Timur ibn Taragai Barlas (Tamerlane)
Fact #1. Uzbek, Turk or Mongol. Who is he ?
From the full name of Tamerlane — Timur ibn Taragai Barlas, it follows that he belongs to the tribe of Barlas. Historians have long argued about which people this tribe belongs to. Some argue that it is a very significant Turkic tribe. Others — that it is Mongolian. Both assertions have a strong evidentiary basis. Even the autopsy of Timur’s tomb in Samarkand has only added to the questions. According to the results of numerous studies by Soviet scientists it was proved that Amir Timur did not belong to the Mongoloid ethnic group. So he was neither a Turk nor a Mongol. Who was he? History is still hiding the answer to this question from us.
Fact # 2. Is Tamerlane in the picture?
In 1947, Soviet scientists managed to reconstruct the image of Timur. However, the result was not approved by the leadership of the Soviet state. It turned out to be a European! The scientists were ordered to make Tamerlane “more Mongolian”. We see the result of their work in history textbooks, monuments, etc. And what he was in reality — a mystery.
Fact #3. The symbol of three rings
The state of Timurids was named Turan. The flag of the state was blue with the image of three golden rings located in the corners of an isosceles triangle. Three rings symbolized parts of the world. Whoever possessed all three parts was the Lord of the World.
Fact #4. How many names, so many faces
The real name of Timur is Timur ibn Taragai Barlas. So why do his contemporaries know him more as Tamerlane? The bitter sneer of history! Persians with whom Timur fought gave him a nickname — Temur-leng, which meant — lame Timur (Timur limped on his right leg). Europeans pronounced this nickname in their own way. And it turned out to be Tamerlan. It is this name was fixed for Timur for many centuries. And today the offensive nickname is more famous than the true name of the great ruler.
Fact #5. And the deaf will hear, and the dumb will speak
The Iron Hammer was not literate. The education he received in his ancestral home was based on his warrior upbringing. He could neither read nor write. Books were read aloud to him, and his tenacious memory memorized every little thing. Timur was fluent in several different ethnic languages: Mongolian, Chagatai and Persian. In addition, unable to write Timur, composed poetry! We have reached us “Timur’s Statute”, which describes his autobiography and administrative-legal norms of state management.
Fact #6. Tactics-strategy — chess
During the reign of Timur, chess was very popular and the lord of Turan himself was very fond of this game. He even named his son Shahrukh, which means “royal rook”. It is believed that it was Timur who invented more than 60 types of games in this game. For Timur himself, chess was a kind of simulator of patience, intelligence, strategy and tactics.
Fact #7. Samarkand — the star of the Timurids
Timur was a multifaceted personality. An excellent strategist and a great warrior, at the same time he was always interested in painting, history and literature. Under his patronage on the territory of Samarkand worked many famous scientists, developed mathematics and astronomy, medicine and theology, history, philosophy and literature.
Fact #8. Tamerlane’s treasures
One of the most famous treasures is — Timur’s ruby. Today we know that it is not a ruby, but a spinel — the stone also belongs to gemstones, sometimes its value even exceeds the value of the ruby. In the East, this stone is known as Hiraj-e-Alam (Tribute of Peace). After the sacking of Delhi, the stone was called “Ain al-Hur” (“Eye of the Guria”). The stone was a dynastic symbol and was passed down through inheritance. However, from 1848 to 2009, “thanks” to the East India Company, belonged to the British Crown, stored in the India Room of Buckingham Palace. Since 2009, the stone has been the property of Kuwaiti Sheikh Nasser al-Sabahu.
Hiraj-e-Alam (“Tribute of Peace”).
Timur’s sword is no less legendary. Napoleon himself dreamed of getting it. It was believed that Timur’s sword would make him invincible. However, the Russian Emperor got Timur’s sword. General Afanasy Krasovsky, who captured Hassan-khan personally, took the legendary blade from him and sent it to Emperor Nicholas I. In the Soviet Union, the sword was kept in a museum in Tehran. The present location is not known.
Fact #9. Timur’s true treasures
There are treasures that for many centuries glorify their creator. And it’s not just the right to possess some precious stone. The true treasures of Timur are his majestic buildings. As a conqueror, he destroyed everything in his path. But as the father of his state he always rebuilt anew.
Ak-Sarai — the palace in Timur’s homeland; the Mausoleum of Dorus-Siadat — the tomb of his son, also built in Shakhrizabs; “Dor-ut-Tillavat” — a complex built over the tomb of his father; the world-famous tomb of the Timurids — Gur Emir; the mosque and madrassah Bibi-khanum have survived to our days. He built all over the state — in Bukhara, Herat, Kesh.
Tomb of Timurids — Gur Emir, Samarkand
Fact #10. And the coffin is still there
Amir Timur was a true Muslim. He respected sheikhs, imams. He had his own spiritual mentor — Mir Said Baraka — a descendant of Muhammad. In his state he not only developed religious knowledge of his subjects, but also made hajj to Bukhara, where he went without weapons, guards, barefoot, completely alone. However, a true Muslim was not buried according to Muslim customs. His body was not wrapped in a shroud, nor was it given a sitting posture. After his death, his body was embalmed, placed in an ebony coffin and taken to Samarkand, where he was laid to rest in the Timurids’ tomb, Gur-Emir.