Timurids

Keywords: Guregen, Samarqand, Chagatai, Chingiz Khan, Khurasan, Transoxania, Persia, zayl, Majma‘, Zubdat al-Tawarikh, Muzzafarids, Mamluk, Ottoman, Shah Rukh, Ulugh Beg.

Abstract: The Timurids were a dynasty of Central Asian nomadic origin that dominated the Middle East and Central Asia in the 8th AH (14th CE) and 9th AH (15th CE) centuries.

The founder, Timur Leng, was a Chagatai Turk of the Barlas tribe in the region of Kish, Western Turkestan. The significant period of his career began in 771AH (1370 CE), when he embarked on a series of campaigns in Transoxiana that involved the Chagatai khanate in Eastern Turkestan, the Blue Horde, and the Golden Horde.

In 782AH (1380-1301 CE), he began his conquests in Persia, subduing the local dynasties that had assumed power after the disintegration of the Il Khanate, including the Sarbadars in northwestern Khurasan, the Karts in Herat, the Muzzafarids in central and southern Persia, and the Jalayarids centred on Baghdad. He also campaigned against the Mamluk sultanate of Egypt and defeated the Ottoman sultan Bayazid Ilderim at the battle of Ankara in 804 AH (1402 CE).