Great generals. Tamerlane

Tamerlane was called "the ruler of the world." He was one of the greatest conquerors in world history. This man combined incredible ruthlessness and a subtle understanding of art and science.

"Iron Lame"

The great emir Timur, the founder of the Timurid Empire, went down in history under the name "Timur-e Leng or Tamerlane, which translates as "iron lame". According to legend, there was gore in the clenched fist of the newborn Tamerlane. The boy's father, a former warrior Taragay ("Lark"), immediately realized that his son was waiting for the path of a great warrior, and named the newborn Timur (the Turkic version of the Mongolian Temur - "Iron").

This name contains a deep sacred meaning and is rooted in the religious traditions of the Turkic peoples, for whom iron has always been a sacred matter. According to some Asian legends, an iron mountain stands in the center of the world, and the "eternal kingdom" in Mongolian mythology is called "like iron." In addition, it is important to consider that Timur was born in the Barlas tribe, where pagan beliefs were still preserved, and the name given at birth determined the further life path.

The nickname Leng (lame) stuck to Timur after the Persian campaign and was offensive in nature, pointing to the soldier's injury - incorrectly fused bones of the right leg after one of the battles. Since then, the invincible emir has been proudly called the derogatory name Tamerlane.

Educated tyrant

Timur, despite his reputation as a "bloody barbarian", was a highly educated ruler. According to the memoirs of his contemporaries, he was fluent in the spoken Turkic, Persian and Mongolian languages. According to other sources, he did not know literacy, but he loved the arts and belles-lettres, attracted scientists, artists, artisans and engineers by force, considering them the best prey.

It was under Timur that Samarkand became the "Shining Star of the East" - one of the main cultural centers in Asia. Surprisingly, Tamerlane loved his capital, despite the fact that he was from the Norman steppes, who preferred not to limit themselves to city walls.

The biographers of the great emir say that the active construction that he carried out in Samarkand was a way for him to forget everything that he destroyed and devastated. Through his efforts, a huge library, the Koksaray Palace and many other sights of the city that have survived to this day appeared in Samarkand. As if confirming the unshakable power of its founder, the inscription on the door of Tamerlane's palace read: "If you doubt our power, look at our buildings."

Spiritual teacher of Tamerlane

Tamerlane's thirst for knowledge did not appear out of nowhere. As a child, he was surrounded by wise mentors, among whom was a descendant of the Prophet Muhammad, the Sufi sage Mir Said Barak. It was he who handed Tamerlane the symbols of power (drum and banner), predicting a great future for him.

The “Guru” was almost always next to the great emir, accompanying him even on military campaigns. He also blessed Timur for the decisive battle with Tokhtamysh. There is a legend that already during the battle, when the latter began to gain the upper hand over Timur, Said Barak poured sand in front of the Khan's army and he was defeated. They say that he warned his student against the battle with Dmitry Donskoy, and, as you know, Timur deployed his troops and went to the Crimea, not going further into the territory of Russia.

Tamerlane deeply respected his teacher. He bequeathed to him his place of honor in the Gur-Emir family mausoleum to Said Barak, and ordered himself to be buried at his feet, so that he would intercede for him, a great sinner, at the Last Judgment.

Banner of Timur

The banner, a symbol of Tamerlane's power, was of great religious significance. In the Turkic tradition, they believed that this was the spirit of the army. Losing it meant losing the ability to resist the enemy.

The banner also served as a call to war. If the emir put him out at his wagon - there will be war, immediately his whole family was in a hurry to arm themselves, messengers flew to the allied villages.

Three rings were depicted on the banner of Tamerlane, arranged in the form of an equilateral triangle. Their meaning is still not clear. Some historians believe that it could symbolize earth, water and sky. Perhaps the circles denote three parts of the world (according to those ideas, all parts of the world), which Tamerlane owns, that is, the banner meant that the whole world belongs to Tamerlane. This is evidenced in the 16th century by the Spanish diplomat and traveler Clavijo.

There is a legend that in the battle of Ankara with the Ottoman Sultan Bayazid, the latter exclaimed: “What impudence to think that the whole world belongs to you!”, to which he received the answer: “Even more impudence to think that the moon belongs to you.”
There were also more mythological interpretations of this symbol. Nicholas Roerich saw in it a sign of "trinity", which is quite universal in many cultures: Turkic, Celtic, Indian and many others.

Beloved wife

Tamerlane had eighteen wives - in the best traditions of the Muslim world. One of the favorites was Sarai-mulk khanum, which once belonged to Timur's closest associate, and then to his worst enemy, Emir Hussein. The woman became the prey of Tamerlane after the death of her first husband, but fell in love with the conqueror and soon became his main wife. She was by no means a quiet wife - at court her role was significant, she could, with her grace, save a person or kill him. For a while, only she could meet her husband from campaigns, which was considered a great privilege. At the same time, she never gave birth to children to the great conqueror.

In many ways, it was the influence of Sarai-mulk khanym that ensured the “golden age” of culture in the era of Tamerlane. She was a real patroness of sciences and arts. It is Mulkkhanym who will bring up a wise ruler from the grandson of Tamerlane Timur Ulugbek. With her, active construction will be carried out in Samarkand. The Cathedral Mosque Bibi-Khanym is named after her, which means “Lady Grandmother” - one of the names of Sarai-mulk Khanym.

Merciful Executioner

If we dwell on the above, then a great ruler would appear before us, to whom everyone smiles. He is wise, talented, and his deeds are always good. He created a peaceful, stable and prosperous and rich state. But this is an unfinished portrait of Tamerlane.

Sources brought to us many references to his bloody deeds, which, at one time, inspired Vereshchagin to create his famous painting “The Apotheosis of War”. Once Timur decided to erect a monument to his own victories, ordering the erection of a ten-meter pyramid of severed heads. He became the executioner of the flourishing cities of the East: Isfahan, Delhi, Damascus, Baghdad, Astrakhan.

It is still not known exactly which people Tamerlane belonged to. According to the most common version, he belonged to the Turkic tribe of the Barlas. But the few surviving descriptions of his appearance do not match his image as a Mongol. Thus, the historian Ibn Arabshah, captured by the emir, reports that Timur was tall, had a large head, a high forehead, was very strong and brave, strongly built, with broad shoulders. The historian describes the conqueror's skin color as "white".

The anthropological reconstruction of the remains of Tamerlane, which was carried out by the famous Soviet anthropologist Gerasimov, concludes: "The discovered skeleton belonged to a strong man, too tall for an Asian (about 170 cm). The eyelid fold, the most characteristic feature of the Turkic face, is relatively weakly expressed. The nose is straight, small, slightly flattened, lips thick, contemptuous. Hair gray-red, with a predominance of dark chestnut or red. The type of face is not Mongoloid. " The results of this paradoxical study were published in Gerasimov's article "Portrait of Tamerlane". How much this portrait corresponds to reality, we will not dare to judge, one thing is clear - not all the secrets of the "iron lame" have yet been revealed.

Tamerlane's name

Timur's full name was Timur ibn Taragai Barlas (Timur ibn Taragay Barlas - Timur son of Taragai from Barlasov) in accordance with the Arabic tradition (alam-nasab-nisba). In Chagatai and Mongolian (both Altaic) Temur 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 in 1370 with the house of Genghisides, he took the name Timur Gurgan (Timur Gurkanī, (تيموﺭ گوركان ), Gurkān - an Iranian version of Mongolian kurugen or khurgen, "son-in-law". This meant that Tamerlane, having intermarried with the Chingizid khans, could freely live and act in their homes.

In various Persian sources, an Iranianized nickname is often found Timur-e Liang(Tīmūr-e Lang, تیمور لنگ) "Timur the Lame", this name was probably considered derogatory at the time. It has 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".

Monument to Tamerlane in Tashkent

Monument to Tamerlane in Samarkand

Personality of Tamerlane

The beginning of Tamerlane's political activity is similar to the biography of Genghis Khan: they were the leaders of the detachments of adherents they personally recruited, who later remained the main support of their power. Like Genghis Khan, Timur personally entered into all the details of the organization of military forces, had detailed information about the forces of the 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 liked to talk with scientists, especially to listen to the reading of historical writings; with his knowledge of history, he surprised the medieval historian, philosopher and thinker Ibn Khaldun; Timur used stories about the valor of historical and legendary heroes to inspire his warriors.

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

Timur was mainly concerned about the prosperity of his native Maverannakhr and the exaltation 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 (Shahrisyabz), Bukhara, the border city of Yassy (Turkestan). He managed to express all his care that he invested in the capital Samarkand through the words about it: - "There will always be a blue sky and golden stars over Samarkand." Only in recent years has he taken measures to improve the well-being of other areas of the state, mainly border areas (in 1398 a new irrigation canal was built in Afghanistan, in 1401 - in Transcaucasia, etc.)

Biography

Childhood and youth

Timur's childhood and youth were spent in the mountains of Kesh. 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 with Taragay, taught Timur the art of war and sports games. Timur was a very brave and restrained man. Possessing sober judgment, he was able to make the right decision in difficult situations. These character traits attracted people to him. The first information about Timur appeared in the sources starting from 1361, when he began his political activity.

The appearance of Timur

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, physically developed, his contemporaries wrote about him: “If most warriors could pull the bowstring to the level of the collarbone, then Timur pulled it to the ear. His hair is lighter than most of his tribesmen. A detailed study of the remains of Timur showed that anthropologically he was characterized by the Mongoloid South Siberian type.

Despite the senile age of Timur (69 years old), his skull, as well as his skeleton, did not have pronounced, actually senile features. The presence of most of the teeth, a clear relief of the bones, the almost absence of osteophytes - all this 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 high growth - all this gives the right to think that Timur had an extremely strong build. His strong athletic muscles, most likely, were somewhat dry in form, and this is natural: life in military campaigns, with their difficulties and deprivations, almost constant stay in the saddle could hardly contribute to obesity. .

A special external difference between Tamerlane and his warriors from other Muslims was the braids they preserved, according to the Mongolian custom, which is confirmed by some Central Asian illustrated manuscripts of that time. Meanwhile, examining the ancient Turkic sculptures, the images of the Turks in the painting of Afrasiab, the researchers came to the conclusion that the Turks wore braids as early as the 5th-8th centuries. The opening of Timur's grave and the analysis of 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, by the time of his death Timur had relatively long hair." Some historians believe that the light color of the hair is due to the fact that Tamerlane dyed his hair with henna. But, M. M. Gerasimov in his work notes: “Even a preliminary study of the hair of a beard under a binocular convinces that this reddish-reddish color is her natural, and not dyed with henna, as described by historians.” Timur wore a long mustache, not trimmed above the lip. As it turned 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 they 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 graying. Huge scars were visible on the bones of the left leg in the region of the patella, which is fully consistent with the nickname "lame man"

Parents, brothers and sisters of Timur

His father's name was Taragay or Turgay, he was a military man, a small landowner. He came from the Mongolian tribe of Barlas, by that time already Turkicized and spoke the Chagatai language.

According to some assumptions, Timur's father Taragai was the leader of the Barlas tribe and a descendant of a certain Karachar noyon (a major 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.

The Encyclopedia Britannica lists Timur as a Turkic conqueror.

In Indian historiography, Timur is considered the head of the Chagatai Turks.

Timur's father had one brother, whose name in Turkic was Balta.

Timur's father was married twice: the first wife was Timur's mother Tekina-Khatun. Contradictory information has been preserved about its origin. And the second wife of Taragay/Turgay was Kadak-khatun, the mother of Timur's sister Shirin-bek aga.

Muhammad Taragai 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 an older sister, Kutlug-Turkan aga, and a younger sister, Shirin-bek aga. They died before the death of Timur himself and were buried in mausoleums in the Shakhi Zinda complex in Samarkand. According to the Mu‘izz al-Ansab source, Timur had three more brothers: Juki, Alim Sheikh and Suyurgatmysh.

Spiritual guides 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, a prominent figure in the Nakshbandi tariqa. The main spiritual mentor of Timur was a descendant of the Prophet Muhammad, Sheikh Mir Seyid Bereke. It was he who gave Timur the symbols of power: a drum and a banner when he came to power in 1370. Presenting these symbols, Mir Seyid Bereke predicted a great future for the emir. He accompanied Timur on his great campaigns. In 1391 he blessed him before the battle with Tokhtamysh. In 1403, they mourned together the unexpectedly deceased heir to the throne, Muhammad Sultan. Mir Seyid Bereke was buried in the mausoleum of Gur Emir, where Timur himself was buried at his feet. Another mentor of Timur was the son of the Sufi sheikh Burkhan ad-din Sagarji Abu Said. Timur ordered the construction of the Rukhabad mausoleum over their graves.

Timur's language skills

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

Tamerlane's contemporary and captive Ibn Arabshah, who knew Tamerlane personally from 1401, reports: "As for Persian, Turkic and Mongolian, he knew them better than anyone else." Princeton University researcher Svat Soucek writes of Timur in his monograph that “He was a Turk of the Barlas tribe, Mongolian in name and origin, but in every practical sense Turkic by that time. Timur's native language was Turkic (Chagatai), although he may have also spoken Persian to some extent due to the cultural environment in which he lived. He practically did not know Mongolian for sure, although Mongolian terms have not yet completely disappeared from documents and were found on coins.

The legal documents of Timur's state were drawn up in two languages: Persian and Turkic. So, 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 Mogaliya (Mogolistan), and the language is Mughal, and this language is not understood on this(southern - approx.) side of the river, since everyone speaks Persian", then he says “The letter, which is used by the people of Samarkand,[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 moghals. A señor(Tamerlane - approx.) he keeps several scribes with him who can read and write on this[language - approx.] » Orientalist professor Robert McChesney notes that by the language of Mughal, Clavijo was referring to the Turkic language.

According to the Timurid source "Muiz al-Ansab", at the court of Timur there was only a staff of Turkic and Tajik scribes.

Describing the tribes of Maverannahr, Ibn Arabshah gives the following information: “The mentioned sultan (Timur) had four viziers who were completely engaged in useful and harmful deeds. They were considered noble people, and everyone was a follower of their opinions. How many tribes and tribes the Arabs had, the Turks had the same number. Each of the aforementioned viziers, being representatives of one tribe, were the beacon of opinions and illuminated the set 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 the daughter of Kazan Khan, Saray-mulk xanim. She had no children of her own, but she was entrusted with the upbringing of some of Timur's sons and grandsons. She was a renowned patroness of science and the arts. By her order, a huge madrasah and mausoleum for her mother was built in Samarkand.

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

Rise of Timur

Start of political activity

Timur entered the service of the ruler of Kesh - Hadji Barlas, who was presumably 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 by the ruler of the Kesh region, but was forced to retire after the Mongols left and Haji Barlas returned.

The following 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 a "battle in the mud." Timur and Hussein had few chances to defend their native land, since the army of Ilyas-Khoja had superior forces. During the battle, a torrential downpour began, it was difficult for the soldiers to even look ahead, and the horses got stuck in the mud. Despite this, Timur's troops began to win on their flank, at the decisive moment he asked for help from Hussein 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 soldiers of Timur and Hussein were forced to retreat to the other side of the Syr Darya River.

Composition of Timur's troops

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

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

Campaigns to Mogolistan

Despite the laid foundation of statehood, Khorezm and Shibirgan, which belonged to the Chagatai ulus, did not recognize the new power in the person of Suyurgatmish Khan and Emir Timur. It was restless on the southern and northern borders of the border, where Mogolistan and the White Horde brought anxiety, often violating borders and plundering villages. After the capture of Sygnak by Uruskhan and the transfer of the capital of the White Horde, Yassy (Turkestan), Sairam and Maverannahr were in even greater danger. It was necessary to take measures to strengthen the statehood.

The ruler of Mogolistan, Emir Kamar ad-din, tried to prevent the strengthening of Timur's state. Mogolistan feudal lords often made predatory raids on Sairam, Tashkent, Ferghana and Turkestan. Particularly great troubles were brought to the people by the raids of Emir Qamar ad-din in the 70-71s and the raids in the winter of 1376 on the cities of Tashkent and Andijan. In the same year, Emir Qamar al-Din captured half of Fergana, from where its governor, the son of Timur, Umar Sheikh Mirza fled to the mountains. Therefore, the solution of the problem of Mogolistan was important for peace on the borders of the country.

But Qamar ad-din was not defeated. When Timur's army returned to Maverannahr, he invaded Ferghana, a province that belonged to Timur, and laid siege to the city of Andijan. An enraged Timur hurried to Ferghana and pursued the enemy for a long time behind Uzgen and the mountains of Yassy to the very valley of At-Bashi, the southern tributary of the upper Naryn.

The "Zafarname" mentions the sixth campaign of Timur 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 Jochi ulus (known in history as the White Horde) and establish political influence in its eastern part and unite Mogolistan and Maverannahr, previously divided, into a single state, which was once called the Chagatai ulus.

Realizing the danger to the independence of Maverannahr from the Juchi ulus, from the very first days of his reign, Timur tried in every possible way to bring his protege in the Juchi ulus to power. The Golden Horde had its capital in the city of Sarai-Batu (Saray-Berke) and extended across the North Caucasus, northwestern Khwarezm, Crimea, Western Siberia, and the Volga-Kama principality of Bulgar. 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, and also on the banks of the Syr Darya steppe from Ulu-tau to Sengir-yagach and land from Karatal to Siberia. The 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 Maverannahr.

Timur's campaign against the Golden Horde in 1391

Timur's campaign against the Golden Horde in 1395

After the defeat of the Golden Horde and Khan Tokhtamysh, the latter fled to Bulgar. In response to the plunder of the lands of Maverannahr, Emir Timur burned the capital of the Golden Horde - Sarai-Batu, and gave the reins of government to Koirichak-oglan, who was the son of Uruskhan. Timur's defeat of the Golden Horde also had broad 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 severe defeats on the Khan of the Horde - on Kondurcha in 1391 and on the Terek in 1395, after which Tokhtamysh was deprived of the throne and forced to wage a constant struggle with the khans appointed by Tamerlane. With this defeat of the army of Khan Tokhtamysh, Tamerlane brought indirect benefits in the struggle of the Russian lands against the Tatar-Mongol yoke.

Three 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 hike

For the first time, Timur was forced to return back due to the invasion of Maverannahr by the Golden Horde Khan Tokhtamysh in alliance with the Mongols of Semirechye ().

Death

Mausoleum of Emir Timur in Samarkand

He died during a campaign in 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 because of China's claims to the lands of Transoxiana and Turkestan. He gathered a large army of two hundred thousand, with whom 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 with 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, upholstered in 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-Mohammed.

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 code of laws "Timur's code", which set out the rules of conduct for members of society and the duties of rulers and officials, and also contains rules for managing the army and the state.

When appointed to the post, the "great emir" demanded devotion and loyalty from everyone. He appointed to high positions 315 people who were next to him from the very beginning of his career and fought side by side with him. The first hundred were appointed tenants, the second hundred - centurions, and the third - thousanders. Of the remaining fifteen people, four were appointed beks, one was appointed supreme emir, and others were appointed to other high posts.

The judicial system was divided into three levels: 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 the mores and customs established in society. 3. Kazi askar - who conducted the proceedings on military matters.

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

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

Army of Tamerlane

Based 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-confessional association, the core of which was the Turkic-Mongolian nomadic warriors. The army of Tamerlane was divided into cavalry and infantry, the role of which greatly increased at the turn of the XIV-XV centuries. Nevertheless, the main part of the army was made up of cavalry units of nomads, the backbone of which consisted of elite units of heavily armed cavalrymen, as well as detachments of Tamerlane's bodyguards. The infantry often played a supporting role, but was necessary during the sieges of fortresses. The infantry was mostly lightly armed and mainly consisted of archers, but the army also consisted of heavily armed shock troops of infantrymen.

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 mountainous conditions (they were recruited from residents of mountain villages). The organization of Tamerlane's army, in general, corresponded to the decimal organization of Genghis Khan, however, a number of changes appeared (for example, units numbering from 50 to 300 people called "koshuns" appeared, the number of larger "kul" units was also inconsistent).

The main weapon of the light cavalry, like the infantry, was the bow. Light cavalrymen also used sabers or swords and axes. Heavily armed riders were armored (the most popular armor was chain mail, often reinforced with metal plates), protected by helmets and fought with sabers or swords (in addition to bows and arrows, which were ubiquitous). Ordinary foot soldiers were armed with bows, heavy infantry warriors fought with sabers, axes and maces and were protected by shells, helmets and shields.

banners

During his campaigns, Timur used banners with the image of three rings. According to some historians, the three rings symbolized earth, water and sky. According to Svyatoslav Roerich, Timur could 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 troops. During the Indian campaign, a black banner with a silver dragon was used. Before going to China, Tamerlane ordered to depict a golden dragon on the banners.

Several less reliable sources also report that the tombstone bears the following inscription: "When I rise (from the dead), the world will tremble". Some undocumented sources claim that when the grave was opened in 1941, an inscription was found inside the coffin: "Anyone who disturbs my peace in this life or the next will be subjected to suffering and perish".

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

Personal belongings that belonged to Timur, by the will of history, were scattered across 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 20th century, Timur's personal sword was kept in the Tehran Museum.

Tamerlane in art

In literature

historical

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

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

Born in the village of Hadzha-Ilgar. The son of Bek Taragay from the Mongol tribe Barlas grew up in poverty, dreaming of the glorious deeds of Genghis Khan. Those days seemed to be gone forever. The young man had only clashes between the "princes" of small villages.

When the Mogolistan army arrived in Maverannahr, 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 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. drove out the conquerors
rebellious people, with whom Timur and Hussein then brutally dealt with.

After that, Timur killed Hussein and began to single-handedly rule Maverannahr on behalf of the descendants of Genghis Khan. Imitating his idol in the organization of the army, Timur convinced the nomadic and settled nobility that a place in a disciplined army of conquerors would give them more than living in their semi-independent possessions. He moved to the possessions of the Khan of the Golden Horde Mamai and took away South Khorezm from him (1373-1374), and then helped his ally, the 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 Russia, 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 the Ottoman Empire. Sultan Bayezid I the Lightning, who led her troops after the death of his brother right on the Kosovo field and utterly defeated the crusaders, entered into a decisive battle with Timur near Ankara (1402). Sultan Timur carried with him for a long time in a golden cage, showing the people. The emir sent the looted treasures to his capital Samarkand, where he carried out a large construction.

Tamerlane is one of the greatest conquerors in world history. His whole life was spent on campaigns. He took Khorezm, defeated the Golden Horde, conquered Armenia, Persia and Syria, defeated the Ottoman sultan and even reached India.

Tamerlane (or Timur) is a Turkic-Mongolian conqueror whose victories made him the master of most of Western Asia. Tamerlane belonged to the Turkicized Mongol clan Barlas, whose representatives, as the Mongol armies moved westward, settled in the Kashka valley, near Samarkand. Tamerlane was born near Shakhrisabz on April 9, 1336. This place is located on the territory of modern Uzbekistan between the rivers Amu Darya and Syr Darya, and at the time of his birth, these lands belonged to Khan Chagatai, named after the founder of his family, the second son of Genghis Khan.

In 1346-1347. Kazan Khan Chagatai, was defeated by Emir Kazgan and was killed, as a result of which Central Asia ceased to be part of his khanate. After the death of Kazgan in 1358, a period of anarchy followed, and the troops of Tughlak-Timur, the ruler of the territories beyond the Syr Darya known as Mogolistan, invaded Maverannahr, first in 1360 and then in 1361 in an attempt to seize power.

Tamerlane declared himself a vassal of Tughlak-Timur and became the ruler of the territory from Shakhrisabz to Karshi. Soon, however, he rebelled against the rulers of Mogolistan and formed an alliance with Hussein, the grandson of Kazgan. Together in 1363 they defeated the army of Ilyas-Khoja, the son of Tughlak-Timur. However, around 1370, the allies quarreled and Tamerlane, having captured his colleague, announced his intention to revive the Mongol Empire. Tamerlane became the sole owner of Central Asia, settling in Samarkand and making this city the capital of the new state and his main residence.

From 1371 to 1390, Tamerlane made seven campaigns against Mogolistan, finally defeating the army of Qamar ad-Din and Anka-Tur in 1390. Tamerlane undertook the first two campaigns against Qamar ad-Din in the spring and autumn of 1371. The first campaign ended with a truce; during the second, Tamerlane, leaving Tashkent, moved towards the village of Yangi on Taraz. There he put the Moghuls to flight and captured much booty.

In 1375, Tamerlane carried out the third successful campaign. He left Sairam and passed through the regions of Talas and Tokmak, returning to Samarkand through Uzgen and Khujand. However, Qamar ad-Din was not defeated. When Tamerlane's army returned to Maverannahr, Qamar ad-Din invaded Ferghana in the winter of 1376 and laid siege to the city of Andijan. The governor of Ferghana, the third son of Tamerlane Umar-sheikh, fled to the mountains. Tamerlane hurried to Ferghana and pursued the enemy for a long time behind Uzgen and the mountains of Yassy to the very valley of At-Bashi, the southern tributary of the upper Naryn.

In 1376-1377, Tamerlane made his fifth campaign against Qamar ad-Din. He defeated his army in the gorges west of Issyk-Kul and pursued him to Kochkar. The sixth campaign of Tamerlane in the Issyk-Kul region against Kamar ad-Din took place in 1383, but the ulusbegi again managed to escape.

In 1389 Tamerlane went on his seventh campaign. In 1390, Qamar ad-din was finally defeated, and Mogolistan finally ceased to threaten the state of Tamerlane. However, Tamerlane reached only the Irtysh in the north, Alakul in the east, Emil and the headquarters of the Mongol khans Balig-Yulduz, but he could not conquer the lands east of the Tangri-tag and Kashgar mountains. Qamar ad-Din fled to the Irtysh and subsequently died of dropsy. Khizr-Khoja established himself as the Khan of Moghulistan.

2 The first trips to Asia Minor

In 1380, Tamerlane went on a campaign against Malik Ghiyas-ad-din Pir-Ali II, since he did not want to recognize himself as a vassal of the Emir Tamerlane and began to strengthen the defensive walls of his capital city of Herat in response. At the beginning, Tamerlane sent an ambassador to him with an invitation to the kurultai in order to solve the problem peacefully, but Giyas-ad-din Pir-Ali II rejected the proposal, detaining the ambassador. In response to this, in April 1380, Tamerlane sent ten regiments to the left bank of the Amu Darya. His troops captured the regions of Balkh, Shibirgan and Badkhyz. In February 1381, Tamerlane himself came out with troops and took Khorasan, the cities of Serakhs, Jami, Kausia, Tuye and Kelat, and the city of Herat was taken after a five-day siege. In addition to Kelat, Sebzevar was taken, as a result of which the state of the Serbedars finally ceased to exist. In 1382, Tamerlane's son Miran Shah was appointed ruler of Khorasan. In 1383, Tamerlane devastated Sistan and brutally crushed the uprising of the Serbedars in Sebzevar. In 1383, he took Sistan, in which the fortresses of Zireh, Zave, Farah and Bust were defeated. In 1384, he captured the cities of Astrabad, Amul, Sari, Sultania and Tabriz, in fact capturing all of Persia.

3 Three-year campaign and the conquest of Khorezm

The first, so-called "three-year" campaign in the western part of Persia and the regions adjacent to it, Tamerlane began in 1386. In November 1387, Tamerlane's troops took Isfahan and captured Shiraz. Despite the successful start of the campaign, Tamerlane was forced to return back due to the invasion of Maverannahr by the Golden Horde Khan Tokhtamysh in alliance with the Khorezmians. A garrison of 6,000 soldiers was left in Isfahan, and Tamerlane took away its ruler Shah Mansur from the Muzaffarid dynasty. Shortly after the departure of the main troops of Tamerlane, a popular uprising took place in Isfahan, led by the blacksmith Ali Kuchek. The entire garrison of Tamerlane was killed.

In 1388, Tamerlane drove out the Tatars and took the capital of Khorezm, Urgench. By order of Tamerlane, the Khorezmians who resisted were mercilessly exterminated, the city was destroyed.

4 First campaign against the Golden Horde

In January 1391, the army of Tamerlane set out on a campaign against the Golden Horde Khan Tokhtamysh. To gain time, Tokhtamysh sent ambassadors, but Tamerlane refused to negotiate. His army passed Yasy and Tabran, passed the Hungry Steppe, and by April, having crossed the Sarysu River, entered the Ulytau Mountains. The army of Tokhtamysh, however, eluded the battle.

On May 12, Tamerlane's army reached Tobol, and by June saw the Yaik River. Fearing that the guides might lead his people to an ambush, Tamerlane decided not to use the usual fords, but ordered to swim across in less favorable places. A week later, his army arrived on the banks of the Samara River, where scouts reported that the enemy was already nearby. However, the Golden Horde retreated to the north, using the tactics of "scorched earth". As a result, Tokhtamysh accepted the battle, and on June 18 a battle took place on the Kondurche River near Itil. In this battle, the Golden Horde were utterly defeated, but Tokhtamysh managed to escape. The army of Tamerlane did not force the Volga and moved back through Yaik and reached Otrar two months later.

5 "Five-year campaign" and the defeat of the Horde

Tamerlane began the second long, so-called "five-year" campaign in Iran in 1392. In the same year, Tamerlane conquered the Caspian regions, in 1393 - western Persia and Baghdad, and in 1394 - Transcaucasia. Tsar George VII managed to carry out defensive measures by 1394 - he gathered a militia, to which he attached the Caucasian highlanders, including the Nakhs. At first, the united Georgian-Mountain army had some success, they were even able to push back the advanced detachments of the conquerors. However, in the end, Tamerlane's approach with the main forces decided the outcome of the war. The defeated Georgians and Nakhs retreated north into the mountain gorges of the Caucasus. Given the strategic importance of the pass roads to the North Caucasus, in particular, the natural fortress - the Darial Gorge, Tamerlane decided to capture it. However, a huge mass of troops was so mixed up in the mountain gorges that they turned out to be unfit for combat. Tamerlane appointed one of his sons, Umar Sheikh, the ruler of Fars, and another son, Miran Shah, the ruler of Transcaucasia.

In 1394, Tamerlane learned that Tokhtamysh had again raised an army and made an alliance against him with the Sultan of Egypt, Barquq. The Golden Horde Kipchaks poured south through Georgia and again began to devastate the borders of the empire. An army was sent against them, but the Horde retreated to the north and disappeared into the steppes.

In the spring of 1395, Tamerlane held a review of his army near the Caspian Sea. Rounding the Caspian, Tamerlane went first to the west, and then turned north in a wide arc. The army passed through the Derbent passage, crossed Georgia and entered the territory of Chechnya. On April 15, two armies converged on the banks of the Terek. In the battle, the army of the Golden Horde was destroyed. So that Tokhtamysh would not recover again, Tamerlane's army went north to the banks of the Itil and drove Tokhtamysh into the forests of Bulgar. Then the army of Tamerlane moved west to the Dnieper, then rose to the north and ruined Russia, and then descended to the Don, from where they returned to their homeland through the Caucasus in 1396.

6 Campaign in India

In 1398, Tamerlane undertook a campaign against India, and the highlanders of Kafiristan were defeated along the way. In December, under the walls of Delhi, Tamerlane defeated the army of the Delhi Sultan and occupied the city without resistance, which a few days later was plundered by his army and burned. By order of Tamerlane, 100 thousand captured Indian soldiers were executed for fear of a rebellion on their part. In 1399, Tamerlane reached the banks of the Ganges, took several more cities and fortresses on the way back, and returned to Samarkand with huge booty.

7 Campaign in the Ottoman state

Returning from India in 1399, Tamerlane immediately began a new campaign. This campaign was originally caused by unrest in the area ruled by Miran Shah. Tamerlane deposed his son and defeated the enemies who invaded his possessions. Moving west, Tamerlane encountered the Turkmen state of Kara-Koyunlu, the victory of Tamerlane's troops forced the leader of the Turkmen Kara Yusuf to flee west to the Ottoman Sultan Bayazid the Lightning. After that, Kara Yusuf and Bayezid agreed on a joint action against Tamerlane.

In 1400, Tamerlane began hostilities against Bayezid, who captured Erzinjan, where Tamerlane's vassal ruled, and against the Egyptian sultan Faraj an-Nasir, whose predecessor, Barquq, ordered the assassination of Tamerlane's ambassador back in 1393. In 1400 he took the fortresses of Kemak and Sivas in Asia Minor and Aleppo in Syria, which belonged to the Egyptian sultan, and in 1401 he occupied Damascus.

On July 20, 1402, Tamerlane won a major victory over the Ottoman Sultan Bayezid I, defeating him at the Battle of Ankara. The Sultan himself was taken prisoner. As a result of the battle, Tamerlane captured all of Asia Minor, and the defeat of Bayazid led to a peasant war in the Ottoman state and internecine strife among Bayazid's sons.

The fortress of Smyrna, which belonged to the Knights of St. John, which the Ottoman sultans could not take for 20 years, Tamerlane captured by storm in two weeks. The western part of Asia Minor in 1403 was returned to the sons of Bayazid, in the eastern part the local dynasties deposed by Bayazid were restored.

8 Hike to China

In the autumn of 1404, 68-year-old Tamerlane began to prepare for an invasion of China. The main goal was to capture the rest of the Great Silk Road in order to obtain maximum profits and ensure the prosperity of the native Maverannahr and its capital Samarkand. The campaign was stopped due to the beginning of a cold winter, and in February 1405, Tamerlane died.

Tamerlane

Central Asian commander-conqueror.

Tamerlane, the most powerful Central Asian general of the Middle Ages, restored the former Mongol empire of Genghis Khan (No. 4). His long life as a commander was spent in almost constant combat, as he sought to expand the borders of his state and hold on to conquered lands that stretched 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 Mongol military family in Kesh (present-day Shakhrisaba, Uzbekistan). His name comes from the nickname Timur Leng (Lame Timur), which is associated with his lameness on his left leg. Despite his humble origins and handicap, Timur, thanks to his abilities, reached high positions 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 Jagatai 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 new territories and suppressing any internal resistance.

Tamerlane sought 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 monstrous destruction and erected pyramids from enemy skulls to commemorate his victories. Although Tamerlane greatly valued literature and art and turned Samarkand into a cultural center, he and his men carried out military operations with barbaric brutality.

Starting with the subjugation 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, crushing the uprising that broke out there, killing all his opponents along with their families and burning their cities.

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

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

In 1401, Tamerlane conquered Syria, killing twenty thousand inhabitants of Damascus, and the following year he 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 horde. In 1404, Tamerlane even received tribute 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 to invade 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.

According to Tamerlane's will, the empire was divided between his sons and grandsons. 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 accomplishments other than scorched earth and pyramids of skulls. But it is indisputable that his conquests were very extensive, and his army kept all neighboring countries in fear. His direct influence on the life of Central Asia continued for most of the 14th century, and his conquests led to an increase in militancy, as the peoples had to arm themselves to protect themselves from the hordes of Tamerlane.

Tamerlane carried out his conquests thanks to the large number 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 he surpassed the latter in cruelty, although he is far inferior to the first.

Timur, the son of a Bek from the Turkicized Mongol Barlas tribe, was born in Kesh (modern 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 lameness on his left leg. From childhood, he persistently engaged in military exercises and from the age of 12 began to go on campaigns with his father. He was a zealous Mohammedan, which played a significant role in his struggle with the Uzbeks.

Timur early showed his military abilities and the 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 adviser to the khan's son Ilyas Khoja and the ruler (viceroy) of the Kashkadarya vilayet in the possessions of Khan Togluk. By that time, the Bek's son from the Barlas tribe already had his own detachment of mounted warriors.

But after some time, having fallen 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 by Timur's soldiers in battle.

Gathering 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 son-heir Ilyas Khoja, whose army consisted mainly of Uzbek soldiers. On the side of Timur came the Turkmen tribes, who gave 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 data, numbered about 100 thousand people, but 80 thousand of them were garrisons of fortresses and almost did not participate in field battles. Timur's cavalry detachment numbered only about 2 thousand people, but they were experienced 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 a military trick, which he succeeded brilliantly. On behalf of the khan's son, who commanded the troops of Toghluk, he sent out an order to the commandants of the fortresses to leave the fortresses entrusted to them and to withdraw beyond the Syr River with the garrison troops. 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 rich and noble Mongol owners elected a direct descendant of Genghis Khan, Kobul Shah Aglan, as khan. However, Timur soon removed him from his path. By that time, he had significantly replenished his military forces, primarily at the expense of the Mongols, and now he could lay claim to independent khan power.

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

Timur began to prepare for large campaigns of conquest by organizing a 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 by that time his descendants had thoroughly forgotten.

Timur began his struggle for power with a detachment of 313 warriors devoted to him. It was they who formed 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, foremen were chosen by the ten soldiers themselves, but Timur appointed centurions, thousandth and higher commanders personally. “The chief, whose power is weaker than a whip and a stick, is not worthy of the title,” said the Central Asian conqueror.

His army, unlike the troops of Genghis Khan and Batu Khan, received a salary. An ordinary soldier received from two to four horse prices. The size of such a salary was determined by the serviceman's service. The foreman received the salary of his ten and therefore was personally interested in the proper performance of the 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, rewarding with expensive weapons, new ranks and honorary titles - such as, for example, Brave or Bogatyr. The most common measure of punishment was the deduction of 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 horse warriors were required to be armed with a bow, 18-20 arrows, 10 arrowheads, an ax, a saw, an awl, a needle, a lasso, a tursuk bag (water bag) and a horse. One wagon relied on 19 such warriors on a campaign. 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. Five such horsemen relied on one wagon. In addition to the obligatory weapons, there were pikes, maces, sabers and other weapons. The Mongols carried everything necessary for camp life on spare horses.

Light infantry appeared in the Mongol army under Timur. These were horse archers (carrying 30 arrows) who dismounted before the battle. Thanks to this, the accuracy of shooting increased. Such horse archers 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 construction. Each warrior knew his place in the ten, the ten in the hundred, the hundred in the thousand. Separate parts of the troops differed in the colors of horses, the color of clothes and banners, and combat equipment. According to the laws of Genghis Khan, before the campaign, the soldiers were reviewed with all the severity.

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

Being an experienced commander, Timur chose for the battles of his predominantly cavalry army flat terrain, with water sources 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 the neighboring regions inhabited by Uzbeks and most of the territory of modern Afghanistan were under his authority. Any resistance to the Mongol army was severely punished - after himself, the commander Timur left huge destruction and erected pyramids from the heads of defeated enemy soldiers.

In 1376, Emir Timur provided military assistance to Tokhtamysh, a descendant of Genghis Khan, 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 Palace in Samarkand was constantly replenished with treasures. It is believed that Timur brought to his capital up to 150 thousand of the best craftsmen from the conquered countries, who built numerous palaces for the emir, decorating them with paintings depicting the conquests of the Mongol army.

In 1386, Emir Timur made an aggressive campaign in the Caucasus. Near Tiflis, the Mongol army fought the Georgian army and won a complete victory. The capital of Georgia was destroyed. The defenders of the fortress of Vardzia put up courageous resistance to the conquerors, the entrance to which led through the dungeon. Georgian soldiers repelled 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 also conquered.

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

In 1389, the cavalry of the Samarkand Emir made a campaign in the steppes 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 travel 2,500 kilometers across the arid steppes. Timur made three big campaigns - in 1389, 1391 and 1394-1395. In the last campaign, the Samarkand emir went to the Golden Horde along the western coast of the 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 cavalry soldiers each, but these figures in the sources are clearly overestimated. The battle began at dawn with a mutual skirmish of archers, followed by mounted attacks on each other. By noon, the army of the Golden Horde was defeated and put to flight. The winners got the khan's camp and numerous herds.

Timur successfully waged war against Tokhtamysh, but did not annex his possessions to himself. The Emir Mongol troops plundered the Golden Horde capital Sarai-Berke. Tokhtamysh with his troops and camps more than once fled to the most remote corners of his possessions.

In the campaign of 1395, Timur's army, after another pogrom of the Volga territories of the Golden Horde, reached the southern borders of the Russian land and besieged the border fortress city of Yelets. Its few defenders could not resist the enemy, and Yelets was burned. After that, Timur suddenly 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 energetically attacked the enemy center and almost broke its resistance. Assessing the situation, Timur reinforced his reserve of heavy armored cavalry with troops that had not yet joined the battle, and he himself led the counterattack, which became victorious. The Persian army in the battle of Patila 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 moved there on a campaign at the head of his army. All the cities that rebelled against him were destroyed, and their inhabitants were ruthlessly exterminated. In the same way, the ruler of Samarkand suppressed revolts against Mongol rule in other countries he conquered.

In 1398 the great conqueror invades India. In the same year, Timur's army besieged the fortress city of Merath, which the Indians themselves considered impregnable. After inspecting the city fortifications, the emir ordered digging. However, underground work progressed very slowly, and then the besiegers took the city by storm with the help of ladders. Bursting into Merath, the Mongols killed all its inhabitants. After that, Timur ordered the destruction of the Merath fortress walls.

One of the battles took place on the Ganges River. Here the Mongol cavalry fought with the Indian military flotilla, which consisted of 48 large river boats. The 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 Tughlaq. The battle began with the fact that Timur with a detachment of 700 horsemen, having crossed the Jamma River to reconnoiter the city fortifications, was attacked by the 5,000-strong cavalry of Mahmud Tughlaq. 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 walls of the city.

Timur captured Delhi from battle, betraying this numerous 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 destroy or destroy to the ground. It took a whole century for Delhi to recover from the Mongol pogrom.

The cruelty of Timur on Indian soil is best evidenced by the following fact. After the battle of Panipat in 1398, he ordered the slaughter of 100,000 Indian soldiers who had surrendered to him.

In 1400, Timur began an aggressive campaign in Syria, moving there through Mesopotamia, which he had previously conquered. Near the city of Aleppo (modern Aleppo), on November 11, a battle took place between the Mongol army and the Turkish troops, commanded by the Syrian emirs. They did not want to sit in a siege behind the fortress walls and went out to battle in an 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, taking its citadel by storm.

The Mongol conquerors behaved in Syria in the same way as in other conquered countries. All the most valuable was to be sent to Samarkand. In the Syrian capital of Damascus, which was captured on January 25, 1401, the Mongols massacred 20,000 inhabitants.

After the conquest of Syria, a war began against the Turkish Sultan Bayezid I. The Mongols captured the border fortress of Kemak and the city of Sivas. When the Sultan's ambassadors arrived there, Timur, to intimidate them, reviewed his huge, according to some reports, 800,000-strong army. After that, he ordered the capture of crossings over 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 under the camps of Ankara, it happened on June 20, 1402.

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

Timur won a victory largely due to the successful actions of his cavalry on the flanks and the transfer of bribed 18 thousand mounted Crimean Tatars to his side. In the Turkish army, the Serbs, who were on the left flank, held out most staunchly. Sultan Bayezid I was taken prisoner, and the Janissary infantrymen who were surrounded were completely killed. The fugitives were pursued by the emir's 30,000 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 sacked it. Then the Mongol army turned back to Central Asia, once again plundering Georgia along 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, if only 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 huge state included Maverannahr, Khorezm, Transcaucasia, Persia (Iran), Punjab and other lands. All of them were combined 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 large army, built according to the decimal system and continuing the traditions 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 state was divided between his sons and grandsons. They immediately started 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.