Timurid dynasty

Timurid Dynasty at its Greatest Extent

The Timurids (Chaghatay/Persian: تیموریان - Tīmūrīyān), self-designated Gurkānī (Persian: گوركانى)^[1][2][3][4], were a Central Asian Sunni Muslim dynasty whose empire included the whole of Central Asia, Iran, modern Afghanistan and Pakistan, as well as large parts of Mesopotamia and Caucasus. It was founded by the legendary conqueror Timur (Tamerlane) in the 14th century.

In the 16th century, Timurid prince Zahir ud-Din Babur, the ruler of Ferghana, invaded India and founded the Mughal Empire - the Timurids of India - who ruled most of the Indian subcontinent for several centuries until its conquest by the British.

History

Flag of the Timurid Empire according to the Catalan Atlas c.1375

Origins

Main articles: Barlas, Turco-Mongol, Turko-Persian Tradition, and Persianate society

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.^[5][6][7] 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. Thus, the political, cultural, and elitist environment of the Timurid aristocracy was largly derived from that culture.

Founding the dynasty

Main article: Timur

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"^[8]. 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.[1]

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.

The Timurids made Herat and Samarqand their capitals.

Culture

Although the Timurids hailed from the Barlas tribe which was of Mongol origin, they had embraced Turkic^[9] and Persian culture^[10][11], converted to Islam and resided in Turkestan and Khorasan. The Timurid era had a dual character which reflected both, the Turco-Mongol origins and the Persian high culture of the dynasty.

Art

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 13-15th 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.

Literature

Illustration from Jāmī's "Rose Garden of the Pious", dated 1553. The image blends Persian poetry and Persian miniature into one, as is the norm for many works of the Timurid era.

The Timurid era revived the Persian civilization in Central Asia after the disastrous invasion by Genghis Khan^[11]. The Timurid sultans, especially Šāhrukh Mīrzā and his son Mohammad Taragai Oloğ Beg, patronized Persian high culture. Persian literature as well as the Persian language, the traditional vernacular of the Timurid courts, flourished throughout their empire. Herat and Samarqand became centers of a renewed and artistically brilliant Persian culture^[9]. Among the most important literary works of the Timurid era is the Persian biography of Timur, known as "Zafarnāma" (Persian: ظفرنامه), written by Sharaf ud-Dīn Alī Yazdī, which itself is based on an older "Zafarnāma" 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. The most famous painter of the Timurid court, as well as the most famous of the Persian miniature painters in general, was Ustād Kamāl ud-Dīin Behzād. In addition, the Timurid sultan Oloğ Beg is known as a great astronomer.

After the foundation of the Mughal Empire, the Timurids successfully expanded the Persian cultural influence from Khorasa to India, where the Persian language, literature, architecture, and art dominated the Indian subcontinent until the British conquest.^[10]

The early Timurids also 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 Mīr Alī Sher Nawā'ī, Sultan Husayn Bāyqarā, and Zāher ud-Dīn Bābur encouraged other Turkic-speaking poets to write in their own vernacular in addition to Arabic and Persian. The Bāburnāma, the autobiography of Bābur, as well as Mīr Alī Sher Nawā'ī's Chagatay poetry are among the best-known Turkic literary works and have fascinated and influenced many others world wide. However, the Turkic elements of the dynasty declined with the fall of the Timurids in Herat and the total Persianization of the Timurid family after Humāyūn's exile in Safawid Persia.

Architecture

Timurid architecture

Main article: Persian architecture

"Akhangan" tomb, where Gowharšād's sister Gowhartāj is buried. The architecture is a fine example of the Timurid era in Persia.

"Gūr-e Amīr" complex with its azure dome.

In the realm of architecture, the Timurids drew on and developed many Seljuq traditions, the style being largely derived from Persian architecture. 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^[9]. 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. 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.

Mughal architecture

Main article: Mughal architecture

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.^[12]

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 of the Timurid Empire

History of Greater Iran
Empires of Persia · Kings of Persia
Pre-modern
Before Islam  BCE Zayandeh River Civilization prehistoric–? Sialk civilization 7500–1000 Jiroft civilization (Aratta) 3000–? Proto-Elamite civilization 3200–2800 Bactria-Margiana Complex 2200–1700 Elamite dynasties 2800–550 Kingdom of Mannai 10th–7th cent. Median Empire 728–550 Achaemenid Empire 550–330 Seleucid Empire 330–150 Greco-Bactrian Kingdom 250-125 Parthian Empire 248–CE 224 CE Kushan Empire 30–275 Sassanid Empire 224–651 Hephthalite Empire 425–557 Kabul-Shahi dynasty 565–670
After Islamic Conquest  Patriarchal Caliphate 637–651 Umayyad Caliphate 661–750 Abbasid Caliphate 750–1258 Tahirid dynasty 821–873 Alavid dynasty 864–928 Saffarid dynasty 861–1003 Samanid dynasty 819–999 Ziyarid dynasty 928–1043 Buyid Dynasty 934–1055 Ghaznavid Empire 975–1187 Ghori dynasty 1149–1212 Seljuk Empire 1037–1194 Khwarezmid dynasty 1077–1231 Kartids dynasty 1231-1389 Ilkhanate 1256–1353 Muzaffarid dynasty 1314–1393 Chupanid dyansty 1337–1357 Jalayerid dynasty 1339–1432 Timurid Empire 1370–1506 Qara Qoyunlu Turcomans 1407–1468 Aq Qoyunlu Turcomans 1378–1508 Safavid Empire 1501–1722* Mughal Empire 1526–1857 Hotaki dynasty 1722–1729 Afsharid dynasty 1736–1802 * or 1736
Modern SSR = Soviet Socialist Republic
Afghanistan  Durrani Empire 1748–1823 British and Russian influence 1826–1919 Independence and civil war 1919–1929 Mohammedzai rule 1929–1973 Republic of Afghanistan 1973–1978 Communist rule 1978–1992 Recent history of Afghanistan since 1992 Timeline
Azerbaijan  Independent Khanates 1722–1828 Russian Rule 1828–1917 Democratic Republic 1918–1920 Azerbaijan SSR 1920–1991 Republic of Azerbaijan since 1991
Bahrain  Portuguese rule 1521–1602 British Treaty 1820–1971 Kingdom of Bahrain since 1971
Iran  Zand dynasty 1750–1794 Qajar dynasty 1781–1925 Pahlavi dynasty 1925–1979 Iranian Revolution 1979 Provisional Government 1979 Islamic Republic of Iran since 1979
Iraq  Ottoman Empire 1632–1919 Hashimite monarchy 1920–1958 Coup and Republic 1958–2003 Republic of Iraq since 2004
Tajikistan  Emirate of Bukhara 1785–1920 Bukharan / Uzbek SSR 1920–1929 Tajik Autonomous SSR 1929 Tajik SSR 1929–1991 Republic of Tajikistan since 1991
Uzbekistan  Emirate of Bukhara 1785–1920 Uzbek SSR 1924–1991 Independence 1991 Republic of Uzbekistan since 1991

• Timur (Tamerlane) 1370 - 1405 (771-807 AH) - with Suyurghitmiš Chaghtay as nominal overlord followed by Mahmūd Chaghtay as overlord and finally Muhammad Sultān as heir
• Pir Muhammad bin Jahāngīr 1405 - 1407 (807-808 AH)

Rulers of Herat

• Shāhrukh 1405 - 1447 (807-50 AH) (overall ruler of the Timurid Empire 1409 - 1447)
• Abu'l-Qasim Bābar 1447 - 1457 (850-61 AH)
• Shāh Mahmūd 1457 (861 AH)
• Ibrāhim 1457 - 1459 (861-863 AH)
• Sultān Abu Sa’id Gūrgān 1459 - 1469 (863-73 AH) (in Transoxiana 1451-1469)
• Yādgār Muhammad 1470 (873 AH)
• Sultān Hussayn 1470 - 1506 (874-911 AH)
• Badi ul-Zamān 1506 - 1507 (911-912 AH) and
• Muzaffar Hussayn 1506 - 1507 (911-912 AH)

Herat is conquered by the Uzbeks under Muhammad Shaybani

Rulers of Samarkand

• Khalīl Sultān 1405 - 1409 (807-11 AH)
• Mohammad Taragai bin Shāhrukh-I 1409 - 1449 (811-53 AH) (overall ruler of the Timurid Empire 1447 - 1449)
• 'Abd al-Latif 1449 - 1450 (853-854 AH)
• ‘Abdullah 1450 - 1451 (854-55 AH)
• Sultān Abu Sa’id Gūrgān 1451 - 1469 (855-73 AH) (in Herat 1459-1469)

Abu Sa'id's sons divided his territories upon his death, into Samarkand, Badakhshan and Farghana

• Sultān ibn Abu Sa’id 1469 - 1494 (873-899 AH)
• Sultān Mahmūd ibn Abu Sa’id 1494 - 1495 (899-900 AH)
• Sultān Baysunqur 1495 - 1497 (900-902 AH) and
• Mas’ūd 1495 (900 AH) and
• Sultān Alī Mīrzā 1495 - 1500 (900-905 AH)

Samarkand is conquered by the Uzbeks under Muhammad Shaybani

Other rulers

• Qaidu bin Pir Muhammad bin Jahāngīr 808-811 AH
• Abu Bakr bin Mīrān Shāh 1405 - 1407 (807-809 AH)
• Pir Muhammad bin Umar Sheikh 807-812 AH
• Rustam 812-817 AH
• Sikandar 812-17 AH
• Alaudaullah 851 AH
• Abu Bakr bin Muhammad 851 AH
• Sultān Muhammad 850-55 AH
• Muhammad bin Hussayn 903-906 AH
• Abul A'la Fereydūn Hussayn 911-912 AH
• Muhammad Mohsin Khān 911-912 AH
• Muhammad Zamān Khān 920-923 AH
• Shāhrukh II bin Abu Sa’id 896-897 AH
• Ulugh Beg Kābulī 873-907 AH
• Sultān Uways 1508 - 1522 (913-927 AH)

Rulers of Mughal Empire

A photo of Bahadur Shah II in 1858, possibly the only picture ever taken of a Timurid king.

• Zahiruddin Babur Mirza 1526 - 1530 (933-937 AH) - established Mughal Dynasty in India (Mughal Empire)
• Nasiruddin Humayun Mirza 1530 - 1556 (937-963 AH) - ruler of Mughal Empire, son of Babur
• Kamran Mirza 1530 - 1557 (937-962 AH) - ruler of Kabul and Lahore, son of Babur
• Jalaluddin Muhammad Akbar Mirza (Akbar the Great) 1556-1605 (963-1014 AH) - greatest ruler of Mughal Empire, son of Humayun
• Abul Qasim Muhammad bin Kamran 968 AH
• Suleiman Mirza 936-92 AH
• Shahrukh III 983-87 AH - son of Ibrahim
• Nuruddin Muhammad Jahangir 1605 - 1627 (1014-1036 AH) - ruler of Mughal Empire, son of Akbar and Rajput Princess Mariam Zamani
• Shahbuddin Muhammad Shah Jahan (Shah Jahan I) 1627 - 1658 - ruler of Mughal Empire, son of Jahangir and Rajput Princess Manmati
• Mohiuddin Mohammed Aurangzeb (Aurangzeb Alamgir I) 1658-1707 - ruler of Mughal Empire, son of Shah Jahan
• Bahadur Shah I (Shah Alam I) 1707 - 1712 - son of Aurangzeb
• Jahandar Shah, b. 1664, ruler from 1712 - 1713 -
• Furrukhsiyar, b. 1683, ruler from 1713-1719
• 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 1719-1720, 1720-1748
• Ahmad Shah Bahadur, b. 1725, ruler from 1748-1754
• Alamgir II, b. 1699, ruler from 1754-1759 - son of Jahandar Shah
• Shah Jahan III, ruler 1759
• Shah Alam II, b. 1728, ruler from 1759-1806
• Akbar Shah II, b. 1760, ruler from 1806-1837
• Bahadur Shah II (Bahadur Shah Zafar) 1837-1857 - last ruler of the Timurid Dynasty

Heads of the Timurid Dynasty

• Bahadur Shah II (1857- 1862)
• Shahzada Muhammad Hidayat Afshar, Ilahi Bakhsh Bahadur (1862-1878)
• Shahzada Muhammad Sulaiman Shah Bahadur (1878-1890)
• Shahzada Muhammad Kaiwan Shah Gorkwani, Suraya Jah Bahadur (1890-1913)
• Mirza Salim Muhammad Shah Bahadur (1913-1925)
• No recognised head of the family (1925-1931)
• Shahzada Muhammad Khair ud-din Mirza, Khurshid Jah Bahadur (1931-1975)
• Mirza Ghulam Moinuddin Muhammad, Javaid Jah Bahadur (1975-Present)

Notes

1. ^ Zahir ud-Din Mohammad (2002-09-10). in Thackston, Wheeler M.: The Baburnama: Memoirs of Babur, Prince and Emperor. Modern Library Classics. ISBN 0375761373. 
2. ^ Note: Gurkānī is the Persianized form of the Mongolian word kürügän ["son-in-law"], the title given to the dynasty's founder after his marriage into Genghis Khan's family (Thackston, Wheeler M. The Baburnama: Memoirs of Babur, Prince and Emperor. Modern Library Classics. ISBN 0375761373)
3. ^ in some sources also as Gurgān, Gurkhān, or Kurkhān; The meaning of Kurkhan is given in Clements Markham's publication of the reports of the contemporary witness Ruy González de Clavijo as "of the lineage of sovereign princes"; but this translation is widely rejected by modern scholars such as Thackston or Manz, because the transliteration it is based on does not correspond with the original Perso-Arabic spelling of the word.
4. ^ Edward Balfour The Encyclopaedia Asiatica, Comprising Indian Subcontinent, Eastern and Southern Asia, Cosmo Publications 1976, S. 460, S. 488, S. 897
5. ^ B.F. Manz, "Tīmūr Lang", in Encyclopaedia of Islam, Online Edition, 2006
6. ^ "Timur", The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition, 2001-05 Columbia University Press, (LINK)
7. ^ "Consolidation & expansion of the Indo-Timurids", in Encyclopaedia Britannica, (LINK)
8. ^ Volume III: To the Year A.D. 1398, Chapter: XVIII. Malfúzát-i Tímúrí, or Túzak-i Tímúrí: The Autobiography of Tímúr. Page: 389 (please press next and read all pages in the online copy) (1. Online copy, 2. Online copy) from: 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 1867–1877. (Online Copy: The History of India, as Told by Its Own Historians. The Muhammadan Period; by Sir H. M. Elliot; Edited by John Dowson; London Trubner Company 1867–1877 - This online Copy has been posted by: The Packard Humanities Institute; Persian Texts in Translation; Also find other historical books: Author List and Title List)
9. ^ ^{a b c} "Timurids", in Encyclopædia Britannica, Online Edition, (LINK)
10. ^ ^{a b} Lehmann, F. "Zaher ud-Din Babor - Founder of Mughal empire". Encyclopaedia Iranica (Online). New York City: Columbia University Center for Iranian (Persian) Studies. 320-323. Retrieved on 2006-11-07. “... His origin, milieu, training, and culture were steeped in Persian culture and so Babor was largely responsible for the fostering of this culture by his descendants, the Mughals of India, and for the expansion of Persian cultural infleunce in the Indian subcontinent, with brilliant literary, artistic, and historiographical results ...” 
11. ^ ^{a b} "Timurids". The Columbia Encyclopedia (Sixth). New York City: Columbia University. Retrieved on 2006-11-08. 
12. ^ Mughal architecture Encyclopædia Britannica

Further reading

• 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 1867–1877. (Online Copy: The History of India, as Told by Its Own Historians. The Muhammadan Period; by Sir H. M. Elliot; Edited by John Dowson; London Trubner Company 1867–1877 - This online Copy has been posted by: The Packard Humanities Institute; Persian Texts in Translation; Also find other historical books: Author List and Title List)

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Timurid Empire

• Timurids Dynasty
• Timurids Art
• Virtual Art Exhibit
• Chronology of Samarkand rulers
• Chronology of Herat rulers
• royalark

Donate to Wikimedia