The full name of the great conqueror of antiquity, which will be discussed in our article, is Timur ibn Taragai Barlas, but in the literature he is often referred to as Tamerlan, or Iron Chroma. It should be explained that Zhelezny was nicknamed not only for his personal qualities, but also because his name Timur is translated from the Turkic language in exactly this way. Lameness was the result of a wound received in the battle of Seistan. There is reason to believe that this mysterious commander of the past was involved in the great blood that was shed in the 20th century.
Who is Tamerlan and where is he from?
First, a few words about the childhood of the future great khan. It is known that Timur-Tamerlan was born on April 9, 1336 in the territory of the current Uzbek city of Shakhrisabz, which at that time was a small village called Khoja-Ilgar. His father - a local landowner from the Barlas tribe - Muhammad Taragay, professed Islam, and raised his son in this faith.
Following the customs of those times, from an early age he taught the boy the basics of military art - horseback riding, archery and javelin throwing. As a result, barely reaching maturity, he was already an experienced warrior. It was then that the future conqueror Tamerlane gained invaluable knowledge.
The biography of this man, or rather, that part of it that has become part of history, begins with the fact that in his youth he won the favor of Khan Tuglik, the lord of the Chagatai ulus, one of the Mongolian states on whose territory the future commander was born.
Appreciating the fighting qualities, as well as the extraordinary mind of Timur, he brought him closer to the court, making him the educator of his son. However, the Tsarevich’s entourage, fearing his exaltation, began to build intrigues against him, and as a result, fearing for his life, the new-born educator was forced to flee.
At the head of a detachment of mercenaries
The years of Tamerlane's life coincided with the historical period when Central Asia was a continuous theater of military operations. Fragmented into many states, it was constantly torn apart by feuds of local khans, who were constantly trying to seize neighboring lands. The situation was aggravated by countless robber gangs - dzhete, who did not recognize any power and lived exclusively by robberies.
In this setting, the failed teacher Timur-Tamerlan found his true calling. Combining dozens of ghouls - professional hired warriors - he created a detachment that surpassed all other surrounding gangs in its fighting qualities and cruelty.
First conquests
Together with his thugs, the newly-minted commander made impudent raids on cities and villages. It is known that in 1362 he stormed several fortresses belonging to the sarbadars - participants in the popular movement against Mongol rule. Having captured them, he ordered the remaining defenders to be walled up in the walls. This was an act of intimidation of all future opponents, and such cruelty became one of the main features of his character. Very soon, the whole East learned about who Tamerlane was.
It was then that in one of the contractions he lost two fingers of his right hand and was seriously wounded in the leg. Its consequences survived until the end of life and served as the basis for the nickname - Timur Lroma. However, this mutilation did not prevent him from becoming a figure who in the last quarter of the 14th century played a significant role in the history of not only Central, West and South Asia, but also the Caucasus and Russia.
Talent of leadership and extraordinary audacity helped Tamerlan conquer the entire territory of Ferghana, subjugating Samarkand, and making the city of Ket the capital of the newly formed state. Further, his army rushed to the territory belonging to present-day Afghanistan, and, having ravaged it, stormed the ancient capital of Balkh, whose emir - Huseyn - was immediately hanged. Most of the courtiers shared his fate.
Cruelty as a tool of intimidation
The next direction of the strike of his cavalry was the cities of Isfahan and Fars, located south of Balkh, where the last representatives of the Persian Muzaffarid dynasty ruled. The first on his way was Isfahan. Capturing him, and giving it to be plundered to his mercenaries, Timur Khromoi ordered the heads of those killed to be put into a pyramid, the height of which exceeded the height of a person. This was a continuation of his constant tactics of intimidating opponents.
It is characteristic that the entire subsequent history of Tamerlane, the conqueror and commander, was marked by manifestations of extreme cruelty. In part, it can be explained by the fact that he himself became a hostage to his own policy. Led by a highly professional army, Lame had to pay his mercenaries regularly, otherwise their scimitar would have turned against him. This forced to achieve new victories and conquests by any means available.
The beginning of the struggle with the Golden Horde
In the early 80s of the XIV century, the next stage in the rise of Tamerlane was the conquest of the Golden Horde, or, in other words, the Dzhuchiev ulus. From time immemorial, it has been dominated by the Euro-Asian steppe culture with its religion of polytheism, which had nothing to do with Islam, professed by most of its soldiers. Therefore, the hostilities that began in 1383 became a clash not only of the opposing armies, but also of two different cultures.
The Horde Khan Tokhtamysh, the same one that in 1382 made a campaign against Moscow, wanting to get ahead of his opponent and the first to strike, took a campaign against Kharezm. Having achieved temporary success, he also captured a significant territory of present-day Azerbaijan, but soon his troops were forced to retreat, having suffered significant losses.
In 1385, taking advantage of the fact that Timur and his hordes were in Persia, he repeated the attempt, but this time also failed. Upon learning of the Horde invasion, the formidable commander urgently returned his troops to Central Asia and defeated the enemy, forcing Tokhtamysh himself to flee to Western Siberia.
Continuation of the fight against the Tatars
However, the conquest of the Golden Horde did not end there. Its final rout was preceded by five years, filled with incessant military campaigns and bloodshed. It is known that in 1389 the Horde Khan even managed to insist that in the war with Muslims he was supported by Russian squads.
This was facilitated by the death of the Grand Duke of Moscow Dmitry Donskoy, after which his son and heir Vasily had to go to the Horde for a label for reigning. Tokhtamysh confirmed his rights, but subject to the participation of Russian troops in repelling the Muslim attack.
The defeat of the Golden Horde
Prince Vasily agreed, but it was only formal. After the defeat inflicted by Tokhtamysh in Moscow, none of the Russians wanted to shed blood for him. As a result, in the very first battle on the Kondurch River (a tributary of the Volga) they abandoned the Tatars and, crossing the opposite bank, left.
The conclusion of the conquest of the Golden Horde was the battle on the Terek River, in which the troops of Tokhtamysh and Timur met on April 15, 1395. Iron Chromiec managed to inflict a crushing defeat on his opponent and thereby put an end to the Tatar raids on the territories controlled by him.
A threat to Russian lands and a campaign in India
The next blow was prepared by him in the very heart of Russia. The purpose of the planned campaign was Moscow and Ryazan, who until then did not know who Tamerlane was, and paid tribute to the Golden Horde. But, fortunately, these plans were not destined to come true. The uprising of the Circassians and Ossetians, which broke out in the rear of the troops of Timur and forced the conqueror to turn back, prevented. The only victim then was the city of Yelets, which appeared on his way.
Over the next two years, his army made a victorious campaign in India. Having captured Delhi, the soldiers of Timur plundered and burned the city, and 100 thousand defenders who were captured were killed, fearing a possible rebellion on their part. Having reached the banks of the Ganges and seized several fortified fortresses along the road, the army of many thousands returned to Samarkand with rich booty and a large number of slaves.
New conquests and new blood
Following India, it was the turn of the Ottoman sultanate to submit to the sword of Tamerlane. In 1402, he defeated the previously unbeaten Janissaries of Sultan Bayazid, and he himself was captured. As a result, the entire territory of Asia Minor was under his rule.
Could not resist the troops of Tamerlane and the ionite knights, who held for many years in their hands the fortress of the ancient city of Smyrna. More than once reflecting the attacks of the Turks before, they surrendered to the grace of the lame conqueror. When the Venetian and Genoese ships with reinforcements came to their aid, the victors threw them from the fortress catapults with the severed heads of the defenders.
The idea that Tamerlan could not fulfill
The biography of this outstanding commander and the evil genius of his era ends with the last ambitious project, which was his trip to China, which began in 1404. The goal was to capture the Great Silk Road, which made it possible to receive tax from passing merchants and to replenish due to this their already crowded treasury. But the implementation of the plan was prevented by a sudden death that cut short the life of the commander in February 1405.
The great emir of the Timurid empire - under this title he went down in the history of his people - was buried in the Gur Emir mausoleum in Samarkand. A legend passed from generation to generation is connected with his burial. She says that if Tamerlane’s sarcophagus is opened and his ashes are disturbed, then a terrible and bloody war will be punished.
In June 1941, an expedition of the USSR Academy of Sciences was sent to Samarkand to exhume the remains of the commander and study them. The grave was opened on the night of June 21, and the next day, as you know, the Great Patriotic War began.
Another fact is interesting. In October 1942, a cameraman of those events, cameraman Malik Kayumov, meeting with Marshal Zhukov, told him about the curse that had been fulfilled and offered to return Tamerlane's ashes to their former place. This was done on November 20, 1942, and on the same day a radical turning point occurred during the Battle of Stalingrad.
Skeptics are inclined to argue that in this case there was only a series of accidents, because the plan of attack on the USSR was developed long before the tomb was opened by people who, although they knew who Tamerlane was, but, of course, did not take into account the curse burdening on his grave. Without engaging in controversy, we only say that everyone has the right to have their own point of view on this matter.
Conqueror's family
Of particular interest to researchers are the wives and children of Timur. Like all eastern rulers, this great conqueror of the past had a huge family. Only official wives (not counting the concubines) he had 18 people, of whom Sarai-mulk hanym is considered to be the favorite. Despite the fact that a lady with such a poetic name was barren, her master trusted the upbringing of many of her sons and grandchildren. She went down in history as the patroness of art and science.
It is quite clear that with so many wives and concubines there was no shortage of children either. However, only four of his sons took up places of such high ancestry and became rulers in an empire created by his father. In their face, the story of Tamerlane found its continuation.