Timur (frae the Perso-Arabic form تیمورTīmūr, ultimately frae Chagatai (Middle Turkic) Temür "iron"; 8 Aprile 1336 – 18 Februar 1405), normally kent as Tamerlane (frae Tīmūr-e Lang) in Inglis, wis a fowerteent-century conqueror o Wastren, South an Central Asie, foonder o the Timurid Empire an Timurid dynasty (1370–1405) in Central Asie, an great great grandfaither o Babur, the foonder o the Mughal Dynasty, whilk survived till 1857 as the Mughal Empire in Indie.[1][2][3][4][5]
Born intae the Turco-Mongol[6][7]Barlas tribe wha ruled in Central Asie,[8][9] Timur wis in his lifetime a controversial figure, an remains the lik the day. He socht tae restore the Mongol Empire,[10][11] yet his heaviest blow wis again the Islamized Tatar Golden Horde. He wis mair at hame in an urban environment than on the steppe. He styled hissel a ghazi yet some Muslim states, e.g. the Ottoman Empire, wis severely affectit bi his wars. A great patron o the airts, his campaigns caused vast malafousterin an aw. Timur telt the qadis o Aleppo, in the sack o that newly conquered ceety,"A amna a man o bluid; an God is mi witness that in aw ma wars A hae niver been the aggressor, an that ma enemies hae aye been the authors o their ain calamity."[12]
Name
Temür means "iron" in the Chagatai leid an accordin tae the Jurnal o the Royal Asiatic Society o Great Breetain & Ireland (1972) the term temür is likely derived frae a Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit wird *čimara ("iron").[13] As an adult he wis better kent as Timūr Gurkānī (تيمور گوركانى), Gurkān bein the Persianized form o the oreeginal Mongolian wird kürügän, "son-in-law". Ane o Timur's ancestors wha wis kent bi the name "kara-sharnoban" embraced Islam an mairried the dochter o Chagatai Khan (son o Genghis Khan). Timur wis sicweys referred tae as the son-in-law o Chagatai Khan. Various Persian soorces uise a biname, Tīmūr-e Lang (تیمور لنگ) whilk translates tae "Timur the Lame", as he wis lame efter sustainin an injury tae his fit in battle. In his lifetime, his enemies tauntit him wi this name, tae Timur's discomfort. In the Wast, he is commonly kent as Tamerlane, whilk derives frae his Persian biname.
Personal life
Timur wis born in Transoxiana, in the Ceety o Kesh (an aurie nou better kent as Shahrisabz, 'the green ceety,'), some 50 mile sooth o Samarkand in modren Uzbekistan. His faither, Taraqai, wis a sma-scale landawner an belanged the Barlas tribe. The Barlas wur remnants o the oreeginal Mongol hordes o Genghis Khan, who haed bi then embraced Turkic an Persian leids an customs.
Timur wis a Muslim, but while his offeecial releegious counselor wis the Hanafite scholar 'Abdu 'l-Jabbar Khwarazmi, his parteecular persuasion is no kent. In Tirmidh, he haed come unner the influence o his spiritual mentor Sayyid Barakah, a Shiite leader frae Balkh wha is buried alangside Timur in Gur-e Amir.[14][15][16] In maugre o his Hanafi background, Timur wis kent tae haud ‘Ali an the Shi’i Imams in hie regaird an haes been notit bi various scholars for his "pro-‘Alid" stance. In maugre o this, Timur wis notit for attackin Shi’is on Sunni grunds an syne his ain releegious inclinations remain unclear.[17]
"Central Asia, history of Timur", in Encyclopædia Britannica, Online Edition, 2007., Quotation: "... Timur first united under his leadership the Turko-Mongol tribes located in the basins of the two rivers...."
"TimurArchived 2008-06-30 at the Wayback Machine" The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition, 2001-05. Quotation: Tamerlane, c.1336–1405, Mongol conqueror, b. Kesh, near Samarkand. He is also called Timur Leng [Timur the lame]. He wis the son o a tribal leader, an he claimed (apparently for the first time in 1370) tae be a descendant o Jenghiz Khan. Wi an airmy composed o Turks an Turkic-speakin Mongols, remnants o the empire o the Mongols, Timur spent his early military career in subduin his rivals in what is nou Turkistan; bi 1369 he firmly controlled the entire area frae his caipital at Samarkand.
B.F. Manz, The rise and rule of Tamerlan, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1989, p. 28: "... We know definitely that the leading clan of the Barlas tribe traced its origin to Qarchar Barlas, head of one of Chaghadai's regiments ... These then were the most prominent members of the Ulus Chaghadai: the old Mongolian tribes - Barlas, Arlat, Soldus and Jalayir ..."
M.S. Asimov & C. E. Bosworth, History of Civilizations of Central Asia, UNESCO Regional Office, 1998, ISBN 92-3-103467-7, p. 320: "… One of his followers was […] Timur of the Barlas tribe. This Mongol tribe had settled […] in the valley of Kashka Darya, intermingling with the Turkish population, adopting their religion (Islam) and gradually giving up its own nomadic ways, like a number of other Mongol tribes in Transoxania …"
"Islamic world", in Encyclopædia Britannica, Online Edition, 2007. Quotation: "Timur (Tamerlane) was of Mongol descent and he aimed to restore Mongol power...."
"Central Asia, history of Timur", in Encyclopædia Britannica, Online Edition, 2007. (Quotation:"...Timur first united under his leadership the Turko-Mongol tribes located in the basins of the two rivers.")
"Timurids", in Encyclopædia Britannica, Online Edition, 2007. Quotation: "Timurid dynasty (fl. fifteenth–16th century AD),Turkic dynasty descended from the conqueror Timur (Tamerlane), renowned for its brilliant revival of artistic and intellectual life in Iran and Central Asia."
Gérard Chaliand, Nomadic Empires: From Mongolia to the Danube translated by A.M. Berrett, Transaction Publishers, 2004. (p.75) Quotation:..."Timur Leng (Tamerlane) Timur, known as the lame (1336-1405) was a Muslim Turk from the Umus of Chagatai who saw himself as Genghis Khan's heir."
G. R. Garthwaite, "The Persians", Malden, ISBN 978-1-55786-860-2, MA: Blackwell Pub., 2007. (p.148) Quotation:...Timur's tribe, the Barlas, had Mongol origins but had become Turkic-speaking ... However, Barlus tribe is considered one of the original Mongol tribes and there are "Barlus Ovogton" people who belong to Barlus tribe in modern Mongolia.
K.Z. Ashrafyan, "Central Asia under Timur from 1370 to the early fifteenth century", (p.320)
Chaliand, Gérard (2004). Nomadic Empires: From Mongolia to the Danube translated by A.M. Berrett. Transaction Publishers, p.75. ISBN 0-7658-0204-X. Limited preview at Google Books. p.75. "Timur Leng (Tamerlane) Timur, known as the lame (1336-1405) was a Muslim Turk from the Umus of Chagatai who saw himself as Genghis Khan's heir. He aspired to recreate the empire of his ancestors. He was a military genius who loved to play chess in his spare time to improve his military tactics and skill. And although he wielded absolute power, he never called himself more than an emir."
Beatrice Forbes Manz, Temür and the Problem of a Conqueror's Legacy, Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, Third Series, Vol. 8, No. 1 (Apr., 1998), 25; "In his formal correspondance Temur continued throughout his life as the restorer of Chinggisid rights. He even justified his Iranian, Mamluk and Ottoman campaigns as a reimposition of legitimate Mongol control over lands taken by usurpers...".
Michal Biran, The Chaghadaids and Islam: The Conversion of Tarmashirin Khan (1331-34) , Journal of American Oriental Society, Vol. 122, No. 4 (Oct. - Dec., 2002), 751; "Temur, a non-Chinggisid, tried to build a double legitimacy based on his role as both guardian and restorer of the Mongol Empire.".
The Descendants of Sayyid Ata and the Rank of Naqīb in Central Asia by Devin DeWeese Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 115, No. 4 (Oct. - Dec., 1995), pp. 612-634
Virani, Shafique N. The Ismailis in the Middle Ages: A History of Survival, A Search for Salvation (New York: Oxford University Press), 2007, p. 114.
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Memoir of the Emperor Timur (Malfuzat-i Timuri) Timur'. Compiled in the beuk: "The History of India, as Told by Its Own Historians. The Muhammadan Period", by Sir H. M. Elliot, Edited by John Dowson; Lunnon, Trubner Company; 1867–1877
