Timur

“ Neither age nor the severity of the winter could retard the impatience of Timur; he mounted on horseback, passed the Sihun on the ice, marched seventy-six parasangs (three hundred miles) from his capital, and pitched his last camp in the neighborhood of Otrar, where he was expected by the angel of death. Fatigue and the indiscreet use of iced water accelerated the progress of his fever; and the conqueror of Asia expired in the seventieth year of his age, 1405, thirty-five years after he had ascended the throne of Zagatai. ”

“ It was on the banks of the Ganges that Timur was informed, by his speedy messengers, of the disturbances which had arisen on the confines of Georgia and Anatolia, of the revolt of the Christians, and the ambitious designs of the sultan Bajazet. His vigor of mind and body was not impaired by sixty-three years and innumerable fatigues; and, after enjoying some tranquil months in the palace of Samarkand, he proclaimed a new expedition of seven years into the western countries of Asia. ”

“ We come now to a frightful storm and then dark night for many centuries.
The storm is the work of that appalling person the lame Timur. Timur Leng was a rebel Mongol chieftain. In the 14th century he rose against the Prince of the House of Jengiz, and swept with his wild hordes like a hurricane over Asia. He set up his throne at Samarcand, having crushed Turks and Mongols, having devastated Syria, Persia, India and China, and died there in 1405. [47] Timur finally broke the Nestorian Church. Their missions went to pieces, countless numbers of Nestorians were massacred or apostatized. ”

“ Yang Timur faced all these enemies and conquered. He met Yessen Timur when four leagues from Ta tu and vanquished his army completely.
Buka Timur, uncle of Yang Timur and commander-in-chief of all forces at the Liao tung border, on hearing of Tob Timur’s accession invited Prince Yuelu Timur to join forces and march on Shang tu with him. Tao la chu, who commanded at the summer palace, sallied forth repeatedly with partisans of Asukeba, to battle [390] with besiegers, but reduced finally, he yielded. He surrendered the seal of the Empire and gave up also the rich jewels belonging to Asukeba. ”

“ He reasoned swiftly that the Wusun, if Timur's account of their history had been correct, must have in their shrine some emblem of the Tatar deity—the god Natagai which Mirai Khan had described to him—or possibly some Mohammedan symbol. He rather guessed the former, since the Wusun had been isolated before the Moslem wave swept over Central Asia.
"It is not a god, O Man-from-the-Outside," demurred Timur. "It is a talisman of our fathers. Once, the Wusun had priests. In the time of Kubla Khan. Now, all that we remember is the hymn at sunset and sunrise. Almost we have forgotten the words. ”

“ This remote, and perhaps imaginary, danger was averted by the submission of the Sultan of Egypt, the honors of the prayer and the coin attested at Cairo the supremacy of Timur; and a rare gift of a giraffe, or camelopard, and nine ostriches, represented at Samarkand the tribute of the African world. Our imagination is not less astonished by the portrait of a Mongol, who, in his camp before Smyrna, meditates, and almost accomplishes, the invasion of the Chinese empire. Timur was urged to this enterprise by national honor and religious zeal. ”

“ An ambassador was sent to Rome and Venice to implore the immediate aid of the Vatican and the Senate. [649]
Timur, however, had become tired of Asia Minor and the western campaign. He had no constructive policy. He never attempted to organize his conquests into a world empire. Like the earlier conquerors of his race, Timur was a raider. Satiety came with destruction and victory, that is, satiety for the particular conquest in which he was engaged. So he turned his back on Constantinople and the glittering possibilities of a European invasion. ”

“ Intoxicated by his success, Timur rushes like a tempest over the whole East. Seated on his chariot drawn by captive kings, with a caged emperor before him, he boasts of his power which overrides all things. Then, afflicted with disease, he raves against the gods and would overthrow them as he has overthrown earthly rulers. Tamburlaine is an epic rather than a drama; but one can understand its instant success with a people only half civilized, fond of military glory, and the instant adoption of its "mighty line" as the instrument of all dramatic expression. ”

“ She had not yet raised her head from this blow, when Timur Beg swept over her prostrate form; an Asiatic of higher reach and nobler type than Batu Khan; a scholar, an artist, a statesman; though he was still an Asiatic in faith and spirit. Timur brought with him into Russia the code of Mecca, the art of Samarcand, the song of Ispahan. His begs were dashing, his mirzas polished. In the khanates which he left behind him on the Volga and in the Crimea, there was a courtesy, a beauty, and a splendor, not to be found in the native duchies of Nijni, Moscow, Riazan, and Tver. ”

“ However, he ordered them to be scourged through the streets with camel-hide whips, and thrust them into prison, whilst to Timur he sent word that if he dared to say another word on behalf of the Khan of Aidin he would send him back to him cut into two pieces.
Timur kept silent and prepared for war, and he inspired and humoured his troops by the aid of his dervishes, poets, and acrobats.
One day Shacheddin, Timur's historian, interrupted him whilst plunged in thought, "Master of the world, deign to be gracious! A magician wishes to appear before you." ”

“ TIMUR.Timúr Bey or Timúr Lang (Timur i Leng) , "the lame Timur" vulgarized into TAMERLANE the renowned Oriental conqueror, was born in 1336 at Kesh, better known as Shahr-i-Sabz, " the green city," situated some 50 miles south of Samarkand in Transoxiana. His father Teragai was head of the tribe of Berlas. ”

“ Timur, following the rôle of his ancestor, Genghiz, united numbers of the Asiatic Tatar tribes, and set forth upon long journeys of devastating conquest. At thirty-five he could call all the desirable Asiatic world, including India, Turkey, and Egypt, his own. He held royal, orientally gorgeous state at Samarkand, his capital, the most magnificent city of Central Asia. Its inhabitants numbered a hundred and fifty thousand, many of whom were educated in its forty colleges, seats of Mohammedan learning. In one of its colleges were bred continually a thousand students. ”

“ In the mean while Timur moved from the Araxes through the countries of Armenia and Anatolia. His boldness was secured by the wisest precautions; his speed was guided by order and discipline; and the woods, the mountains, and the rivers were diligently explored by the flying squadrons, who marked his road and preceded his standard. ”

“ He had seen Timur pass with ease from one portion of the Ottoman possessions in Asia to another. Smyrna, which he had never been able to attack, fell before the Tartars. The Turkish emirs whom he had dispossessed were settled again in their states. When Bayezid learned that he was to be taken to Konia, and then to Samarkand, his mind gave way. He died of apoplexy at Ak Sheïr. [637] Timur allowed Musa to take his father’s body to Brusa for burial. ”

“ Shortly after his return to Afghanistan, Ahmed Shah died, and was succeeded by his son Timur, who moved the capital of his kingdom from Candahar to Cabul, as he distrusted both the Candahar people and the Duranis, who had supported his brother against him on his father's death. Timur governed the country well, and collected the taxes regularly, so that without wars his exchequer was full, still he was troubled with rebellions on all sides, the lightness of his rule leading the chiefs to imagine that they could rebel with impunity. ”

“ After the gates of Szivasz had been placed at Timur's feet, the venerated Tumanaga, the mother of his children, and Csolpán (the Morning Star) , his [Pg 74] youngest favourite, came before him. They always accompanied the conqueror to his battles, and whilst he bombarded forts, these revered women went in pilgrimage to the graves of the prophets, and caused mosques to be built and gardens planted upon them. When Timur proved victorious they proceeded to reward the prophets by throwing gold and pearls upon their graves! After these followed the learned men. ”

“ Timur, who was at this time beginning his campaign against Bāyezīd, turned his attention Timur in Syria. first to Syria, and on the 30th of October 1400 defeated the Syrian amirs near Aleppo, and soon got possession of the city and the citadel. He proceeded to take Hamah, Homs (Emesa) and other towns, and on the 20th of December started for Damascus. An endeavour was made by the Egyptian sultan to relieve Damascus, but the news of an insurrection in Cairo caused him to retire and leave the place to its fate. ”

“ Just as the prince was saying "Schach Roch" to Timur, the curtains of the tent were drawn back, and before them stood the captured [Pg 103] Bajazet. Schach Roch! A king who had exchanged his throne for a tower, indeed; the tower of captivity!
Timur got up from his place, and held out his hand to his opponent, leading him to the divan, upon which he placed him beside him.
"Bajazet, fortune has turned against you. Not so my heart! Fate has made you a captive. I shall allow you to remain a Sovereign. Your tent is ready. You will not be watched by any one. ”

“ From the day on which his son Jihangir died and the people of Samarcand, clothed in black and light blue, their heads covered with dust and ashes, met the conqueror of the cruel Getes, from that day until the hour when Death met him in Otrar, and overcame him—for thirty years Timur did not smile. He lived with lips compressed, bowing his head to no one, and his heart was closed to compassion for thirty years.
Let us praise Woman-Mother, the only power to which Death humbly submits. ”

“ Accordingly, when Timur invaded India in 1398, he encountered but little organized resistance. Mahmud, the last of the Tughlak dynasty, being defeated in a battle outside the walls of Delhi, fled into Gujarat. The city was Timur’s invasion. sacked and the inhabitants massacred by the victorious Moguls. But the invasion of Timur left no permanent impress upon the history of India, except in so far as its memory fired the imagination of Baber, the founder of the Mogul dynasty. ”

“ Three descendants of Jinghis with fourteen high officials conspired to slay the first minister for his unparalleled daring. Yang Timur, learning of their plot, seized the seventeen and put to death every man of them.
Meanwhile the Empress had Asukeba proclaimed at Shang tu, and chose Prince Wan tsin, a grandson of Kamala, as first minister. She chose as commander of the army Taché Timur, a son of the minister Toto, a Kankali, and gave him the word to attack Yang Timur, who was trying to cut off Shang tu by seizing other places of importance. ”

“ Gray looked at the old man steadily. "Let there be a marriage this night, according to the custom of the Wusun. But I, as well as Gela, claim the girl. You know the law?"
"If two men say that a woman is theirs, they must decide the matter with weapons in their hands."
"That is the law, Timur. From across the desert I have known it. I will fight Gela. Thus it will be decided."
Timur glanced at him curiously.
"The Kha Khan is no light foe. He will fight with swords. He has learned the art of sword play from his fathers." ”

“ It soon became a custom to name their great leaders Timur. But even among primitive peoples the qualities of leadership have not necessarily included purely physical strength. Many Samsons among the Tartars received the distinction of being called Iron. None of them made an indelible mark upon the history of the world, save the great Timur, who had his left arm and left leg partially paralysed. [609] At the height of his career, when his hordes marched against Bagdad, he was too weak to sit upon a horse, and was carried in a litter. ”

“ More merciful than Toktamish, he transported the inhabitants to Samarkand, but in order to mark his anger against the rebellious Wars with Timur.city he levelled it with the ground and sowed barley on the site where it had stood. On the banks of the Oxus he encountered his enemy, and after a bloody battle completely routed the Kipchaks, who fled in confusion. A lull followed this victory, but in 1390 Timur again took the field. To each man was given “a bow, with thirty arrows, a quiver, and a buckler. ”

“ Timur who had in the interval inflicted a crushing defeat on the Ottoman sultan, sent to demand homage from Faraj, and his demand was readily granted, together with the delivery of the princes who had sought refuge from Timur in Egyptian territory. The death of Timur in February 1405 restored Egyptian authority in Syria, which, however, became a rendezvous for all who were discontented with the rule of Faraj and his amirs, and two months after Timur’s death was in open rebellion against Faraj. ”

“ It seems that there was a small island in the river, not far from the walls of the city, on which, before the siege commenced, Timur had built a fortress, to be held as a sort of advanced post, and had garrisoned the fortress with about one thousand men. Timur now, in order to divert the attention of the Monguls from the city itself, sent a number of [Pg 272] men out from the city, who pretended to be deserters, and went immediately to the Mongul camp. Of course, Elak questioned them about the defenses of the city, in order to learn where the weak points were for him to attack. ”