Timur

: For the chess engine Tamerlane, see Tamerlane.

Early life

Timur was born at Kesh, better known as Shahr-e Sabz, 'the green city,' situated some 50 miles south of Samarkand in modern Uzbekistan.

Related Topics:
Shahr-e Sabz - Samarkand - Uzbekistan

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Timur placed much of his early legitimacy on his genealogical roots to the great Mongol conqueror, Chinggis or Genghis Khan. What is known is that he was descended from the Turkic invaders who initially pushed westwards after the establishment of the Mongol empire.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

His father Teragai was head of the tribe of Barlas, a nomadic tribe that traced its origin to the Mongol commander Qarachar Barlas. Teragai was the great-grandson of Karachar Nevian and, distinguished among his fellow-clansmen as the first convert to Islam, Teragai might have assumed the high military rank which fell to him by right of inheritance; but like his father Burkul he preferred a life of retirement and study.

Related Topics:
Teragai - Barlas - Qarachar Barlas - Karachar Nevian - Islam

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Under the paternal eye the education of young Timur was such that at the age of twenty he had not only become an adept in manly outdoor exercises but had earned the reputation of being an attentive reader of the Qur'an. Like his father, Timur was a Muslim and seems to have been influenced by Naqshbandi Sufism. At this period, if we may credit the Memoirs (Malfu'at), he exhibited proofs of a tender and sympathetic nature.

Related Topics:
Qur'an - Naqshbandi - Sufism

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~