The Timurids
(Persian: تیموریان), self-designated Gurkānī(Persian: گوركانى), were a Persianate Central Asian Sunni Muslim
dynasty of originally Turko-Mongoldescent whose empire included the
whole of Central Asia, Iran, modern Afghanistan, as well as large parts of
Pakistan, India, Mesopotamia, Anatolia and the Caucasus. It was founded by the
militant conqueror Timur (Tamerlane) in the 14th century.
In the 16th century, Timurid prince Babur, the ruler of Ferghana, invaded
India and founded the Mughal Empire, which ruled most of the Indian
subcontinent until its decline after Aurangzeb in the early 18th century, and
was formally dissolved by the British Raj after the Indian rebellion of 1857.
The origin of the Timurid dynasty goes back to the Mongolian nomadic
confederation known as Barlas, who were remnants of the original Mongol army of
Genghis Khan. After the Mongol conquest of Central Asia, the Barlas settled in Turkistan
(which then became also known as Moghulistan - "Land of
Mongols") and intermingled to a considerable degree with the local Turkic
and Turkic-speaking population, so that at the time of Timur's reign the Barlas
had become thoroughly Turkicized in terms of language and habits. Additionally,
by adopting Islam, the Central Asian Turks and Mongols also adopted the Persian
literary and high culture which had dominated Central Asia since the early days
of Islamic influence. Persian literature was instrumental in the assimilation
of the Timurid elite to the Perso-Islamic courtly culture.
Illustration from Jami's "Rose Garden of the Pious", dated 1553.
Timur conquered large parts of Transoxiana (in modern day Central Asia) and Khorasan
(parts of modern day Iran, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan)
from 1363 onwards with various alliances (Samarkand in 1366, and Balkh in
1369), and was recognized as ruler over them in 1370. Acting officially in the
name of the Mongolian Chagatai ulus, he subjugated Transoxania and Khwarazm in
the years that followed and began a campaign westwards in 1380. By 1389 he had
removed the Kartids from Herat and advanced into mainland Persia from 1382
(capture of Isfahan in 1387, removal of the Muzaffarids from Shiraz in 1393,
and expulsion of the Jalayirids from Baghdad). In 1394/95 he triumphed over the
Golden Horde and enforced his sovereignty in the Caucasus, in 1398 subjugated Multan
and Dipalpur in modern day Pakistan and in modern day India left Delhi in such
ruin that it is said for two months "not a bird moved wing in the
city". In 1400/01 conquered Aleppo, Damascus and eastern Anatolia, in 1401
destroyed Baghdad and in 1402 triumphed over the Ottomans at Ankara. In
addition, he transformed Samarqand into the Center of the World. An
estimated 17 million people may have died from his conquests.
After the end of the Timurid Empire in 1506, the Mughal Empire was later
established in Afghanistan and India by Babur in 1526, who was a descendant of Timur
through his father and possibly a descendant of Genghis Khan through his
mother. The dynasty he established is commonly known as the Mughal Dynasty. By
the 17th century, the Mughal Empire ruled most of India, but later declined
during the 18th century. The Timurid Dynasty came to an end in 1857 after the
Mughal Empire was dissolved by the British Empire and Bahadur Shah II was
exiled to Burma.
Due to the fact that the Persian cities were desolated by previous wars, the
seat of Persian culture was now in Samarkand and Herat. These cities became the
center of the Timurid renaissance
Aram Gah Amir complex with its azure dome
Although the Timurids hailed from the Barlas tribe which was of Turkicized
Mongol origin, they had embraced Persian culture, converted to Islam and
resided in Turkestan and Khorasan. Thus, the Timurid era had a dual character,
which reflected both the Turco-Mongol origins and the Persian literary,
artistic, and courtly high culture of the dynasty.
During the Timurid era, Central Asian society was bifurcated and had divided
the responsibilities of government and rule into military and civilian along
ethnic lines. At least in the early stages, the military was almost exclusively
Turko-Mongolian, and the civilian and administrative element was almost
exclusively Persian. The spoken language shared by all the Turko-Mongolians
throughout the area was Chaghatay Turkic. The political organization hearkened
back to the steppe-nomadic system of patronage introduced by Genghis Khan. The
major language of the period, however, was Persian, the native language of the Tājīk
(Persian) component of society and the language of learning acquired by all
literate and/or urban people. Already Timur was steeped in Persian culture and
in most of the territories which he incorporated, Persian was the primary
language of administration and literary culture. Thus the language of the
settled "diwan" was Persian, and its scribes had to be thoroughly adept
in Persian culture, whatever their ethnic origin. Persian became the official
state language of the Timurid Empire and served as the language of
administration, history, belles lettres, and poetry. The Chaghatay language was
the native and "home language" of the Timurid family while Arabic
served as the language par excellence of science, philosophy, theology
and the religious sciences.
Akhangan" tomb, where Gowharsad's sister Gowhartaj is buried
Persian literature, especially Persian poetry occupied a
central place in the process of assimilation of the Timurid elite to the
Perso-Islamic courtly culture. The Timurid sultans, especially Šāhrukh Mīrzā
and his son Mohammad Taragai Oloğ Beg, patronized Persian culture. Among the
most important literary works of the Timurid era is the Persian biography of Timur,
known as "Zafarnāmeh" (Persian: ظفرنامه), written by Sharaf ud-Dīn Alī Yazdī,
which itself is based on an older "Zafarnāmeh" by Nizām al-Dīn
Shāmī, the official biographer of Timur during his lifetime. The most famous
poet of the Timurid era was Nūr ud-Dīn Jāmī, the last great medieval Sufi mystic
of Persia and one of the greatest in Persian poetry. In addition, some of the astronomical
works of the Timurid sultan Ulugh Beg were written in Persian, although the
bulk of it was published in Arabic. The Timurid ruler Baysunğur also
commissioned a new edition of the Persian national epic Shāhnāmeh, known as Shāhnāmeh
of Baysunğur, and wrote an introduction to it. According to T. Lenz
It can be viewed as a specific reaction in the wake of
Timur's death in 807/1405 to the new cultural demands facing Shahhrokh and his
sons, a Turkic military elite no longer deriving their power and influence
solely from a charismatic steppe leader with a carefully cultivated linkage to
Mongol aristocracy. Now centered in Khorasan, the ruling house regarded the
increased assimilation and patronage of Persian culture as an integral
component of efforts to secure the legitimacy and authority of the dynasty
within the context of the Islamic Iranian monarchical tradition, and the
Baysanghur Shahnameh, as much a precious object as it is a manuscript to be
read, powerfully symbolizes the Timurid conception of their own place in that
tradition. A valuable documentary source for Timurid decorative arts that have
all but disappeared for the period, the manuscript still awaits a comprehensive
monographic study.
In the realm of architecture, the Timurids drew on and
developed many Seljuq traditions. Turquoise and blue tiles forming intricate
linear and geometric patterns decorated the facades of buildings. Sometimes the
interior was decorated similarly, with painting and stucco relief further
enriching the effect. Timurid architecture is the pinnacle of Islamic art in Central
Asia. Spectacular and stately edifices erected by Timur and his successors in Samarkand
and Herat helped to disseminate the influence of the Ilkhanid school of art in
India, thus giving rise to the celebrated Mughal (or Mongol)
school of architecture. Timurid architecture started with the sanctuary of
Ahmed Yasawi in present-day Kazakhstan and culminated in Timur's mausoleum Gur-e
Amir in Samarkand. Timur's Gur-I Mir, the 14th-century mausoleum of the
conqueror is covered with ‘’turquoise Persian tiles’’ Nearby, in the center of
the ancient town, a Persian style Madrassa (religious school) and a Persian
style Mosque by Ulugh Beg is observed. The mausoleum of Timurid princes,
with their turquoise and blue-tiled domes remain among the most refined and
exquisite Persian architecture. Axial symmetry is a characteristic of
all major Timurid structures, notably the Shāh-e Zenda in Samarkand, the Musallah
complex in Herat, and the mosque of Gowhar Shād in Mashhad. Double domes of
various shapes abound, and the outsides are perfused with brilliantly colors.
Timurs dominance of the region strengthened the influence of his capital and
Persian architecture upon India.
In the realm of architecture, the Timurids drew on and
developed many Seljuq traditions. Turquoise and blue tiles forming intricate
linear and geometric patterns decorated the facades of buildings. Sometimes the
interior was decorated similarly, with painting and stucco relief further
enriching the effect. Timurid architecture is the pinnacle of Islamic art in Central
Asia. Spectacular and stately edifices erected by Timur and his successors in Samarkand
and Herat helped to disseminate the influence of the Ilkhanid school of art in
India, thus giving rise to the celebrated Mughal (or Mongol)
school of architecture. Timurid architecture started with the sanctuary of
Ahmed Yasawi in present-day Kazakhstan and culminated in Timur's mausoleum Gur-e
Amir in Samarkand. Timur's Gur-I Mir, the 14th-century mausoleum of the
conqueror is covered with ‘’turquoise Persian tiles’’ Nearby, in the center of
the ancient town, a Persian style Madrassa (religious school) and a Persian
style Mosque by Ulugh Beg is observed. The mausoleum of Timurid princes,
with their turquoise and blue-tiled domes remain among the most refined and
exquisite Persian architecture. Axial symmetry is a characteristic of
all major Timurid structures, notably the Shāh-e Zenda in Samarkand, the Musallah
complex in Herat, and the mosque of Gowhar Shād in Mashhad. Double domes of
various shapes abound, and the outsides are perfused with brilliantly colors.
Timurs dominance of the region strengthened the influence of his capital and
Persian architecture upon India.