What Tamerlane really was like. Great commanders

Name: Timur Tamerlan

Age: 68 years old

Place of Birth: Khoja-Ilgar, Kesh, Uzbekistan

A place of death: Otra, Kazakhstan

Activity: commander and conqueror

Family status: was married

Timur Tamerlan - biography

March marked the 680th anniversary of the birth of the man who defeated the Golden Horde. Timur Tamerlane was not a descendant of Genghis Khan, but continued his work. He was lame, but he walked halfway around the world. His armies wreaked havoc from the Bosporus to the Ganges, building walls of corpses and pyramids of skulls. Six centuries later, his deeds were almost forgotten, but his name remained in the memory of all peoples, short and stern, like the blow of a scimitar - Timur-Leng, the Iron Lame.

Women of the Barlas clan lived in houses, but according to the law of their ancestors, they went to felt yurts to give birth. The future conqueror of Asia was born in such a yurt. This happened in March 1336 near the city of Shakhrisyabz, which was then called Kesh. Its ruler, Taragai, was the father of the child; history has not preserved the mother’s name - the Turkic emir had many wives and concubines. A hundred years earlier, the Mongol hordes captured the lands of Central Asia, dividing them between the three Genghisid khans - Jochi, Chagatai and Hulagu.

The nomadic nobility mercilessly robbed the settled population and called them “sarts” - slaves. At the same time, the Mongols quickly adopted the customs of more cultured local peoples. After just a couple of generations, nomads in China could not be distinguished from the Chinese, in Iran - from the Persians, and in Maverannahr, present-day Uzbekistan, from the local Turks. Therefore, the newborn son of Taragai received the Turkic name Timur - “iron”. But his hair was red, like Genghis; it seems that both had European Scythian ancestors.

From childhood, Timur lived up to his name, showing strength and courage in boyish games. The ruler's son learned to wield all types of weapons, hunt, and ride bareback. At the same time, he - an unprecedented thing - learned to read and attended lessons from learned ulema. They told him about the vast world outside Transoxiana - about the great city of Constantinople, about the wonders of India and China. Perhaps even then he had a dream to conquer this world. But in any case, military service had to start from the basics.

At the age of 12, Timur entered service in the army of the Chagatai Khanate, which at that time was ruled by Khan Bayan-Kuli. Year after year, the young man mastered military science, became a centurion, and then a thousand-man minbaschi. He selected the best warriors for his detachment, selflessly devoted to him. When the ruler of neighboring Mogolistan (present-day Kyrgyzstan) Togluk-Timur invaded the country in 1359, Bayan-Kuli expected the faithful thousand-man to drive back the enemy.

However, Timur was not only brave, but also calculating. He knew that the khan had no chance of winning, and in time he chose the side of the strongest. A couple of weeks later, Bayan’s head stuck out on a peak in front of the palace, and the captain of a thousand with rich gifts was visiting Togluk-Timur’s yurt. This allowed Timur to maintain his detachment and possessions inherited after the death of his father.

But the peace was short-lived. In those years, all of Asia was in motion. China overthrew the Mongol khans, in Iran the descendants of Hulagu were pressed by rebel sarbadars (that is, “hanged men”). Moscow Prince Dmitry accumulated strength to overthrow the power of the Golden Horde. At that moment, the road to power was open to the strong and dexterous, and Timur did not miss his chance. To begin with, he became related to the ruler of Samarkand, Emir Hussein, taking his sister Uljay-Turkan as his wife. Together they rebelled against Togluk-Timur, but were defeated.

Timur fled to the Tajik mountains, taking his beloved wife with him; He hid his two sons in a safe place, placing them in the care of a deaf-mute servant. For several years he, with a small detachment, served as a mercenary for various eastern sovereigns. During one of his campaigns in Sistan, enemies fired at him with arrows. He survived, but was seriously injured - his right arm lost half of its strength, and a ligament in his leg, broken by an arrow, left him lame forever. Since then, his name was Lame Timur - Temir-Aksak in Turkic, Timur-Leng in Persian. In European languages ​​he became Tamerlane.

Despite the injuries, Timur did not lose influence over his soldiers. He was strict but fair, generously rewarded the faithful, and the blacksmiths defeated the Mongols. Right at the feast in honor of the victory, Timur killed his “agitators” - the Sarbadar leaders - he did not need rivals. However, it turned out that Hussein did not really need him either, who did not very politely expel his ally from the city. After the death of Tamerlane's wife Uljay-Turkan, who somehow reconciled her brothers-in-arms, open war began between them. As a result, after many campaigns and skirmishes in 1370, Hussein was stabbed to death by two of his close associates at night. When they came to Timur for a reward, he ordered to strangle them, saying: “He who betrays once will betray again.”

According to Eastern custom, Timur took all the property of the killed enemy, including his wife Mulk Khanum. He made Samarkand his capital, from where he began the conquest of Central Asia. First, a battle-hardened army moved against Togluk Timur and captured his country. Then Timur achieved the subjugation of Khorezm by marrying his eldest son Jahangir to the daughter of the Khorezm ruler. Then it was the turn of the ruler of Semirechye Kamar Addin - he had to give his beautiful daughter Dilshod-aga as a wife to the winner.

At the same time, Timur helped the Siberian prince Tokhtamysh to overthrow Mamai, defeated on the Kulikovo field, and take the throne of the Golden Horde. When the North fell into Timur's power, he turned his troops south to Iran and Afghanistan. After three campaigns, these countries were conquered. Meanwhile, Timur managed to catch the warrior who had once crippled him. The unforgiving Iron Lame ordered the enemy to be tied to a tree and shot with bows.

Having become the ruler of a vast territory, Timur did not accept the title of khan: according to custom, only a descendant of Genghis Khan could become one. He himself limited himself to the more modest title of emir, but in reality his power was unlimited. Timur made a huge 500,000-strong army the backbone of the state - in every family one of the men had to go to military service. He distributed to brave warriors for hereditary possession the lands taken from rebels and cowards. His associates and relatives were given control of provinces and even entire countries.

The affairs of the entire state were managed by the Divan (council), which included viziers, military leaders and theologians. Once a week, Timur attended council meetings, participating in resolving all issues. When appointed to high positions, he did not pay attention to birth - one of his viziers was Hamid Agha, the son of a baker. The main criteria were diligence and devotion. But even the most devoted ones faced death if they robbed the population in peacetime or put their hand into the treasury. “My law is the same for everyone,” the emir said, and this was actually true.

Timur's main hobby was decorating his capital. He called experienced architects, engineers, and artists from all over the world to Samarkand. Through their efforts, such magnificent buildings were erected as the ensemble of the main Registan square, the Gur-Emir tomb and the huge Bibi-Khanym mosque, which was later destroyed by an earthquake. Timur regularly visited construction sites and monitored the progress of work. Even more often, he gathered learned people who gave him lectures on a variety of topics.

Historian Hafizi Abru states: “Timur deeply knew the history of the Persians and Turks. He valued all knowledge that could be of practical use, that is, medicine, astronomy and mathematics, and paid special attention to architecture.” He is echoed by his contemporary Arabshchakh: “Timur revered scientists and poets and showed them special favor... He entered into scientific discussions with them, and in disputes he was fair and courteous.” It is worth noting that he was the first of the eastern rulers to write (or, more precisely, dictate) his autobiography. In addition to scientific disputes, Timur loved the game of chess and gave his beloved youngest son the name Shahrukh - “chess rook”.

But one should not imagine him as a kind and fair “father of nations.” Taking care of the center of his state, Timur mercilessly ravaged its outskirts. After the relative tolerance of the Mongol khans, he raised the banner of Muslim fanaticism. Having assigned himself the title of “ghazi” (defender of the faith), he declared war on all “infidels” - subjects had to convert to Islam or die. His anger also fell on the Iranian shields, whom he considered heretics.

In 1387, he attacked the city of Isfahan and killed 70 thousand people there. A high tower was subsequently erected from their heads. Timur henceforth used this barbaric custom in all conquered countries in order to intimidate the local population. But such cruelty cannot be explained by political calculations alone; there is something sadistic in it. Perhaps the influence of schizophrenia - all the sons of Timur, except Shahrukh, suffered from this disease. However, it could also be that the emir was simply infuriated by the stubborn disobedience of his subjects - he had to take Isfahan three times, and make as many as four campaigns against Khorezm.

Meanwhile, while Timur was plundering Iran, his empire was attacked by the ruler of the Horde, Khan Tokhtamysh. Rus' almost stopped paying tribute, and the khan urgently needed rich booty. Attacking from the north, he plundered many cities and almost took Samarkand, which Prince Miranshah barely managed to defend. Having returned, Timur made a return campaign against the Volga, but the Horde easily escaped from the clumsy foot army. Then Timur turned back to Iran and finally conquered it, reaching Baghdad. At this time, the restless Tokhtamysh attacked from the other side, from behind the Caucasus Mountains.

In 1395, Timur's huge army moved north to put an end to the khan once and for all. One after another, the cities of the Caucasus and Volga region turned into ruins, and in August the emir’s army approached the borders of Russia. Grand Duke Vasily Dmitrievich began hastily gathering an army, but the forces were unequal. The first on the path of the conquerors was little Yelets - it fell after two days of resistance. Timur ordered to kill all men and boys taller than the cart axle (approximately 70 cm), and took the rest into captivity. Other cities awaited the same fate with trepidation, but Timur unexpectedly turned his army back.

For this miracle they thanked the icon of the Vladimir Mother of God brought to Moscow - since then it has become one of the most revered in Rus'. But in fact, Timur had no intention of moving on, and besides, he was in a hurry to leave a foreign country before the cold weather. The goal of his campaign - to defeat the enemy troops - was achieved. Tokhtamysh fled to Siberia, where he died.

After this, Timur attacked rich and populous India. The Muslim Tughlaqid dynasty ruled there, which the emir accused of conniving with the “infidel” Hindus. In the summer of 1398, his army launched an offensive from the west, one after another, destroying the fortresses of the warlike Rajputs. Before they died, Hindus threw their wives and children into the flames so that they would not fall to their enemies. Timur's warriors cut off the heads of the living and the dead and methodically built pyramids from them. In December, the emir approached Delhi, where he was met by hundreds of Sultan Muhammad Tughlaq's war elephants.

Timur ordered to shower them with a hail of arrows wrapped in burning tow; Frightened, the animals rushed back and trampled their own army. The city surrendered without resistance, but Timur still gave it up for plunder. It all ended in a fire, after which only the spiers of the minarets remained from the huge city - they, along with the mosques, were forbidden to touch under pain of death. Then the army moved at a snail's pace, burdened with a huge number of prisoners. When Timur realized that the prisoners were depriving the army of mobility, he ordered them all to be killed - 100 thousand people died.

Having reached the border of the jungle, the army turned back. Thousands of camels carried looted loot to Samarkand. On the way, we passed a huge pile of stones - when going to India, each warrior threw a stone on the ground. On the way back, the survivors took away one stone at a time, and the losses could be judged from those that remained. It must be said that Timur always tried to establish accounting and control in his possessions. He sold the goods exported from India, primarily spices, with enormous profit in the markets of the Middle East.

The emir planned to establish relations with Europe, sending proposals to the kings of England and France to establish trade relations. At the same time, the emir proposed that European rulers unite in an alliance against Ottoman Turkey, which was now Timur’s main opponent. The Turkish Sultan Bayezid, having defeated Christians in Eastern Europe, turned his weapons against his co-religionists and threatened Iraq. His ally, the Egyptian Sultan Barkuk, killed Timur's ambassadors, which in the East was considered a grave insult. The emir's reaction, as always, was quick. Soon Barkuk was poisoned, and Tamerlane's 400,000-strong army moved from Samarkand to the west.

The western provinces were ruled by Timur's son Miranshah, but he suffered from seizures and eventually went completely mad. Taking advantage of this, residents of Iraq and Syria refused to pay taxes and threatened to go over to Bayezid's side. With the appearance of Timur, a bloody massacre awaited them. Baghdad was burned, and the heads of 90 thousand of its inhabitants were placed in another tower. Syrian Aleppo surrendered after the emir promised not to shed the blood of Muslims. Timur kept his word: only the Christian population was slaughtered, and the Muslims were buried alive in the ground.

The conquerors were especially atrocious in Georgia and Armenia, where churches were burned or converted into mosques. Two thousand Armenians were burned in the city of Dvin. In the spring of 1402, Timur invaded Anatolia and besieged the Sivas fortress. After its capture, the Muslims were pardoned for a change, and the Christians were buried alive. In July of the same year, the armies of Timur and Bayezid met near the current Turkish capital of Ankara. The Sultan's army, into which the Greeks and Serbs were forcibly mobilized, was even larger than that of his enemy.

In total, about a million people took part in the battle, of whom 150 thousand died. The massacre continued for more than a day, until Timur’s more experienced and organized army put the enemy to flight. Bayezid himself was captured and led to the victor in chains. Timur looked at the hunched figure of the Sultan and his yellow face - Bayezid had a diseased liver. “Great is Allah! - said the emir. “He wanted to divide the world between a cripple and an ailing old man.”

The Sultan was put in a cage and sent to Samarkand - according to rumors, Timur planned to set up something like a zoo for the overthrown rulers there. Bayezid died on the road, and his heirs fought with each other for a long time. Against his will, the “defender of the Muslim faith” Timur became an ally of Christian Byzantium: having defeated the Turkish army, he delayed the fall of Constantinople for half a century.

In 1403, the Iron Lame returned to Samarkand. The city still flourished, but this did not please the aging ruler. He was tormented by pain in his wounded leg and was tormented by thoughts about the fragility of his power. Who should leave a huge empire, in different parts of which riots broke out every now and then? The eldest son Jahangir died before he turned eighteen, and his two brothers also went to the grave. The mad Miranshah lived out his days under strict supervision. Shahrukh remained - soft, compliant, not at all like his father. His mother, the young nomadic princess Dilshodaga, also died. How fleeting is human life! But Timur has not yet realized all his plans.

At the very beginning of 1405, the armies set out on the campaign again. Their goal was China - there awaited riches that had not yet been plundered and millions of “infidels” who needed to be converted to Islam. To lead the campaign, Timur arrived in the city of Otrar on the border of the steppes, but unexpectedly fell ill and died on February 18 in terrible agony. His body was taken to Samarkand and buried in the Gur-Emir mausoleum.

For many centuries in the East there was a belief: whoever disturbs the ashes of the conqueror will cause a terrible, unprecedented war. But Soviet archaeologists, led by Mikhail Gerasimov, did not pay attention to these warnings. Scientists began opening the tomb of Tamerlane early in the morning June 22, 1941!

After the Victory, the work was completed. Using a cast from the skull bones, Gerasimov was able to restore the appearance of Tamerlane. Visitors to the Moscow Historical Museum saw high cheekbones, narrow tiger eyes, and sternly compressed lips. This was a real god of war, the ruler of a huge empire, for the greatness of which its subjects paid with millions of lives.

In 1336 in the village. Khoja-Ilgar, near Keshe (the territory of present-day Uzbekistan), a son, Timur ibn Taragai Barlas (history is known as Timur Tamerlane), was born into the family of a bek from the Barlas tribe. 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 house of Genghisids, he could not be a khan and bear this title. Although in 1370 he intermarried with this house and became their relative, taking the name Timur Gurgan.

For the first time, historical sources remember him starting in 1361 - this is the year of the beginning of his political career. This year he began to serve under Khan Togluku - 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 Transoxiana, then he received the post of governor of the Kashkadarya vilayet (the possession of the khan). He always had his own cavalry detachment of 60 people with him.

After a couple of years, Timur became disliked by 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 Transoxiana and became an emirate, taking the oath. The capital became Samarkand, 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 Tamerlane came into possession of 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 (descendant of Genghis Khan), whom he helped become khan of the Golden Horde in 1376.

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

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

All his campaigns are divided into three large ones:

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

Tamerlane died in 1405 during a campaign in China. After him, his grandson Khalil Sultan seized control.

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 (TIMUR-KHROMETS) 1336 - 1405

Central Asian conquering commander. Emir.

Timur, the son of a bek from the Turkified Mongolian 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 in his left leg. Since childhood, he persistently engaged in military exercises and at the age of 12 began going on hikes with his father. He was a zealous Mohammedan, which played a significant role in his fight against the Uzbeks.

Timur early showed his military abilities and ability not only to command people, but also to subjugate 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. Quite soon, Timur became an adviser to the khan’s son Ilyas Khoja and the ruler (viceroy) of the Kashkadarya vilayet in the domain of Khan Togluk. By that time, the son of the bek 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 detachment of a thousand 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 forces, Timur concluded 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 warriors. The Turkmen tribes sided with Timur, giving him numerous cavalry. Soon he declared war on his ally 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 formed garrisons of fortresses and almost did not participate in field battles. Timur's cavalry squad numbered only about 2 thousand people, but they were experienced warriors. In a series of battles, Timur defeated the Khan's troops, and by 1370 their remnants retreated across the Syr River.

After these successes, Timur resorted to military stratagem, which was a brilliant success. On behalf of the khan's son, who commanded Togluk's troops, he sent out an order to the commandants of the fortresses to leave the fortresses entrusted to them and to retreat beyond the Syr River with the garrison troops. So, with the help of military cunning, Timur cleared all the enemy fortresses of 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 could now lay claim to independent khan power.

In the same 1370, Timur became emir in Transoxiana, a 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 Muslim clergy. He made the city of Samarkand his capital.

Timur began preparing 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 his descendants had completely forgotten by that time.

Timur began his struggle for power with a detachment of 313 soldiers loyal to him. They formed the backbone of the command staff of the army he created: 100 people began to command dozens of soldiers, 100 hundreds and the last 100 thousand. Timur's closest and most trusted associates received senior military positions.

He paid special attention to the selection of military leaders. In his army, the foremen were chosen by the dozen soldiers themselves, but Timur personally appointed the centurions, thousand and higher-ranking commanders. A boss whose power is weaker than a whip and stick is unworthy of the title, said the Central Asian conqueror.

His army, unlike the troops of Genghis Khan and Batu Khan, received a salary. An ordinary warrior received from two to four times the price of horses. The size of such a salary was determined by the service performance of the soldier. The foreman received the salary of his ten and therefore was personally interested in the proper performance of service by his subordinates. The centurion received the 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 punishment was the withholding 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 axe, a saw, an awl, a needle, a lasso, a tursuk (water bag) and a horse. For 19 such warriors on a campaign, one wagon was relied upon. 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. For five such horsemen there was one wagon. In addition to the mandatory weapons, there were pikes, maces, sabers and other weapons. The Mongols carried everything they needed for camping 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, shooting accuracy increased. Such mounted riflemen 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 the hundred, hundred in the thousand. Individual units of the army differed in the color of their horses, the color of their clothes and banners, and their combat equipment. According to the laws of Genghis Khan, before the campaign, the soldiers were given a strict review.

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

Being an experienced commander, Timur chose flat terrain, with sources of water and vegetation, for the battles of his predominantly cavalry army. He lined up the troops for 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 drawn into battle.

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

Timur began his campaigns of conquest beyond his original possessions in 1371. By 1380, he had made 9 military campaigns, and soon all neighboring regions inhabited by Uzbeks and most of the territory of modern Afghanistan came under his rule. Any resistance to the Mongol army was severely punished. Commander Timur left behind enormous destruction and erected pyramids from the heads of defeated enemy warriors.

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 craftsmen from the conquered countries, who built numerous palaces for the emir, decorating them with paintings depicting the aggressive campaigns of the Mongol army.

In 1386, Emir Timur launched a campaign of conquest in the Caucasus. Near Tiflis, the Mongol army fought with the Georgian army 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, put up brave 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. At the same time as Georgia, neighboring Armenia was conquered.

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

In 1389, the cavalry army of the Samarkand emir made a campaign in the steppes to Lake Balkhash, in the territory of Semirechye? 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 great war with the Golden Horde. Timur's cavalry had to travel 2,500 kilometers across the arid steppes. Timur made three major 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 Derbent fortress.

In July 1391, the largest battle took place near Lake Kergel between the armies of Emir Timur and Khan Tokhtamysh. The forces of the parties were approximately equal to 300 thousand mounted warriors, but these figures in the sources are clearly overestimated. The battle began at dawn with mutual archery fire, followed by mounted charges against each other. By noon, the army of the Golden Horde was defeated and put to flight. The winners received the Khan's camp and numerous herds.

Timur successfully waged war against Tokhtamysh, but did not annex his possessions to himself. The Emir's Mongol troops plundered the Golden Horde capital of Sarai-Berke. Tokhtamysh with his troops and nomads 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 town of Yelets. Its few defenders could not resist the enemy, and Yelets was burned. After this, 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 energetically attacked the enemy center and almost broke its resistance. Having assessed the situation, Timur reinforced his reserve of heavy armored cavalry with troops that had not yet joined the battle, and he himself led a counterattack, which was victorious. The Persian army was completely defeated at the Battle of Patil. 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 destroyed, and their inhabitants were mercilessly exterminated. In the same way, the Samarkand ruler suppressed protests against Mongol rule in other countries he conquered.

In 1398, the great conqueror invades India. In the same year, Timur's army besieged the fortified city of Merath, which the Indians themselves considered impregnable. Having examined 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. Having burst into Merath, the Mongols killed all its inhabitants. After this, 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 ships. The Mongol warriors rushed with their horses into the Ganges and swam to attack 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 Delhi Muslims under the command of Mahmud Tughlaq. The battle began when 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 repelled 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 in battle, subjecting this numerous and rich Indian city to plunder and its inhabitants to massacre. The conquerors left Delhi, burdened with enormous booty. Everything that could not be taken to Samarkand, Timur ordered to be destroyed or completely destroyed. It took a 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 killing of 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. Near the city of Aleppo (modern Aleppo) on November 11, a battle took place between the Mongol army and Turkish troops commanded by Syrian emirs. They did not want to sit under siege behind the fortress walls and went out to battle in the open field. The Mongols inflicted a crushing defeat on their opponents, and they retreated to Aleppo, losing several thousand people killed. After this, 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 things were to be sent to Samarkand. In the Syrian capital of 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, to intimidate them, reviewed his huge, according to some information, 800 thousand army. After this, he ordered the capture of crossings across the Kizil-Irmak River and besieged the Ottoman capital Ankara. This forced the Turkish army to accept a general battle with the Mongols near the camps of Ankara, which took place 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, consisting of Ottoman Turks, mercenary Crimean Tatars, Serbs and other peoples of the Ottoman Empire, numbered 120-200 thousand people.

Timur won victory largely thanks to the successful actions of his cavalry on the flanks and the bribery of 18 thousand mounted Crimean Tatars to his side. In the Turkish army, the Serbs who were on the left flank held out most steadfastly. Sultan Bayazid I was captured, and the encircled infantrymen - the Janissaries - were completely killed. Those who fled were pursued by the emir's 30 thousand light cavalry.

After a convincing victory at Ankara, Timur besieged the large coastal city of Smyrna and, after a two-week siege, captured and plundered it. The Mongol army then turned back to Central Asia, once again sacking 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 him tribute, 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 included Transoxiana, 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 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 great 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, the only one remaining among Timur’s heirs, received power over his father’s domains and the emir’s throne in Samarkand.

Timur (Timur-Leng - Iron Lame), the famous conqueror of the eastern lands, whose name sounded on the lips of Europeans as Tamerlane (1336 - 1405), was born in Kesh (modern Shakhrisabz, "Green City"), fifty miles south of Samarkand in Transoxiana (the region of modern Uzbekistan between the Amu Darya and Syr Darya). According to some assumptions, Timur's father Taragai was the leader of the Mongol-Turkic tribe of Barlas (a large clan in the Chagatai Mongol tribe) and a descendant of a certain Karachar Noyon (a large feudal landowner in Mongolia in the Middle Ages), a powerful assistant of Chagatai, the son of Genghis Khan and a distant relative of the latter . Timur's reliable Memoirs say that he led many expeditions during the unrest that followed the death of Emir Kazgan, the ruler of Mesopotamia. In 1357, after the invasion of Tughlak Timur, Khan of Kashgar (1361), and the appointment of his son Ilyas-Khoja as governor of Mesopotamia, Timur became his assistant and ruler of Kesh. But very soon he fled and joined Emir Hussein, the grandson of Kazgan, becoming his son-in-law. After many raids and adventures, they defeated the forces of Ilyas-Khoja (1364) and set off to conquer Mesopotamia. Around 1370, Timur rebelled against his ally Hussein, captured him in Balkh and announced that he was the heir of Chagatai and was going to revive the Mongol empire.
Tamerlane devoted the next ten years to the fight against the khans of Jent (East Turkestan) and Khorezm and in 1380 captured Kashgar. He then intervened in the conflict between the khans of the Golden Horde in Rus' and helped Tokhtamysh take the throne. He, with the help of Timur, defeated the ruling khan Mamai, took his place and, in order to take revenge on the Moscow prince for the defeat he inflicted on Mamai in 1380, captured Moscow in 1382.
Timur's conquest of Persia in 1381 began with the capture of Herat. The unstable political and economic situation in Persia at that time contributed to the conqueror. The revival of the country, which began during the reign of the Ilkhans, slowed down again with the death of the last representative of the Abu Said family (1335). In the absence of an heir, rival dynasties took turns taking the throne. The situation was aggravated by the clash between the Mongol Jalair dynasties ruling in Baghdad and Tabriz; the Perso-Arab family of the Muzafarids, ruling in Fars and Isfahan; Kharid-Kurtov in Herat; local religious and tribal alliances, such as the Serbedars (rebels against Mongol oppression) in Khorasan and the Afghans in Kerman, and petty princes in the border areas. All these warring principalities could not jointly and effectively resist Timur. Khorasan and all of Eastern Persia fell under his onslaught in 1382 - 1385; Fars, Iraq, Azerbaijan and Armenia were conquered in 1386-1387 and 1393-1394; Mesopotamia and Georgia came under his rule in 1394. Between conquests, Timur fought Tokhtamysh, now khan of the Golden Horde, whose troops invaded Azerbaijan in 1385 and Mesopotamia in 1388, defeating Timur's forces. In 1391, Timur, pursuing Tokhtamysh, reached the southern steppes of Rus', defeated the enemy and overthrew him from the throne. In 1395, the Horde Khan again invaded the Caucasus, but was finally defeated on the Kura River. To top it off, Timur ravaged Astrakhan and Sarai, but did not reach Moscow. The uprisings that broke out throughout Persia during this campaign demanded his immediate return. Timur suppressed them with extraordinary cruelty. Entire cities were destroyed, the inhabitants were exterminated, and their heads were walled up in the walls of the towers.
In 1399, when Timur was already in his sixties, he invaded India, angry that the Delhi Sultans were showing too much tolerance towards their subjects. On September 24, Tamerlane's troops crossed the Indus and, leaving a bloody trail behind them, entered Delhi.

Tamerlane's name.

Timur's full name was Timur ibn Taragay Barlas (Tīmūr ibn Taraġay Barlas - Timur son of Taragay from Barlas) in accordance with the Arabic tradition (alam-nasab-nisba). In the Chagatai and Mongolian languages ​​(both Altaic) Temür or Temir means “iron”.

Not being a Genghisid, Timur formally could not bear the title of Great Khan, always calling himself only an emir (leader, leader). However, growing up in 1370 with the House of Genghisides, he accepted the name Timur Gurgan (Timūr Gurkānī, (تيمو گوركاو), gurkān - an Iranized version of the Mongolian kүrүgen or hield, “son -in -law”. free to live and act in their homes.

In various Persian sources, the Iranianized nickname Timur-e Lang (Tīmūr-e Lang, تیمور لنگ) “Timur the Lame” is often found; this name was probably considered at that time as contemptuous and derogatory. 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”.

Personality of Tamerlane.

Timur's biography resembles the biography of Genghis Khan. The beginnings of the political activities of both conquerors are similar: they were the leaders of the detachments of adherents they personally recruited, who then remained the main support of their power. Like Genghis Khan, Timur personally entered into all the details of the organization of military forces, had detailed information about the forces of his enemies and the state of their lands, enjoyed unconditional authority among his army and could fully rely on his associates. Less successful was the choice of persons placed at the head of the civil administration (numerous cases of punishment for extortion of high dignitaries in Samarkand, Herat, Shiraz, Tabriz). Tamerlane loved to talk with scientists, especially to listen to the reading of historical works; with his knowledge of history he surprised the medieval historian, philosopher and thinker Ibn Khaldun; Timur used stories about the valor of historical and legendary heroes to inspire his soldiers.

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

Timur cared primarily about the prosperity of his native Maverannahr and about enhancing the splendor of his capital, Samarkand. Timur brought craftsmen, architects, jewelers, builders, architects from all the conquered lands in order to equip the cities of his empire: the capital Samarkand, his father’s homeland - Kesh (Shakhrisyabz), Bukhara, the border city of Yassy (Turkestan). He managed to express all the care that he put into the capital Samarkand through words about it: “There will always be a blue sky and golden stars above Samarkand.” Only in recent years did he take measures to improve the well-being of other regions of the state, mainly border ones (in 1398 a new irrigation canal was built in Afghanistan, in 1401 - in Transcaucasia, etc.)

Biography.

Childhood and youth.

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

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

Timur's appearance.

As shown by the opening of the tomb of Gur Emir (Samarkand) by M. M. Gerasimov and the subsequent study of the skeleton from the burial, which is believed to belong to Tamerlane, his height was 172 cm. Timur was strong and physically developed, his contemporaries wrote about him: “If Most warriors could pull the bow string to the level of the collarbone, but Timur pulled it to the ear.” His hair is lighter than most of his people.

Despite Timur's old age (69 years), his skull, as well as his skeleton, did not have pronounced, actually senile features. The presence of most of the teeth, the clear relief of the bones, the almost absence of osteophytes - all this rather suggests 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, the highly developed relief and their density, the width of the shoulders, the volume of the chest and relatively high height - all this gives the right to think that Timur had an extremely strong build. His strong athletic muscles, most likely, were distinguished by a certain dryness of form, and this is natural: life on military campaigns, with their difficulties and hardships, almost constant stay in the saddle could hardly contribute to obesity.

A special external difference between Tamerlane and his warriors and other Muslims was the braids they kept, according to Mongolian custom, which is confirmed by some Central Asian illustrated manuscripts of that time. Meanwhile, examining ancient Turkic sculptures and images of Turks in the paintings of Afrasiab, researchers came to the conclusion that the Turks wore braids back in the 5th-8th centuries. The opening of Timur's grave and analysis by anthropologists showed that Timur did not have braids. “Timur’s hair is thick, straight, gray-red in color, with a predominance of dark chestnut or red.” “Contrary to the accepted custom of shaving his head, at the time of his death Timur had relatively long hair.” (article by M. M. Gerasimov “Portrait of Tamerlane” from the book “Tamerlane”, published in Moscow in 1992). Some historians believe that the light color of his hair is due to the fact that Tamerlane dyed his hair with henna. But, M. M. Gerasimov notes in his work: “Even a preliminary study of beard hair under a binocular convinces that this reddish color is natural, and not dyed with henna, as historians described.” Timur wore a long mustache, not a trim one above the lip. As we managed to find out, there was a rule that allowed the highest military class to wear a mustache without cutting it above the lip, and Timur, according to this rule, did not cut his mustache, and it hung freely above the lip. “Timur’s small thick beard was wedge-shaped. Her hair is coarse, almost straight, thick, bright brown (red) in color, with significant gray streaks.”

Timur's parents, brothers and sisters.

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

According to some assumptions, Timur's father Taragai was the leader of the Barlas tribe and a descendant of a certain Karachar noyon (a large feudal landowner in the Middle Ages), a powerful assistant to Chagatai, the son of Genghis Khan and a distant relative of the latter.

Timur's father was a pious Muslim, his spiritual mentor was Sheikh Shams ad-din Kulal

In Encyclopedia Britannica, Timur is considered a Turkic conqueror.

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

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

Timur's father was married twice: his first wife was Timur's mother Tekina Khatun. There is conflicting information about its origin. And the second wife of Taragay/Turgay was Kadak-khatun, the mother of Timur’s sister Shirinbek-aka.

Muhammad Taragay died in 1361 and was buried in Timur’s homeland - in the city of Kesh (Shakhrisabz). His tomb has survived to this day.

Timur had an older sister, Kutlug Turkan-aka, and a younger sister, Shirin-bek-aka. They died before the death of Timur himself and were buried in mausoleums in the Shahi Zinda complex in Samarkand. According to the source “Mu'izz al-ansab”, Timur had three more brothers: Juki, Alim Sheikh and Suyurgatmysh.

Spiritual mentors of Timur.

Timur's first spiritual mentor was his father's mentor, the Sufi sheikh Shams ad-din Kulal. Timur's main spiritual mentor was a descendant of the Prophet Muhammad, Sheikh Mir Seyid Bereke. It was he who presented Timur with the symbols of power: the drum and the banner, when he came to power in 1370. Handing these symbols, Mir Seyid Bereke predicted a great future for the emir. He accompanied Timur on his great campaigns. In 1391, he blessed him before the battle with Tokhtamysh. In 1403, they together mourned the unexpected death of the heir to the throne, Muhammad Sultan. Mir Seyid Bereke was buried in the Gur Emir mausoleum, where Timur himself was buried at his feet. Another mentor of Timur was the son of the Sufi sheikh Burkhan ad-din Sagardzhi Abu Said. Timur ordered the construction of the Rukhabad mausoleum over their graves.

Timur's knowledge of languages.

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

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

Legal documents of Timur's state were compiled in two languages: Persian and Turkic. For example, a document from 1378 giving privileges to the descendants of Abu Muslim who lived in Khorezm was compiled 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 Samarkante extends, and its land is called Mogalia (Mogolistan), and the language is Mughal, and this language is not understood in this ( southern - approx.) side of the river, since everyone speaks Persian", he further reports "the writing that is used by the Samarkant residents [who live - approx.] on the other side of the river is not understood and cannot be read by those who live on this side, and they call this writing mogali. And the lord (Tamerlane - approx.) keeps with him several scribes who can read and write on this"

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

Ibn Arabshah, describing the tribes of Transoxiana, provides the following information: “The mentioned Sultan (Timur) had four viziers who were completely engaged in useful and harmful matters. They were considered noble people, and everyone followed their opinions. As many tribes and tribes as the Arabs had, the Turks had the same number. Each of the above-mentioned viziers, being representatives of one tribe, were a luminary of opinions and illuminated the arch of minds of their tribe. One tribe was called Arlat, the second - Zhalair, the third - Kavchin, the fourth - Barlas. Temur was the son of the fourth tribe."

According to Alisher Navoi, although Timur did not write poetry, he knew both poetry and prose very well, and, by the way, knew how to bring the proper beit to the right place.

Timur's wives.

He had 18 wives, of which his favorite wife was Emir Hussein's sister, Uljay Turkan Agha. According to another version, his beloved wife was the daughter of Kazan Khan, Sarai Mulk Khanum. She did not have her own children, but she was entrusted with the upbringing of some of Timur's sons and grandchildren. She was a famous patron of science and the arts. By her order, a huge madrasah and mausoleum for her mother were built in Samarkand.

In 1355, Timur married the daughter of Emir Jaku-barlas Turmush-aga. Khan Maverannahra Kazagan, convinced of Timur’s merits, in 1355 gave him his granddaughter Uljay Turkan-aga as his wife. Thanks to this marriage, Timur's alliance with Emir Hussein, the grandson of Kazagan, arose.

In addition, Timur had other wives: Tugdi bi, daughter of Ak Sufi kungrat, Ulus aga from the Sulduz tribe, Nauruz aga, Bakht Sultan aga, Burkhan aga, Tavakkul-hanim, Turmish aga, Jani-bik aga, Chulpan aga and others. Timur had 21 concubines.

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

The beginning of political activity.

In 1347, Emir Kazagan killed Genghisid Kazan Khan, after whose death the Chagatai ulus split into two separate states: Transoxiana and Mogolistan. After the collapse of the Chagatai ulus, the head of the Turkic emirs was Kazagan (1346-1358), who was not a Chingizid, but a native of the Karaunas. Formally, Genghisid Danishmadcha-oglan was elevated to the throne, and after his assassination Bayankuli Khan. After the death of Kazagan, his son Abdullah really ruled the country, but he was killed and the region was gripped by political anarchy.

Timur entered the service of the ruler of Kesh, Hadji Barlas, who was supposedly the head of the Barlas tribe. In 1360, Transoxiana was conquered by Tughluk-Timur. Haji Barlas fled to Khorasan, and Timur entered into negotiations with the khan and was confirmed as the ruler of the Kesh region, but was forced to leave after the departure of the Mongols and the return of Haji Barlas.

In 1361, Khan Tughluk-Timur again occupied the country, and Haji Barlas again fled to Khorasan, where he was subsequently killed. In 1362, Tughluk-Timur hastily left Transoxiana as a result of the rebellion 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. Before the khan had time to cross the Syr Darya River, Ilyas Khoja Oglan, together with Emir Bekchik and other close emirs, conspired to remove Timurbek from state affairs, and, if possible, to destroy him physically. The intrigues intensified and became dangerous. Timur had to separate from the Mughals and go over to the side of their enemy - Emir Hussein (grandson of Kazagan). For some time, with a small detachment, they led the life of adventurers and went towards Khorezm, where in the battle of Khiva they were defeated by the ruler of those lands, Tavakkala-Kongurot, and with the remnants of their warriors and servants were forced to retreat deep into the desert. Subsequently, going to the village of Mahmudi in the region subject to Mahan, they were captured by the people of Alibek Dzhanikurban, in whose dungeons they spent 62 days in captivity. According to 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 Beg.

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 guerrilla 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 his right hand and was seriously wounded in his right leg, causing him to become lame (the nickname “lame Timur” is Aksak-Temir in Turkic, Timur- e lang in Persian, hence Tamerlane).

In 1364, the Moguls were forced to leave the country. Returning back to Transoxiana, Timur and Hussein placed Kabul Shah from the Chagatand clan on the throne of the ulus.

The next year, at dawn on May 22, 1365, a bloody battle took place near Chinaz between the army of Timur and Hussein with the army of Mogolistan led by Khan Ilyas-Khoja, which went down in history as the “battle in the mud.” Timur and Hussein had little chance to defend 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 forward, and the horses got stuck in the mud. Despite this, Timur’s troops began to gain victory on his flank; at the decisive moment, he asked Hussein for help in order to finish off the enemy, but Hussein not only did not help, but also retreated. This predetermined the outcome of the battle. The warriors of Timur and Hussein were forced to retreat to the other side of the Syrdarya River.

Meanwhile, the army of Ilyas-Khoja was expelled from Samarkand by a popular uprising of the Serbedars, which was led by the madrasah teacher Mavlanazada, the artisan Abubakr Kalavi and the sharp shooter Mirzo Khurdaki Bukhari. Popular government was established in the city. The property of the rich sections of the population was confiscated, so they turned to Hussein and Timur for help. Timur and Hussein agreed to oppose 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 alive the leader of the Serbedars - Mavlana-zade, to whom the people's preferences were addressed .

Election as "Great Emir".

Hussein wanted to rule on the throne of the Chagatai ulus among the Turkic-Mongolian people, like his grandfather Kazagan; according to established tradition, power from time immemorial belonged to the descendants of Genghis Khan. During the reign of Genghisid Kazankhan, the position of supreme emir was forcibly appropriated by Emir Hussein's grandfather, Emir Kazagan, which served as a reason for breaking the already not very good relations between beks Timur and Hussein. Each of them began to prepare for the decisive battle.

Timur received great support from the clergy in the person of the Termez seids, the Samarkand sheikh-ul-Islam and Mir Seyid Bereke, who became Timur’s spiritual mentor.

Having moved from Sali-sarai to Balkh, Hussein began to strengthen the fortress. He decided to act with deception and cunning. Hussein sent Timur an invitation to a meeting in the Chakchak gorge to sign a peace treaty, and as proof of his friendly intentions he promised to swear on the Koran. Having gone to the meeting, Timur took two hundred horsemen with him just in case, but Hussein brought a thousand of his soldiers and for this reason the meeting did not take place. Timur recalls this incident: “I sent Emir Hussein a letter with a Turkic beit with the following content:

Whoever intends to deceive me will lie in the ground himself, I am sure. Having shown his deceit, He himself will die from it.

When my letter reached Emir Hussein, he was extremely embarrassed and asked for forgiveness, but the second time I did not believe him.”

Gathering all his strength, Timur crossed to the other side of the Amu Darya River. The advanced units of his troops were commanded by Suyurgatmish-oglan, Ali Muayyad and Hussein Barlas. On the approach to the village of Biya, Barak, the leader of the Andkhud Sayinds, advanced to meet the army and presented him with kettledrums and the banner of 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 side of the river, Emir Zinda Chashm from Shiberghan, Khazarians from Khulm and Badakhshan Muhammadshah also joined. Having learned about this, many of Emir Hussein’s soldiers left him.

Before the battle, Timur gathers a kurultai, at which a man from the Genghisid family, Suyurgatmysh, is elected khan. Shortly before Timur was confirmed as the “great emir,” a certain good messenger, a sheikh from Mecca, came to him and said that he had a vision that he, Timur, would become a great ruler. On this occasion, he presented him with a banner, a drum, a symbol of supreme power. But he does not take this supreme power personally, but remains close to it.

On April 10, 1370, Balkh was conquered, and Hussein was captured and killed by the ruler of Khutalyan, Kaykhusrav, as a matter of blood feud, since Hussein had previously killed his brother. A kurultai was also held here, in which Chagatai beks and emirs, high-ranking dignitaries of regions and tumans, and Termezshahs took part. Among them were former rivals and childhood friends of Timur: Bayan-suldus, emirs Uljaytu, Kaikhosrov, Zinda Chashm, Jaku-barlas and many others. The Kurultai elected Timur as the supreme emir of Turan, entrusting him with responsibility for establishing the long-awaited peace, stability and order in the country. And the marriage with the daughter of Genghisid Kazan Khan, the captive widow of Emir Hussein Sarai Mulk Khanum, allowed the Supreme Emir of Maverannahr Timur to add the honorary title “guragan”, that is, “son-in-law” to his name.

At the kurultai, Timur took the oath of all the military leaders of Transoxiana. Like his predecessors, he did not accept the title of khan and was content with the title of “great emir” - the descendant of Genghis Khan Suyurgatmysh (1370-1388) and his son Mahmud (1388-1402) were considered khans under him. Samarkand was chosen as the capital, Timur began the struggle to create a centralized state.

Strengthening Timur's state.

The official name of Timur's state.

In the Karsakpai inscription of 1391, written in the Chagatai Turkic language, Timur ordered the name of his state to be engraved: Turan.

Tribal composition of Timur's troops.

Representatives of various tribes fought in Timur’s army: Barlas, Durbats, Nukuzes, Naimans, Kipchaks, Bulguts, Dulats, Kiyats, Jalairs, Sulduzs, Merkits, Yasavuris, Kauchins, etc.

Hiking to Mogolistan.

Despite the laid foundation of statehood, Khorezm and Shibergan, which belonged to the Chagatai ulus, did not recognize the new government 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 caused trouble, often violating borders and plundering villages. After Uruskhan captured Sygnyak and moved the capital of the White Horde, Yassy (Turkestan), Sairam and Transoxiana to it were in even greater danger. It was necessary to take measures to strengthen statehood.

The ruler of Moghulistan, Emir Kamar ad-din, tried to prevent the strengthening of Timur’s state. Mogolistan feudal lords often carried out predatory raids on Sairam, Tashkent, Fergana and Turkestan. The raids of Emir Kamar ad-din in the 70-71s and the raids in the winter of 1376 on the cities of Tashkent and Andijan brought especially great troubles to the people. In the same year, Emir Kamar ad-din captured half of Fergana, from where its governor, Timur’s son Umar Sheikh Mirza, fled to the mountains. Therefore, solving the problem of Mogolistan was important for calm on the borders of the country.

From 1371 to 1390, Emir Timur made seven campaigns against Mogolistan, finally defeating the army of Kamar ad-din and Anka-tyur in 1390 during the last campaign. However, Timur only reached the Irtysh in the north, Alakul in the east, Emil and the headquarters of the Mongol khans Balig-Yulduz, but he was unable to conquer the lands east of the Tangri-Tag and Kashgar mountains. Qamar ad-din fled and subsequently died of dropsy. The independence of Mogolistan was preserved.

Timur undertook his first two campaigns against the militant khan Kamar ad-din in the spring and autumn of 1371. The first campaign ended in a truce; during the second, Timur, leaving Tashkent through Sairam, located north of the city, moved towards the village of Yangi in Taraz. There he put the nomads to flight and captured large booty.

In 1375, Timur carried out his third successful campaign. He left Sairam and passed through the regions of Talas and Tokmak along the upper reaches of the Chu River. Timur returned to Samarkand via Uzgen and Khojent.

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

In 1376-1377 Timur made his fifth campaign against Kamar ad-din. He defeated his army in the gorges west of Issyk-Kul and pursued him to Kochkar.

The Zafarnama mentions Timur's sixth campaign in the Issyk-Kul region against Kamar ad-din in 1383, but the khan again managed to escape.

In 1389-1390 Timur intensified his actions to thoroughly defeat Kamar ad-din. In 1389 he crossed the Ili and crossed the Imil region in all directions, south and east of Lake Balkhash and around Ata-Kul. His vanguard, meanwhile, pursued the Mughals to the Black Irtysh, south of Altai. His advanced detachments reached Kara Khoja in the east, that is, almost to Turfan.

In 1390, Kamar ad-din was finally defeated, and Mogolistan finally ceased to threaten Timur’s power.

Fight against the Golden Horde.

In 1360, northern Khorezm, which was part of the Golden Horde, became independent. The Kungrat-Sufi dynasty, which declared its independence and strengthened its position in 1371, attempted to capture southern Khorezm, which was part of the Chagatai ulus. Emir Timur demanded the return of the captured lands of southern Khorezm first peacefully, sending first a tawachi (quartermaster), then a sheikhulislama (head of the Muslim community) to Gurganj, but Khorezmshah Hussein Sufi refused to fulfill this demand both times, taking the ambassador prisoner. Since then, Emir Timur has made five campaigns against Khorezm. At the last stage of the struggle, the Khorezmshahs tried to enlist the support of the Golden Horde Khan Tokhtamysh. In 1387, the Sufi Kungrats, together with Tokhtamysh, carried out a predatory raid on Bukhara, which led to Timur’s last campaign against Khorezm and further military actions against Tokhtamysh.

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, at one time called the Chagatai ulus.

Realizing the danger to the independence of Transoxiana from the Jochi ulus, from the very first days of his reign, Timur tried in every possible way to bring his protege to power in the Jochi ulus. The Golden Horde had its capital in the city of Sarai-Batu (Sarai-Berke) and extended across the North Caucasus, the northwestern part of Khorezm, Crimea, Western Siberia and the Volga-Kama principality of Bulgar. The White Horde had its capital in the city of Sygnak and extended from Yangikent to Sabran, along the lower reaches of the Syr Darya, as well as on the banks of the Syr Darya steppe from Ulu-tau to Sengir-yagach and the land from Karatal to Siberia. Khan of the White Horde, Urus Khan, tried to unite the once powerful state, whose plans were thwarted by the intensified struggle between the Jochids and the feudal lords of the Dashti Kipchak. Timur strongly supported Tokhtamysh-oglan, whose father died at the hands of Uruskhan, who eventually took the throne of the White Horde. However, after ascending to power, Khan Tokhtamysh seized power in the Golden Horde and began to pursue a hostile policy towards the lands of Transoxiana.

Tamerlane 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 the Bulgar. In response to the plunder of the lands of Maverannahr, Emir Timur burned the capital of the Golden Horde - Sarai-Batu, and gave the reins of its government into the hands of Koyrichak-oglan, who was the son of Uruskhan. Timur's defeat of the Golden Horde also had 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 Horde khan - at Kondurch in 1391 and Terek in 1395, after which Tokhtamysh was deprived of the throne and forced to wage a constant struggle with the khans appointed by Tamerlane. With this defeat of the army of Khan Tokhtamysh, Tamerlane brought indirect benefit in the struggle of the Russian lands against the Tatar-Mongol yoke.

In 1395, Tamerlane, who was marching against Tokhtamysh, passed through the Ryazan region and took the city of Yelets, after which Tamerlane moved towards Moscow, but unexpectedly turned around and went back on August 26th. According to church tradition, it was at that time that Muscovites met the revered Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God, transferred to Moscow to protect it from the conqueror. On the day of the meeting of the image, according to the chronicle, the Mother of God appeared to Tamerlane in a dream and ordered him to immediately leave the borders of Rus'. At the meeting place of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God, the Sretensky Monastery was founded. Tamerlane did not reach Moscow, his army marched along the Don and took it completely.

There is 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 at the Terek River and before the total defeat of the cities of the Golden Horde in the same 1395. Tamerlane personally pursued the retreating commanders of Tokhtamysh after the defeat until they were completely defeated. 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 Russian lands. Some of his troops, not he himself, approached the borders of Rus'. Here, on the comfortable summer Horde pastures that stretched 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 put up serious resistance, the region was severely devastated. As Russian chronicles tell us about Timur’s invasion, his army stood on both sides of the Don for two weeks, “captured” (occupied) the land of Yelets and “seized” (captured) the prince of Yelets. Some coin hoards in the vicinity of Voronezh date back to 1395. However, in the vicinity of Yelets, which, according to the above-mentioned Russian written sources, was subjected to a pogrom, no treasures with such a dating have been found to date. Sheref ad-din Yezdi describes large booty taken in 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 warriors. According to the legends recorded by Yelets local historians in the 19th-20th centuries, the Yelets residents stubbornly resisted the enemy. However, in the “Book of Victories” there is no mention of this; the names of the fighters and commanders who took Yelets, who were the first to ascend the rampart, and who personally captured the Yelets prince, are not named. Meanwhile, Russian women made a great impression on Timur’s warriors, about whom Sheref ad-din Yezdi writes in a poetic line: “Oh, beautiful feathers like roses stuffed into snow-white Russian canvas!” Then in “Zafar-name” there follows a detailed list of Russian cities conquered by Timur, including Moscow. Perhaps this is just a list of Russian lands that did not want an armed conflict and sent their ambassadors with gifts. After the defeat of Bek Yaryk Oglan, Tamerlane himself began to methodically ravage the lands of his main enemy Tokhtamysh. The Horde cities of the Volga region never recovered from Tamerlane’s devastation 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 ruins for several decades. Yelets, according to Russian chronicles, existed for another twenty years and was completely destroyed by certain “Tatars” only in 1414 or 1415.

Hikes to Iran and the Caucasus.

In 1380, Timur went on a campaign against Malik Ghiyasiddin Pir Ali II, who ruled in the city of Herat. At first, he sent an ambassador to him with an invitation to the 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 Jahangir, sent ten regiments to the left bank of the Amu Darya River. He captured the regions of Balkh, Shiberghan and Badkhiz. In February 1381, Emir Timur himself marched with troops and took the cities of Khorasan, Seraks, Jami, Qausia, Isferain, Tuye 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 state of the Serbedars ceased to exist; in 1382, Timur's son, Miranshah, was appointed ruler of Khorasan; in 1383, Timur devastated Seistan and brutally suppressed the uprising of the Serbedars in Sebzevar.

In 1383, he took Seistan, in which the fortresses of Zirekh, Zave, Farah and Bust were defeated. In 1384 he captured the cities of Astrabad, Amul, Sari, Sultaniya and Tabriz, effectively capturing all of Persia. After which he went on a campaign to Armenia, after which he made several more campaigns of conquest in 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 the territory of modern Syria, India, Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Turkey and Iran.

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 journey.

For the first time, Timur was forced to return back as a result of the invasion of Transoxiana by the Golden Horde Khan Tokhtamysh in alliance with the Semirechensk Mongols (1387).

In 1388, Timur drove out his enemies and punished the Khorezmians for their alliance with Tokhtamysh, in 1389 he made a devastating campaign deep into the Mongolian possessions as far as the Irtysh to the north and to the Greater Zhyldyz to the east, in 1391 - a campaign against the Golden Horde possessions to the Volga. These campaigns achieved their goal.

Five-year journey.

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 Transcaucasia caused Timur's campaign against Southern Russia (1395); Timur defeated Tokhtamysh on the Terek and pursued him to the borders of the Moscow principality. There he invaded the Ryazan lands, ravaged Yelets, posing a threat to Moscow. Having launched an attack on Moscow, he unexpectedly turned back and left the Moscow lands on the very day when Muscovites greeted the image of the Vladimir Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos, brought from Vladimir (from this 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 Tamerlane's goal, and therefore the Caucasus ridge remained the northern border of Timur's possessions. In 1396 he returned to Samarkand and in 1397 appointed his youngest son Shahrukh as ruler of Khorasan, Seistan and Mazanderan.

Timur's campaign in India.

In 1398, a campaign was launched against India; along the way, the highlanders of Kafiristan were defeated. In December, Timur defeated the army of the Indian Sultan (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.

Seven-year journey.

Timur's campaign against the Ottoman Empire.

The "seven-year" campaign was initially caused by unrest in the area ruled by Miranshah. Timur deposed his son and defeated the enemies who invaded his domain. In 1400, a war began with the Ottoman Sultan Bayazet, who captured the city of Arzinjan, where Timur's vassal ruled, and with the Egyptian Sultan Faraj, whose predecessor, Barkuk, ordered the murder of Timur's ambassador back in 1393. In 1400, Timur took Sivas in Asia Minor and Aleppo (Aleppo) in Syria (which belonged to the Egyptian Sultan), and in 1401 Damascus.

In 1399, in response to the actions of Sultan Bayazid I the Lightning, who patronized Timur's enemy Kara Yusuf and wrote an insulting letter, Timur began his seven-year campaign against the Ottoman Empire.

In 1402, Timur won a major victory over the Ottoman Sultan Bayezid I the Lightning, defeating him at the Battle of Ankara on July 28. The Sultan himself was captured. As a result of the battle, all of Asia Minor was captured, and the defeat of Bayazid led to the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, accompanied by a peasant war and civil strife between his sons. The official reason for the war was the alleged presentation of gifts to Timur by Turkish ambassadors. Outraged by the fact that Bayezid was acting as a benefactor, Timur declared military action.

The fortress of Smyrna (belonging to the Johannite knights), which the Ottoman sultans, besieging, could not take for 20 years, he captured by storm in two weeks. The western part of Asia Minor was returned to the sons of Bayazet in 1403, and in the eastern part the small dynasties overthrown by Bayazet were restored.

Upon returning to Samarkand, Timur planned to declare his eldest grandson Muhammad Sultan (1375-1403), who was similar to his grandfather in actions and mind, as his successor. However, in March 1403 he fell ill and died suddenly.

The beginning of the campaign against China.

In August 1404, Timur returned to Samarkand and a few months later embarked on a campaign against China, for which he began preparing back in 1398. That year he built a fortress on the border of the current Syr-Darya region and Semirechye; Now another fortification was built, 10 days' journey further to the east, probably near Issyk-Kul. The campaign was stopped due to the onset of a cold winter, and in February 1405 Timur died.

Diplomatic relations.

Timur, who created a huge empire, established diplomatic ties with a number of states, including China, Egypt, Byzantium, France, England, Spain, etc. In 1404, the ambassador of the Castilian king, Gonzalez de Clavijo, Ruy, visited the capital of his state - Samarkand. The originals of Timur's letters to the French king Charles VI have been preserved.

Children.

Timur had four sons: Jahangir (1356-1376), Umar Sheikh (1356-1394), Miran Shah (1366-1408), Shahrukh (1377-1447) and several daughters: Uka Begim, Sultan Bakht aga, Bigi Jan, Saadat Sultan, Musalla.

Death.

He died during the campaign against 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 due to China's claims to the lands of Transoxiana and Turkestan. He gathered a large army of two hundred thousand, with which he set out on a campaign on November 27, 1404. In January 1405, he arrived in the city of Otrar (its ruins are not far from the confluence of the Arys and the Syr Darya), where he fell ill and died (according to historians - on February 18, according to Timur's tombstone - on the 15th). The body was embalmed, placed in an ebony coffin, lined with silver brocade, and taken to Samarkand. Tamerlane was buried in the Gur Emir mausoleum, which was still unfinished at that time. Official mourning events were held on March 18, 1405 by Timur's grandson Khalil-Sultan (1405-1409), who seized the Samarkand throne against the will of his grandfather, who bequeathed the kingdom to his eldest grandson Pirmukhammed.

A look at Tamerlane in the light of history and culture.

Code of laws.

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

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

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

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

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

Emirs, just like viziers, must be from a noble family, possess such qualities as insight, courage, enterprise, caution and frugality, conduct business, thoroughly thinking through the consequences of each step. They must “know the secrets of warfare, methods of dispersing the enemy army, not lose their presence of mind in the midst of a battle and be able to lead troops without trembling or hesitation, and if the battle order is disrupted, be able to restore it without delay.”

The protection of soldiers and ordinary people was secured. The Code obliged village and neighborhood elders, tax collectors and khokim (local rulers) to pay a fine to a commoner to the extent of the damage caused to him. If the harm was caused by a warrior, then it should have been handed over to the victim, and he himself would determine the punishment for him.

To the extent possible, the code enshrined the protection of the people in the conquered lands from humiliation and plunder.

A separate article is devoted in the code to attention to the beggars, who should have been collected in a certain place, given food and work, and also branded. If after this they continued to beg, then they should have been expelled from the country.

Emir Timur paid attention to the purity and morality of his people, he introduced the concept of the inviolability of the law and ordered not to rush to punish criminals, but to carefully check all the circumstances of the case and only after that render a verdict. Devout Muslims were explained the basics of religion for the establishment of Sharia and Islam, taught tafsir (interpretation of the Koran), hadith (a collection of legends about the Prophet Muhammad) and fiqh (Muslim jurisprudence). Also, ulemas (scholars) and mudarris (madressah teachers) were appointed to each city.

Decrees and laws in Timur's state were compiled in two languages: Persian-Tajik and Chagatai. At Timur's court there was a staff of Turkic and Tajik clerks.

Army of Tamerlane.

Drawing on the rich experience of his predecessors, Tamerlane managed to create a powerful and combat-ready army, which allowed him to win brilliant victories on the battlefields over his opponents. This army was a multinational and multi-religious association, the core of which were Turkic-Mongol nomadic warriors. Tamerlane's army was divided into cavalry and infantry, the role of which greatly increased at the turn of the 14th-15th centuries. However, the bulk of the army was made up of mounted detachments of nomads, the core of which consisted of elite units of heavily armed cavalry, as well as detachments of Tamerlane’s bodyguards. Infantry often played a supporting role, but was necessary during sieges of fortresses. The infantry was mostly lightly armed and consisted mainly of archers, but the army also included heavily armed infantry shock troops.

In addition to the main branches of the military (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 generally corresponded to the decimal organization of Genghis Khan, but a number of changes appeared (for example, units of 50 to 300 people, called “koshuns,” appeared; the number of larger units, “kuls,” was also variable).

The main weapon of light cavalry, like infantry, was the bow. Light cavalrymen also used sabers or swords and axes. Heavily armed horsemen were clad in armor (the most popular armor was chainmail, often reinforced with metal plates), protected by helmets, and fought with sabers or swords (in addition to bows and arrows, which were common). Simple infantrymen were armed with bows, heavy infantry warriors fought with sabers, axes and maces and were protected by armor, helmets and shields.

Banners.

During his campaigns, Timur used banners with the image of three rings. According to some historians, the three rings symbolized earth, water and sky. According to Svyatoslav Roerich, Timur could have borrowed the symbol from the Tibetans, whose three rings meant the past, present and future. Some miniatures depict the red banners of Timur's army. During the Indian campaign, a black banner with a silver dragon was used. Before his campaign against China, Tamerlane ordered a golden dragon to be depicted on the banners.

There is a legend that before the Battle of Ankara, Timur and Bayezid the Lightning met on the battlefield. Bayezid, looking at Timur’s banner, said: “What impudence to think that the whole world belongs to you!” In response, Timur, pointing to the Turk’s banner, said: “It’s even greater impudence to think that the moon belongs to you.”

Urban planning and architecture.

During the years of his conquests, Timur brought not only material loot to the country, but also brought with him prominent scientists, artisans, artists, and architects. He believed that the more cultured people there were in cities, the faster its development would go and the more comfortable the cities of Transoxiana and Turkestan would be. During his conquests, he put an end to political fragmentation in Persia and the Middle East, trying to leave a memory of himself in every city he visited, he built several beautiful buildings in it. For example, he restored the cities of Baghdad, Derbend, Baylakan, fortresses, parking lots, bridges, and irrigation systems destroyed on the roads.

In 1371, he began the restoration of the destroyed fortress of Samarkand, the defensive walls of Shahristan with six gates Sheikhzade, Akhanin, Feruza, Suzangaran, Karizgakh and Chorsu, and two four-story buildings Kuksarai were built in the arch, which housed the state treasury, workshops and a prison, as well as Buston barn, which housed the emir's residence.

Timur made Samarkand one of the centers of trade in Central Asia. As the traveler Clavijo writes: “In Samarkand, goods brought from China, India, Tatarstan (Dasht-i Kipchak - B.A.) and other places, as well as from the richest kingdom of Samarkand, are sold annually. Since there were no special rows in the city where it would be convenient to trade, Timurbek ordered a street to be laid through the city, on both sides of which there would be shops and tents for selling goods.”

Timur paid great attention to the development of Islamic culture and the improvement of sacred places for Muslims. In the mausoleums of Shahi Zinda, he erected tombs over the graves of his relatives, at the direction of one of his wives, whose name was Tuman, aka a mosque, a dervish abode, a tomb and Chartag were erected there. He also built Rukhabad (the tomb of Burkhaniddin Sogardji), Qutbi Chahardahum (the tomb of Sheikh Khoja Nuriddin Basir) and Gur-Emir (the family tomb of the Timurid family). Also in Samarkand he built many baths, mosques, madrassas, dervish abodes, and caravanserais.

During 1378-1404, 14 gardens were cultivated in Samarkand and nearby lands: Bag-i bihisht, Bag-i dilkusha, Bag-i shamal, Bag-i buldi, Bag-i nav, Bag-i jahannuma, Bag-i takhti karacha and Bag-i davlatabad, Bag-zogcha (garden of rooks), etc. Each of these gardens had a palace and fountains. In his works about Samarkand, the historian Hafizi Abru mentions, in which he writes that “Samarkand, which had previously been built from clay, was rebuilt by erecting buildings from stone.” None of these palaces have survived to this day.

In 1399-1404, a cathedral mosque and a madrasah opposite it were built in Samarkand. The mosque later received the name Bibi Khanum (Lady Grandmother - in Turkic).

Shakhrisabz (in Tajik “green city”) was developed, in which destroyed city walls, defensive structures, tombs of saints, majestic palaces, mosques, madrassas, and tombs were erected. Timur also devoted time to building bazaars and baths. From 1380 to 1404 the Aksaray Palace was built. In 1380, the family tomb Dar us-saadat was erected.

The cities of Yassy and Bukhara were also developed. In 1388, the city of Shahrukhiya, which was destroyed during the invasion of Genghis Khan, was restored.

In 1398, after the victory over the Khan of the Golden Horde Tokhtamysh, a mausoleum was built in Turkestan over the grave of the poet and Sufi philosopher Khoja Ahmad Yassawi, on the orders of Timur, by Iranian and Khorezm craftsmen. Here the Tabriz master cast a two-ton copper cauldron in which food was to be prepared for those in need.

Development of science and painting.

In Transoxiana, applied art became widespread, in which artists could demonstrate all their mastery of their skills. It became widespread in Bukhara, Yassy and Samarkand. Drawings have been preserved in the tombs of the tombs of Shirinbek-aga and Tuman-aga, made in 1385 and 1405, respectively. The art of miniatures, which adorned such books by writers and poets of Maverannahr as “Shahname” by Abulkasim Ferdowsi and “Anthology of Iranian Poets,” received particular development. The artists Abdulhay, Pir Ahmad Bagishamali and Khoja Bangir Tabrizi achieved great success in art at that time.

In the tomb of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi, located in Turkestan, there was a large cast-iron cauldron and candlesticks with the name of Emir Timur written on them. A similar candlestick was also found in the tomb of Gur-Emir in Samarkand. All this indicates that Central Asian craftsmen, especially wood and stone craftsmen and jewelers and weavers, have also achieved great success.

In the field of science and education, law, medicine, theology, mathematics, astronomy, history, philosophy, musicology, literature and the science of versification have become widespread. A prominent theologian at that time was Jalaliddin Ahmed al Khwarizmi. Maulana Ahmad achieved great success in astrology, and in jurisprudence Abdumalik, Isamiddin and Sheikh Shamsiddin Muhammad Jazairi. In musicology, Abdulgadir Maraghi, father and son of Safiaddin and Ardasher Changi. In painting by Abdulhay Baghdadi and Pir Ahmad Bagishamoli. In philosophy Sadiddin Taftazzani and Mirsaid Sharif Jurjani. In the history of Nizamiddin Shami and Hafizi Abru.

The legend about the tomb of Tamerlane.

According to the legend, the source and time of which it is not possible to establish, there was a prediction that if Tamerlane’s ashes were disturbed, a great and terrible war would begin.

In the tomb of Timur Gur Emir in Samarkand, on a large dark green jade tombstone, the following is inscribed in Arabic script in Arabic and Persian:
“This is the tomb of the great Sultan, the gracious Khakan of Emir Timur Gurgan; son Emir Taragay, son Emir Bergul, son Emir Ailangir, son Emir Angil, son Kara Charnuyan, son Emir Sigunchinchin, son Emir Irdanchi-Barlas, son Emir Kachulay, son Tumnai Khan. This is the 9th generation.

Genghis Khan comes from the same family from which descend the grandfathers of the venerable Sultan buried in this sacred and beautiful tomb: Khakan Genghis the Son. Emir Maisukai-Bahadur, son of Emir Barnan-Bahadur, son of Kabul-Khan, son of the mentioned Tumnai-Khan, son of Emir Baysungary, son of Kaidu-Khan, son of Emir Tutumtin, son of Emir-Buk, son of Emir-Buzanjar.

Whoever wants to know further, let it be known: the latter’s mother’s name was Alankuva, who was distinguished by her honesty and impeccable morality. She once became pregnant by a wolf, who came to her in the opening of the room and, taking the form of a man, announced that he was a descendant of the Commander of the Faithful, Aliy, the son of Abu Talib. This testimony given by her is accepted as truth. Her praiseworthy descendants will rule the world forever.

Died on the night of 14 Shagban 807 (1405).”

At the bottom of the stone there is an inscription: “This stone was erected by Ulugbek Gurgan after his campaign in Jitt.”

Several less reliable sources also report that the tombstone has 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 in the next will be subjected to suffering and die.”

Another legend says: In 1747, Nadir Shah of Iran took this jade tombstone, and on that day Iran was destroyed by an earthquake, and the Shah himself became seriously ill. The earthquake struck again when the Shah returned to Iran, and the stone was returned.

From the memoirs of Malik Kayumov, who was a cameraman during the opening of the grave:

I entered the nearest teahouse and saw three ancient old men sitting there. I also noted to myself: they look alike, like siblings. Well, I sat down nearby, and they brought me a teapot and a bowl. Suddenly one of these old men turns to me: “Son, you’re one of those who decided to open Tamerlane’s grave?” And I’ll take it and say: “Yes, I’m the most important one in this expedition, without me all these scientists are nowhere!” I decided to drive away my fear with a joke. Only, I see, the old people frowned even more in response to my smile. And the one who spoke to me beckons me to him. I come closer and see that he has a book in his hands - an old one, handwritten, the pages are filled with Arabic script. And the old man traces the lines with his finger: “Look, son, what is written in this book. “Whoever opens Tamerlane’s grave will release the spirit of war. And there will be such a bloody and terrible carnage, such as the world has not seen forever."

He decided to tell the others, and they laughed at him. It was June 20th. The scientists did not listen and opened the grave on June 22, and on the same day the Great Patriotic War began. No one could find those elders: the owner of the teahouse said that on that day, June 20, he saw the old people for the first and last time.

The opening of Tamerlane's tomb was carried out on June 22, 1941 by the Soviet anthropologist M. M. Gerasimov. As a result of the study of the commander's skull, Tamerlane's appearance was recreated.

However, the plan for war with the USSR was developed at Hitler's headquarters back in 1940, the date of the invasion was limitedly known in the spring of 1941 and was finally determined on June 10, 1941, that is, long before the opening of the grave. The signal to the troops that the offensive should begin as planned was transmitted on June 20.

According to Kayumov, while at the front, he secured a meeting with Marshal Zhukov in October 1942, explained the situation and offered to return Tamerlane’s ashes back to the grave. This was carried out on November 19-20, 1942; These days there was a turning point in the Battle of Stalingrad.

Kayumov’s criticism of Aini provoked retaliatory criticism from Tajik society. Another version of events, belonging to Kamal Sadreddinovich Aini (son of the writer who participated in the excavations) was published in 2004. According to it, the book was dated to the end of the 19th century, and Kayumov did not know Farsi, so he did not understand the content of the conversation and believed that Aini had shouted at the elders. The words written in Arabic in the margins are “traditional sayings, which similarly exist in relation to the burials of Ismail Somoni, and Khoja Ahrar, and Hazrati Bogoutdin and others, in order to protect the burials from seekers of easy money, looking for value in the graves of historical figures.” , which he told the old people.

When everyone left the crypt, I saw three elders talking in Tajik with their father, A. A. Semenov and T. N. Kary-Niyazov. One of the elders was holding some old book in his hand. He opened it and said in Tajik: “This book is anciently written. It says that whoever touches Timurlane’s grave will be overtaken by misfortune and war.” All those present exclaimed: “Oh, Allah, save us from troubles!” S. Aini took this book, put on his glasses, looked through it carefully and turned to the elder in Tajik: “Dear, do you believe in this book?”

Answer: “Why, it begins with the name of Allah!”
S. Aini: “What kind of book is this, do you know?”
Answer: “An important Muslim book that begins with the name of Allah and protects the people from disasters.”
S. Aini: “This book, written in Farsi, is just “Jangnoma” - a book about battles and duels, a collection of fantastic stories about certain heroes. And this book was compiled only recently, at the end of the 19th century. And those words that you say about Timurlane’s grave are written in the margins of the book in a different hand. By the way, you probably know that according to Muslim traditions, it is generally considered a sin to open graves and sacred places - mazars. And those words about the grave of Timurlane are traditional sayings that similarly exist in relation to the burials of Ismail Somoni, and Khoja Ahrar, and Hazrati Bogoutdin Balogardon and others, in order to protect the burials from seekers of easy money, looking for value in the graves of historical figures. But for the sake of scientific purposes, in different countries, like ours, ancient burial grounds and graves of historical figures were opened. Here is your book, study it and think with your head.”

T.N. Kary-Niyazov picked up the book, looked through it carefully and nodded his head in agreement with S. Aini. Then Malik Kayumov, whom everyone there called “suratgir” (photographer), took the book into his hands. And I saw that he was turning the pages not from the beginning of the book, as it should be from right to left, but, on the contrary, in the European style, from left to right.

From the diary of S. Aini

According to sources, Timur was fond of playing chess.

In Bashkir mythology there is an ancient legend about Tamerlane. According to him, it was by order of Tamerlane in 1395-96 that the mausoleum of Hussein Bek, the first disseminator of Islam among the Bashkir tribes, was built, since the commander, having accidentally found the grave, decided to show great honor to him as a person who spread Muslim culture. The legend is confirmed by six graves of prince-military leaders at the mausoleum, who, for unknown reasons, died along with part of the army during the winter stop. However, who specifically ordered the construction, Tamerlane or one of his generals, is not known for certain. Now the mausoleum of Hussein Beg is located on the territory of the village of Chishmy, Chishminsky district of the Republic of Bashkortostan.

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

based on materials from wikipedia.org

A few more legends:

Devil's fort: secret and obvious

According to another legend, Catherine II visited the ruins of the Devil's Settlement to get an answer to the question of whether she should marry her favorite Grigory Orlov. As we know from history, she did not become his wife, but what the Devil’s Settlement “told” Catherine, even the legend is silent: there was no answer...

In 1852 “Kazan Provincial Gazette” published excerpts from the work of the Bulgarian chronicler Sherif-Yeddin, where it was said: “...Khan Temir-Aksak, having ravaged the Devil’s settlement, visited the graves of the followers of Mohammed, located at the mouth of the Toima River, which flows into the Kama under the settlement. .."

Historians deeply doubt the fact that Tamerlane was in our area. But back in 1985-86. I heard from one of the Elabuga residents a legend about why the Devil’s Settlement was not destroyed by the legendary Tamerlane. Allegedly, the besieged carried out the will of the “iron lame man” and covered the entire tower from the base to the top with the severed heads of their soldiers. According to this little-known legend, Timur besieged the fortress and all those besieged faced imminent death. A secret underground passage, through which one could escape to a safe place, was discovered and blocked by Timur’s soldiers. It was still possible to defend the fortress: there were people, there were forces and weapons. It just didn't make sense. Everyone would have died. And then all the people living here would disappear. Timur, famous not only for his cruelty, but also for keeping his word, said that he would leave alive those who took refuge in the outermost tower of the fortress (it was the smallest). But at the same time, the tower itself should be covered from top to bottom with severed human heads. And not those warriors who had already died in the battle with Tamerlane, but the heads of those defenders of the fortress who were still alive and ready to fight.

After a painful night meeting, women and children entered the indicated tower (they had to revive the great people who had lived here for centuries), and in the morning the warriors chopped off each other’s heads and stacked them at the tower so that the tower disappeared under a pyramid of human heads... Tamerlane kept his word: the tower remained intact, and those who took refuge in it remained alive. The people have been reborn. But at what cost!

In 1855 at the request of a native of Elabuga, Professor K.I. Nevostruev Shishkin, together with his artist son, examined the Devil's Settlement, decided to restore the dilapidated tower, but began work only in 1867. In 1871 Ivan Shishkin published in Moscow the book “History of the City of Yelabuga”, where, referring to “some oral traditions and news in printed books and manuscripts”, he reported that “in the place where the Devil’s settlement stood the city of Gelon, which was reached by the Persian King Darius Istasp, chasing the Scythians<за 512лет до Р.Х.>, and that, having spent the winter in the city, he burned it out..." and that in the place "where Gelon was, the ancient Bulgarian city of Bryakhimov is located." Shishkin also spoke about the priests who lived in the ruins of the Devil's settlement, to whom "the queen Kazan Sumbek" sent envoys, wanting to know how the war with Tsar Ivan IV would end...

The location of the commemorative cast-iron slab with the inscription: “This ancient monument was not allowed to be destroyed; it was restored by Elabuga citizens in 1867” is unknown. Corresponding Member of the Academy of Sciences D.K. Zelenin in his guide to the Kama and Vyatka rivers (1904) indicated: “A little more and there would have been fewer of the most remarkable monuments in Rus', but in Elabuga there were enlightened people who saved the monument.” Yelabuga residents and residents of surrounding villages actively used the fortress material for their economic needs. And a century after Shishkin restored the tower, one of the Elabuga enterprises began mining stone on the territory of the settlement. The quarry destroyed the central part of the settlement and forever deprived us of solving some of the mysteries of the settlement.

Until now, on the slopes of the mountain topped with the legendary tower, people find (and find, mind you, by accident) evidence of bygone eras: arrowheads, human and animal bones, strange coins and amulets, clay shards... Now just imagine for a moment, what is found during specialized archaeological excavations...

But let's return to the legends. They indicate that several underground passages ran from the Devil's Settlement in different directions. Where they were and where they led is not known for certain. Old-timers testify that the remains of underground passages were visible in places back in the late 1970s.

The Elabuga writer Stanislav Romanovsky touched upon the secrets of the Devil's Settlement, but did not have time to reveal them. In 1989 His story “The Tower over the Kama” was published, the sixth chapter of which is called “Legends of the Devil’s Settlement”.

A. Ivanov

Mysteries of the Devil's Settlement

The famous Yelabuga (“Devil’s”) settlement, now a historical and archeological monument of federal significance, keeps many secrets and mysteries. Professional archaeologists have long realized that the Elabuga land will never tire of gifting them with stunning historical finds.

As an amateur local historian, I fully agree with the opinion of Elabuga archaeologist A.Z. Nigamaev: “As for Elabuga, it has been unacceptably little studied” (see: “Evening of Elabuga,” August 29, 2007).

But I will never agree with his other opinion: “In the eyes of a Christian monk, a Muslim saint was the personification of the Antichrist, i.e. a “demon.” Therefore, it is by no means accidental that this settlement later received the name “Besovsky”, or “Devil’s” (Bulgarian cities ancestors: Alabuga, Kirmen, Chally., Kazan University Publishing House, 2005, p. 26).

By the way, academician B.A. Rybakov wrote: “The Slavs gave the name “Chertovo” to those places where religious buildings were located in pre-Christian times - either the Slavs or their predecessors.”

Undoubtedly, this name was given by later settlers who occupied previously inhabited and then abandoned places. Seeing the skillfully made buildings of the ancient citadel and not knowing who built them and why, these later settlers, partly out of superstition, partly out of ignorance, attributed them to the action of supernatural forces, believing that the devil himself had built them.

The Elabuga settlement is covered with centuries-old legends and traditions. In particular, there is a popular legend “The Mysterious Well”. This legend tells that the ancient wise men, who once lived in the fort, kept a fortune-telling snake in an underground well. Demanding sacrifices from the surrounding inhabitants, as well as from merchants sailing along the Kama, they fed them to the oracle snake. As the legend goes, the serpent's predictions were amazingly accurate.

“This epiphany, or oracle, was located near the suburb of Yelabuga, by the Toyma River, which flows immediately into the Kama, and when approaching it, the stone ruins known as the “Devil's Settlement” are still visible. In it, the priests kept the adored great serpent, to whom people were given to being eaten instead of a sacrifice" (see: Notes of the Travels of Captain Rychkov., St. Petersburg, 1770, sheet 44 and 45).

Let's try to understand the above legend; it probably contains grains of truth. In my opinion, we are talking about pre-Christian times, i.e. about the time before the Nativity of Christ or, as scientists say, about centuries BC.

It is well known that centuries BC on the Elabuga land is the Ananyin cultural and historical community. Someone will think that the author is trying to prove that the white-stone fortress belonged to the Ananyin people. Of course, the stone citadel fortress was built much later, but the place for construction was not chosen by chance, namely where the Ananyin people had a protected cult place. I'll try to prove it. In the above-mentioned book by A.Z. Nigamaev “Bulgarian cities of the Kama region” in Fig. 53 shows a plan of a white stone building revealed by an excavation in 1993, i.e. plan of the citadel-fortress.

My attention was drawn to the following on the plan: “In the explored area, the Ananino layer includes the contours of a structure such as an above-ground dwelling and several pits located mainly in the western half of the excavation” (see: p. 20, second paragraph from the top).

Apparently, the archaeologist did not understand the purpose of the foundation of the Ananyin time (see attached figure). The foundation, trapezoidal in shape, is nothing more than an entrance-well to the Ananino dungeons, i.e. the same legendary "mysterious well".

In my opinion, it makes sense to excavate the ancient entrance-well. Of course, the excavations will be difficult and will take at least two to three years. Research on the ground carried out by the author in the summer of 2007 showed that ancient underground passages go in different directions from the well.

It is possible that Elabuga businessmen will be interested in excavating the well. Moreover, excavations are relevant, because 2008 marks the 150th anniversary of the discovery of the world-famous Ananino culture. You can, of course, set up hotels and restaurants, but we must not forget that these are just additional services. Tourists are primarily interested in authentic layers of history and culture, and only then in the availability of hotels and restaurants.

Of course, the participation of a professional archaeologist is necessary when clearing the well so that the archaeological material is not destroyed. The presence of an archaeologist is necessary to stratify the layers so that conclusions can be drawn about the exact time of origin, nature and functioning of the underground system.

Archaeologist K.I. Korepanov once proposed restoring secret passages: “It is necessary to restore part of the secret passages, ensure their safety, security, ventilation, etc., quite convenient for visiting and for visitors to satisfy their interest in the past” (see: "New Kama", December 28, 1991, article Kama "nut").