II. TIMUR'S YOUNG YEARS As already noted in official sources, there is no information about Timur's childhood and youth. Detailed information about his life begins only with the campaign of Toklug-Timur (1360). However, Ibn Arabshah, the Russian chronicle and Ori Gonzales de Clavijo have

III. TIMUR'S SOLE POWER (1370-1405) The capture of Balkh and the death of Hussein in 1370 were the largest and most decisive events in Timur's life. Even before the capture of the Balkh citadel, Sheikh Bereke, a native of Mecca, who later became his chief confessor, appeared to Timur and handed him a drum and

IV. INTERNAL LIFE IN TIMUR'S STATE Timur was distinguished by his great military organizational talent, strong will and statesmanship. At the same time, he was, in the full sense of the word, a son of his era and did not rise above it at all. Living in the conditions of maturing classical

THE DEATH OF TIMUR To my children, happy conquerors of states, my descendants - the great rulers of the world. Let it be known to them that, in full hope of the mercy of the Almighty, I am convinced that many of them will inherit my powerful throne. It motivates me

Giyasaddin Ali. Diary of Timur's campaign in India PREFACE In the name of Allah, the merciful, merciful, to whom we turn for help! Praise be to the ruler of the world - may his name be magnified and may his mention be glorified! - who at this happy time introduced the globe of the earth into

Langley L. LIFE OF TIMUR Timur was born in Syabza, a place located near the walls of Kesh, the city of Transoxania, on the night of Tuesday, May 7, 1336. He was born with clenched hands and full of blood: the same is said about Genghis Khan. His father, Amir Taragay, was minor

Vambery G. CHARACTERISTICS OF TIMUR Professor of Oriental languages ​​and literature at the University of Pest, Herman Vambery, in Chapter XI of his book “History of Bukhara” makes a fairly complete sketch of the personality of Timur, his court and residence. From this chapter we borrow the following

Bartold V. THE REIGN OF TIMUR The twelve-year reign of Emir Kazagan (he was killed in 1358 by his son-in-law), unlike all subsequent times, was without internal unrest and without wars between the Chaghatais and the Mughals. Kazagan led the life of a leader of a nomadic people,

Bartold V. ABOUT THE BURIAL OF TIMUR Clavijo and his companions left Samarkand on Friday, November 21; on Thursday the 27th, Timur set out from Samarkand in the opposite direction and began his last military enterprise - a campaign against China. It is known that he only reached Otrar,

Zimin L. DETAILS OF TIMUR'S DEATH The objectives of this message do not include a presentation of preparations for the campaign and the campaign itself, and therefore we will limit ourselves to the story of Timur's stay in Otrar, i.e. in the place where he ended his life. Let us only point out that almost all

Central Asian Turkic commander and conqueror

short biography

Tamerlane, Timur (Chagat.تیمور ; Uzbek Amir Temur, Temur ibn Taragay April 9, 1336, Kesh, modern. Uzbekistan - February 19, 1405, Otrar, modern. Kazakhstan) is a Central Asian Turkic commander and conqueror who played a significant role in the history of Central, South and Western Asia, as well as the Caucasus, Volga region and Rus'. Commander, founder of the Timurid Empire (circa 1370) with its capital in Samarkand. In Uzbekistan he is revered as a national hero.

general characteristics

Name

Timur's full name was Timur ibn Taragai Barlasتيمور ابن ترغيى برلس (Tāmūr ibn Tāraġaiyi Bārlās) - Timur son of Taragay from Barlasy) in accordance with the Arabic tradition (alam-nasab-nisba). In Turkic languages Temür or Temir Means " iron" In medieval Russian chronicles it was referred to as Temir Aksak.

Not being Genghisid, Timur formally could not bear the title of khan, therefore he was always called only emir (leader, leader). However, having intermarried with the house of Chingizids in 1370, he took the name Timur Gurgan (Tāmūr Gurkānī, (تيموﺭ گوركان ), Gurkān is an Iranianized variant of Mongolian kurugen or Khurgen, "son-in-law"). This meant that Timur was a relative of the Genghisids and could live and act freely in their houses.

In various (in which?) Persian sources the Iranianized nickname is often found (?) Timur(e) Liang(Timūr(-e) Lang, تیمور لنگ) " Timur Lame", this name was probably considered offensive at the time. It passed into Western languages ​​( Tamerlan, Tamerlane, Tamburlaine, Timur Lenk) and into Russian, where it does not have any negative connotation and is used along with the original “Timur”.

Personality

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.

A far-sighted ruler and talented organizer.

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 extraordinary artistic taste.

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 that of most of his fellow tribesmen. A detailed study of Timur’s remains showed that, anthropologically, he belonged to the South Siberian race. Despite Timur’s old age (69 years), his skull, as well as his skeleton, did not have pronounced senile features. . The presence of most of the teeth, the clear relief of the bones, the almost complete absence of osteophytes - all this suggests that 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 the relatively high height - all this gives the right to think that Timur had an extremely strong build. The emir's strong athletic muscles were most likely distinguished by a certain dryness of form, which is quite natural: life on military campaigns, with their difficulties and hardships, and almost constant stay in the saddle could hardly contribute to obesity..

A special external difference between Tamerlane’s warriors and other Muslims was the braids they preserved, as suggested by some scientists who studied the ancient Turks from 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 majority of the Turks wore braids until the 5th-8th centuries. But after the arrival of Islam in Central Asia, the Turks, being Muslims, no longer wore long hair and walked with short hair or shaved heads.

The opening of Timur's grave in 1941 and anthropological analysis of his remains showed that Timur himself did not wear 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.” 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. The beard hair is coarse, almost straight, thick, bright brown (red) in color, with significant graying.”

The anthropological reconstruction of the remains of the conqueror, which was carried out by M. M. Gerasimov, says: “The discovered skeleton belonged to a strong man, too tall for an Asian (about 170 cm). The crease of the eyelid, the most characteristic feature of the Turkic face, is relatively weakly expressed. The nose is straight, small, slightly flattened; lips are thick and contemptuous. Hair is gray-red in color, with a predominance of dark brown or red. The type of face is not Mongoloid.”

Lesions were visible on the bones of the right leg in the area of ​​the kneecap, which is fully consistent with the nickname “Lame.”

Knowledge and language

A contemporary and captive of Tamerlane, Ibn Arabshah, who knew him personally since 1401, reports: “As for Persian, Turkic and Mongolian, he knew them better than anyone else.”

The Spanish diplomat and traveler Ruy Gonzalez de Clavijo, who visited the court of Tamerlane in Transoxiana, reports that “Signor Temur” conquered all the territories of India Minor and Khorasan. Samarkand and Khorasan are separated by a river (Amu Darya). On the side of Samarkand, near the river stands the city of Termez, and beyond the river is the territory of Khorasan, Takharistan, "Beyond this river(Amu Darya - approx.) the kingdom of Samarkand extends, and its land is called Mogalia (Mogolistan), and the language is Mughal, and this language is not understood in this(southern - approx. Khorasan) on the other side of the river, those who live on this side do not understand and do not know how to read, but they call this letter mogali. A senor(Tamerlane - approx.) keeps with him several scribes who can read and write in this[language - note] »

According to the Timurid source “Muiz al-ansab”, at Timur’s court there was a staff of only Turkic and Persian 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".

During the campaign against Tokhtamysh in 1391, Timur ordered an inscription in the Chagatai language in Uighur letters to be knocked out from Mount Altyn Shoki - 8 lines and three lines in Arabic containing the Koranic text.

Stories of the seven hundred and ninetieth year of the Sheep. The summer month is July. Sultan Temirbek of Turan sets off with his 100 thousand army to war with Khan Tokhtamysh. Driving through this area, I left this inscription as a memory: “May Allah bless him! Inshallah, with the blessings of Allah, may all people remember him.”

Altyn shocks // Kazakhstan. National Encyclopedia. - Almaty: Kazakh encyclopedias, 2004. - T. I.

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.

Timur loved to talk with scientists, especially 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.

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.

A modern researcher from Princeton University, Svat Soucek, in his monograph about Timur, believes 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.”

Family

His father's name was Muhammad Taragai or Turgai, he was a military man, a small landowner from the ancient Mongolian Barlas tribe.

According to some assumptions, Muhammad Taragay was precisely the leader of the Barlas tribe and a descendant of a certain Karachar-noyon, a powerful assistant of Chagatai and his distant relative. Timur's father was a pious Muslim, his spiritual mentor was Sheikh Shams ad-din Kulal.

Timur's father had one brother, whose name was Balta. Muhammad Taragai was married twice: his first wife was Timur's mother Tekina Khatun. There is conflicting information about its origin. Taragay's second wife was Kadak-khatun, the mother of Timur's sister Shirin-bek aga.

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 aga, and a younger sister, Shirin-bek aga. 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.

Childhood

Timur was born on April 8, 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.

Beginning of political activity

The first information about Timur appeared in sources starting in 1361. The beginning of Tamerlane's political activity is similar to the biography of Genghis Khan: 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).

In 1347, the Chagatai ulus split into two separate states: Maverannahr and Mogolistan (or Mogulistan). In 1360, Transoxiana was conquered by Tughluk-Timur. 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, together with Emir Bekchik and other close emirs, conspired to remove Timur 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, the grandson of Emir 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, reaching the village of Mahmudi in the region subject to Mahan, they were captured by the people of Alibek Dzhanikurban, in whose captivity they spent 62 days. 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.

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.

Until 1364, emirs Timur and 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 Moguls.

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

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 Khan Ilyas-Khoja, which went down in history as the “Battle in the Mud.” Timur and Hussein had little chance of victory, since Ilyas-Khoja's army 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 Mavlan-zade, the artisan Abubakr Kalavi and the 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 act against the Serbedars. In the spring of 1366, Timur and Hussein suppressed the uprising, executing the Serbedar leaders, but on the orders of Tamerlane they left alive one of the leaders of the uprising, Mavlana-zade, who was extremely popular among the people.

Election as "Great Emir"

Hussein had plans to take the position of supreme emir of the Chagatai ulus, like his grandfather Kazagan, who seized this position by force during the time of Kazan Khan. A split emerged in the relationship between Timur and Hussein, and each of them began to prepare for a decisive battle. In this situation, 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 recalled this incident as follows: “I sent Emir Hussein a letter with a Turkic beit with the following content:

Who intends to deceive me,
He'll fall into the ground himself, I'm 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. The advanced units of his troops were commanded by Suyurgatmysh-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 assembled a kurultai, at which Suyurgatmysh Khan, the son of Kazan Khan, was elected Khan of Transoxiana. 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, will 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. Kurultai elected Timur Supreme Emir of Turan, as Timur’s state was now called, entrusting him with responsibility for establishing the long-awaited peace, stability and order in the country. Marriage to the daughter of Genghisid Kazan Khan, the captive widow of Emir Hussein Sarai-mulk khanum, allowed Timur to add the honorary title “Guragan” to his name, that is, “(khan’s) son-in-law.”

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 descendants of Genghis Khan Suyurgatmysh Khan (1370-1388), and then his son Mahmud Khan (1388-1402) were considered khans under him. Samarkand was chosen as the capital of the state. Timur began the struggle to create a centralized state.

Strengthening and expanding the state

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 Suyurgatmysh 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 Urus Khan captured Sygnak and moved the capital of the White Horde, Yassy (now Turkestan), Sairam and Transoxiana to it were in even greater danger. It was necessary to take measures to protect and strengthen statehood.

Soon the power of Emir Timur was recognized by Balkh and Tashkent, but the Khorezm rulers continued to resist the Chagatai ulus, relying on the support of the Dashti Kipchak rulers. In 1371, the ruler of Khorezm attempted to capture southern Khorezm, which was part of the Chagatai ulus. Emir Timur demanded that Khorezm return the captured lands first peacefully, sending first a tawachi (quartermaster), then a sheikh-ul-Islam (the head of the Muslim community) to Gurganj, but the ruler of Khorezm, Hussein Sufi, refused to fulfill this demand both times, taking the ambassador prisoner. Subsequently, Emir Timur made five campaigns against Khorezm.

Hikes to Mogolistan

Mogolistan had to be conquered to ensure the security of the state's borders. Mogolistan feudal lords often carried out predatory raids on Sairam, Tashkent, Fergana and Yassy. The raids of the Moghulistan ulusbegi Emir Kamar ad-Din in 1370-1371 brought especially great troubles to the people.

From 1371 to 1390, Emir Timur made seven campaigns against Mogolistan, finally defeating the army of Kamar ad-Din and Anka-tyur in 1390. Timur launched his first two campaigns against Kamar ad-Din in the spring and autumn of 1371. The first campaign ended in a truce; during the second, Timur, leaving Tashkent, moved towards the village of Yangi in Taraz. There he put the Moguls 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, returning to Samarkand through Uzgen and Khojent. However, Qamar ad-Din was not defeated. When Timur's army returned to Transoxiana, Kamar ad-Din invaded Fergana in the winter of 1376 and besieged the city of Andijan. The governor of Fergana, Timur's third son Umar Sheikh, fled to the mountains. The enraged Timur hurried to Fergana and for a long time pursued the enemy beyond Uzgen and the Yassy mountains all the way 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 Zafar-Nama mentions Timur's sixth campaign in the Issyk-Kul region against Kamar ad-Din in 1383, but the Ulusbegi managed to escape again.

In 1389-1390, Timur intensified his actions to finally 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. 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. Kamar ad-Din fled to the Irtysh and subsequently died of dropsy. Khizr-Khoja established himself as the Khan of Mogulistan.

First campaigns in Western Asia

In 1380, Timur went on a campaign against Malik Ghiyas-ad-din Pir-Ali II, since he did not want to recognize himself as a vassal of Emir Timur and began to respond by strengthening the defensive walls of his capital, Herat. At first, Timur sent an ambassador to him with an invitation to the kurultai in order to solve the problem peacefully, but Ghiyas ad-din Pir-Ali II rejected the offer, detaining the ambassador. In response to this, in April 1380, Timur sent ten regiments to the left bank of the Amu Darya. His troops captured the regions of Balkh, Shibergan and Badkhyz. In February 1381, Emir Timur himself marched with troops and took Khorasan, the cities of Serakhs, Jami, Qausia, Tuye and Kelat, and the city of Herat was taken after a five-day siege. In addition to Kelat, Sebzevar was captured, as a result of which the state of the Serbedars finally ceased to exist. In 1382, Timur's son Miran Shah was appointed ruler of Khorasan. In 1383, Timur devastated Sistan and brutally suppressed the Serbedar uprising in Sebzevar.

In 1383, he took Sistan, in which the fortresses of Zireh, Zave, Farah and Bust were defeated. In 1384 he captured the cities of Astrabad, Amul, Sari, Sultaniya and Tabriz, effectively capturing all of Persia.

Fight against the Golden Horde

Tamerlane's next goals were to curb the Golden Horde and establish political influence in its eastern part and to unite Mogolistan and Maverannahr, previously divided, into a single state, at one time called the Chagatai ulus.

Realizing the danger posed by the Golden Horde, from the very first days of his reign, Timur tried in every possible way to bring his protege to power there. Khan of the Blue Horde Urus Khan tried to unite the once powerful ulus of Jochi, but his plans were hindered by the intensified struggle between the Jochids and the feudal lords of Desht-and Kipchak. Timur strongly supported Tokhtamysh-oglan, whose father died at the hands of Urus Khan, who eventually took the throne of the White Horde . However, after coming to power, Khan Tokhtamysh began to pursue a hostile policy towards the lands of Transoxiana. In 1387, Tokhtamysh, together with the ruler of Khorezm, Hussein Sufi, carried out a predatory raid on Bukhara, which led to Timur’s last campaign against Khorezm and further military actions against Tokhtamysh (Tamerlane made three campaigns against him, finally defeating him only in 1395).

Three-year campaign and conquest of Khorezm

Timur began his first, so-called “three-year” campaign in the western part of Persia and the adjacent regions in 1386. In November 1387, Timur's troops took Isfahan and captured Shiraz. Despite the successful start of the campaign, Timur was forced to return back as a result of the invasion of Transoxiana by the Golden Horde Khan Tokhtamysh in alliance with the Khorezmians (1387). A garrison of 6,000 soldiers was left in Isfahan, and Timur took its ruler Shah-Mansur from the Muzaffarid dynasty with him. Soon after the departure of Timur's main troops, a popular uprising took place in Isfahan under the leadership of the blacksmith Ali Kuchek. Timur's entire garrison was killed. Johann Schiltberger talks about Timur’s retaliatory actions against the Isfahanis in his travel notes:

“The latter immediately returned, but for 15 days he could not take possession of the city. Therefore, he offered the residents a truce on the condition that they would transfer 12 thousand riflemen to his subordination for some kind of campaign. When these warriors were sent to him, he ordered the thumb of each of them to be cut off, after which he sent them back to the city, which he soon took by storm. Having gathered the residents, he ordered to kill everyone who was over 14 years old, sparing those who were younger. The heads of the dead were stacked in the form of a tower in the center of the city. He then ordered the women and children to be taken to a field outside the city, where he separated children under seven years of age. After this, he ordered his soldiers to run over them with their horses. Tamerlane's own advisers and the mothers of these children fell to their knees before him and begged him to spare the children. But he did not heed their pleas and repeated his order, which, however, not a single warrior dared to carry out. Angry at them, Tamerlane himself ran into the children and said that he would like to know who would dare not follow him. Then the warriors were forced to follow his example and trample the children under the hooves of their horses. In total, about seven thousand were trampled. After that, he ordered the city to be set on fire, and the women and children were taken to his capital Samarkand, where he had not been for 12 years.”

It should be noted that Schiltberger himself was not an eyewitness to these events, but learned about them from third parties while in the Middle East in the period from 1396 to 1427.

In 1388, Timur drove out the Tatars and took the capital of Khorezm, Urgench. By order of Timur, the Khorezmians who offered resistance were mercilessly exterminated, the city was razed to the ground, and barley was sown in its place. In fact, Urgench was not completely destroyed, since masterpieces of Urgench architecture built before Timur have survived to this day, for example, the mausoleum of Il-Arslan (XII century), the mausoleum of Khorezmshah Tekesh (1200), etc.

In 1389, Timur made a devastating campaign deep into the Mongol possessions to the Irtysh in the north and to Bolshoy Zhyldyz in the east, and in 1391 - a campaign against the Golden Horde possessions to the Volga, defeating Tokhtamysh in the battle on the Kondurche River. After this, Timur sent his troops against Mogolistan (1389-1390).

Five-year campaign and defeat of the Golden Horde

Timur began his second long, so-called “five-year” campaign in Iran in 1392. In the same year, Timur conquered the Caspian regions, in 1393 - western Persia and Baghdad, and in 1394 - Transcaucasia. Georgian sources provide several information about Timur’s actions in Georgia, about the policy of Islamization of the country and the capture of Tbilisi, about the Georgian military commonwealth, etc. By 1394, King George VII managed to carry out defensive measures on the eve of the next invasion - he collected a militia, to which he joined Caucasian highlanders, including the Nakhs. At first, the united Georgian-Mountain army had some success; they were even able to push back the vanguard of the conquerors. Ultimately, however, Timur's approach with the main forces decided the outcome of the war. The defeated Georgians and Nakhs retreated north into the mountain gorges of the Caucasus. Considering the strategic importance of the pass roads to the North Caucasus, especially the natural fortress - the Daryal Gorge, Timur decided to capture it. However, a huge mass of troops was so mixed up in the mountain gorges and gorges that they turned out to be ineffective. The defenders managed to kill so many people in the advanced ranks of the enemies that, unable to stand it, “Timur’s warriors turned back.”

Timur appointed one of his sons, Umar Sheikh, as the ruler of Fars, and another son, Miran Shah, as the ruler of Transcaucasia. Tokhtamysh's invasion of Transcaucasia caused Timur's retaliatory campaign in Eastern Europe (1395); Timur finally defeated Tokhtamysh on the Terek and pursued him to the borders of the Moscow principality. 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 addition, as a result of Timur's victory, 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.

Pursuing the fleeing troops of Tokhtamysh, Timur invaded the Ryazan lands, ravaged Yelets, posing a threat to Moscow. Having launched an attack on Moscow, he unexpectedly turned back on August 26, 1395 (possibly due to uprisings of previously conquered peoples) and left the Moscow lands on the very day when Muscovites met the image of the Vladimir Icon of the Blessed Virgin Mary, brought from Vladimir (from this day the icon is revered as the patroness of Moscow), Vytautas’s army also went to the aid of Moscow.

“The Prince of Smolensk, Yuri Svyatoslavovich, brother-in-law of this prince (Vytautas), served him during the siege of Vitebsk as a tributary of Lithuania; but Vitovt, wanting to completely conquer this reign, gathered a large army and, spreading a rumor that he was going against Tamerlane, suddenly appeared under the walls of Smolensk ... ".

N. M. Karamzin, “History of the Russian State”, volume 5, chapter II

According to the “Zafar-nama” of Sharaf ad-Din Yazdi, Timur was on the Don after his victory over Tokhtamysh on the Terek River and before the defeat of the cities of the Golden Horde in the same 1395. Timur personally pursued the Tokhtamysh commanders retreating after the defeat until they were completely defeated on the Dnieper. 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 chronicle stories about Timur's invasion testify, his army stood on both sides of the Don for two weeks, “captured” 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. Sharaf ad-Din Yazdi 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” (“Zafar-name”) was to describe the exploits of Timur himself and the valor of his warriors. “Zafar-nama” contains 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.

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. The Horde cities of the Volga region never recovered from Tamerlane’s devastation until the final collapse of the Golden Horde. 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.

In 1396 he returned to Samarkand and in 1397 appointed his youngest son Shahrukh as ruler of Khorasan, Sistan and Mazanderan.

March on India

In 1398, Timur launched a campaign against India, and along the way the highlanders of Kafiristan were defeated. In December, Timur defeated the army of the Delhi Sultan under the walls of Delhi and occupied the city without resistance, which a few days later was plundered by his army and burned. By order of Timur, 100 thousand captured Indian soldiers were executed for fear of a mutiny on their part. 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.

Seven-year campaign and defeat of the Ottoman state

Returning from India in 1399, Timur immediately began a “seven-year” campaign in Iran. This campaign was initially caused by unrest in the region ruled by Miran Shah. Timur deposed his son and defeated the enemies who invaded his domain. Moving west, Timur encountered the Turkmen state of the Kara Koyunlu, the victory of Timur's troops forced the Turkmen leader Kara Yusuf to flee west to the Ottoman Sultan Bayezid the Lightning. After which Kara Yusuf and Bayezid agreed on joint action against Timur. Sultan Bayazid responded to Timur's demand to hand over Kara Yusuf to him with a stinging refusal.

In 1400, Timur began military operations against Bayezid, who captured Erzincan, where Timur's vassal ruled, and against the Egyptian Sultan Faraj an-Nasir, whose predecessor, Barquq, ordered the assassination of Timur's ambassador back in 1393. In 1400, Timur took the fortresses of Kemak and Sivas in Asia Minor and Aleppo in Syria, which belonged to the Egyptian Sultan, and in 1401 he occupied Damascus.

On July 20, 1402, Timur won a major victory over the Ottoman Sultan Bayezid I, defeating him at the Battle of Ankara. The Sultan himself was captured. As a result of the battle, Timur captured all of Asia Minor, and the defeat of Bayazid led to a peasant war in the Ottoman state and civil strife among Bayazid's sons. A letter from Alberto Campenza to His Holiness Pope Clement VII on the affairs of Muscovy gives some details about Tamerlane: “// The ruler of this horde, called Temir-Kutlu and known in History under the name of Tamerlane, even in our memory, like lightning (with 1,200,000 warriors, as our historians narrate), devastating and ruining everything that came his way, penetrated through Asia into Egypt defeated the Turkish Sultan Bayazet, who at that time, having captured Macedonia, Thessaly, Phocis, Boeotia and Attica, and weakened Illyria and Bulgaria with frequent raids, with cruelty, kept Constantinople, the head of the Christian Empire, under siege for a long time. The Emperor of Constantinople was forced, leaving his capital, to flee to France and Italy in order to ask for help against Bayazet. Meanwhile, Tamerlane forced the latter to lift the siege of Constantinople and, coming out against him with a huge army, defeated him, defeated him, captured him alive, shackled him in gold chains and for a long time carried him everywhere with him.”

The fortress of Smyrna (belonging to the Knights of St. John), which the Ottoman sultans could not take for 20 years, was captured by Timur by storm in two weeks. The western part of Asia Minor was returned to the sons of Bayezid in 1403, and in the eastern part the local dynasties deposed by Bayezid 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.

Start of the trip to China

When Timur was 68 years old, in the fall of 1404, he began preparing an invasion of China. The main goal was to capture the remaining part of the Great Silk Road to obtain maximum profits and ensure the prosperity of his native Transoxiana and its capital Samarkand. Timur also believed that the entire space of the populated part of the world was not worth having two rulers. 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 east, probably near Issyk-Kul. The campaign was stopped due to the onset of a cold winter, and in February 1405 Timur died.

Diplomatic ties

Timur, who created a huge empire, established diplomatic ties with a number of states, including China, Egypt, Byzantium, France, England, Castile, 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.

Domestic policy

Code of laws

During the reign of Emir Timur, a set of laws was created, known as the "Timur Code", which set out the rules of conduct for subjects and the duties of rulers and officials, as well as the rules for governing the army and the state.

When appointed to a position, the “great emir” demanded devotion and fidelity from everyone. Timur appointed 315 people to high positions who fought side by side with him from the very beginning of his political career. 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 (qadi) - 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. Everyone was equal before the law, both rulers 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 was twice the salary, then the excess was withheld. If the embezzled amount was three times higher than the established salary, then everything was taken away in favor of the treasury.

Emirs, like viziers, were appointed from a noble family and had to have such qualities as insight, courage, enterprise, caution and frugality, and conduct business, thoroughly considering the consequences of each step. They had to “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 law enshrined the protection of soldiers and ordinary people. The Code obliged village and neighborhood elders, tax collectors and hakims (local rulers) to pay a fine to a commoner in the amount of 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 (collections of legends about the Prophet Muhammad) and fiqh (Muslim jurisprudence). Also, ulemas (scholars) and mudarris (madressah teachers) were appointed to each city.

Legal documents of Timur's state were compiled in two languages: Persian and Chagatai. 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.

Army

Tamerlane and his warriors. Miniature

Timur had at his disposal a huge army of up to 200 thousand soldiers. Representatives of various tribes fought in Timur’s army: Barlas, Derbets, Nukus, Naiman, Polovtsians, Dulats, Kiyat, Jalairs, Suldus, Merkits, Yasavur, Kauchins, Kangly Argyns, Tulkichs, Duldai, Tugai, Kipchaks, Arlats, Tatars, Tarkhans, Kereites, etc.

The military organization of troops was built like that of the Mongols according to the decimal system: tens, hundreds, thousands, tumens (10 thousand). Among the sectoral management bodies was the wazirat (ministry) for the affairs of military personnel (sepoys).

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 chain mail, 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.

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 that a golden dragon be depicted on the banners.

There is a legend that before the Battle of Ankara, Timur and Bayezid the Lightning met on the battlefield. Bayazid, 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.

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.)

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 every year. 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.” Timur's park complexes were open to ordinary citizens who spent their days of rest there. 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 Persian “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 Abdulhai Baghdadi, 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 Ali al-Jurjani. In the history of Nizamiddin Shami and Hafizi Abru.

Spiritual mentors of Timur

Timur's first spiritual mentor was his father's mentor, the Sufi sheikh Shams ad-din Kulal. Also known are Zainud-din Abu Bakr Taybadi, a major Khorosan sheikh, and Shamsuddin Fakhuri, a potter and prominent figure in the Naqshbandi tariqa. Timur's main spiritual mentor was a descendant of the Prophet Muhammad, Sheikh Mir Seyid Bereke. It was he who handed Timur 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 wives and children

He had 18 wives, of which his favorite wife was Emir Hussein's sister, Uljay Turkan aga. 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 1352, 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, Burhan aga, Tavakkul-hanim, Turmish aga, Jani-bik aga, Chulpan aga, etc.

Timur had four sons: Jahangir (1356-1376), Umar Sheikh (1356-1394), Miran Shah (1366-1408), Shahrukh (1377-1447) and several daughters: Uka Begim (1359-1382), Sultan Bakht aga (1362-1430), 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 Chinese 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 Pir-Muhammad.

Sarcophagus of Tamerlane

After the death of Tamerlane, a tomb was built - the majestic Gur-Emir mausoleum, where he and his descendants, as well as his spiritual mentor, were buried.

Russian politician and public figure Illarion Vasilchikov, who traveled around Central Asia, recalled his visit to Gur-Emir in Samarkand:

...Inside the mausoleum, in the middle, stood a large sarcophagus of Tamerlane himself, all made of dark green jade, with ornaments and sayings from the Koran carved on it, and on its sides were two smaller sarcophagi of white marble - Tamerlane’s beloved wives

The Legend of Tamerlane's Tomb

Institute of Ethnography of the USSR Academy of Sciences. Laboratory of plastic anthropological reconstruction. Sculptural portrait of Tamerlane - reconstruction by anthropologist Mikhail Gerasimov.

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:
“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.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 placed by Ulugbek Gurgan after the campaign in Jitta”.

Several less reliable sources also report that the tombstone contains 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: “Whoever disturbs my peace in this life or the next will suffer 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.

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."

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

M. M. Gerasimov, M. K. Kayumov and others after opening the tomb of Timur. 06/21/1941

He decided to tell the others, and they laughed at him. It was June 20th. The scientists did not listen and opened the grave, 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 the night of June 20, 1941. Later, as a result of a study of the commander’s skull, the Soviet anthropologist M. M. Gerasimov recreated Tamerlane’s appearance.

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 Army General 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, the Red Army began its offensive in the Battle of Stalingrad, which marked a turning point in the war in favor of the Soviet Union.

According to sources, Timur was fond of playing chess (more precisely, shatranj); perhaps he was the champion of his time.

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.

At the beginning of the 20th century, Timur’s personal sword was kept in the Tehran Museum.

According to family legend, the Tungus princes Gantimurovs trace their family line to Tamerlane, which has nothing to do with historical realities, but is based solely on the consonance of the name Timur and the family name of the Gantimurovs.

In Uzbekistan, the first to raise the personality of Amir Timur (Temirlan) as one of the great khakans (khagans) in the history of Turkestan was Abdurauf Fitrat. It was he who sacralized the image of Amir Timur in his works; this tradition was continued by I. Muminov in the 1960s, and this sacralization served as the foundation for the exaltation of the personality of Amir Timur in Uzbekistan after it gained independence. Later, Alikhan Tura Saguny translated “Timur’s Code” into modern Uzbek.

Tamerlane in art

In literature

The official history of Tamerlane was written during his lifetime, first by Ali-ben Jemal-al-Islam (the only copy is in the Tashkent Public Library), then by Nizam-ad-din Shami (the only copy is in the British Museum). These works were supplanted by the famous work of Sheref ad-din Iezdi (under Shahrukh), translated into French (“Histoire de Timur-Bec”, P., 1722). The work of another contemporary of Timur and Shahrukh, Hafizi-Abru, has reached us only in part; it was used by the author of the second half of the 15th century, Abd-ar-Rezzak of Samarkandi (the work was not published; there are many manuscripts).

Of the authors (Persian, Arab, Armenian, Ottoman and Byzantine) who wrote independently of Timur and the Timurids, only one, the Syrian Arab Ibn Arabshah, compiled a complete history of Timur (“Ahmedis Arabsiadae vitae et rerum gestarum Timuri, qui vulgo Tamerlanes dicitur, historia ", 1767-1772).

Wed. also F. Neve “Expose des guerres de Tamerlan et de Schah-Rokh dans l’Asie occidentale, d’apres la chronique armenienne inedite de Thomas de Madzoph” (Brussels, 1859).

The authenticity of Timur's autobiographical notes, allegedly discovered in the 16th century, is more than doubtful.

Of the works of European travelers, the diary of the Spaniard Clavijo is especially valuable (“Diary of a trip to the court of Timur in Samarkand in 1403-1406”, text with translation and notes, St. Petersburg, 1881, in the “Collection of the Department of Russian Language and Literature of the Imperial Academy of Sciences”, Vol. XXVIII, No. 1).

People's writer of Uzbekistan, Soviet author Sergei Petrovich Borodin began writing an epic novel called “Stars over Samarkand.” He wrote his first book, published under the title “Lame Timur,” between 1953 and 1954. The second book, “Bonfires of the Campaign,” was completed by 1958, and the third, “Lightning Bayazet,” by 1971, its publication in the magazine “Friendship of Peoples” was completed by 1973. The author also worked on a fourth book, entitled “The White Horse,” but died after writing only four chapters.

The theme of Tamerlane and his curse is played out in the novel “Day Watch” by Sergei Lukyanenko, in the plot of which Tamerlane finds a special chalk with which it is possible to change fate with one chalk mark.

Edgar Allan Poe - poem “Tamerlane”. Sergei Borodin - epic novel “Stars over Samarkand”. Includes 4 books: Mikail Mushfig - poem “Lame Timur” (1925)

In folklore

Timur as a ruler appears in many parables about Khoja Nasreddin.

Historical sources

Zafar-name of Sharaf ad-Din Yazdi (“Book of Victories”; written in Persian in Shiraz in 1419-1425), based on descriptions of Tamerlane’s campaigns, historical works, as well as eyewitness accounts. Yazdi's work is the most complete set of data on the history of Tamerlane and is a valuable historical source, but is distinguished by an extreme idealization of his activities. The life and work of Tamerlane is described in historical sources, both Muslim and Christian. Among the most famous Muslim sources, we should mention Sharaf ad-Din Yazdi (“Zafar-name”, 1419-1425), Ibn Arabshah (“The History of Amir Temur”), Abd ar-Razzak (“The places of the rise of two lucky stars and the places of confluence of two seas”, 1467-1471), Nizam ad-Din Shami (“Zafar-name”, 1404), Giyasaddin Ali (“Diary of Timur’s campaign in India”). Among the Western European authors, Rui Gonzalez de Clavijo, the author of the “Diary of a Journey to Samarkand to the Court of Timur,” is famous.

In 1430-1440, the “History of Timur and his successors” was written by the Armenian historian Thomas of Metsop (Tovmy Metsopetsi, 1378-1446). This detailed work is an important source about the era of Tamerlane and his campaigns in Armenia and neighboring countries.

In 1401-1402, Tamerlane instructed Nizam ad-Din Shami to bring into systematic order the official records of the events of Timur's era, compiled by his personal secretaries, and write the history of his reign in simple language. The story compiled under such conditions by Nizam-ad-din served as the primary source for the subsequent historical chronicles of Tamerlane and his era - “Zafar-name” by Sheref-ad-din Ali Ezdi and “Matla” al-sa’dein” (“The Rising Places of Two Lucky Stars” and the confluence of two seas”) by Abd-ar-razzak of Samarkandi.

Ibn Arabshah, as a child, was a captive of Tamerlane and 30 years after Tamerlane’s death he wrote the book “Ajayib al-Makdur fi Tarihi Taimur” (“The History of Amir Temur”). This book is valuable as one of the ancient manuscripts written by a contemporary of Tamerlane.

Page from Zafar-nameh by Sharaf ad-Din Yazdi

Page from “The History of Timur Lanka and His Successors” by Tovma Metsopetsi

Ibn Arabshah's work on the history of Tamerlane

Artistic

• Vereshchagin Vasily Vasilievich. Apotheosis of war
• Marlowe, Christopher. Tamerlane the Great.
• Lucien Kehren, Tamerlan - l'empire du Seigneur de Fer, 1978
• Lucien Kehren “La route de Samarkand au temps de Tamerlan, Relation du voyage de l'ambassade de Castille à la cour de Timour Beg par Ruy Gonzalez De Clavijo (1403-1406)” (traduite et commentee par Lucien Kehren), Publ: Paris Imprimerie nationale. Les editions: 1990, 2002 et 2006.
• Poe, Edgar Allan. Tamerlane.
• Javid, Huseyn. Lame Timur.
• Borodin, Sergei Petrovich. Stars over Samarkand.
• Segen, Alexander Yurievich. Tamerlane.
• Popov, Mikhail Mikhailovich. Tamerlane.
• Howard, Robert Irwin. Ruler of Samarkand.
• Khurshid Davron, Samarqand xayoli, 1991
• Khurshid Davron, Sohibqiron nabirasi, 1995
• Khurshid Davron, Bibixonim Qissasi, 2

In music

• George Frideric Handel's opera Tamerlane (premiered in London in 1724). The libretto of the opera is a free interpretation of the events that occurred after the capture of Bayezid at the Battle of Angora. Currently, it is one of the composer's most frequently performed operas.
• Musical and choreographic performance dedicated to the 660th anniversary of Amir Timur in Samarkand (1996). Scriptwriter - People's Poet of Uzbekistan Khurshid Davron, director - People's Artist of Uzbekistan Bakhodir Yuldashev.
• The song “The Doors of Tamerlane” by the rock group “Melnitsa”. The author of the text and music is Helavisa. Included in the albums “Master of the mill” (2004) and “Call of Blood” (2006).
• Song "Chalk of Fate". Author and performer - Seryoga. Used as a single in the film "Day Watch".
• Song of the Ukrainian heavy metal band Wings - “Tamerlane”
• Opera “The Legend of the Ancient City of Yelets, the Holy Virgin Mary and Tamerlane” - author A. Tchaikovsky, opera in 1 act. Libretto by R. Polzunovskaya, N. Karasik.

To the cinema

Artistic

• The role of Tamerlane in the 1973 Azerbaijani film Nasimi was played by Yusif Valiyev.
• One of the Imperial Bank's commercials, the World History Series, was created about Tamerlane. Author - Timur Bekmambetov.
• The theme of the curse of Tamerlane, who allegedly rewrote his fate with the help of the Chalk of Fate, is played out in the film “Day Watch,” based on the novel by Sergei Lukyanenko. Director: Timur Bekmambetov.
• In the 2008 satirical film War, Inc. (Play for big money). The name of the corporation that actually rules the entire world economy is “Tamerlane”.
• Temurnoma (Timuriada) - 21 serial television film of 1996. Author - historian and People's poet of Uzbekistan Khurshid Davron
• Tamerlane is a 2009 opera directed by Graham Vick.

Documentary

• Secrets of antiquity. Barbarians. Part 2. Mongols (USA; 2003).
• The Curse of Tamerlane is a 2006 film directed by Alexander Fetisov.

In painting

• Vasily Vereshchagin, author of the paintings “The Doors of Khan Tamerlane (Timur)” (1872) and “Apotheosis of War” (1871).
• “Flowers of Timur (Lights of Victory)” (1933) - author Nicholas Roerich. The painting depicts a warning system using large fires lit on watchtowers.

Monuments, toponymy and memory

• The names Temir, Tamerlane, Temirlane and Timur are still common among many Turkic and some Caucasian peoples.

• On the territory of modern Uzbekistan, dozens of geographical objects, caves, and settlements have been preserved, the history of which is associated in folk memory with the name of Timur.

(National Museum of Timurid History in Tashkent)

• “Amir Temur Square” located in the center of Tashkent (Uzbekistan) (the original name was “Konstantinovsky Square”, also called the October Revolution Square). After independence the area is called Amir Timur Square.
• The monument to Tamerlane was installed in Tashkent in the “Amir Timur Square”, a bronze equestrian sculpture of the work I. Jabbarova.
• The monument to Tamerlane was erected in Shakhrisabz, near the ruins of the Ak-Saray palace erected by order of Tamerlane.
• Monument to Tamerlane in Samarkand. Timur is represented sitting on a bench and leaning with both hands on a sword.
• In 1996, the National Museum of Timurid History was opened in Tashkent.
• In 1996, the Order of Amir Temur was established in Uzbekistan.
• In 1996, a postal block dedicated to Tamerlane was issued in Uzbekistan.

Tamerlane was called "ruler of the world." He was one of the greatest conquerors in world history. This man combined incredible ruthlessness and a keen understanding of art and science.

"The Iron Lame"

The great Emir Timur, the founder of the Timurid Empire, went down in history under the name “Timur-e Leng or Tamerlane,” which translates as “iron lame.” According to legend, there was dried blood in the clenched fist of the newborn Tamerlane. The boy’s father, a former warrior Taragai (“Lark”), immediately realized that the path of a great warrior awaited his son, and named the newborn Timur (the Turkic version of the Mongolian Temur - “Iron”).

This name contains a deep sacred meaning and is rooted in the religious traditions of the Turkic peoples, for whom iron has always been a sacred matter. According to some Asian legends, there is an iron mountain at the center of the world, and the “eternal kingdom” in Mongolian mythology is called “like iron.” In addition, it is important to take into account that Timur was born into the Barlas tribe, where pagan beliefs were still preserved, and the name given at birth determined the future path of life.

The nickname Leng (lame) stuck to Timur after the Persian campaign and was offensive in nature, indicating the warrior’s injury - improperly fused bones of his right leg after one of the battles. Since then, the invincible emir was proudly called the derogatory name Tamerlane.

Educated Tyrant

Timur, despite his reputation as a “bloody barbarian,” was a very educated ruler. According to the memoirs of his contemporaries, he was fluent in spoken Turkic, Persian and Mongolian languages. According to other sources, he did not know how to read and write, but loved the arts and fine literature, attracted scientists, artists, artisans and engineers with his convictions and by force, considering them the best prey.

It was under Timur that Samarkand became the “Shining Star of the East” - one of the main cultural centers in Asia. Surprisingly, Tamerlane loved his capital, despite the fact that he was from the steppe Normads, who preferred not to confine themselves to city walls.

Biographers of the great emir say that the active construction that he carried out in Samarkand was a way for him to forget everything that he destroyed and ruined. Through his efforts, a huge library, the Koksarai Palace and many other attractions of the city that have survived to this day appeared in Samarkand. As if confirming the unshakable power of its founder, the inscription on the door of Tamerlane’s palace read: “If you doubt our power, look at our buildings.”

Spiritual teacher of Tamerlane

Tamerlane’s thirst for knowledge did not appear out of nowhere. Even as a child, he was surrounded by wise mentors, among whom was the descendant of the Prophet Muhammad, the Sufi sage Mir Said Barak. It was he who handed Tamerlane the symbols of power (drum and banner), predicting a great future for him.

The “Guru” was almost always close to the great emir, accompanying him even on military campaigns. He blessed Timur for the decisive battle with Tokhtamysh. There is a legend that already during the battle, when the latter began to gain the upper hand over Timur, Said Barak poured sand in front of the khan’s army and he was defeated. They say that he warned his student against the battle with Dmitry Donskoy, and, as you know, Timur turned his troops around and went to the Crimea, without going further into the territory of Rus'.

Tamerlane deeply respected his teacher. He bequeathed to him his place of honor in the family mausoleum Gur-Emir Said Barak, and ordered himself to be buried at his feet, so that he would intercede for him, a great sinner, at the Last Judgment.

Banner of Timur

The banner, a symbol of Tamerlane's power, had enormous religious significance. In the Turkic tradition they believed that this was the spirit of the army. Losing it meant losing the opportunity to resist the enemy.

The banner also served as a call to war. If the emir posted him at his tent - there would be war, immediately his entire family hurried to arm themselves, and messengers flew to the allied villages.

Tamerlane's banner featured three rings arranged in the shape of an equilateral triangle. Their meaning is still not clear. Some historians believe that it could symbolize earth, water and sky. Perhaps the circles represent the three parts of the world (according to those ideas - all parts of the world), which Tamerlane owns, that is, the banner meant that the whole world belongs to Tamerlane. The Spanish diplomat and traveler Clavijo testifies to this in the 16th century.

There is a legend that in the battle of Ankara with the Ottoman Sultan Bayazid, the latter exclaimed: “What audacity to think that the whole world belongs to you!”, to which he received the answer: “Even greater audacity to think that the moon belongs to you.”
There were also more mythological interpretations of this symbol. Nicholas Roerich saw in it a sign of the “trinity”, which is quite universal in many cultures: Turkic, Celtic, Indian and many others.

Beloved wife

Tamerlane had eighteen wives - in the best traditions of the Muslim world. One of the favorites was Saray-mulk khanum, which once belonged to Timur’s closest ally, and then to his worst enemy, Emir Hussein. The woman became Tamerlane's prey after the death of her first husband, but fell in love with the conqueror and soon became his main wife. She was by no means a quiet wife - at court her role was significant, she could save a person with her grace or kill him. For a while, only she could meet her husband from his hikes, which was considered a great privilege. At the same time, she never gave birth to children to the great conqueror.

In many ways, it was the influence of Saray-mulk khanum that ensured the “golden age” of culture in the era of Tamerlane. She was a true patroness of the sciences and arts. It is Mulk Khanum who will raise Tamerlane's grandson Timur Ulugbek into a wise ruler. Under her, active construction will be carried out in Samarkand. The cathedral mosque Bibi-Khanym is named after her, which means “Lady Grandmother” - one of the names of Saray-mulk Khanum.

Merciful executioner

If we dwell on the above, then we would see a great ruler for whom everyone smiles. He is wise, talented, and his deeds are always good. He created a peaceful, stable, prosperous and rich state. But this is an unfinished portrait of Tamerlane.

Sources have brought to us many references to his bloody deeds, which at one time inspired Vereshchagin to create his famous painting “The Apotheosis of War.” One day Timur decided to erect a monument to his own victories, ordering the construction of a ten-meter pyramid of severed heads. He became the executioner of the flourishing cities of the East: Isfahan, Delhi, Damascus, Baghdad, Astrakhan. It is still completely unknown to which people Tamerlane belonged. According to the most common version, he belonged to the Turkic Barlas tribe. But the few surviving descriptions of his appearance do not correspond to his image as a Mongol. Thus, the historian Ibn Arabshah, captured by the emir, reports that Timur was tall, had a large head, a high forehead, was very strong and brave, strongly built, with broad shoulders. The historian describes the skin color of the conqueror as “white.”

The anthropological reconstruction of the remains of Tamerlane, which was carried out by the famous Soviet anthropologist Gerasimov, concludes: “The discovered skeleton belonged to a strong man, too tall for an Asian (about 170 cm). The fold of the eyelid, the most characteristic feature of the Turkic face, is relatively weakly expressed. The nose is straight, small, slightly flattened; lips are thick, contemptuous. Hair is gray-red in color, with a predominance of dark chestnut or red. The type of face is not Mongoloid." The results of this paradoxical study were published in Gerasimov's article "Portrait of Tamerlane." We won’t risk judging how true this portrait is to reality; one thing is clear - not all the secrets of the “iron lame” have yet been revealed.

Perhaps the greatest amount of information about the glorious past of the great Tartaria has reached us thanks to such a bright personality as. Without a doubt, he was an outstanding man, one of the greatest rulers in world history. That is why so many medieval authors wrote about the period of his reign. And one of the most significant works, containing a great many amazing details about the socio-political and, as well as the customs and morals of its inhabitants, was left by the ambassador of the King of Castile, Ruy Gonzalez De Clavijo. But let's start in order.

Quite a lot of information has been preserved about the personality of this man, and, as is usually the case when it comes to those whose deeds changed the course of history, there is much more speculation and fabrication contained in this information than truth. Take his name, for example. In Western Europe he is known as Tamerlane, in Russia he is called Timur. Reference literature usually contains both of these names:

“Tamerlane (Timur; April 9, 1336, the village of Khoja-Ilgar, modern Shakhrisabz, Uzbekistan - February 18, 1405, Otrar, modern Kazakhstan; Chagatai تیمور (Temür‎, Tēmōr) - “iron”) - Central Asian conqueror who played a significant role role in the history of Central, South and Western Asia, as well as the Caucasus, Volga region and Rus'. Outstanding commander, emir (since 1370). Founder of the Timurid empire and dynasty, with its capital in Samarkand." (Wikipedia)

However, from Arabic-language sources left to us by the descendants of Tamerlane-Timur himself, it turns out that his real lifetime name and title sounded like Tamurbek Khan, Ruler of Turan, Turkestan, Khorassan and further along the list of lands that were part of Great Tartary. Therefore, he was briefly called the Ruler of Great Tartary. The fact that today these lands are inhabited by people who have external features of the Mongoloid type misleads not only the average person, but also orthodox historians.

Everyone is now convinced that Tamerlane was like the average Uzbek. And the Uzbeks themselves have no doubt at all that Tamerlane is their distant ancestor and founder of the nation. But this is not true either.

From the pedigree of the Great Khans, confirmed by chronicle sources, it is clearly seen that the ancestor of the Uzbeks is another descendant of Genghis Khan, Uzbek Khan. And, of course, he is not the father of all living Uzbeks who were so named on a territorial basis.

Let's start from the end. Here is what is known from official sources about the death of the “Great Lame”: “As soon as the Egyptian Sultan and John VII (later co-ruler of Manuel II Palaiologos) stopped resisting. Timur returned to Samarkand and immediately began to prepare for an expedition to China. He set out at the end of December, but in Otrar on the Syr Darya River he fell ill and died on January 19, 1405 (other sources indicate a different date of death - 02/18/1405 - my note).

Tamerlane's body was embalmed and sent in an ebonite coffin to Samarkand, where he was buried in a magnificent mausoleum called Gur-Emir. Before his death, Timur divided his territories between his two surviving sons and grandsons. After many years of war and hostility over the will he left, the descendants of Tamerlane were united by the khan’s youngest son, Shahruk.”

The first thing that raises doubts is the different dates of Tamerlane’s death. When trying to find more reliable information, you inevitably come across one single “true” source of all the myths about the “Uzbek” clone of Alexander the Great - the memoirs of Tamerlane himself, which he personally titled: “Tamerlane, or Timur, the Great Emir.” Sounds challenging, right? This contradicts the basic principles of the worldview inherent in representatives of Eastern civilization, which reveres modesty as one of the highest virtues. Asian etiquette prescribes to praise your friends and even enemies in every possible way, but not yourself.

A suspicion immediately arises that this “work” was titled by a person who has the most remote understanding of the culture, customs and traditions of the East. And the validity of this suspicion is confirmed immediately as soon as you ask the question of who became the publisher of Tamerlane’s memoirs. This is one John Hurn Sanders.

I believe that this fact is already enough not to take the “memoirs of the Great Emir” seriously. One gets the impression that everything in this world was created by British and French masons and intelligence agents. This is no longer surprising, not even annoying. Egyptology was invented by Champillion, Sumerology by Layard, Tamerlanology by Sanders.

And if everything is extremely clear with the first two, then no one knows who Sanders is. There is fragmentary information that he was in the service of the King of Great Britain and regulated complex diplomatic issues in India and Persia. And so they refer to him as an authoritative specialist “Tamerlanologist”.

Then it becomes clear that it is time to stop racking our brains over the question of why the Uzbek leader suddenly disinterestedly liberated the alien country of infidel Christian Russians from the yoke of the Golden Horde and completely defeated it (the horde).

Now is the time to remember the legendary opening of Tamerlane’s tomb in June 1941. I will not go into a description of all the “mystical” signs and strange events, they are probably known to everyone. I’m talking about the prophecies on the tomb and in the old book, that if Timur’s ashes are disturbed, a terrible war will certainly break out. The tomb was opened on June 21, 1941, and on June 22, the next day, something happened that every resident of Russia and the republics of the former USSR knows about.

Another “mystical” circumstance is much more interesting: the reasons that prompted Soviet scientists to open the tomb - that’s where we need to start. On the one hand, everything is very clear, the goal was to study historical material. On the other hand, what if this was done to refute or, conversely, to confirm historical myths? I think the main motive was precisely this - to prove to the whole world the greatness and antiquity of the great Uzbek people, which is part of the great Soviet people.

And here the mysticism begins. Something didn't go according to plan. Firstly, clothes. The emir was dressed like a medieval Russian prince, the second had a light red beard and hair and fair skin. The famous anthropologist Gerasimov, a well-known specialist in reconstructing appearance from skulls, was amazed: Tamerlane did not at all resemble those rare images of himself that have come down to us. The fact is that they can be called portraits with a very big stretch. They were written after the death of the “Iron Lame” by Persian masters who had never seen the conqueror.

So later artists depicted a typical representative of the Central Asian peoples, completely forgetting that Timur was not a Mongol. He was a descendant of a distant relative of Genghis Khan, who was from the family of the Great Mughals, or Mogulls, as Genghis Khan himself said. But the Mogulls have nothing in common with the Mongols, just as the province of Turan Cathay has nothing to do with modern China.

The Mogulls were no different in appearance from the Slavs and Europeans. Everyone who managed to live in the USSR knows that in each union republic local artists painted portraits of Lenin, endowing him with the external features of their own people. So in Georgia, on large street posters, Lenin looked exactly like a Georgian, and in Kyrgyzstan, Lenin was depicted, well, too “Mongol-like.” So, this is all very clear. The story with the conclusion about the causes of death is unclear.

Evidence from contemporaries has been preserved, who claimed that Gerasimov repeatedly stated orally that his first reconstruction of Tamerlane’s appearance was not approved by the leadership, and he was “recommended” to bring the portrait to the generally accepted standard: Tamerlane is an Uzbek, a descendant of Genghis Khan. I had to make him a Mongoloid. Against a saber, a bare heel is a dubious argument.

Next, it is necessary to mention the unconcealed facts of the study of the tomb. So, everyone knows that despite the advanced age of the deceased, he had beautiful strong teeth and very strong smooth bones. That is, Timur was quite tall (172cm), strong, healthy man. The discovered injuries to the arm and kneecap could not have played a fatal role. If so, then what was the cause of death? The answer may lie in the fact that for some reason someone separated Timur’s head from his body. It is clear that the members of the expedition would not have disassembled the body into “spare parts” without good reason.

The first probable reason for this barbarity, the desecration of the ashes, is the replacement of the head. Perhaps the original white head was replaced with the head of a representative of the Mongoloid race. The second version is that he was already lying beheaded in the coffin. Then the question arises about the possible murder of Timur. And now it’s time to remember the long-running “canard” about the causes of Timur’s death.

I don’t even remember now the publication that published the “secret” confession of the pathologist who took part in the study of Tamerlane’s body. According to rumors, Tamerlan was allegedly shot with a firearm! I wouldn’t like to spread false sensations, but what if it’s true? Then the secrecy of this “archaeological enterprise” becomes clear.

Is Tamerlane a Mongol? In my opinion, a very European-looking man, with a staff symbolizing Rarog, who is also the Slavic god Horse. One of the incarnations of Ra is a solar half-man, half-falcon. Perhaps the European artist did not know what “wild tartars” looked like?

But let’s translate the inscription from Latin into Russian:

“Tamerlane, ruler of Tartary, master of the wrath of God and the forces of the Universe and the blessed country, was killed in 1402.” The main word here is “Killed.” From the inscription it follows that the author has the utmost respect for Tamerlane, and for sure, when creating the engraving, he relied on the known lifetime images of Tamerlane, and not on his own fantasies. However, the number of famous portraits painted in the Middle Ages leaves no doubt that this is exactly what the “Lord of God’s Wrath…” looked like.

This is the reason why so many myths arise. Discarding later fantasies about Timur, looking at this evidence with an unclouded eye, we come to the following conclusions:

• Tamerlane is the Ruler of Great Tartary, of which Rus' was a part, and therefore the symbolism of the “Mongol” is quite understandable to the Russian people.
• Power was given to him by higher powers.
• In the year 402 from Jesus (I.402) he was killed. Possibly shot.
• Tamerlane, judging by the symbolism (magendavid with a crescent), belonged to the same diaspora as Sultan Bayezid, who commanded the horde of Anatolia and owned Constantinople. But let’s not forget that the overwhelming majority of the Russian aristocracy, including the mother of Peter I, had the same symbols on their family coats of arms.

But that's not all. The sign on Tamerlane's cap is noteworthy. If he is the Ruler, then the version that this is an ordinary ornament does not stand up to criticism. The headdresses of monarchs always contain a symbol of the state religion.

Distinctive signs on headdresses are not the most ancient tradition, but they were firmly established even before Tamerlane’s accession to the throne. And it became law after the introduction of uniforms, which first appeared in the world in medieval Russia.

And the guardsmen wore black uniforms:

They had almost the following sign embroidered on their sleeves:

Why did the boyars cry out so loudly when the oprichnina was introduced? I believe that everything that we are told about the “National Guard” of Ivan the Terrible is an analogue of the modern indignation of human rights activists and dishonest officials. Hence the myths about the cruelty of the monarch.

Previously, soldiers, tax collectors and other sovereign people dressed in whatever they needed for service. Fashion, as such, appeared only after the emergence of manufacturing, so attempts by modern scientists to study “ancient fashion”, who are trying to identify differences in the national costumes of the Middle Ages, look quite funny. There were no “national” costumes. Our ancestors treated clothing completely differently than we do, which is why they dressed almost the same in Persipolis, Tobolsk, and Moscow.

Any item of clothing was strictly individual, sewn for a specific person, and putting on someone else’s was simply suicide. This meant taking on all the illnesses and illnesses of the real owner of the clothes. In addition, people understood that they could harm the owner of the dress that they would try on themselves. Each person’s clothing was considered part of the spirit of its owner, which is why it was considered an honor to receive a fur coat from the royal shoulder. Thus, the recipient, as it were, joined the highest, the royal, and therefore the divine. And vice versa. Anyone caught trying on royal clothes was considered to have encroached on the health and life of the monarch, and, accordingly, was executed on the execution site.

And imitating the clothes of others was considered the height of stupidity. Each nobleman tried to stand out with his clothes both from commoners and from his fellow classmates, so as many people existed, there were as many costumes. Of course, there were general trends, this is natural, just like the fact that all cars have round wheels.

That is why I consider the surprised remarks of medieval travelers about the similarity of European and Russian costumes to be absurd. We live in approximately the same climatic conditions, we have approximately the same level of technology, it is absolutely normal that all people of the white race dressed the same. Except for the details, of course. Even the everyday clothes of the peasants had individual characteristics in the form of embroideries. It is interesting that the main thing in clothing was the belt. It had an individual ornament, and only the owner could touch it.

The belt was tied at the place where the chakra is located, called “hara” in Rus' (hence the origin of the concept “character”), which is responsible for human life. That is why they used to say, “Not sparing your belly,” which was synonymous with the expression “not sparing your life.”

So maybe Tamerlane’s headdress is just an ornament? It meant his own unique personality, which means he was unique, and there was no point in looking for similar images? May be. Or maybe not. Here is an engraving from the book of Adam Olearius with views of Russia:

I don’t know if we can even call these crosses? This in no way fits with the objects that we see on modern domes of modern religious buildings. Although in Western Ukraine there are still churches with such crosses. But the analogy with Tamerlane’s “cockade” is too obvious to be a mere coincidence.

All that remains is to figure out what all this could mean.

By and large, there is absolutely nothing to be surprised here. The tradition of decorating royal headdresses with crosses is not new.

However, it may well be that the very meaning of this is not completely clear to us. Yes, we found out that Tamerlane was depicted with a symbol of royal power - a cross, and the shape of the cross on his hat corresponds to the era in which crosses on churches were of exactly this shape, but questions remain. Were these Christian crosses? Did they have any connection with religion at all? And why did such hats replace those that were used previously?

The most inconspicuous, at first glance, documents are a huge help in the reconstruction of genuine historical events. From a cookbook, for example, you can glean more information than from a dozen scientific papers written by the most eminent historians. It never occurred to me to destroy or forge cookbooks. The same is true of various traveler's notes that have not become widely known. In our digital age, publications that were not even considered as historical sources have become publicly available, but they often contain sensational information.

One of these, undoubtedly, is the report of Ruy Gonzalez De Clavijo, the ambassador of the King of Castile, on his journey to the court of the Ruler of Great Tartary, Tamerlane, in Samarkand. 1403-1406 from the incarnation of God the Word.

A very interesting report that can be considered documentary, despite the fact that it was translated into Russian and published for the first time at the end of the nineteenth century. Based on known facts, which today we already know with a high degree of certainty, in what way they were distorted, we can create a very realistic picture of the era in which Tartary was ruled by the legendary Timur.

The report contains a lot of truly amazing information that characterizes the features of the history of the medieval Mediterranean and Asia Minor. When I began to study this work, the first thing that surprised me was that the official document, which meticulously recorded all the dates, geographical names, names of not only nobles and priests, but even ship captains, was presented in a living, vivid literary language. Therefore, the document is perceived as an adventure novel in the spirit of R. Stevenson or J. Verne.

From the first pages, the reader is immersed in the strange world of the Middle Ages, and it is incredibly difficult to tear yourself away from reading, while, unlike “Treasure Island,” de Clavijo’s Diary leaves no doubt about the authenticity of the events described. In great detail, with all the details and reference to dates, he describes his journey in such a way that a person who knows the geography of Eurasia well enough can trace the entire route of the embassy from Seville to Samarkand and back, without resorting to checking geographic maps.

First, the royal ambassador describes a journey on a carrack across the Mediterranean. And in contrast to the officially accepted version about the properties of a ship of this type, it becomes clear that Spanish historians greatly exaggerated the achievements of their ancestors in shipbuilding and navigation. From the descriptions it is clear that the carrack is no different from Russian plows or rooks. Carraka was not adapted for traveling across the seas and oceans; it was exclusively a coasting vessel, capable of moving within sight of the coastline only if there was a fair wind, making “throws” from island to island.

The descriptions of these islands attract attention. Many of them at the beginning of the century had the remains of ancient buildings and were uninhabited. The names of the islands basically coincide with modern ones, until travelers find themselves off the coast of Turkey. Next, all toponyms have to be restored in order to understand which city or island we are talking about.

And here we come across the first great discovery. It turns out that the existence of which to this day is not considered unconditional by historians did not raise any questions at the beginning of the fifteenth century. We are still looking for the “legendary” Troy, and De Clavijo describes it simply and casually. She is as real to him as his native Seville.

This is the place today:

By the way, not much has changed now. There is a continuous ferry service between Tenio (now Bozcaada) and Ilion (Geyikli). Probably, large ships moored at the island before, and between the port and Troy there was communication only by boats and small vessels. The island was a natural fort that protected the city from the sea from an attack by an enemy fleet.

A natural question arises: where did the ruins go? There is only one answer: they were dismantled for building materials. Common practice for builders. The Ambassador himself mentions in the Diary that Constantinople is being built at a rapid pace, and ships with marble and granite are flocking to the piers from many islands. Therefore, it is completely logical to assume that instead of chopping the material in a quarry, it would have been much easier to take it ready-made, especially since hundreds and thousands of finished products in the form of columns, blocks, and slabs are wasted in the open air.

So Schliemann “discovered” his Troy in the wrong place, and tourists in Turkey are taken to the wrong place. Well... Absolutely the same thing is happening here with the site of the Kulikovo battle. All scientists have already agreed that the Kulikovo field is a district of Moscow called Kulishki. There is the Donskoy Monastery, and Krasnaya Gorka, an oak forest in which the ambush regiment was hiding, but tourists are still taken to the Tula region, and in all the textbooks no one is in a hurry to correct the mistake of 19th-century historians.

The second question that needs to be resolved is how did seaside Troy end up so far from the surf line? I suggest adding some water to the Mediterranean Sea. Why? Yes, because its level is constantly falling. Based on the frozen lines on coastal areas of land, it is clearly visible at what level the sea level was during what period of time. Since De Clavijo's embassy, ​​sea levels have dropped several meters. And if the Trojan War actually happened thousands of years ago, then you can safely add 25 meters, and this is the picture you get:

Complete hit! Geyikli is ideally becoming a seaside town! And the mountains behind, exactly as described in the Diary, and a vast bay, like Homer’s.

Agree, it is very easy to imagine the walls of the city on this hill. And in front of him there was a ditch with water. It looks like you don’t have to look any further for Troy. There is one pity: no traces have been preserved, because Turkish peasants have been plowing the land there for centuries, and even an arrowhead can no longer be found in it.

Before the nineteenth century there were no states in the modern sense. The relationship was clearly criminal in nature according to the principle “I protect you - you pay.” Moreover, citizenship has the root “tribute” because it is not related to origin or location. A lot of castles in Turkey belonged to Armenians, Greeks, Genoese and Venetians. But they paid tribute to Tamerlane, just like the court of the Turkish Sultan. Now it is clear why Tamerlane called the largest peninsula in the Sea of ​​Marmara on the Asian side “Turan”. This is colonization. The large country of Turan, which stretched from the Bering Strait to the Urals, which was owned by Tamerlane, gave its name to the newly conquered land in Anatolia opposite the island of Mramorny, where there were quarries.

Then the embassy passed Sinop, which at that time was called Sinopol. And it arrived in Trebizond, which is now called Trobzon. There they were met by Chakatai, Tamurbek's messenger. De Clavijo explains that in fact “Tamerlane” is a contemptuous nickname, meaning “cripple, lame,” and the real name of the Tsar, which his subjects called him, was TAMUR (iron) BEK (Tsar) - Tamurbek.

And all the warriors from the native tribe of Tamurbek Khan were called chakatays. He himself was a Chakotai and brought his fellow tribesmen to the Samarkand kingdom from the north. More precisely, from the coast of the Caspian Sea, where the Chakatai and Arbals, fellow tribesmen of Tamerlane, fair-haired, white-skinned and blue-eyed, live to this day. True, they themselves do not remember that they are descendants of the Mogulls. They are sure that they are Russian. There are no external differences to be found.

But, by the way, after Tamurbek defeated Bayazet and conquered Turkey, the peoples of Kurdistan and southern Armenia breathed more freely, because in exchange for an acceptable tribute they received freedom and the right to exist. If history develops in a spiral, then perhaps the Kurds again have hope of liberation from the Turkish yoke with the help of their neighbors to the east.

The next discovery for me was the description of the city of Bayazet. It would seem that there is still something new to learn about this city of Russian military glory, but no. See:

At first I couldn’t understand what I was talking about, but only after I converted the leagues to kilometers (6 leagues - 39 kilometers) did I finally become convinced that Bayazet was called “Squid” in the time of Tamurbek.

And here is the castle that Ruy Gonzales De Clavijo visited during the embassy. Today it is called Ishak Pash Palace.

A local knight tried to force the ambassadors to pay tribute, saying that the castle exists only due to the taxes of passing merchants, to which Chakatai noted that these were guests of himself... The conflict was settled.

By the way, De Clavijo calls knights not only the owners of castles, but also the Chakatays - officers of Tamurbek’s army.

During their journey, the ambassadors visited many castles, and from their descriptions their purpose and meaning become clear. It is generally accepted that these are exclusively fortification structures. In fact, their military importance is greatly exaggerated. First of all, this is a house that can withstand the efforts of any security burglar. Therefore, “castle” and “castle” are the same root words. A castle is a repository of valuables, a reliable safe and a fortress for the owner. A very expensive pleasure, available to very wealthy people who had something to protect from robbers. Its main purpose is to hold out until the arrival of reinforcements, the squad of the one to whom the tribute is paid.

A very curious fact: even at the time of the described embassy, ​​wild wheat grew in abundance at the foot of Ararat, which, according to De Clavijo, was completely unsuitable because it had no grains in the ears. Whatever one may say, this fact indicates that Noah’s Ark, as a repository of DNA samples, could well have actually existed and contributed to the revival of life precisely from Ararat.

And from Bayazet the expedition went to Azerbaijan and the north of Persia, where they were met by Tamurbek’s messenger, who ordered them to go south to meet the royal mission. And the travelers were forced to get acquainted with the sights of Syria. Along the way, sometimes amazing events happened to them. For example, what is this worth:

Did you understand? A hundred years before the discovery of America in Azerbaijan and Persia, people calmly ate corn, and did not even suspect that it had not yet been “discovered”. Nor did they suspect that it was the Chinese who were the first to invent silk and begin to grow rice. The fact is that, according to the ambassadors, rice and barley were the main foodstuffs both in Turkey and in Persia and Central Asia.

I immediately remembered that when I lived in a small seaside village near Baku, I was surprised that in every house of local residents one room was allocated for raising silkworms. Yes! There, mulberry, or “here” as the Azerbaijanis call it, grows at every step! And the boys had such a duty around the house, every day to climb a tree and tear leaves for the silkworm caterpillars.

And what? Half an hour a day, it's not difficult. At the same time, you’ll eat plenty of berries. Then the leaves scattered onto newspapers, on top of the mesh of the armored bed, and hundreds of thousands of voracious green worms began to actively chew this mass. The caterpillars are growing by leaps and bounds. A week or two, and the silkworm pupae are ready. Then they were handed over to the silkworm state farm, and from this they earned a significant extra income. Nothing changes. Azerbaijan was the world center for the production of silk fabrics, not China. Probably until the very moment the oil fields open.

In parallel with the description of the journey to Shiraz, De Clavijo tells in detail the story of Tamurbek himself, and in a picturesque form narrates all his exploits. Some of the details are amazing. For example, I remembered an anecdote about how in a Jewish family a boy asks: “Grandfather, was there really nothing to eat during the war?”

True granddaughters. There wasn't even any bread. I had to spread the butter directly onto the sausage.

Rui writes in approximately the same way: “In times of famine, residents were forced to eat only meat and sour milk.” May I be so hungry!

Indeed, the description of the food of ordinary Tartar citizens is breathtaking. Rice, barley, corn, melons, grapes, flatbreads, mare's milk with sugar, sour milk (there is kefir, yogurt, cottage cheese, and cheese, as I understand the meaning), wine, and just mountains of meat. Horse meat and lamb in huge quantities, in a variety of dishes. Boiled, fried, steamed, salted, dried. In general, the Castilian ambassadors ate humane food for the first time in their lives during a business trip.

But the travelers arrived in Shiraz, where a few days later Tamurbek’s mission joined them to accompany them to Samarkand. This is where I first encountered identification difficulties with the geography of the hike. Let's assume that Sultaniya and Orasaniya are parts of modern Iran and Syria. What did he mean by “Little India” then? And why is Hormuz a city if it is now an island?

Let's assume that Hormuz broke away from the land. But what about India? According to all descriptions, India itself falls under this concept. Its capital is Delies. Tamurbek conquered it in a very original way: against the war elephants he released a herd of camels with burning bales of straw on their backs, and the elephants, by nature terribly afraid of fire, trampled the Indian army in panic, and ours won. But if so, then what is “Greater India”? Maybe modern researcher I. Gusev is right when he claims that Greater India is America? Moreover, the presence of corn in this region makes us think about it again.

Then questions about the presence of traces of cocaine in the tissues of Egyptian mummies disappear. They did not fly across the ocean in vimanas. Cocaine was one of the spices, along with cinnamon and pepper, that merchants brought from India Minor. Of course? will sadden fans of the work of Erich von Däniken, but what can you do if in reality everything is much simpler and without the participation of aliens.

OK. Let's go further. In parallel with a detailed description of the route from Shiraz to Orasania, which bordered the Samarkand kingdom along the Amu Darya, De Clavijo continues to pay much attention to the description of the actions of Tamurbek, which the envoys told him about. There is something to be horrified here. Perhaps this is part of the information war against Tamerlane, but unlikely. Everything is described in too much detail.

For example, Timur’s zeal for justice is striking. He himself, being a pagan, never touched Christians, Muslims, or Jews. For the time being. Until Christians showed their lying, greedy face.

During the war with Turkey, the Greeks from the European part of Constantinople promised help and support to Tamurbek’s army in exchange for a loyal attitude towards them in the future. But instead, they supplied Bayezit's army with a fleet. Tamurbek defeated Bayazit simply brilliantly, in the best traditions of the Russian army, with few losses, defeating many times superior forces. And then he drove the captive Sultan along with his son in a golden cage mounted on a cart, like an animal in a zoo.

But he did not forgive the vile Greeks and since then he has persecuted Christians mercilessly. Just as he did not forgive the White Tartar tribe, who also betrayed him. In one of the castles they were surrounded by Tamurbek’s squad, and they, seeing that they could not escape retribution, tried to pay off. Then the wise, fair, but vindictive king, in order to save the lives of his soldiers, promised the traitors that if they themselves brought him money, he would not shed their blood. They left the castle.

Well? Did I promise you that I won’t shed your blood?
- I promised! – The white Tartars began to sing in unison.
- And unlike you, I keep my word. Your blood will not be shed. Bury them alive! - he ordered his “commander-in-chief of the Tartar Guard.”

And then a decree was issued that every subject of Tamurbek was obliged to kill all the white Tartars whom he met on the way. And if he doesn’t kill, he will be killed himself. And the repressions of Timur’s reform began. Within a few years, this people was completely exterminated. In total about six hundred thousand.

Ryui recalls how on the way they met four towers “so tall that you couldn’t touch them with a stone.” Two were still standing, and two collapsed. They were made from the skulls of the White Tartarus, held together with mud as mortar. These were the morals of the fifteenth century.

Another interesting fact is described by De Clavijo. This is what I described in detail in the previous chapter - the presence of a logistics service in Tartaria. Tamerlane significantly reformed it, and some details of this reform may serve as a clue to another mystery, what kind of mythical Mongols, together with the Tatars, “tortured unfortunate Russia for three hundred years”:

Thus, we are again convinced that “Tatar-Mongolia” is, in fact, not Tataria and not Mongolia at all. - Yes. Mogulia - yes! Just an analogue of the modern Russian Post.

Next we will talk about the “Iron Gates”. This is where the author most likely got confused. He confuses Derbent with the “Iron Gate” on the way from Bukhara to Samarkand. But that's not the point. Using this excerpt as an example, I highlighted the key words in the Russian text with markers of different colors, and I highlighted the same words in the original text. This clearly shows the lengths to which historians went to hide the truth about Tartary:

It is possible that I am mistaken in the same way as the translator who translated the book from Spanish. And “Derbent” has nothing to do with it, but “Darbante” is something whose meaning is lost, because there is no such word in the Spanish dictionary. And here is the authentic “Iron Gate”, which, along with the Amu Darya, served as a natural defense of Samarkand from a sudden invasion from the west:

And now about the Chakatays. My first thought was that this tribe could somehow be connected with Katai, which was located in Siberian Tartary. Moreover, it is known that Tamurbek paid tribute to Katai for quite a long time until he took possession of it through diplomacy.

But later another thought came. It is possible that the author simply did not know how to spell the name of the tribe, and wrote it down by ear. But in fact it’s not “chakatai”, but “chegodai”. This is one of the Slavic pagan names-nicknames, such as chelubey, nogai, mamay, run away, catch up, guess, etc. And Chegoday is, in other words, “Beggar” (give me something?). Indirect confirmation that such a version has the right to life is the following find:

"Chegodáev is a Russian surname, derived from the male name Chegodai (in Russian pronunciation Chaadai). The surname is based on a male proper name of Mongolian origin, but widely known among the Turkic peoples. It is also known as the historical name of Chagatai (Jagatai), the second son of Genghis -khana, meaning brave, honest, sincere. The same name is known as an ethnonym - the name of the Turkic-Mongolian tribe Jagatai-Chagatai, from which Tamerlane came. The surname was sometimes changed into Chaadaev and Cheodayev. The surname Chegodaev is borne by the Russian princely family."

In general, the statement that Tamerlane is the founder of the Timurid dynasty is not true, because he himself was a representative of the Genghisids, which means that all his descendants are also Genghisids.

It was also interesting to understand the origin of the toponym “Samarkand”. In my opinion, too many city names contain the root “samar”. This is the biblical Samaria, and our metropolis on the Volga Samara, and before the revolution Khanty-Mansiysk was called Samarov, and Samarkand itself, of course. We have forgotten the meaning of the word “Samar”. But the ending “kand” fits well into the system of formation of toponyms in Tartary. This is Astrakh(k)an, and Tmu-cockroach, and many different “kans” and “chans” (Srednekan, Kadykchan) in the northeast of the country.

Perhaps all these endings are associated with the word “boor” or “khan”. And we could have inherited it from Great Tartary. Surely, in the east, cities were named after their founders. Just as Prince Sloven founded Slovensk, and Prince Rus - Russa (now Staraya Russa), so Belichan could be the city of Bilyk Khan, and Kadykchan - Sadyk Khan.

And further. Let’s not forget how the Magi actually named the pagan Ivan the Terrible at the birth:

"Ivan IV Vasilyevich, nicknamed the Terrible, by the direct name Titus and Smaragd, tonsured Jonah (August 25, 1530, the village of Kolomenskoye near Moscow - March 18 (28), 1584, Moscow) - sovereign, Grand Duke of Moscow and All Rus' since 1533, the first Tsar of all Rus'."

Yes. Smaragd is his name. Almost SAMARA. And this may not be a mere coincidence. Why? Yes, because when describing Samarkand the word “emerald” is repeated dozens of times. There were huge emeralds on Tamurbek’s hat and on the diadem of his eldest wife. Clothes and even numerous palaces of Tamurbek and his relatives were decorated with emeralds. Therefore, I would venture to suggest that “samara” and “smara” are one and the same. Then it turns out that the man in the title picture is the wizard of the Emerald City?

But this is a retreat. Let's return to medieval Samarkand.

The description of the splendor of this city makes your head spin. For Europeans it was a miracle of miracles. They had no idea that what they previously considered luxury, in Samarkand, even among the poor, is considered “costume jewelry.”

Let me remind you that from childhood we were all taught that the pinnacle of civilization was the magnificent Constantinople. But here’s a problem... The author devoted several pages to the description of this Constantinople, of which only the Church of John the Baptist was remembered. And in order to express the shock of what he saw in the “wild steppes”, it took him fifty pages. Strange? It is obvious that historians are not telling us something.

There was absolutely everything in Samarkand. Powerful fortresses, castles, temples, canals, swimming pools in the courtyards of houses, thousands of fountains, and much, much more.

Travelers were amazed by the wealth of the city. The description of feasts and holidays merges into one continuous series of grandeur and splendor. The Castilians had never seen so much wine and meat in one place in such a short period of time in their entire previous life. The description of the rituals, traditions and customs of the Tartars is noteworthy. One of them, at least, has reached us in full. Drink until you fall over. And mountains of meat and tons of wine from the palaces were taken out onto the streets to be distributed to ordinary townspeople. And the Holiday in the palace always became a national celebration.

Separately, I would like to say about the fight against corruption in the kingdom of Tamurbek. De Clavijo talks about one case when, during the absence of the Sovereign in the capital, an official who remained acting. Tsar, abused his power and offended someone. As a result, I tried on a “hemp tie.” More precisely, paper, because in Samarkand everyone wore natural cotton dresses. Probably the ropes were also made of cotton.

Another official who was convicted of wasting horses from Tamurbek’s gigantic herd was also hanged. Moreover, capital punishment was always accompanied under Timur by confiscation in favor of the state treasury.

People of non-boyar origin were executed by beheading. It was worse than just death. By separating the head from the body, the executioner deprived the condemned of something more important than just life. De Clavijo witnessed the trial and beheading of a shoemaker and a merchant who had unreasonably raised the price during the King's absence from the city. This is what I understand, an effective fight against monopolies!

And here is another small discovery. For those who think that the Amazons were invented by Homer. Here it is, in black and white:

Witch? No, Queen! And that was the name of one of Timur’s eight wives. The youngest, and probably the most beautiful. This is what he was... The Wizard of the Emerald City.

Modern finds by archaeologists confirm that Samarkand was in fact the emerald city during the time of Tamerlane. Today these masterpieces are called: “Great Mughal Emeralds. India".

The description of the ambassadors' return journey through Georgia is interesting, of course, but only from the point of view of a fiction writer. The travelers faced a lot of dangers and severe trials. What was especially striking was the description of how they found themselves trapped in the snow in the mountains of Georgia. I wonder if it happens today that snow falls for several days and sweeps houses up to the roofs?

Pizzoni is perhaps a profession, not a surname.

The exploits of Tamerlane, and not quite exploits

The story about the exploits of Tamurbek Khan would be incomplete if we did not turn to other sources telling about the epoch-making events that occurred during his reign. One such source is a document known as “The Travels of Ivan Schiltberger in Europe, Asia and Africa from 1394 to 1427.” I will omit descriptions of Europe and Africa, since within the framework of this topic my goal was initially only to describe the past of our country in its most ancient period, when it was called Scythia, and then Tartary.

Why does it make sense to dwell on this issue in more detail? The fact is that this is also our story. The attempt of historians to separate the history of Rus' from the history of Great Tartary led to what we have today. And we have a huge number of fellow citizens who question even the very fact of the existence of such a country in the past, not to mention the fact that Rus' was its integral part.

This is a strategy aimed at fragmenting a great country. Having broken it into pieces in the past, it is very easy to fragment it in the present. Therefore, it is vital for every resident of all countries that were recently a single state - the Soviet Union - to know their history so as not to repeat mistakes in the future.

Today you cannot find a person who does not know the name of Tamerlane. But try to ask a random passer-by about what made the great politician and commander famous, and in about ninety percent of cases, you will not hear anything more than what was said in the commercial of one commercial bank. People will say that there was such a ferocious Mongol who did nothing but conquer everyone, and at the same time did not spare either his own or others.

This is partly true. Timur was stern and merciless. But he was fair. He cared about his people, defended the peoples who submitted to him, and at the same time was not bloodthirsty. There was a time when the death penalty was the most effective management tool. But Timur ruled not for the sake of his own ambitions, but for the benefit of the people, who considered him their father and protector. He even took the title of Khan shortly before his death.

Therefore, it is not enough to know that Tamerlane existed. You need to know well what exactly he did and how. We must fully understand that, along with Ogus Khan, Genghis Khan, Batu Khan, Prophetic Oleg and Tsar Smaragd (Ivan the Terrible), we owe the existence of our modern country - Russia - to Tamurbek Khan. So, let us turn to the facts presented by Ivan Shiltberger, which largely confirm and complement the information presented by Abulgazi-Bayadur-Khan.

About Tamerlane's war with the king-sultan

Upon his return from a happy campaign against Bayazit, Tamerlane began a war with the king-sultan, who ranks first among the pagan rulers. With an army consisting of one million two hundred thousand people, he invaded the Sultan's possessions and began the siege of the city of Galeb, in which there were up to four hundred thousand houses. It’s hard to believe, but Schiltberger got these numbers from somewhere.

The commander of the besieged garrison made a sortie with eighty thousand people, but was forced to return and lost many soldiers. Four days later, Tamerlane took possession of the suburb and ordered its inhabitants to be thrown into the city ditch, and logs and dung on them so that this ditch was filled up in four places, although it was twelve fathoms deep. If this is true, and Tamerlane actually did this to innocent civilians, then he is undoubtedly one of the greatest villains of all time. However, we should not forget that information warfare was not invented today or yesterday.

Fables are still written about all the great rulers of Tartaria, and this is normal. The more merit a ruler has, the more myths they create about his bloodthirstiness. So the tales about the cruelty of Ivan the Terrible have long been exposed, but no one is still in a hurry to rewrite textbooks. The same thing, I think, is the case with the myths about Tamerlane.

Then Tamerlane proceeded to another city called Urum-Kola, which offered no resistance, and to whose inhabitants Tamerlane showed mercy. From there he went to the city of Aintab, whose garrison refused to submit to the sovereign, and the city was taken after a nine-day siege. According to the customs of war of those times, the unconquered city was given over to the soldiers for plunder. After which the army moved to the city of Begesna, which fell after a fifteen-day siege, and where a garrison was left.

The mentioned cities were considered the main ones in Syria after Damascus, where Tamerlane then went. Having learned about this, the king-sultan ordered to ask him to spare this city or, at least, the temple located in it, to which Tamerlane agreed. The temple in question was so large that it had forty gates on the outside. Inside it was illuminated by twelve thousand lamps, which were lit on Fridays. On other days of the week, only nine thousand were lit. Among the lamps there were many gold and silver ones, dedicated by the sultan kings and nobles.

Tamerlane besieged Damascus, and the Sultan sent an army of twelve thousand people from his capital Cairo, where he was located. Tamerlane, of course, defeated this detachment and sent in pursuit of the enemy soldiers who had fled from the battlefield. But after each overnight stay, they poisoned the water and the area before leaving, so due to heavy losses the chase had to be turned back. This appears to be one of the oldest descriptions of the use of chemical weapons.

After a few months of siege, Damascus fell. One of the cunning qadis fell on his face before the conqueror and asked to bargain for pardon for himself and other nobles. Tamerlane pretended to believe the priest and allowed all those who, in the opinion of the qadi, were better than other civilians, to take refuge in the temple. When they took refuge in the temple, Tamerlane ordered the gates to be locked from the outside and the traitors of his people to be burned. This is natural selection. Cruel? - Yes! Fair? Again - Yes!

He also ordered his soldiers to each present him with the head of an enemy warrior and, after three days spent on carrying out this order, ordered three towers to be erected from these heads.

Then he went to another region called Shurki, which did not have a military garrison. The inhabitants of the city, famous for its spices and herbs, supplied the army with everything necessary, and Tamerlane, leaving garrisons in the conquered cities, returned to his lands.

Tamerlane's conquest of Babylon

Upon returning from the possessions of the king-sultan, Tamerlane marched against Babylon with a million troops.

By the way, if you think that the ancient city of Babylon is mythical, then you are deeply mistaken. Saddam Hussein's palace is located on the edge of this city.

Having learned of his approach, the king left the city, leaving a garrison in it. After a siege that lasted a whole month, Tamerlane, who ordered the digging of mines under the wall, took possession of it and set it on fire. He ordered barley to be sown on the ashes, because he swore that he would completely destroy the city, so that in the future no one could even find the place on which Babylon stood. However, the citadel of Babylon, located on a high hill and surrounded by a ditch filled with water, remained impregnable. It also contained the Sultan's treasury. Then Tamerlane ordered the water to be diverted from the ditch, in which three lead chests filled with gold and silver were discovered, each two fathoms long and one fathom wide.

The kings hoped to save their treasures in this way if the city was captured. Having ordered these chests to be carried away, Tamerlane also took possession of the castle, where there were no more than fifteen people who were hanged. However, four chests filled with gold were also found in the castle, which were taken away by Tamerlane. Then, having captured three more cities, he, on the occasion of the onset of a sultry summer, had to leave this region.

Tamerlane's conquest of India Minor

Upon returning to Samarkand, Tamerlane ordered all his subjects that, after four months, they should be ready to march to Minor India, a four-month journey away from his capital. Having set out on a campaign with an army of four hundred thousand, he had to pass through a waterless desert, which took twenty days to travel. From there he arrived in a mountainous country, through which he made his way only in eight days with great difficulty, where camels and horses often had to be tied to boards in order to lower them from the mountains.

Schiltberger goes on to describe a mysterious valley, “which was so dark that the warriors could not see each other at noon.” One can only guess now what it was. However, most likely the matter is not in the valley itself, but in some natural phenomenon that coincided with the arrival of Tamerlane’s troops in this area. Perhaps the cause of the long eclipse was a cloud of volcanic ash, or perhaps some more menacing natural phenomenon.

Then the army arrived in the mountainous country for three days, and from there it came to the plain, where the capital of India Minor was located. Having set up his camp in this plain at the foot of a forest-covered mountain, Tamerlane ordered the messenger to say to the Ruler of the Indian capital: “Peace, Timur geldi,” i.e., “Surrender, Emperor Tamerlane has come.”

The ruler chose to march against Tamerlane with four hundred thousand warriors and forty elephants trained for battle, carrying a tower with ten archers inside on its back. Tamerlane came out to meet him and would have willingly begun the battle, but the horses did not want to go forward because they were afraid of the elephants placed in front of the line. Tamerlane retreated and held a military council. Then one of his generals named Soliman Shah (a salty man, probably Suleiman, also known as Solomon) advised collecting the required number of camels, loading them with firewood, setting them on fire and sending them towards the Indian war elephants.

Tamerlane, following this advice, ordered twenty thousand camels to be prepared and the firewood laid on them to be lit. When they appeared in sight of the enemy formation with elephants, the latter, frightened by the fire and the cries of the camels, fled and were partially killed by Tamerlane’s soldiers, and partially captured as trophies.

Tamerlane besieged the city for ten days. Then the king began negotiations with him and promised to pay two centners of Indian gold, which is better than Arabian. In addition, he gave him many more diamonds and promised to send thirty thousand auxiliary troops at his request. After peace was concluded on these terms, the king remained in his state, and Tamerlane returned home with a hundred war elephants and wealth received from the king of India Minor.

How does the governor steal great treasures from Tamerlane?

Upon returning from the campaign, Tamerlane sent one of his nobles named Shebak with a ten-thousandth corps to the city of Sultaniya to bring the five-year taxes collected in Persia and Armenia that were stored there. Shebak, upon accepting this indemnity, imposed it on a thousand carts and wrote about this to his friend, the ruler of Mazanderan, who did not hesitate to appear with an army of fifty thousand, and together with his friend and with money returned to Mazanderan. Having learned about this, Tamerlane sent a large army in pursuit of them, which, however, could not take Mazandaran due to the dense forests with which it is covered. Here we are once again convinced that the eastern part of the Caspian lowland was once covered with lush vegetation. Looking at these places today, this is hard to believe, but several medieval authors could not have been so cruelly mistaken at once.

Then Tamerlane sent another seventy thousand people with orders to make a road through the forests. They, indeed, cut down the forest for a mile, but they did not gain anything, so they were recalled by the sovereign back to Samarkand. For some reason, Schiltberger is silent about the further fate of the stolen treasures. It is hard to believe that embezzlement on such a scale could go unpunished. And most likely, the author simply did not know the end of this incident.

How did Tamerlane order the death of 7,000 children?

Then Tamerlane bloodlessly annexed the kingdom of Ispahan with its capital of the same name to his state. He treated the residents graciously and favorably. He left Ispahan, taking with him its king, Shahinshah, leaving a garrison of six thousand people in the city. But soon after the departure of Tamerlane’s army, the residents attacked his soldiers and killed everyone. Tamerlane had to return to Ispahan and offer peace to the inhabitants on the condition that they send him twelve thousand riflemen. When these warriors were sent to him, he ordered the thumb of each of them to be cut off and in this form sent them back to the city, which was soon taken by storm.

Having gathered residents in the central square, he ordered the death of everyone over fourteen years of age, thus sparing those who were younger. The heads of the dead were stacked in towers in the city center. Then he ordered the women and children to be taken to a field outside the city and children under seven years of age to be placed separately. Then he ordered the cavalry to trample them under the hooves of their horses. They say that Tamerlane's own comrades begged him on their knees not to do this. But he stood his ground and repeated the order, which, however, none of the soldiers could decide to carry out. Getting angry, Tamerlane himself ran into the children and said that he would like to know who would dare not follow him. The warriors were then forced to imitate his example and trample the children under the hooves of their horses. In total they were counted about seven thousand.

Of course, this could have happened in reality, but in order to demonize a person, there is still no more effective method than accusing him of killing innocent children. The most famous of these legends was included in the Bible as a chilling tale about the beating of infants by King Herod. However, now we already understand where this legend’s “ears grow” from. Herod did not give the order to destroy all the babies. He sent his archers in search of only one boy who, having become an adult, could lay claim to his throne, since he was his blood son from Mary, Herod’s wife, who found herself in exile before it was discovered that she was pregnant by the monarch.

Tamerlane proposes to fight with the Great Ham

Around the same time, the ruler of Cathay sent envoys to the court of Tamerlane demanding payment of tribute for five years. Tamerlane sent the envoy back to Karakurum with the answer that he considered the khan not the supreme ruler, but his tributary, and that he would personally visit him. Then he ordered that all his subjects be notified so that they prepare for a campaign to Turan, where he went with an army consisting of eight hundred thousand people. After a month's march, he arrived at a desert extending for seventy days' journey, but after a ten-day march, he had to return, having lost many soldiers and animals due to the lack of water and the extremely cold climate of this country. Tamerlane probably planned to enter Cathay through modern Tuva and Khakassia via the western route, along the Genghis Khan Road. But in the northern steppes of modern Kazakhstan, the campaign had to be interrupted and stopped in Otrar, where Tamerlane was killed by the conspirators, who, without a doubt, were bribed by the people of the Great Ham.

About the death of Tamerlane

This part of the story is more like a script for a television series. I quote the author:

“It can be noted that three troubles were the causes of Tamerlane’s illness, which accelerated his death. Firstly, he was upset that his governor had stolen his taxes; then you need to know that the youngest of his three wives, whom he loved very much, in his absence, got involved with one of his nobles. Having learned, upon his return, from his elder wife about the behavior of his younger wife, Tamerlane did not want to believe her words. Therefore, she told him to go to her and force her to open the chest, where he would find a precious ring and a letter from her lover. Tamerlane did what she advised him, found the ring and the letter and wanted to find out from his wife who she received them from. She then threw herself at his feet and begged him not to be angry, since these things had been given to her by one of his associates, but without evil intent.

Tamerlane, however, left her room and ordered her to be beheaded; then he sent five thousand horsemen in pursuit of a dignitary suspected of treason; but this latter, warned in time by the head of the detachment sent after him, escaped with his wives and children, accompanied by five hundred people, to Mazanderan, where he was out of Tamerlane’s persecution. The latter took the death of his wife and the flight of his vassal to heart to such an extent that he died. His funeral was celebrated throughout the region with great triumph; but it is remarkable that the priests who were in the temple heard his groans at night for a whole year.

In vain did his friends hope to put an end to these cries by distributing a lot of alms to the poor. Therefore, the priests, after consulting, asked his son to release to their homeland the people taken by his father from different countries, especially to Samarkand, where they sent many artisans who were forced to work for him there. They were all, indeed, released and the screams immediately stopped. Everything I have described so far happened during my six-year service with Tamerlane.”

Golubev Andrey Viktorovich (kadykchanskiy, Kadykchansky, notes from a Kolyma resident). Born July 29, 1969 in the village of Kadykchan, Susumansky district, Magadan region. Graduated from the Vyborg Aviation Technical School and the Russian Customs Academy. He worked in the 2nd Kuibyshev united air squad. Served in Pskov customs. Lawyer, writer, historian.