Timur was born in March 1336 in the village of Khoja-Ilgar, near the fortress of Kesh (modern Uzbek city of Shakhrisabz). In that era, the ruler of Kesh was a vassal of the emir of Maverannahr (the Arabic name for the interfluve of the Amu Darya and Syr Darya — the present-day territories of Uzbekistan, southern Kazakhstan, western Kyrgyzstan, northern and western Tajikistan).
Timur’s father was bey Taragai, not rich, but one of the most noble and influential people in the district. Taragai’s family came from the Turkic nomadic tribe of the Barlas. Later, when Timur would begin his ascent to the pinnacle of power, a legend would arise among his entourage that Tamerlane’s distant ancestor, Irdamcha-Barlas, was a distant relative of Genghis Khan himself.
Here and further down the text are the most famous images of Tamerlane, both medieval and more modern ones
From early childhood Timur was characterized by great physical strength, endurance, ability to hold perfectly in the saddle, shoot from the bow, wield a saber, spear and harness. All sources emphasize that the future conqueror was a zealous supporter of the Mohammedan faith and an ardent enemy of the Mongols. As a true barlas Timur from childhood took part in military campaigns, skirmishes and robberies of traders, merchants, rich and noble people passing along the caravan routes.
Even before his adulthood Timur organized a small group of young robbers and raiders. He and four of his friends (nukers) were engaged in robberies among the surrounding villages. At first, the prey of the great commander was sheep, rams, cows, and rarely horses stolen in the dark. Taragai practically was not engaged in education of the son. According to one version, Timur’s father once went to the hermits who lived according to the canons of Sharia (the way of life of orthodox Muslims, based solely on the dogmas of the Koran), and never returned.
Soon Timur realized that the life of a robber was too short and promised neither fame nor great riches. When he turned twenty, he entered the service of the emir of Sali-Sarai — Kazgan (vassal of the ruler of Samarkand). Commanding a small detachment of mercenaries, Timur immediately gained fame as a fearless and courageous warrior, as well as an experienced and successful commander.
In one of the skirmishes with robbers he was wounded by an arrow in the leg, after which he limped for the rest of his life. In the East he began to be called Timur-i-Leng (“Limping Timur”, “Timur the Hammer”), much later the conqueror will begin to be respectfully called “Iron Hammer”, and Europeans distorted “Timur-i-Leng” in Tamerlane.
Around 1360, Kazgan was killed while hunting. His son tried to establish himself in Kesh but failed. Almost at the same time came the news of Taragai’s death. Now three people claimed power: Hadji Barlas (Timur’s uncle), Khan Bayazit Jalair (ruler of Khodjent) and Tamerlane. The latter was only 24 years old, so most of the beks and elders of the Barlas went to the side of Hadji Barlas and Jalair. They moved to Samarkand, and Timur with a few hundred loyal warriors remained in Shakhrisabz.
In 1361, the territory of Maverannahr was encroached upon by the great Khan of the Mongols, Toklug. Hadji Barlas and Jalair fled to the mountains without taking the battle. Timur went to the great khan, presented him with rich gifts and managed to win his trust. Toklug made Tamerlane “tyumen-bashi” (“tumnik” — a military leader commanding a tumen — a detachment of 10,000 people), giving him a label to rule in Shakhrizyabze and its vicinity, sparing these lands from ruin. When the Mongol ruler left, Hadji Barlas and Jalair returned to Kesh. They did not recognize Toklug’s label and began to dispute their rights to Shakhrisabz.
Near Samarkand, Timur’s army met the armies of his uncle and the ruler of Khojent. On the first day, military luck was on Tamerlane’s side, but the next day Haji Barlas lured most of his nephew’s warriors to his side. Timur had to flee to Emir Hussein (son of Kazgan and brother of Aljai Khatun), who ruled in the valley of the Kabul River. Tamerlane and Hussein became fast friends. They jointly acted in the heated internecine war, which engulfed in the second third of the XIV century Central and Central Asia, Transcaucasia.
In 1364 Toklug returned to Maverannahr. He executed Jalair and also defeated the emir Hussein. Timur showed prudence and this time did not support his brother-in-law, that is why he received Shakhrisabz in management again. In 1365 Toklug left, leaving his son Ilyas Khoja as the ruler of Maverannahr. Timur at the will of the great khan became emir of Samarkand. To observe Mongolian rights and customs, as well as to control Timur Toklug left two of his viceroys in Samarkand. The newly-minted emir quarreled with the Mongol nobles rather quickly.
One of them — Bikidzhuk accused Timur of treason. Angry Toklug ordered to execute the “rebel”. The deposed ruler of Samarkand was forced to go on the run. Timur, his wife and a few loyal subjects wandered through the sands of Kyzyl-kum, the territory of the Khiva Emirate, the shores of the Khorezm (Aral Sea). In winter the fugitives crossed the spurs of the Hindu Kush and found themselves among the Afghan tribes.
In 1370 Timur united dozens of Turkic tribes and peoples dissatisfied with the rule of Hussein and led them against the hated emir. Tamerlane drove his former brother-in-law behind the banks of the Amu Darya. Hussein, abandoned by all, either committed suicide or was killed in Balkh. At the general assembly the beks elected Timur emir of Maverannahr. Since Tamerlane did not belong to the direct descendants of Genghis Khan, he had to declare Suyurgatmysh, a “pure-blooded Genghisid”, Khan of Maverannahr and rule on his behalf in order not to incur the wrath of the numerous ruling descendants of the “great Temuchzhin’s family”.
Tamerlane’s army in battle
The first thing that the “Iron Hammer” did was to create a powerful, mobile, loyal and one of the best armies for that era. On command positions were appointed 313 warriors that served faithfully and faithfully under Timur since his youth, participating in all his campaigns, sharing with him the hardships, hardships and difficulties of nomadic life. These “veterans” became chiefs of “tumens”, thousands, hundreds and tens.
Tamerlane’s army was professional. Each warrior was engaged exclusively in the combat craft, receiving for this a salary and part of the booty. The striking force of this army was cavalry, divided into heavy, light and mounted archers. Timur also used infantry, which during transitions moved on horseback, and the battle hastened.
Timur also engaged in strengthening of the centralized power, having brought to submission of the vassals, and also having subdued neighbors. When the ruler of Herat — Giyasiddin did not want to recognize the new emir of Maverannahr, Tamerlane without delay went to the insolent northern neighbor. Tamerlane’s army stormed the fortress of Fushandju and then besieged Herat. During these assaults, Tamerlane received two arrow wounds. Realizing the hopelessness of his situation, Giyasiddin recognized the authority of the Emir of Maverannahr over him, paying him a large tribute. After this victory Timur returned to his native emirate already in the rank of a famous commander.
In 1371, Tamerlan inflicted a final and crushing defeat on the Uzbek tribes. He decided to move from Shakhrisabz to Samarkand, making this city his residence and the capital of Maverannahr. By Tamerlane’s order, Samarkand was quickly restored and rebuilt. Every year new stone fortifications, palaces, mosques, public and residential buildings were erected there.
To strengthen his own power even more, Timur took as his wife the widow of Emir Hussein — Sarai Khanum, in whose veins flowed the blood of “pure-blooded Chingizids”. Having finally established himself in Maverannahr, Timur decided to “deal” with the danger to his southern possessions, coming from the Persian Sarbadars (“Sarbadars” — Iranian guerrillas who had been fighting for a long time with the Mongol khans who had conquered their lands), who had recently freed themselves from the Mongols’ power.
Tamerlane successfully dealt with the enemies, mercilessly exterminating them and destroying all villages that resisted. After the capture of Isfizar, more than 2,000 Persians were used as building material for the tower on Timur’s orders. The living people were poured over clay and broken bricks, layered floor by floor.
Having secured the southern borders for a while, Tamerlane in 1372-73 made successful campaigns against the emir of Khorezm, making him his next obedient vassal. In 1375 Timur expelled the descendants of Chagatai (Genghis Khan’s second son) from the mountainous region of Almalyk, bordering Maverannahr in the south. A year later, a descendant of the great khan Dzhuchi (Genghis Khan’s eldest son), Tokhtamysh, who had been expelled from the White Horde (modern territories of the Urals, Western Siberia and Northern Kazakhstan), came to Tamerlane’s court.
Tokhtamysh dreamed of uniting the White and Blue Horde under his rule (at that time it stretched from the Volga to Dniester steppes). Timur decided to help the ambitious pretender for supremacy among the descendants of “great Temuchzhin”. The emir of Maverannahr planned to crush the power of the former Golden Horde with the hands of Tokhtamysh, and then to rule this ulus on his behalf.
Tokhtamysh several years fought with the ruler of the White Horde — powerful Urus-khan. All this time Timur supplied his ally with weapons, troops and money. Only at the end of 1379 after Urus-khan’s death Tokhtamysh could establish himself as the great Khan of the White Horde. Already in 1380 “pupil” of Timur defeated beklyarbek Mamay and proclaimed himself the ruler of the Golden Horde.
In 1381 Tamerlane began active expansion of the possessions. The first to fall under Timur’s blows was the state of the Kurts (modern North-Eastern Iran and Western Afghanistan) and its capital Herat. In 1383-85 Tamerlane’s army captured and ruined the state of Serbedar (territories of modern Northern Iran) and Azerbaijan.
Timur’s further advance to the West was stopped by a sudden attack of the Khan of the Golden Horde — Tokhtamysh. He seized Timur’s new emirate — Azerbaijan. The Iron Hammer quickly chased away the incoming Tatars, but did not pursue them. In 1387 the Horde army made a raid directly into the possessions of Maverannahr, reaching Termez.
Timur rushed in pursuit of the enemies, caught up with them at Fergana and defeated them, but Tokhtamysh managed to escape to the steppes of Tobolsk, and from there to Western Siberia. Timur by all forces and means sought to deal with a dangerous and ungrateful rival, but barely the army of the ruler of Maverannahr was on a campaign, as the Khan went to the Ural or Volga steppes.
Finally, during a three-day battle, July 18-20, 1391 in the steppes of the Middle Volga region near the Kondurchi River (the largest tributary of the Sok River), near the area of modern Samara, Tamerlane defeated his rival. The great khan’s commanders, his retainers and troops came over to the side of the winner. Tokhtamysh barely escaped. It seemed that he was finished forever.
Directions of Tamerlane’s main conquest campaigns