Temur, the Lame.
Timur founded the Timurid Empire in and around Afghanistan, Iran, and Central Asia. He is widely regarded as one of an undefeated commander and military strategist in history, as well as he is known for his brutality. Born in Uzbekistan (80 kilometres, south of Samarkand) on 9 April 1336. His name Temur means “Iron” in the Chagatai language, his mother-tongue. In his childhood, Timur and a small band of followers looted travelers for goods, especially animals such as sheep, horses, and cattle. Around 1363, it is believed that Timur tried to steal a sheep from a shepherd but was shot by two arrows, one in his right leg and another in his right hand, where he lost two fingers. Both injuries disabled him for life. These injuries and disability gave him a nickname “Timur the Lame” (Langrra Temur) or Temūr(-i) Lang in Persian, which is the origin of Tamerlane, the name by which he is generally known in the West.
Timur gained control of the western Chagatai Khanate by 1370. From that base, he led military campaigns across Western, South, and Central Asia and the Delhi Sultanate. Subsequently he emerged as the most powerful ruler in the Muslim world. From these conquests, he founded an empire, which got fragmented within no time after his death. Timur was of both Turkic and Mongol descent, and, while probably not a direct descendant on either side, he shared a common ancestor with Genghis Khan on his father’s side.
According to some historians his mother may have been a descendant of the Khan. He clearly sought to invoke the legacy of Genghis Khan’s conquests during his lifetime, Timur envisioned the restoration of the Mongol Empire and according to Gerard Chaliand, he considered himself as Genghis Khan’s heir.
To legitimize his conquests, Timur relied on Islamic symbols and language, referring to himself as the “Sword of Islam”. He converted almost all the Borjigin leaders to Islam during his lifetime. Timur decisively defeated the Christian Knights Hospitaller at the Siege of Smyrna, styling himself a ghazi. By the end of his reign, Timur had gained complete control over all the remnants of the Chagatai Khanate, the Ilkhanate, and the Golden Horde, and had even attempted to restore the Yuan dynasty in China. Timur’s armies were feared throughout Asia, Africa, and Europe. As per estimates of history scholars, his military campaigns had caused elimination of 5% of the then world population. Timur was the great-great-great-grandfather of Babur (1483–1530), founder of the Mughal Empire, which then ruled some parts of the Indian subcontinent.
Details of his family tree are attached.
Through his father, Timur claimed to be a descendant of Tumanay Khan, a male-line ancestor, he shared with Genghis Khan. Timur’s mother, Tekina Khatun, was a descendant of Genghis Khan.
By about 1360, Timur had gained prominence as a military leader, whose troops were mostly Turkic tribesmen of the region. After his father’s death, Timur also became chief of the Barlas. Tughlugh then attempted to set his son Ilyas Khoja over Transoxania, but Timur repelled this invasion with a smaller force. It was in this period that Timur reduced the Chagatai khans to the position of figureheads while he ruled in their name. Also during this period, Timur and his brother-in-law Amir Husayn, who were at first fellow fugitives and wanderers, became rivals.
The relationship between them became strained after Husayn abandoned efforts to carry out Timur’s orders to finish off Ilya Khoja (former governor of Mawarannah) Around 1370, Husayn surrendered to Timur and was later assassinated by Timur. He married Husayn’s wife Saray Mulk Khanum, a descendant of Genghis Khan, after killing Husayn. Timur’s Turco-Mongolian heritage provided opportunities and challenges as he sought to rule the Mongol Empire and the Muslim world. According to the Mongol traditions, Timur could not claim the title of khan or rule the Mongol Empire because he was not a descendant of Genghis Khan. Therefore, Timur set up a puppet ruler Chaghatayid Khan, Suyurghatmish, as the nominal ruler of Balkh as he pretended to act as a “protector. Timur instead used the title of Amir meaning general, and acting in the name of the Chagatai ruler of Transoxania.
As with the title of Khan, Timur similarly could not claim the supreme title of the Islamic world, Caliph, because the “office was limited to the Quraysh, the tribe of the Prophet Muhammad”.
Therefore, Timur reacted to the challenge by creating a myth and image of himself as a “supernatural power” ordained by God.
Timur had forty-three wives and concubines, all of these women were also his consorts. Timur made dozens of women his wives and concubines as he conquered their fathers’ or erstwhile husbands.
Timur preferred to fight his battles in the spring. However, he died en route during an uncharacteristic winter campaign. In December 1404.
Timur had twice previously appointed an heir apparent to succeed him, both of whom he had outlived. The first, his son Jahangir, died of illness in 1376. The second, his grandson Muhammad Sultan, had died from battle wounds in 1403. After the latter’s death, Timur did nothing to replace him. It was only when he was on his own death-bed that he appointed Muhammad Sultan’s younger brother, Pir Muhammad as his successor. Pir Muhammad was unable to gain sufficient support from his relatives and a bitter civil war erupted amongst Timur’s descendants, with multiple princes pursuing their claims. It was not until 1409 that Timur’s youngest son, Shah Rukh was able to overcome his rivals and take the throne as Timur’s successor
In 1398, Timur invaded northern India, attacking the Delhi Sultanate ruled by Sultan Nasir-ud-Din Mahmud Shah Tughluq of the Tughlaq dynasty. After crossing the Indus River on 30 September 1398, he sacked Tulamba and massacred its inhabitants.
Some modern historians always get surprised to note that what caused Timur to flee India and how he could have left without achieving his objective of spreading Islam and looting India.
As per accounts of history of Gujjar community in India, a 20 year old Ram Pyari Gurjar, along with 40,000 women warriors of Hindu communities, inflicted great damage to Timur’s army in Meerut and Haridwar, thus forcing him to flee India. 80,000 men attacked on retreating Timur’s army and slaughtered a large portion of his army, thus they saved Meerut, Haridwar and the surrounding areas from Timur’s plunder and cold blooded massacres.
Timur’s atrocities and massacre of natives had alerted the people of Meerut, Saharanpur, parts of Haryana and Haridwar. People from different communities such as Jats, Gurjars, Ahirs, Valmikis, Rajputs, Brahmins and other tribes got united and formed a ‘Mahapanchayat’ under the leadership of certain Devapala. A wrestler named Jograj Singh Gurjar was chosen as the Supreme General of this 80,000-member panchayat and Ram Pyari Gurjar was made the Commander of the women’s wing, which had 40,000 members. 20,000 panchayat warriors launched a surprise attack on Timur’s army in the middle of the night in Delhi, slaughtering 9,000 soldiers and throwing their corpses into the Yamuna river. Before daylight, the panchayat warriors disappeared towards the outskirts of Delhi, and this continued for three nights. A frustrated Timur left Delhi and advanced towards Meerut, where the panchayat warriors attacked Timur’s army during the day, while Ram Pyari Gurjar and her women warriors conducted guerrilla raids at night, slaughtering Timur’s men and looting them at night and slaughtering them. This continued killing & looting Temur’s army for several days and the poor Timur marched his forces towards Haridwar. The tribes of the area, who were experts in archery, defeated Timur thrice, as in Meerut. In the last battle, Harveer Singh Gulia struck Timur in the chest with a spear. Although Harveer was severely injured, Jograj Singh managed to take Harveer to safety. The wounded Timur fled from the battlefield with few loyal followers.
India must pay homage to her brave daughter, Ram Pyari Gurjar who saved this part of India from this barbaric invader.
While on his fleeing towards Delhi, Timur was opposed by the Jat peasantry, who would loot caravans and then disappear in the forests, Timur had 2,000 Jats killed and many taken captive. But the Sultanate at Delhi did nothing to stop his advance.
The battle took place on 17 December 1398. Before the battle, Timur slaughtered some 100,000 slaves who had been captured previously in the Indian campaign. This was done out of fear that they might revolt.
At Delhi, Sultan Nasir-ud-Din Mahmud Shah Tughluq and the army of Mallu Iqbal had war elephants armored with chain mail and poison on their tusks. As his Tatar forces were afraid of the elephants, Timur ordered his men to dig a trench in front of their positions. Timur then loaded his camels with as much wood and hay as they could carry. When the war elephants charged, Timur set the hay on fire and prodded the camels with iron sticks, causing them to charge at the elephants, howling in pain: Timur had understood that elephants were easily panicked. Faced with the strange spectacle of camels flying straight at them with flames leaping from their backs, the elephants turned around and stampeded back toward their own lines. Timur capitalized on the subsequent disruption in the forces of Nasir-ud-Din Mahmud Shah Tughluq, securing an easy victory. Nasir-ud-Din Mahmud Shah Tughluq fled with remnants of his forces. The capture of the Delhi Sultanate was one of Timur’s largest and most devastating victories as at that time, Delhi was one of the richest cities in the world. The city of Delhi was sacked and reduced to ruins, with the population enslaved. After the fall of the city, uprisings by its citizens against the Turkic-Mongols began to occur, causing a retaliatory bloody massacre within the city walls. After three days of citizens uprising within Delhi, it was said that the city reeked of the decomposing bodies of its citizens with their heads being erected like structures and the bodies left as food for the birds by Timur’s soldiers. Timur’s invasion and destruction of Delhi continued the chaos that was still consuming India, and the city would not be able to recover from the great loss it suffered for almost a century.
Thereafter Temur advanced towards Multan and captured it. His invasion was unopposed as most of the Indian nobility surrendered without a fight, however he did encounter resistance from the united army of Rajputs and Muslims at Bhatner, under the command of the Rajput king Dulachand.
Dulachand initially opposed Timur but when hard-pressed he considered surrender. He was locked outside the walls of Bhatner and was later killed by Timur. The garrison of Bhatner then fought and were slaughtered to the last man. Bhatner was looted and burned to the ground.
