule in other countries he had conquered.

In 1398, a great conqueror invades India. In the same year, Timur's army laid siege to the fortress city of Meratkh, which the Indians themselves considered impregnable. After inspecting the city fortifications, the emir ordered to dig. but underground work advanced very slowly, and then the besiegers took the city by storm with the help of ladders... Bursting into Meratkh, the Mongols killed all of its inhabitants. After that, Timur ordered the destruction of the Meratkh fortress walls.

One of the battles took place on the Ganges River. Here the Mongolian cavalry fought with the Indian military flotilla, which consisted of 48 large river ships. Mongol warriors rushed with their horses to the Ganges and swam attacked the enemy ships, hitting their crews with well-aimed archery.

At the end of 1398, Timur's army approached the city of Delhi. Under its walls on December 17, a battle took place between the Mongol army and the army of the Delhi Muslims under the command of Mahmud Tughlak. The battle began with the fact that Timur with a detachment of 700 horsemen, having crossed the Jamma River to reconnoitre the city fortifications, was attacked by the 5,000-strong cavalry of Mahmud Tughlak. Timur repulsed the first attack, and soon the main forces of the Mongol army entered the battle, and the Delhi Muslims were driven behind the city walls.

Timur captured Delhi from the battle, betraying this large and rich Indian city to plunder, and its inhabitants to massacre. The conquerors left Delhi, burdened with huge booty. Everything that could not be taken to Samarkand, Timur ordered to be destroyed or to the ground destroyed. It took a century for Delhi to recover from the Mongol pogrom.

The following fact is the best evidence of Timur's cruelty on Indian soil. After the battle of Panipat in 1398, he ordered to kill 100 thousand Indian soldiers who surrendered to him.

In 1400, Timur began a campaign of conquest in Syria, moving there through Mesopotamia, which he had previously conquered. On November 11, near the city of Aleppo (present-day Aleppo), a battle took place between the Mongol army and the Turkish troops commanded by the Syrian emirs. They did not want to sit under siege outside the fortress walls and went out to battle in open field... The Mongols inflicted a crushing defeat on the opponents, and they retreated to Aleppo, losing several thousand people killed. After that, Timur took and plundered the city, seizing its citadel by storm.

The Mongol conquerors behaved in Syria in the same way as in other conquered countries. All the most valuable things were to be sent to Samarkand. In the Syrian capital Damascus, which was captured on January 25, 1401, the Mongols killed 20 thousand inhabitants.

After the conquest of Syria, a war began against the Turkish Sultan Bayazid I. The Mongols captured the border fortress of Kemak and the city of Sivas. When the Sultan's ambassadors arrived there, Timur inspected his huge, according to some information, 800-thousand army to intimidate them. After that, he ordered to seize the crossings across the Kizil-Irmak river and laid siege to the Ottoman capital Ankara. This forced the Turkish army to accept a general battle with the Mongols near the camps of Ankara, it happened on June 20, 1402.

According to eastern sources, the Mongol army numbered from 250 to 350 thousand warriors and 32 war elephants brought to Anatolia from India. The Sultan's army, consisting of Ottoman Turks, hired Crimean Tatars, Serbs and other peoples of the Ottoman Empire, numbered 120-200 thousand people.

Timur won a victory largely thanks to the successful actions of his cavalry on the flanks and the transition of the bribed 18 thousand mounted Crimean Tatars to his side. In the Turkish army, the Serbs, who were on the left flank, were the most staunchly held. Sultan Bayezid I was taken prisoner, and the infantrymen-janissaries, who were surrounded, were completely killed. Those who fled were pursued by the Emir's 30-thousandth light cavalry.

After a convincing victory at Ankara, Timur laid siege to the large seaside city of Smyrna and, after a two-week siege, took and plundered it. Then the Mongol army turned back to Central Asia, once again plundering Georgia on the way.

After these events, even those neighboring countries that managed to avoid the aggressive campaigns of Timur the lame, recognized his power and began to pay tribute to him, just to avoid the invasion of his troops. In 1404 he received a large tribute from the Egyptian sultan and the Byzantine emperor John.

By the end of Timur's reign, his vast state in terms of territory included Maverannahr, Khorezm, Transcaucasia, Persia (Iran), Punjab and other lands. All of them were united together artificially, through the strong military power of the conquering ruler.

Timur, as a conqueror and a great commander, reached the heights of power thanks to the skillful organization of his numerous army, built according to decimal system and continued the tradition of the military organization of Genghis Khan.

According to the will of Timur, who died in 1405 and was preparing a big campaign of conquest in China, his power was divided between his sons and grandsons. They immediately began a bloody internecine war and in 1420 Sharuk, who remained the only one among Timur's heirs, received power over his father's possessions and the emir's throne in Samarkand.