Page 58 - Encyclopedia Of World History Vol V

timur 1835

Timur did not incorporate the Golden Horde into his 1401 and defeated the Mamluks, sacking Aleppo and
empire, preferring to place a puppet ruler on the throne. Damascus in the process. Timur then invaded Anatolia
Not content with his victories in Persia and the Russian and defeated the Ottoman army at Ankara in 1402; his
steppes, Timur invaded India in 1398, justifying his capture of the Ottoman sultan Bayezid I left the Ottoman
actions—as he did for many campaigns—on religious empire in turmoil.
grounds. In the case of the destruction of the sultanate of With his western frontier secure, Timur returned to
Delhi, he justified his actions on the grounds that Sultan Samarqand in 1404, where he began planning for an
Mahmud Tughluq was excessively tolerant of his Hindu invasion of China (at that time ruled by the Ming
subjects. In the wake of the sack of Delhi, Timur’s army dynasty). The invasion ended prematurely in 1405,
carried an immense amount of wealth back to his capi- when Timur died at the city of Otrar. His empire, held
tal at Samarqand. together primarily through the force of his will, quickly
Timur did not stay long in his capital. In 1399 he disintegrated into smaller states ruled by his sons and
marched west, his eye on both the Mamluk sultanate (in grandsons.
Egypt and Syria) and the Ottoman empire (in Anatolia, In the annals of world history, Timur is remembered
modern Turkey). Both states had either supported ene- most for his conquests and cruelty. He orchestrated
mies of Timur or threatened his clients. After putting many massacres and left numerous towers of skulls as
down a rebellion in Azerbaijan, Timur invaded Syria in reminders to the conquered. Although illiterate, Timur
was noted for being very intelligent, an expert chess
player, a fluent speaker in several languages, and well
versed in the art of debate. Furthermore,Timur dramati-
cally impacted five states. His defeat of the Ottomans
made it possible for the Byzantine empire to survive fifty
years longer than it might have otherwise, as Bayezid had
planned to attack Constantinople before being defeated
by Timur.The defeat of the Mamluks, while not destroy-
ing them, exposed the slow decay of their once grand mil-
itary might. By defeating Toqtamysh, Timur eroded the
strength of the Golden Horde and accelerated the end of
nomadic dominance over the principalities of Russia.
Although he sacked Moscow, then a small town,Timur’s
defeat of Toqtamysh actually contributed to that city’s
rise. His destruction of Delhi, on the other hand, was the
death knell for the sultanate of Delhi. Although Timur’s
empire disintegrated after his death,Timur’s descendents
established the Mughal empire in India, supplanting the
sultanate of Delhi.

Timothy M. May

See also Steppe Confederations

Timur leading his troops.