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Timur

Type Figure Region Central Asia Time 1336–1405 Also known as Lame Timur

Timur (1336–1405) was one of the most powerful conquerors of Central and West Asia in the late 14th century, born near Kesh (modern Shahrisabz), who …

Timeline

  1. 1336–1370Kesh (Shahrisabz) · UzbekistanTimur was born in Transoxiana amid the fragmentation of the Chagatai successor khanates, and gained his name from a limp caused by battle wounds in his youth. In the 1360s he served under leaders such as Timur Hazra, gradually accumulating military merit and followers, and repeatedly contended with rivals such as Ghazan Sufi.
  2. 1370–1371Samarkand · SamarkandIn 1370 Timur defeated and executed his principal rival Husayn, establishing control over Samarkand and Transoxiana, and began building his power base with Samarkand as the political center, opening the way for subsequent external expansion.
  3. 1371–1380Khorasan · KhorasanBetween 1371 and 1380 Timur waged continuous wars against the Sufi dynasties of Khorasan, remnants of the Chagatai faction, and neighboring powers, gradually controlling key places such as Mashhad and Herat, and consolidating rule over Transoxiana and northern Afghanistan; the empire's territory and military prestige expanded rapidly.
  4. 1380–1405Samarkand · UzbekistanAfter 1380 Timur launched a series of expeditions against Persia, the Caucasus, Anatolia, and India, sacking Delhi in 1398 and defeating the Ottoman Bayezid I at the Battle of Ankara in 1402. In his late years he still planned an eastern campaign against the Ming dynasty, dying of illness en route in 1405.

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