Timur sacks Isfahan (1387)

Timeline

1. 1387Isfahan · Isfahan ProvinceAfter completing the conquest of northern and central Persia, Timur marched south with his army, targeting the Muzaffarid heartland cities of Isfahan and Shiraz. Isfahan opened its gates without resistance at the sight of the army, and Timur, following his usual policy, treated the surrendered city with relative leniency, stationing tax officials and a garrison; the city temporarily came under Timurid control.
2. 1387Isfahan · Isfahan ProvinceShortly after the surrender, Isfahan's citizens, resentful of the heavy taxes and garrison Timur imposed, rioted and killed several tax officials and some Timurid soldiers. Timur viewed this rebellion as a public challenge to imperial authority, which became the direct trigger for his subsequent order of retaliatory massacre.
3. 1387Isfahan · Isfahan ProvinceTimur quickly returned to besiege the city, which fell again. He ordered a systematic retaliatory massacre of the resisters; according to the Encyclopaedia Iranica and others about 70,000 died, with some Western sources estimating higher. Eyewitnesses reported soldiers built dozens of towers of heads, each with about 1,500, to terrorize Persia's cities. Artisans and scholars were largely selected to be retained and relocated to Samarkand.
4. 1387Isfahan · Isfahan ProvinceAfter the massacre and plunder, Isfahan's urban and suburban population plummeted and commerce declined, but Timur did not systematically demolish buildings as he did in Herat; the city layout and some important facilities were preserved. Isfahan thereafter remained obedient to the Timurid Empire, and Timur immediately marched south to take Shiraz, completing the annexation of the Muzaffarid heartland.