The empire that Timur established in Central Asia at the end of the 14th century, claiming to be a successor of Genghis Khan, developed Samarkand into the greatest center of Islamic culture despite its conquests and destruction.
Timur’s Conquests (1336–1405)
- He was a general from the Chagatai Khanate. Although he was Turkic and claimed to be the successor of the Mongol Empire, he followed Sunni Islam.
- 1370: He unified Central Asia and made Samarkand his capital.
- He successively conquered Iran, northern India, including the sack of Delhi in 1398, Syria, and Anatolia.
- 1402: In the Battle of Ankara, he captured Ottoman Sultan Bayezid I and temporarily threw the Ottoman Empire into confusion.
- He forcibly relocated craftsmen, architects, and scholars from conquered lands to Samarkand and used them to beautify the city.
The Golden Age of Samarkand
- Registan Square: A world famous architectural complex in which three magnificent madrasas face one another. It is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
- Persian literature, calligraphy, miniature painting, and ceramic craftsmanship flourished.
- Timur’s grandson Ulugh Beg (reigned 1447–1449) built an observatory and created a precise star catalog listing the positions of 1,018 stars. He was both an astronomer and a ruler.
- Herat, in present day Afghanistan, also prospered as a center of Timurid culture, where the Persian poet Jami and the great miniature painter Behzad were active.
Key Point
The Timurid Legacy: The Timurid Empire divided and declined soon after Timur’s death in 1405, but his grandson Babur fled and founded the Mughal Empire in India in 1526. The refinement of Persian culture in Central Asia and Iran reached its height during the Timurid period and became the foundation of the court cultures of the later Safavid and Mughal dynasties.
The Timurid Legacy: The Timurid Empire divided and declined soon after Timur’s death in 1405, but his grandson Babur fled and founded the Mughal Empire in India in 1526. The refinement of Persian culture in Central Asia and Iran reached its height during the Timurid period and became the foundation of the court cultures of the later Safavid and Mughal dynasties.
Practice
- State the city Timur made his capital and the representative architectural complex that still exists there.
- State Ulugh Beg’s scholarly achievements specifically.
- Give two examples of later dynasties that inherited the cultural legacy of the Timurid Empire.