14 Facts about Tamerlane

1. Tamerlane was born in 1336. His real name was Timur Leng or ‘Timur the Lame’.

2. He was not a Mongol as is popularly believed but a Muslim Turk who spread his conservative brand of Islam across a large swath of Asia before his death in 1405.

3.He nevertheless borrowed many of the military techniques employed by Genghis Khan. Foremost amongst these were brutality, discipline and guile.

4. His base of operation was the White Horde (Chagtai Khanate) one of the survivor regions from the old Mongolian Empire.

5. In 1387 he pushed the Persian forces to the Euphrates River. This feat was accomplished very soon after Tamerlane had consolidated his hold over the White horde.

6. One of Tamerlane’s great rivals was Toktamish the Mongol Leader of the Golden Horde.

7. The Two butted heads between 1382 and 1395. Toktamish almost defeated Tamerlane at the Battle of the Steppes in 1391 but Tamerlane’s reserve troops saved the day.

8. The knockout blow for Tamerlane was his victory over Toktamish in 1395 at the Battle of Terek River. This defeat eliminated Toktamish as a power in Asia.

9. In 1399 Tamerlane defeated the Lithuanian forces of Witold at the Battle of Vorskla River. Tamerlane’s conquests extended to Poland.

10. Tamerlane planned an invasion of China but died before his ambition was realized.

11. He did however reach India (this guy really got around). In 1398 his troops attacked Delhi, burning the city and stealing much wealth. The city of Lahore was also laid waste. Much of the riches taken from the conquered city were used to build Tamerlane’s capital at Samarkand.

12. Tamerlane’s grandson Babur was the founder of India’s influential Mogul dynasty.
Tamerlane could have taken Moscow in 1395. His troops stopped short took the City of Yelets and then went on to subdue Persia instead.

13. Tamerlane was not tolerant of non-Muslims as a whole. His army often massacred non-Muslim populations in their advance to the next conquest.

14. His greatest victory is often thought to have occurred at the Battle of Angora in 1402 where Tamerlane defeated the forces of the Ottoman sultan Bayezid I.