Timur (1336–1405)

Timur, also commonly known as Tamerlane, was a Muslim warrior who conquered Central Asia in the 14th century and was the founder of the Timurid Empire and Dynasty. Born in the City of Kesh in Transoxiana, in what is now Uzbekistan, [Page 1288]Timur was a member of the Barlas tribe, Turkic Tatars who were descendants of Genghis Khan's Mongol hordes. Though Timur was considered a Muslim, and his conquests and rule took place under the banner of Islam, his relationship with the religion was mixed. Timur believed himself to be a ghazi, or Warrior of the Faith, and felt that Islam justified the use of violence against anyone regardless of their religion. Despite his Muslim faith, many of Timur's conquests were against fellow Muslims, and his treatment of them was savage. Timur also used Islam strategically, alternately relying on both the laws of Islam and Ghengis Khan, whichever was most advantageous for his purposes. Born into the Sunnī tradition, Timur also showed sympathy toward Sufi and Shi'a beliefs and was adept at using his affiliation with all three branches of Islam alternately to further his political and military goals.

Timur first gained power as a military leader during campaigns in Transoxiana by Chagatai Khan. In 1360, when Tughlugh Timur, Khan of Moghulistan, invaded Transoxiana, Timur was appointed leader of the Barlas tribe. Following Tughlugh's death, Timur reconquered Transoxiana and added significant territorial gains by 1370, reducing the Chagatai Khans, to whom he paid nominal deference, to mere figureheads in the process. Timur continued to make impressive territorial gains, winning campaigns in Khorezm, the Caspian Territories, Persia, the Caucasus, Moghulistan, and Georgia, among others, over the next 25 years. In 1398, Timur invaded India, ostensibly because of the idolatry and infidelity of the Muslim Delhi Sultanate but drawn largely by the Sultanate's great wealth. Timur sacked Delhi so thoroughly that it took more than a century to recover, before turning his attention back westward to sack Damascus and Baghdad and make war on the Ottoman Empire. In 1402, Timur defeated and captured the Ottoman Emperor Bayazid I at the Battle of Ankara, initiating the Ottoman Interregnum and throwing the empire into chaos. Following his success against the Ottomans, Timur rode eastward to challenge the Ming Dynasty in China but died of a fever en route. Timur's legacy is mixed, hailed as a champion of Central Asia and a military genius, his conquests of and viciousness toward fellow Muslims had devastating consequences for many of the largest cities in the Islamic world.