تمرلنك
تمرلنك
The conqueror whose rise began in 773 — of peasant stock, a thief and road-cutter who rose through the sultan's horse-master — he 'ruined the lands and destroyed the people' till his death on Wednesday 17 Sha'ban 807 1.
At a glance
- Era
- The Mongol and Post-Mongol Era
- Review
- Draft Completeness 1/5 · Help complete it
Overview
Timurlane, a Turco-Mongol commander. He began his campaign in the year 773 AH, and died on the night of Wednesday, the seventeenth of Sha'ban in the year 807 AH, as al-Suyuti reports 2.
His origins
al-Suyuti reports that he was of peasant stock, and grew up as a thief and highwayman. He then joined the service of the master of the sultan's horses, succeeded him after his death, and kept rising. al-Suyuti transmits that he "ruined the lands and destroyed the people". This is the judgement of the historian, not the museum's 2.
His conquests in the Shadharat
Ibn al-Imad reports in Shadharat al-Dhahab that he invaded India in the year 801 AH and took Delhi, enslaving a great number of people 3.
He lists the stages of his rule: Khwarazm, then Transoxiana, then Samarqand, then Khurasan, then Herat, then Tabaristan and Gurgan, then Tabriz and Azerbaijan, then Isfahan, then Baghdad, then Sivas, Aleppo and Damascus 4.
He also reports that he defeated Toqtamish Khan, lord of Sarai, in his rule in the year 797 AH 4. See Toqtamish, lord of Sarai.
Connections
People and things also explored
السلطان الظاهر برقوق· Ibn Khaldun· The Jochid state of the Dasht (Golden Horde)· Ibn Khaldun's Audience with Timur beneath Damascus· ابتداء خروج تمرلنك· أحمد بن أويس الجلائري· Toqtamish ibn Burdbik, lord of Saray
Sources
- Tarikh al-Khulafa — al-Suyuti (Dar al-Minhaj edition), p. 758
- Tarikh al-Khulafa — al-Suyuti (Dar al-Minhaj edition), p.758
- Shadharat al-Dhahab — Ibn al-Imad al-Hanbali, p.3
- Shadharat al-Dhahab — Ibn al-Imad al-Hanbali, p.71-72
Cite this page
islam.museum contributors. “تمرلنك”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/person/timur-lang/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Accessed 2026-10-17.