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Timurid Dynasty
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The Timurids, self-designated Gurkani , were a Persianate Central Asian Sunni Muslim dynasty of originally Turko-Mongol descent whose empire included the whole of Central Asia, Iran, modern Afghanistan and Pakistan, as well as large parts of India, Mesopotamia and Caucasus. It was founded by the legendary 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, who ruled most of the Indian subcontinent until its decline after Aurangzeb in the early 18th century, and its eventual demise by the British Raj after the Indian rebellion of 1857.
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.
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The Timurids, self-designated Gurkani , were a Persianate Central Asian Sunni Muslim dynasty of originally Turko-Mongol descent whose empire included the whole of Central Asia, Iran, modern Afghanistan and Pakistan, as well as large parts of India, Mesopotamia and Caucasus. It was founded by the legendary 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, who ruled most of the Indian subcontinent until its decline after Aurangzeb in the early 18th century, and its eventual demise by the British Raj after the Indian rebellion of 1857.
Origins
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 has 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. 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.
Founding the dynasty
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 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.
Culture
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.
Literature
Timurid literature in Persian
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 ahrukh Mirza and his son Mohammad Taragai Olog Beg, patronized Persian culture. Among the most important literary works of the Timurid era is the Persian biography of Timur, known as "Zafarnama" , written by Sharaf ud-Din Ali Yazdi, which itself is based on an older "Zafarnama" by Nizam al-Din Shami, the official biographer of Timur during his lifetime. The most famous poet of the Timurid era was Nur ud-Din Jami, the last great medieval Sufi mystic of Persia and one of the greatest in Persian poetry. In addition, some of the of the astronomical works of the Timurid sultan Ulugh Beg were written in Persian, although the bulk of it was published in Arabic.
The ahnama of Baysungur
The Timurid ruler Baysungur commissioned a new edition of the Persian national epic ahnama and wrote an introduction to it. According to T. Lenz:
Timurid literature in Chagatay
The early Timurids played a very important role in the history of Turkic literature. Based on the established Persian literary tradition, a national Turkic literature was developed, written in the Chagatay language, the native tongue of the Timurid family. Chagatay poets such as Mir Ali Sher Nawa'i, Sultan Husayn Bayqara, and Zaher ud-Din Babur encouraged other Turkic-speaking poets to write in their own vernacular in addition to Arabic and Persian.
The Baburnama, the autobiography of Babur (although being highly Persianized in its sentence structure, morphology, and vocabulary), as well as Mir Ali Sher Nawa'i's Chagatay poetry are among the best-known Turkic literary works and have fascinated and influenced many others world wide.
Art
During the reign of Timurid rule, the golden age of Persian painting was ushered. During this period ; and analogous to the developments in Safavid Persia Chinese art and artists had a significant influence on Persian art. Timurid artists refined the Persian art of the book, which combines paper, calligraphy, illumination, illustration and binding in a brilliant and colourful whole. It was the Mongol ethnicity of the Chaghatayid and Timurid Khans that is the source of the stylistic depiction Persian art during the Middle Ages. These same Mongols intermarried with the Persians and Turks of Central Asia, even adopting their religion and languages. Yet their simple control of the world at that time, particularly in the 1315th centuries, reflected itself in the idealised appearance of Persians as Mongols. Though the ethnic make-up gradually blended into the Iranian and Mesopotamian local populations, the Mongol stylism continued well after, and crossed into Asia Minor and even North Africa.
Architecture
Timurid architecture
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. Timurs 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 Shah-e Zenda in Samarkand, the Musallah complex in Herat, and the mosque of Gowhar Shad 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.
Mughal architecture
After the foundation of the Mughal Empire, the Timurids successfully expanded the Persian cultural influence from Khorasan to India, where the Persian language, literature, architecture, and art dominated the Indian subcontinent until the British conquest.. The Mughals, Persianized Turks who invaded from Central Asia and claimed descent from both Timur and Genghis strengthened the Persianate culture of Muslim India.
The Mughal period marked a striking revival of Islamic architecture in northern India. Under the patronage of the Mughal emperors, Indian, Persian, and various provincial styles were fused to produce works of unusual quality and refinement.
The Mughal emperor Akbar constructed the royal city of Fatehpur Sikri, located 26 miles west of Agra, in the late 1500s. The most famous example of Mughal architecture is the Taj Mahal, the "teardrop on eternity," completed in 1648 by the emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his wife Mumtaz Mahal who died while giving birth to their 14th child. The extensive use of precious and semiprecious stones as inlay and the vast quantity of white marble required nearly bankrupted the empire. The Taj Mahal is completely symmetric other than the sarcophagus of Shah Jahan which is placed off center in the crypt room below the main floor. This symmetry extended to the building of an entire mirror mosque in red sandstone to complement the Mecca-facing mosque place to the west of the main structure. Another structure built that showed great depth of Mughal influence was the Shalimar Gardens.
Rulers and heads of the dynasty
Rulers of the Timurid Empire
- Timur (Tamerlane) 13701405 (771807 AH) with Suyurghitmi Chaghtay as nominal overlord followed by Mahmud Chaghtay as overlord and finally Muhammad Sultan as heir
- Pir Muhammad bin Jahangir 140507 (80708 AH)
Rulers of Herat
Herat is conquered by the Uzbeks under Muhammad Shaybani
Rulers of Samarkand
Abu Sa'id's sons divided his territories upon his death, into Samarkand, Badakhshan and Farghana
- Sultan ibn Abu Said 146994 (87399 AH)
- Sultan Mahmud ibn Abu Said 149495 (899900 AH)
- Sultan Baysunqur 149597 (90002 AH)
- Masud 1495 (900 AH)
- Sultan Ali Mirza 14951500 (90005 AH)
Samarkand is conquered by the Uzbeks under Muhammad Shaybani
Other rulers
- Qaidu bin Pir Muhammad bin Jahangir 808811 AH
- Abu Bakr bin Miran Shah 140507 (80709 AH)
- Pir Muhammad bin Umar Sheikh 80712 AH
- Rustam 81217 AH
- Sikandar 81217 AH
- Alaudaullah 851 AH
- Abu Bakr bin Muhammad 851 AH
- Sultan Muhammad 85055 AH
- Muhammad bin Hussayn 90306 AH
- Abul A'la Fereydun Hussayn 91112 AH
- Muhammad Mohsin Khan 91112 AH
- Muhammad Zaman Khan 92023 AH
- Shahrukh II bin Abu Said 89697 AH
- Ulugh Beg Kabuli 873907 AH
- Sultan Uways 150822 (91327 AH)
Rulers of the Mughal Empire
- Zahiruddin Babur Mirza 152630 (93337 AH) established Mughal Dynasty in India (Mughal Empire)
- Nasiruddin Humayun Mirza 153056 (93763 AH) ruler of Mughal Empire, son of Babur
- Kamran Mirza 153057 (93762 AH) ruler of Kabul and Lahore, son of Babur
- Jalaluddin Muhammad Akbar Mirza (Akbar the Great) 15561605 (9631014 AH) greatest ruler of Mughal Empire, son of Humayun
- Abul Qasim Muhammad bin Kamran 968 AH
- Suleiman Mirza 93692 AH
- Shahrukh III 98387 AH son of Ibrahim
- Nuruddin Muhammad Jahangir 160527 (101436 AH) ruler of Mughal Empire, son of Akbar and Rajput Princess Mariam Zamani
- Shahbuddin Muhammad Shah Jahan (Shah Jahan I) 162758 ruler of Mughal Empire, son of Jahangir and Rajput Princess Manmati
- Mohiuddin Mohammed Aurangzeb (Aurangzeb Alamgir I) 16581707 ruler of Mughal Empire, son of Shah Jahan and Persian Princess Mumtaz Mahal
- Bahadur Shah I (Shah Alam I) 170712 son of Aurangzeb
- Jahandar Shah, b. 1664, ruler from 171213
- Furrukhsiyar, b. 1683, ruler from 171319
- Rafi Ul-Darjat, ruler 1719
- Rafi Ud-Daulat (Shah Jahan II), ruler 1719
- Nikusiyar, ruler 1719
- Muhammad Ibrahim, ruler 1720
- Muhammad Shah, b. 1702, ruler from 171948, interrupted in 1720
- Ahmad Shah Bahadur, b. 1725, ruler from 174854
- Alamgir II, b. 1699, ruler from 175459 son of Jahandar Shah
- Shah Jahan III, ruler 1759
- Shah Alam II, b. 1728, ruler from 17591806
- Akbar Shah II, b. 1760, ruler from 180637
- Bahadur Shah II (Bahadur Shah Zafar) 183757 last ruler of the Timurid dynasty
Heads of the Timurid dynasty
Further reading
- in Encyclopedia Iranica
- Elliot, Sir H. M.; edited by Dowson, John. The History of India, as Told by Its Own Historians. The Muhammadan Period; published by London Trubner Company 186777. (Online Copy: This online copy has been posted by: )
External links
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