Who is Tamerlane? Years of life, biography, battles and victories of Tamerlane

The full name of the great conqueror of antiquity, which will be discussed in our article, Timur ibn Taragay Barlas, but in the literature he is often referred to as Tamerlane, or Iron Chrome. It should be explained that Iron was nicknamed him not only for his personal qualities, but also because this is how Timur translates his name from the Turkic language. Lame was the result of the injury received in one of the battles. There is reason to believe that this mysterious commander of the past is involved in the great blood shed in the twentieth century.

Who is Tamerlane and where does he come from?

In the beginning, a few words about the childhood of the future great Khan. It is known that Timur-Tamerlane was born on April 9, 1336 in the territory of the present Uzbek city of Shakhrisabz, which was then a small village called Khoja-Ilgar. His father - a local landowner from the tribe of Barlas - Muhammad Taragai, professed Islam, and raised in this faith his son.

Following the customs of those times, from early childhood he taught the boy the basics of military art - riding, archery and throwing a spear. As a result, having barely reached maturity, he was already an experienced warrior. It was then that the future conqueror Tamerlane received priceless knowledge.

The biography of this person, or rather, that part of it that became the property of history, begins with the fact that in his youth he gained the location of Khan Tuglik, the ruler of the Chagatai ulus, one of the Mongolian states on whose territory the future commander was born.

Appreciating the fighting qualities, as well as the remarkable mind of Timur, he brought him closer to the court, making his son a tutor. However, the Tsarevich's entourage, fearing his elevation, began to build intrigues against him, and as a result, fearing for his life, the new-born educator was forced to flee.

At the head of the mercenary detachment

The years of life of Tamerlane coincided with the historical period when Central Asia was a continuous theater of military operations. Shattered by a multitude of states, it was constantly being torn apart by the internal strife of the local khans, who were constantly trying to seize neighboring lands. The situation was exacerbated by countless robber bands - jute, who did not recognize any power and lived exclusively by looting.

In this situation, the unsuccessful teacher Timur-Tamerlane found his true vocation. Having united several dozen gulyamas - professional hired warriors - he created a detachment, superior in combat qualities and cruelty to all the other surrounding gangs.

First conquests

Together with his thugs, the newly-born commander made daring raids on the towns and villages. It is known that in 1362 he took by storm several fortresses belonging to the sarbadars - participants of the popular movement against the Mongol rule. Grabbing them, he ordered to wall out the surviving defenders into the walls. This was an act of intimidation of all future adversaries, and such cruelty became one of the main features of his character. Very soon, about who Tamerlane was, he recognized the whole East.

It was then that in one of the fights he lost two fingers of his right hand and received a serious wound in the leg. Its consequences were preserved until the end of life and served as the basis for the nickname - Timur Lame. However, this mutilation did not prevent him from becoming a figure who played an important role in the history of not only Middle, Western and South Asia, but also the Caucasus and Russia in the last quarter of the fourteenth century.

The generic talent and extraordinary impudence helped Tamerlane conquer the entire territory of Fergana by subjugating Samarkand, and making the capital of the newly-formed state the city of Ket. Further, his army rushed to the territory belonging to the present Afghanistan, and, ruining it, stormed the ancient capital of Balkh, whose emir - Hussein - was immediately hanged. His fate was shared by most of the courtiers.

Cruelty as a deterrent

The next direction of the attack of his cavalry was the city of Isfahan and Fars, located south of Balkh, where the last representatives of the Persian dynasty of Muzaffarids ruled. The first in its path was Isfahan. Having seized him, and having looted his mercenaries, Timur Lamei ordered to lay the heads of the dead in a pyramid whose height exceeded the height of a man. This was a continuation of his constant tactics of intimidating opponents.

It is characteristic that the entire subsequent history of Tamerlane, the conqueror and commander, is marked by manifestations of extreme cruelty. In part, it can be explained by the fact that he himself became a hostage of his own policy. Leading a highly professional army, Lame had to pay regularly to his mercenaries, otherwise their scimitars would turn against him. This forced to achieve new victories and conquests by any available means.

The beginning of the struggle against the Golden Horde

In the early 80-ies of the XIV century the next stage of Tamerlane's ascent was the conquest of the Golden Horde, or, otherwise, Dzhuchiev ulus. In it, from the beginning of the century, the Euro-Asian steppe culture prevailed with its polytheistic religion, which had nothing to do with Islam, confessed by the majority of its warriors. Therefore, the fighting, which began in 1383, became a clash not only of opposing armies, but also of two different cultures.

Ordynsky Khan Tokhtamysh, the same one who in 1382 made a campaign against Moscow, wishing to get ahead of his opponent and the first to strike, undertook a campaign against Kharezm. Having achieved temporary success, he also seized the significant territory of present-day Azerbaijan, but soon his troops were forced to retreat, bearing considerable losses.

In 1385, taking advantage of the fact that Timur with his hordes was in Persia, he repeated the attempt, but this time he failed. Upon learning of the invasion of the Horde, the formidable commander urgently returned his troops to Central Asia, and defeated the enemy completely, forcing Tokhtamysh himself to flee to Western Siberia.

Continuation of the struggle against the Tatars

However, on this conquest of the Golden Horde has not yet been completed. Its final rout was preceded by five years, filled with unceasing military campaigns and bloodshed. It is known that in 1389 the Horde Khan even managed to insist that in the war with Muslims he was supported by Russian squads.

The death of Grand Duke of Moscow Dmitry Donskoy contributed to this, after which his son and heir Vasily had to go to the Horde for a label to reign. Tokhtamysh confirmed his rights, but with the participation of Russian troops in repulsing the attack of Muslims.

Defeat of the Golden Horde

Prince Vasily agreed, but it was only of a formal nature. After the defeat, led by Tokhtamysh in Moscow, none of the Russians wanted to shed blood for him. As a result, in the first battle on the river Kondurche (tributary of the Volga) they threw the Tatars and, having crossed to the opposite shore, left.

The completion of the conquest of the Golden Horde was the battle on the Terek River, in which on April 15, 1395, the troops of Tokhtamysh and Timur came together. Iron Chrometz managed to inflict a crushing defeat on his opponent and thereby put an end to the Tatar raids on the territories under his control.

The threat to Russian lands and the campaign against India

The next blow was prepared for them in the heart of Russia. The aim of the planned campaign was Moscow and Ryazan, who had not known Tamerlane before, and who paid tribute to the Golden Horde. But, fortunately, these plans were not destined to come true. The uprising of the Circassians and Ossetians, which broke out in the rear of Timur's troops, and prevented the conqueror from turning back, prevented the advance. The only victim then was the town of Yelets, which was on its way.

Over the next two years, his army made a victorious march to India. Capturing Delhi, the soldiers of Timur plundered and burnt the city, and 100,000 defenders who were caught in captivity were killed, fearing a possible rebellion on their part. Having reached the banks of the Ganges and seizing several fortified fortresses along the road, the army of many thousands returned to Samarkand with rich booty and a large number of slaves.

New conquests and new blood

Following India, it was the turn of the Ottoman Sultanate to submit to the sword of Tamerlane. In 1402, he defeated the invincible until then janissary Sultan Bayazid, and he himself was taken prisoner. As a result, under his rule was the whole territory of Asia Minor.

Tamerlane's troops and knights-ionites, who for many years held the fortress of the ancient city of Smyrna, could not resist the troops. More than once reflected the attacks of the Turks, they surrendered at the mercy of the lame conqueror. When they were helped by Venetian and Genoese ships with reinforcements, the victors threw them from the fortress catapults with the severed heads of the defenders.

The plan that Tamerlane failed to accomplish

The biography of this outstanding commander and the evil genius of his era, concludes with the last ambitious project, which was his campaign against China, which began in 1404. The aim was to seize the Great Silk Road, which provided an opportunity to receive tax from traveling merchants and replenish its already crowded treasury. But the realization of what was conceived was prevented by a sudden death, which broke the life of the commander in February 1405.

The great emir of the Timurid empire - under such a title he entered the history of his people - was buried in the mausoleum of Gur Emir in Samarkand. With his burial connected legend, passed from generation to generation. It says that if Tamerlane's sarcophagus is opened and his ashes are disturbed, then a terrible and bloody war will be a punishment for it.

In June 1941, an expedition of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR was sent to Samarkand to exhume the remains of the commander and to investigate them. The grave was opened on the night of June 21, and the next day, as is known, the Great Patriotic War began.

Another fact is interesting. In October 1942, a participant in those events, cameraman Malik Kayumov, meeting with Marshal Zhukov, told him about the curse he had executed and offered to return Tamerlan's ashes to his former place. This was done on November 20, 1942, and on the same day a radical change took place during the Battle of Stalingrad.

Skeptics tend to argue that in this case there was only a series of accidents, because the plan of attack on the USSR was developed long before the opening of the tomb by people who even knew who Tamerlane was, but, of course, did not take into account the curse gravitating over his grave. Without entering into controversy, we will only say that everyone has the right to have his point of view on this matter.

Conqueror's family

Of particular interest to the researchers are the wives and children of Timur. Like all Eastern rulers, this great conqueror of the past had a huge family. Only official wives (not counting concubines) he had 18 people, of whom Saray-mulk hanim is considered to be the favorite. Despite the fact that the lady with such a poetic name was barren, she was trusted with the upbringing of many of her sons and grandchildren. She also went down in history as the patroness of art and science.

It is understandable that with such quantities of wives and concubines in children there was also no shortage. Nevertheless, only four of his sons took up positions that were so high in origin, and became rulers in the empire created by the father. In their person the history of Tamerlane has found its continuation.