Turkish-Mongol ruler of Islamic faith, b. 1336 (Kesh, near Samarkand, Transoxania, today's Uzbekistan), d. 19 February 1405 (Otrar, today's Kazakhstan).
Timur was a member of the Barlas tribe, a Mongol clans-group that had adopted Turkish customs and lifestyle and lived in Transoxania (today's Uzbekistan). In 1357 Transoxania's ruler died, and the country and its capital Samarkand were taken by the ruler of neighbouring Kashgar, who in 1361 appointed Timur to a ministerial post.
Not long after his appointment Timur decided to join his brother-in-law Amir Husayn in an attempt to drive the Kashgar rulers out of Transoxania. In 1366 the brothers were in control of the country. Four years later Timur turned against Husayn and his troops; Husayn was assassinated, and Timur declared himself ruler of the Mongol empire with Samarkand as its capital.
For the rest of his life Timur was engaged in military campaigns to expand his empire. Coming from the tradition of Genghis Khan (the military genius and founder of the Mongol empire during the beginning of the 13th century), he promoted the military arts of mounted archery and sword-fighting. But he was also a master of diplomacy and intrigue and prepared his victories by exploiting internal weaknesses of the empires he planned to conquer.
Between 1370 and 1383 Timur defeated the various Mongol khans of today's Turkistan and the surrounding regions and assisted the khan of the Crimea in occupying Moscow and regaining control of Russia. In 1383 he turned towards Persia. By 1394 he had conquered Iraq, Azerbaidjan, Armenia, Mesopotamia and Georgia.
Revolts and uprisings against Mongol rule during Timur's campaigns in far-away parts of his empire were punished with utmost cruelty on his return. Cities were raized, their populations massacred and their skulls used to built towers as monuments of victory.
In 1398 a brief campaign against the Muslim sultans of Delhi, who Timur accused of excessive leniency towards their Hindu subjects, led to the total destruction of Delhi. 90 captured elephants were used to carry stones from Delhi's ruins to erect a new mosque in Samarkand.
The following year saw the departure of Timur and his army to confront the Ottoman sultanate and the Mamluk sultans of Egypt. Timur's army stormed and ransacked Aleppo and occupied Damascus in 1401. The many artisans to whom Damascus owed its splendour were deported to Samarkand. Baghdad was taken, its monuments destroyed and 20,000 of its inhabitants massacred in the same year.
In 1304 Timur set out for a campaign against China. He fell ill on the way and died in early 1305. His embalmed body was returned to Samarkand and buried in the magnificent tomb Gur-e Amir.
Although Samarkand gained architectural monuments of outstanding beauty and developed into one of the most cultured cities of its time, Timur rarely spent more than a few days in his capital before returning to his troops, who camped in the plains when not on military campaigns. He maintained a court pavilion for his family and entourage wherever he went.
In 1941 the Soviet Archaeological Commission opened Timur's tomb and found the skeleton of a man of impressive stature but apparently lame on the right side. This could explain the name Tamerlane, derived from Timur Lenk ("Timur the Lame"), the title given to him by his Persian enemies in contempt.
based on Encyclopaedia Britannica 15th edition (1995).