Timurid dynasty: Difference between revisions

Timurid Empire
Timurid Empire
1363–1506
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	Timurid Empire at its greatest extent Timurid Empire at its greatest extent
Capital	Samarkand
Government	Monarchy
History
• Established	1363
• Disestablished	1506
Preceded by
	Jalayirids
	Chupanids
	Injuids
	Muzaffarids

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The Timurids, self-designated Gurkānī^[1]^[2]^[3] (Template:PerB), were a Persianate Central Asian Sunni Muslim dynasty of originally Turko-Mongol^[4]^[5]^[6]^[7] descent whose empire included the whole of Central Asia, Iran, modern Afghanistan and Pakistan, as well as large parts of Mesopotamia and Caucasus. It was founded by the legendary conqueror Timur (Tamerlane) in the 14th century.

In the 16th century, Timurid prince Babur, the ruler of Ferghana, invaded India and founded the Mughal Empire - the Timurids of India - who ruled most of the Indian subcontinent for several centuries until its conquest by the British.

History

Origins

The origin of the Timurid dynasty goes back to the Mongolian nomadic confederation known as Barlas, who were remnants of the original Mongol army of Genghis Khan.^[5]^[8]^[9] After the Mongol conquest of Central Asia, the Barlas settled in Turkistan (which then became also known as Moghulistan - "Land of Mongols") and intermingled to a considerable degree with the local Turkic and Turkic-speaking population, so that at the time of Timur's reign the Barlas had become thoroughly Turkicized in terms of language and habits. Additionally, by adopting Islam, the Central Asian Turks and Mongols also adopted the Persian literary and high culture^[10] which has dominated Central Asia since the early days of Islamic influence. Persian literature was instrumental in the assimilation of the Timurid elite to the Perso-Islamic courtly culture^[11]. Timur was also steeped in Persian culture^[12] and in most of the territories which he incorporated, Persian was the primary language of administration and literary culture. Thus the language of the settled "diwan" was Persian, and its scribes had to be thoroughly adept in Persian culture, whatever their ethnic origin.^[13].

Founding the dynasty

Timur conquered large parts of Transoxiana (in modern day Central Asia) and Khorasan (parts of modern day Iran, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan) from 1363 onwards with various alliances (Samarkand in 1366, and Balkh in 1369), and was recognized as ruler over them in 1370. Acting officially in the name of the Mongolian Chagatai ulus, he subjugated Transoxania and Khwarazm in the years that followed and began a campaign westwards in 1380. By 1389 he had removed the Kartids from Herat and advanced into mainland Persia from 1382 (capture of Isfahan in 1387, removal of the Muzaffarids from Shiraz in 1393, and expulsion of the Jalayirids from Baghdad). In 1394/95 he triumphed over the Golden Horde and enforced his sovereignty in the Caucasus, in 1398 subjugated Multan and Dipalpur in modern day Pakistan and in modern day India left Delhi in such ruin that it is said for two months "not a bird moved wing in the city"^[14]. In 1400/01 conquered Aleppo, Damascus and eastern Anatolia, in 1401 destroyed Baghdad and in 1402 triumphed over the Ottomans at Ankara. In addition, he transformed Samarqand into the Center of the World. An estimated 17 million people may have died from his conquests.^[15]

After the end of the Timurid Empire in 1506, the Mughal Empire was later established in India by Babur in 1526, who was a descendant of Timur through his father and possibly a descendant of Genghis Khan through his mother. The dynasty he established is commonly known as the Mughal Dynasty. By the 17th century, the Mughal Empire ruled most of India, but later declined during the 18th century.

Due to the fact that the Persian cities were desolated by previous wars, the seat of Persian culture was now in Samarkand and Herat. These cities became the center of the Timurid renaissance^[6].

Culture

Although the Timurids hailed from the Barlas tribe which was of Mongol origin, they had embraced Persian culture,Cite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page). and Persian art (distinguished by extensive adaptations from the Chinese^[6]), converted to Islam, and resided in Turkestan and Khorasan. Thus, the Timurid era had a dual character,^[6] which reflected both the Turco-Mongol origins and the Persian literary, artistic, and courtly high culture^[10] of the dynasty.

Language & literature

During the Timurid period, three languages - Persian, Chaghatay (back then simply known as türki, "Turkish"), and Arabic - were in use. The major language of the period was Persian, the native language of the Tājīk (Persian) component of society and the language of learning acquired by all literate and/or urban Turks. Persian was the official state language^[16]^[10] and served as the language of administration, history, belles lettres, and poetry.^[17] The Chaghatay language was the native and "home language" of the Timurid family^[18] while Arabic served as the language par excellence of science, philosophy, theology and the religious sciences.^[19]

Timurid literature in Persian

Persian literature, especially Persian poetry occupied a central place in the process of assimilation of the Timurid elite to the Perso-Islamic courtly culture.^[20] The Timurid sultans, especially Šāhrukh Mīrzā and his son Mohammad Taragai Oloğ Beg, patronized Persian culture.^[10] Among the most important literary works of the Timurid era is the Persian biography of Timur, known as "Zafarnāma" (Template:PerB), written by Sharaf ud-Dīn Alī Yazdī, which itself is based on an older "Zafarnāma" by Nizām al-Dīn Shāmī, the official biographer of Timur during his lifetime. The most famous poet of the Timurid era was Nūr ud-Dīn Jāmī, the last great medieval Sufi mystic of Persia and one of the greatest in Persian poetry. In addition, some of the of the astronomical works of the Timurid sultan Ulugh Beg were written in Persian, although the bulk of it was published in Arabic.^[19]

The Šāhnāma of Baysunğur

The Timurid ruler Baysunğur commissioned a new edition of the Persian national epic Šāhnāma and wrote an introduction to it. According to T. Lenz^[21]:

It can be viewed as a specific reaction in the wake of Timur's death in 807/1405 to the new cultural demands facing Shahhrokh and his sons, a Turkic military elite no longer deriving their power and influence solely from a charismatic steppe leader with a carefully cultivated linkage to Mongol aristocracy. Now centered in Khorasan, the ruling house regarded the increased assimilation and patronage of Persian culture as an integral component of efforts to secure the legitimacy and authority of the dynasty within the context of the Islamic Iranian monarchical tradition, and the Baysanghur Shahnameh, as much a precious object as it is a manuscript to be read, powerfully symbolizes the Timurid conception of their own place in that tradition. A valuable documentary source for Timurid decorative arts that have all but disappeared for the period, the manuscript still awaits a comprehensive monographic study.

Timurid literature in Chagatay

The early Timurids played a very important role in the history of Turkic literature. Based on the established Persian literary tradition, a national Turkic literature was developed, written in the Chagatay language, the native tongue of the Timurid family. Chagatay poets such as Mīr Alī Sher Nawā'ī, Sultan Husayn Bāyqarā, and Zāher ud-Dīn Bābur encouraged other Turkic-speaking poets to write in their own vernacular in addition to Arabic and Persian.

Art

During the reign of Timurid rule, the golden age of Persian painting was ushered.^[22] During this period as well as the Safavid dynasty, Chinese art and artists had a significant influence on Persian art.^[23]^[24]^[25] Miniature was one these arts which was introduced by Chinese artists to Iranians at the time of Timurids. The most famous painter and miniaturist of the Timurid court, was Ustād Kamāl ud-Dīin Behzād. Timurid artists refined the Persian art of the book, which combines paper, calligraphy, illumination, illustration and binding in a brilliant and colourful whole.^[26] It was the Mongol ethnicity of the Chaghatayid and Timurid Khans that is the source of the stylistic depiction Persian art during the Middle Ages. These same Mongols intermarried with the Persians and Turks of Central Asia, even adopting their religion and languages. Yet their simple control of the world at that time, particularly in the 13-15th Centuries, reflected itself in the idealized appearance of Persians as Mongols. Though the ethnic make-up gradually blended into the Iranian and Mesopotamian local populations, the Mongol stylism continued well after, and crossed into Asia Minor and even North Africa.

Architecture

Timurid architecture

File:Gure Amir.JPG

"Gūr-e Amīr" complex with its azure dome.

In the realm of architecture, the Timurids drew on and developed many Seljuq traditions. Turquoise and blue tiles forming intricate linear and geometric patterns decorated the facades of buildings. Sometimes the interior was decorated similarly, with painting and stucco relief further enriching the effect.^[4] Timurid architecture is the pinnacle of Islamic art in Central Asia. Spectacular and stately edifices erected by Timur and his successors in Samarkand and Herat helped to disseminate the influence of the Ilkhanid school of art in India, thus giving rise to the celebrated Mughal (or Mongol) school of architecture. Timurid architecture started with the sanctuary of Ahmed Yasawi in present-day Kazakhstan and culminated in Timur's mausoleum Gur-e Amir in Samarkand. Timur’s Gur-I Mir, the 14th century mausoleum of the conqueror is covered with ‘’turquoise Persian tiles’’^[27] Nearby, in the center of the ancient town, a Persian style Madrassa (religious school)^[28] and a Persian style Mosque^[29] by Ulugh Beg is observed. The mausoleum of Timurid princes, with their turquoise and blue-tiled domes remain among the most refined and exquisite Persian architecture^[30]. Axial symmetry is a characteristic of all major Timurid structures, notably the Shāh-e Zenda in Samarkand, the Musallah complex in Herat, and the mosque of Gowhar Shād in Mashhad. Double domes of various shapes abound, and the outsides are perfused with brilliantly colors. Timurs dominance of the region strengthened the influence of his capital and Persian architecture upon India.^[31]

Rulers of the Timurid Empire

Timur (Tamerlane) 1370 - 1405 (771-807 AH) - with Suyurghitmiš Chaghtay as nominal overlord followed by Mahmūd Chaghtay as overlord and finally Muhammad Sultān as heir
Pir Muhammad bin Jahāngīr 1405 - 1407 (807-808 AH)

Rulers of Herat

Shāhrukh 1405 - 1447 (807-50 AH) (overall ruler of the Timurid Empire 1409 - 1447)
Abu'l-Qasim Bābar 1447 - 1457 (850-61 AH)
Shāh Mahmūd 1457 (861 AH)
Ibrāhim 1457 - 1459 (861-863 AH)
Sultān Abu Sa’id Gūrgān 1459 - 1469 (863-73 AH) (in Transoxiana 1451-1469)
Yādgār Muhammad 1470 (873 AH)
Sultān Hussayn 1470 - 1506 (874-911 AH)
Badi ul-Zamān 1506 - 1507 (911-912 AH) and
Muzaffar Hussayn 1506 - 1507 (911-912 AH)

Herat is conquered by the Uzbeks under Muhammad Shaybani

Rulers of Samarkand

Khalīl Sultān 1405 - 1409 (807-11 AH)
Mohammad Taragai bin Shāhrukh-I 1409 - 1449 (811-53 AH) (overall ruler of the Timurid Empire 1447 - 1449)
'Abd al-Latif 1449 - 1450 (853-854 AH)
‘Abdullah 1450 - 1451 (854-55 AH)
Sultān Abu Sa’id Gūrgān 1451 - 1469 (855-73 AH) (in Herat 1459-1469)

Abu Sa'id's sons divided his territories upon his death, into Samarkand, Badakhshan and Farghana

Sultān ibn Abu Sa’id 1469 - 1494 (873-899 AH)
Sultān Mahmūd ibn Abu Sa’id 1494 - 1495 (899-900 AH)
Sultān Baysunqur 1495 - 1497 (900-902 AH) and
Mas’ūd 1495 (900 AH) and
Sultān Alī Mīrzā 1495 - 1500 (900-905 AH)

Samarkand is conquered by the Uzbeks under Muhammad Shaybani

Other rulers

Qaidu bin Pir Muhammad bin Jahāngīr 808-811 AH
Abu Bakr bin Mīrān Shāh 1405 - 1407 (807-809 AH)
Pir Muhammad bin Umar Sheikh 807-812 AH
Rustam 812-817 AH
Sikandar 812-17 AH
Alaudaullah 851 AH
Abu Bakr bin Muhammad 851 AH
Sultān Muhammad 850-55 AH
Muhammad bin Hussayn 903-906 AH
Abul A'la Fereydūn Hussayn 911-912 AH
Muhammad Mohsin Khān 911-912 AH
Muhammad Zamān Khān 920-923 AH
Shāhrukh II bin Abu Sa’id 896-897 AH
Ulugh Beg Kābulī 873-907 AH
Sultān Uways 1508 - 1522 (913-927 AH)

Heads of the Timurid Dynasty

Bahadur Shah II (1857- 1862)
Shahzada Muhammad Hidayat Afshar, Ilahi Bakhsh Bahadur (1862-1878)
Shahzada Muhammad Sulaiman Shah Bahadur (1878-1890)
Shahzada Muhammad Kaiwan Shah Gorkwani, Suraya Jah Bahadur (1890-1913)
Mirza Salim Muhammad Shah Bahadur (1913-1925)
No recognised head of the family (1925-1931)
Shahzada Muhammad Khair ud-din Mirza, Khurshid Jah Bahadur (1931-1975)
Mirza Ghulam Moinuddin Muhammad, Javaid Jah Bahadur (1975-Present)

References and notes

^ Zahir ud-Din Mohammad (2002-09-10). Thackston, Wheeler M. (ed.). The Baburnama: Memoirs of Babur, Prince and Emperor. Modern Library Classics. ISBN 0375761373. Note: Gurkānī is the Persianized form of the Mongolian word "kürügän" ("son-in-law"), the title given to the dynasty's founder after his marriage into Genghis Khan's family. {{cite book}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)CS1 maint: date and year (link)
^ Note: Gurgān, Gurkhān, or Kurkhān; The meaning of Kurkhan is given in Clements Markham's publication of the reports of the contemporary witness Ruy González de Clavijo as "of the lineage of sovereign princes".
^ Edward Balfour The Encyclopaedia Asiatica, Comprising Indian Subcontinent, Eastern and Southern Asia, Cosmo Publications 1976, S. 460, S. 488, S. 897
^ ^a ^b Encyclopædia Britannica, "Timurid Dynasty", Online Academic Edition, 2007. (Quotation:...Turkic dynasty descended from the conqueror Timur (Tamerlane), renowned for its brilliant revival of artistic and intellectual life in Iran and Central Asia....Trading and artistic communities were brought into the capital city of Herat, where a library was founded, and the capital became the centre of a renewed and artistically brilliant Persian culture...)
^ ^a ^b B.F. Manz, "Tīmūr Lang", in Encyclopaedia of Islam, Online Edition, 2006
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Timurids". The Columbia Encyclopedia (Sixth ed.). New York City: Columbia University. Retrieved 2006-11-08. Cite error: The named reference "Columbia" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
^ Encyclopaedia Britannica article: Consolidation & expansion of the Indo-Timurids, Online Edition, 2007.
^ "Timur", The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition, 2001-05 Columbia University Press, (LINK)
^ "Consolidation & expansion of the Indo-Timurids", in Encyclopaedia Britannica, (LINK)
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d B. Spuler, "Central Asia in the Mongol and Timurid periods", published in Encyclopaedia Iranica, Online Edition, 2006/7, (LINK): "... Like his father, Olōğ Beg was entirely integrated into the Persian Islamic cultural circles, and during his reign Persian predominated as the language of high culture, a status that it retained in the region of Samarqand until the Russian revolution 1917 [...] Ḥoseyn Bāyqarā encouraged the developement of Persian literature and literary talent in every way possible ..." Cite error: The named reference "Iranica2" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
^ David J. Roxburgh. The Persian Album, 1400-1600: From Dispersal to Collection. Yale University Press, 2005. pg 130: "Persian literature, especially poetry, occupied a central in the process of assimilation of Timurid elite to the Perso-Islamicate courtly culture, and so it is not suprising to find Baysanghur commissioned a new edition of Firdawsi's Shanama
^ Gérard Chaliand, Nomadic Empires: From Mongolia to the Danube translated by A. M. Berrett, Transaction Publishers, 2004. pg 75
^ Beatrice Forbes Manz. The Rise and Rule of Tamerlane. Cambridge University Press, 1999. pg 109: "...In Temür's government, as in those of most nomad dynasties, it is impossible to find a clear distinction between civil and military affairs, or to identify the Persian bureaucracy solely civil, and the Turko-Mongolian solely with military government. It is infact difficult to define the sphere of either side of the administration and we find Persians and Chaghatays sharing manys tasks. (In discussiong the settled bureaucracy and the people who worked within it I use the word Persian in a cultural rather than ethnological sense. In almost all the territories which Temür incorporated into his realm Persian was the primary language of administration and literary culture. Thus the language of the settled "diwan" was Persian, and its scribes had to be thoroughly adept in Persian culture, whatever their ethnic origin.) Temür's Chaghatay emirs were often involved in civil and provincial administration and even in financial affairs, traditionally the province of Persian bureaucracy...."
^ Volume III: To the Year A.D. 1398, Chapter: XVIII. Malfúzát-i Tímúrí, or Túzak-i Tímúrí: The Autobiography of Tímúr. Page: 389 (please press next and read all pages in the online copy) (1. Online copy, 2. Online copy) from: Elliot, Sir H. M., Edited by Dowson, John. The History of India, as Told by Its Own Historians. The Muhammadan Period; published by London Trubner Company 1867–1877. (Online Copy: The History of India, as Told by Its Own Historians. The Muhammadan Period; by Sir H. M. Elliot; Edited by John Dowson; London Trubner Company 1867–1877 - This online Copy has been posted by: The Packard Humanities Institute; Persian Texts in Translation; Also find other historical books: Author List and Title List)
^ Selected Death Tolls: Timur Lenk (1369-1405)
^ Robert Devereux (tr.), "Judgment of Two Languages; Muhakamat Al-Lughatain By Mir 'Ali Shir Nawāi"; Introduction, Translation and Notes: Leiden (E.J. Brill), 1966): Any linguist of today who reads the essay will inevitably conclude that Nawa'i argued his case poorly, for his principal argument is that the Turkic lexicon contained many words for which the Persian had no exact equivalents and that Persian-speakers had therefore to use the Turkic words. This is a weak reed on which to lean, for it is a rare language indeed that contains no loan words. In any case, the beauty of a language and its merits as a literary medium depend less on size of vocabulary and purity of etymology that on the euphony, expressiveness and malleability of those words its lexicon does include. Moreover, even if Nawa'i's thesis were to be accepted as valid, he destroyed his own case by the lavish use, no doubt unknowingly, of non-Turkic words even while ridiculing the Persians for their need to borrow Turkic words. The present writer has not made a word count of Nawa'i's text, but he would estimate conservatively that at least one half the words used by Nawa'i in the essay are Arabic or Persian in origin. To support his claim of the superiority of the Turkic language, Nawa'i also employs the curious argument that most Turks also spoke Persian but only a few Persians ever achieved fluency in Turkic. It is difficult to understand why he was impressed by this phenomenon, since the most obvious explanation is that Turks found it necessary, or at least advisable, to learn Persian - it was, after all, the official state language - while Persians saw no reason to bother learning Turkic which was, in their eyes, merely the uncivilized tongue of uncivilized nomadic tribesmen
^ B.F. Manz/W.M. Thackston/D.J. Roxburgh/L. Golombek/L. Komaroff/R.E. Darley-Doran; "Timurids", in Encyclopaedia of Islam; Brill; Online Edition (2007): "... During the Timurid period, three languages, Persian, Turkish, and Arabic were in use. The major language of the period was Persian, the native language of the Tajik (Persian) component of society and the language of learning acquired by all literate and/or urban Turks. Persian served as the language of administration, history, belles lettres, and poetry. ..."
^ B.F. Manz/W.M. Thackston/D.J. Roxburgh/L. Golombek/L. Komaroff/R.E. Darley-Doran; "Timurids", in Encyclopaedia of Islam; Brill; Online Edition (2007): "... What is now called Chaghatay Turkish, which was then called simply türki, was the native and “home” language of the Timurids ..."
^ ^a ^b B.F. Manz/W.M. Thackston/D.J. Roxburgh/L. Golombek/L. Komaroff/R.E. Darley-Doran; "Timurids", in Encyclopaedia of Islam; Brill; Online Edition (2007): "... As it had been prior to the Timurids and continued to be after them, Arabic was the language par excellence of science, philosophy, theology and the religious sciences. Much of the astronomical work of Ulugh Beg and his co-workers [...] is in Arabic, although they also wrote in Persian. Theological works [...] are generally in Arabic. ..."
^ David J. Roxburgh. The Persian Album, 1400-1600: From Dispersal to Collection. Yale University Press, 2005. pg 130: "Persian literature, especially poetry, occupied a central in the process of assimilation of Timurid elite to the Perso-Islamicate courtly culture, and so it is not suprising to find Baysanghur commissioned a new edition of Firdawsi's Shanama
^ "Baysonghori Shahnameh" in Encyclopedia Iranica by T. Lenz
^ New Orient, By Czechoslovak Society for Eastern Studies, Czechoslovak Society for Eastern Studies, 1968. pg 139.
^ Persian Paintings
^ MSN Encarta. Islamic Art and Architecture.
^ Art Arena. Persian art - the Safavids
^ John Onians, Atlas of World Art, Laurence King Publishing, 2004. pg 132.
^ John Julius Norwich, Great Architecture of the World, Da Capo Press, 2001. pg 278.
^ John Julius Norwich, Great Architecture of the World, Da Capo Press, 2001. pg 278.
^ John Julius Norwich, Great Architecture of the World, Da Capo Press, 2001. pg 278.
^ Hugh Kennedy, “The Great Arab Conquests: How the Spread of Islam Changed the World We Live In”, Da Capo Press, 2007. pg 237
^ Banister Fletcher, Dan Cruickshan, "Sir Banister Fletcher's a History of Architecture ",Architectural Press, 1996. pg 606

External links

[Thackston-1] Zahir ud-Din Mohammad (2002-09-10). Thackston, Wheeler M. (ed.). The Baburnama: Memoirs of Babur, Prince and Emperor. Modern Library Classics. ISBN 0375761373. Note: Gurkānī is the Persianized form of the Mongolian word "kürügän" ("son-in-law"), the title given to the dynasty's founder after his marriage into Genghis Khan's family. {{cite book}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)CS1 maint: date and year (link)

[2] Note: Gurgān, Gurkhān, or Kurkhān; The meaning of Kurkhan is given in Clements Markham's publication of the reports of the contemporary witness Ruy González de Clavijo as "of the lineage of sovereign princes".

[3] Edward Balfour The Encyclopaedia Asiatica, Comprising Indian Subcontinent, Eastern and Southern Asia, Cosmo Publications 1976, S. 460, S. 488, S. 897

[Britannica-4] Encyclopædia Britannica, "Timurid Dynasty", Online Academic Edition, 2007. (Quotation:...Turkic dynasty descended from the conqueror Timur (Tamerlane), renowned for its brilliant revival of artistic and intellectual life in Iran and Central Asia....Trading and artistic communities were brought into the capital city of Herat, where a library was founded, and the capital became the centre of a renewed and artistically brilliant Persian culture...)

[EI-5] B.F. Manz, "Tīmūr Lang", in Encyclopaedia of Islam, Online Edition, 2006

[Columbia-6] "Timurids". The Columbia Encyclopedia (Sixth ed.). New York City: Columbia University. Retrieved 2006-11-08. Cite error: The named reference "Columbia" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).

[7] Encyclopaedia Britannica article: Consolidation & expansion of the Indo-Timurids, Online Edition, 2007.

[8] "Timur", The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition, 2001-05 Columbia University Press, (LINK)

[9] "Consolidation & expansion of the Indo-Timurids", in Encyclopaedia Britannica, (LINK)

[Iranica2-10] B. Spuler, "Central Asia in the Mongol and Timurid periods", published in Encyclopaedia Iranica, Online Edition, 2006/7, (LINK): "... Like his father, Olōğ Beg was entirely integrated into the Persian Islamic cultural circles, and during his reign Persian predominated as the language of high culture, a status that it retained in the region of Samarqand until the Russian revolution 1917 [...] Ḥoseyn Bāyqarā encouraged the developement of Persian literature and literary talent in every way possible ..." Cite error: The named reference "Iranica2" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).

[11] David J. Roxburgh. The Persian Album, 1400-1600: From Dispersal to Collection. Yale University Press, 2005. pg 130: "Persian literature, especially poetry, occupied a central in the process of assimilation of Timurid elite to the Perso-Islamicate courtly culture, and so it is not suprising to find Baysanghur commissioned a new edition of Firdawsi's Shanama

[12] Gérard Chaliand, Nomadic Empires: From Mongolia to the Danube translated by A. M. Berrett, Transaction Publishers, 2004. pg 75

[13] Beatrice Forbes Manz. The Rise and Rule of Tamerlane. Cambridge University Press, 1999. pg 109: "...In Temür's government, as in those of most nomad dynasties, it is impossible to find a clear distinction between civil and military affairs, or to identify the Persian bureaucracy solely civil, and the Turko-Mongolian solely with military government. It is infact difficult to define the sphere of either side of the administration and we find Persians and Chaghatays sharing manys tasks. (In discussiong the settled bureaucracy and the people who worked within it I use the word Persian in a cultural rather than ethnological sense. In almost all the territories which Temür incorporated into his realm Persian was the primary language of administration and literary culture. Thus the language of the settled "diwan" was Persian, and its scribes had to be thoroughly adept in Persian culture, whatever their ethnic origin.) Temür's Chaghatay emirs were often involved in civil and provincial administration and even in financial affairs, traditionally the province of Persian bureaucracy...."

[14] Volume III: To the Year A.D. 1398, Chapter: XVIII. Malfúzát-i Tímúrí, or Túzak-i Tímúrí: The Autobiography of Tímúr. Page: 389 (please press next and read all pages in the online copy) (1. Online copy, 2. Online copy) from: Elliot, Sir H. M., Edited by Dowson, John. The History of India, as Told by Its Own Historians. The Muhammadan Period; published by London Trubner Company 1867–1877. (Online Copy: The History of India, as Told by Its Own Historians. The Muhammadan Period; by Sir H. M. Elliot; Edited by John Dowson; London Trubner Company 1867–1877 - This online Copy has been posted by: The Packard Humanities Institute; Persian Texts in Translation; Also find other historical books: Author List and Title List)

[15] Selected Death Tolls: Timur Lenk (1369-1405)

[16] Robert Devereux (tr.), "Judgment of Two Languages; Muhakamat Al-Lughatain By Mir 'Ali Shir Nawāi"; Introduction, Translation and Notes: Leiden (E.J. Brill), 1966): Any linguist of today who reads the essay will inevitably conclude that Nawa'i argued his case poorly, for his principal argument is that the Turkic lexicon contained many words for which the Persian had no exact equivalents and that Persian-speakers had therefore to use the Turkic words. This is a weak reed on which to lean, for it is a rare language indeed that contains no loan words. In any case, the beauty of a language and its merits as a literary medium depend less on size of vocabulary and purity of etymology that on the euphony, expressiveness and malleability of those words its lexicon does include. Moreover, even if Nawa'i's thesis were to be accepted as valid, he destroyed his own case by the lavish use, no doubt unknowingly, of non-Turkic words even while ridiculing the Persians for their need to borrow Turkic words. The present writer has not made a word count of Nawa'i's text, but he would estimate conservatively that at least one half the words used by Nawa'i in the essay are Arabic or Persian in origin. To support his claim of the superiority of the Turkic language, Nawa'i also employs the curious argument that most Turks also spoke Persian but only a few Persians ever achieved fluency in Turkic. It is difficult to understand why he was impressed by this phenomenon, since the most obvious explanation is that Turks found it necessary, or at least advisable, to learn Persian - it was, after all, the official state language - while Persians saw no reason to bother learning Turkic which was, in their eyes, merely the uncivilized tongue of uncivilized nomadic tribesmen

[EI_-_Manz-17] B.F. Manz/W.M. Thackston/D.J. Roxburgh/L. Golombek/L. Komaroff/R.E. Darley-Doran; "Timurids", in Encyclopaedia of Islam; Brill; Online Edition (2007): "... During the Timurid period, three languages, Persian, Turkish, and Arabic were in use. The major language of the period was Persian, the native language of the Tajik (Persian) component of society and the language of learning acquired by all literate and/or urban Turks. Persian served as the language of administration, history, belles lettres, and poetry. ..."

[18] B.F. Manz/W.M. Thackston/D.J. Roxburgh/L. Golombek/L. Komaroff/R.E. Darley-Doran; "Timurids", in Encyclopaedia of Islam; Brill; Online Edition (2007): "... What is now called Chaghatay Turkish, which was then called simply türki, was the native and “home” language of the Timurids ..."

[EI_-_Manz2-19] B.F. Manz/W.M. Thackston/D.J. Roxburgh/L. Golombek/L. Komaroff/R.E. Darley-Doran; "Timurids", in Encyclopaedia of Islam; Brill; Online Edition (2007): "... As it had been prior to the Timurids and continued to be after them, Arabic was the language par excellence of science, philosophy, theology and the religious sciences. Much of the astronomical work of Ulugh Beg and his co-workers [...] is in Arabic, although they also wrote in Persian. Theological works [...] are generally in Arabic. ..."

[20] David J. Roxburgh. The Persian Album, 1400-1600: From Dispersal to Collection. Yale University Press, 2005. pg 130: "Persian literature, especially poetry, occupied a central in the process of assimilation of Timurid elite to the Perso-Islamicate courtly culture, and so it is not suprising to find Baysanghur commissioned a new edition of Firdawsi's Shanama

[21] "Baysonghori Shahnameh" in Encyclopedia Iranica by T. Lenz

[22] New Orient, By Czechoslovak Society for Eastern Studies, Czechoslovak Society for Eastern Studies, 1968. pg 139.

[23] Persian Paintings

[24] MSN Encarta. Islamic Art and Architecture.

[25] Art Arena. Persian art - the Safavids

[26] John Onians, Atlas of World Art, Laurence King Publishing, 2004. pg 132.

[27] John Julius Norwich, Great Architecture of the World, Da Capo Press, 2001. pg 278.

[28] John Julius Norwich, Great Architecture of the World, Da Capo Press, 2001. pg 278.

[29] John Julius Norwich, Great Architecture of the World, Da Capo Press, 2001. pg 278.

[30] Hugh Kennedy, “The Great Arab Conquests: How the Spread of Islam Changed the World We Live In”, Da Capo Press, 2007. pg 237

[31] Banister Fletcher, Dan Cruickshan, "Sir Banister Fletcher's a History of Architecture ",Architectural Press, 1996. pg 606

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+{{Infobox Former Country
-[[Image:Timurid_Dynasty_821_-_873_(AD).PNG|300px|thumb|Timurid Dynasty at its Greatest Extent]]
+|native_name            =
-The '''Timurids''', self-designated ''Gurkānī'' <span dir="ltr"><ref name="Thackston">{{cite book | title=The Baburnama: Memoirs of Babur, Prince and Emperor | publisher=Modern Library Classics | id=ISBN 0375761373 | year=2002 | date=[[2002-09-10]] | author=Zahir ud-Din Mohammad | editor=Thackston, Wheeler M. | quote=<small>Note: ''Gurkānī'' is the [[Persianization|Persianized]] form of the Mongolian word "kürügän" ("son-in-law"), the title given to the dynasty's founder after his marriage into [[Genghis Khan]]'s family.</small>}}</ref><ref><small>Note: ''Gurgān'', ''Gurkhān'', or ''Kurkhān''; The meaning of ''Kurkhan'' is given in [http://www.gardenvisit.com/travel/clavijo/timurearlylife.htm Clements Markham's publication of the reports of the contemporary witness Ruy González de Clavijo] as ''"of the lineage of sovereign princes"''.</small></ref><ref>Edward Balfour ''The Encyclopaedia Asiatica, Comprising Indian Subcontinent, Eastern and Southern Asia'', Cosmo Publications 1976, S. 460, S. 488, S. 897</ref></span>({{PerB|گوركانى}}), were a [[Central Asia]]n [[Sunni]] [[Islam|Muslim]] dynasty of originally [[Turko-Mongol]]<ref name="Britannica">[[Encyclopædia Britannica]], "[http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9072546/Timurid-Dynasty Timurid Dynasty]", Online Academic Edition, 2007. (Quotation:...''Turkic dynasty descended from the conqueror Timur (Tamerlane), renowned for its brilliant revival of artistic and intellectual life in Iran and Central Asia.''...''Trading and artistic communities were brought into the capital city of Herat, where a library was founded, and the capital became the centre of a renewed and artistically brilliant Persian culture.''..)</ref><ref name="EI">B.F. Manz, ''"Tīmūr Lang"'', in [[Encyclopaedia of Islam]], Online Edition, 2006</ref><ref name="Columbia">{{cite encyclopedia | encyclopedia = The Columbia Encyclopedia | title = Timurids | url = http://www.bartleby.com/65/ti/Timurids.html | edition = Sixth | publisher = [[Columbia University]] | location = [[New York City]] |accessdate=2006-11-08 }}</ref><ref>[[Encyclopaedia Britannica]] article: [http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-26937/Islamic-world Consolidation & expansion of the Indo-Timurids], Online Edition, 2007.</ref> descent whose empire included the whole of Central Asia, [[Iran]], modern [[Afghanistan]] and [[Pakistan]], as well as large parts of [[Mesopotamia]] and [[Caucasus]]. It was founded by the legendary conqueror [[Timur]] (''Tamerlane'') in the [[14th century]].
+|conventional_long_name = Timurid Empire
+|common_name            = Timurid Empire
+|continent              = Asia
+|region                 = Middle East
+|status                 = Empire
+|government_type        = Monarchy
+|year_start             = 1363
+|year_end               = 1506
+|p1                     = Jalayirids
+|p2                     = Chupanids
+|p3                     = Injuids
+|p4                     = Muzaffarids
+|flag_p1                =
+|s1                     =
+|image_flag             = Timurid.svg
+|image_map              = Timurid Dynasty 821 - 873 (AD).PNG
+|image_map_caption      = Timurid Empire at its greatest extent
+|capital                = [[Samarkand]]
+}}
+The '''Timurids''', self-designated ''Gurkānī''<span dir="ltr"><ref name="Thackston">{{cite book | title=The Baburnama: Memoirs of Babur, Prince and Emperor | publisher=Modern Library Classics | id=ISBN 0375761373 | year=2002 | date=[[2002-09-10]] | author=Zahir ud-Din Mohammad | editor=Thackston, Wheeler M. | quote=<small>Note: ''Gurkānī'' is the [[Persianization|Persianized]] form of the Mongolian word "kürügän" ("son-in-law"), the title given to the dynasty's founder after his marriage into [[Genghis Khan]]'s family.</small>}}</ref><ref><small>Note: ''Gurgān'', ''Gurkhān'', or ''Kurkhān''; The meaning of ''Kurkhan'' is given in [http://www.gardenvisit.com/travel/clavijo/timurearlylife.htm Clements Markham's publication of the reports of the contemporary witness Ruy González de Clavijo] as ''"of the lineage of sovereign princes"''.</small></ref><ref>Edward Balfour ''The Encyclopaedia Asiatica, Comprising Indian Subcontinent, Eastern and Southern Asia'', Cosmo Publications 1976, S. 460, S. 488, S. 897</ref></span> ({{PerB|گوركانى}}), were a [[Persianate society|Persianate]] [[Central Asia]]n [[Sunni]] [[Islam|Muslim]] dynasty of originally [[Turko-Mongol]]<ref name="Britannica">[[Encyclopædia Britannica]], "[http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9072546/Timurid-Dynasty Timurid Dynasty]", Online Academic Edition, 2007. (Quotation:...''Turkic dynasty descended from the conqueror Timur (Tamerlane), renowned for its brilliant revival of artistic and intellectual life in Iran and Central Asia.''...''Trading and artistic communities were brought into the capital city of Herat, where a library was founded, and the capital became the centre of a renewed and artistically brilliant Persian culture.''..)</ref><ref name="EI">B.F. Manz, ''"Tīmūr Lang"'', in [[Encyclopaedia of Islam]], Online Edition, 2006</ref><ref name="Columbia">{{cite encyclopedia | encyclopedia = The Columbia Encyclopedia | title = Timurids | url = http://www.bartleby.com/65/ti/Timurids.html | edition = Sixth | publisher = [[Columbia University]] | location = [[New York City]] |accessdate=2006-11-08 }}</ref><ref>[[Encyclopaedia Britannica]] article: [http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-26937/Islamic-world Consolidation & expansion of the Indo-Timurids], Online Edition, 2007.</ref> descent whose empire included the whole of Central Asia, [[Iran]], modern [[Afghanistan]] and [[Pakistan]], as well as large parts of [[Mesopotamia]] and [[Caucasus]]. It was founded by the legendary conqueror [[Timur]] (''Tamerlane'') in the [[14th century]].
 In the [[16th century]], Timurid prince [[Babur]], the ruler of [[Ferghana]], invaded [[India]] and founded the [[Mughal Empire]] - the ''Timurids of India'' - who ruled most of the [[Indian subcontinent]] for several centuries until its [[British Raj|conquest by the British]].
-= History =
+==History==
+===Origins===
-[[Image:Timurid.svg|thumb|150px|right|Flag of the Timurid Empire according to the [[Catalan Atlas]] c.1375]]
-== Origins ==
 {{main|Barlas|Turco-Mongol|Turko-Persian Tradition|Persianate society}}
-The origin of the Timurid dynasty goes back to the [[Mongolian]] nomadic confederation known as [[Barlas]], who were remnants of the original Mongol army of [[Genghis Khan]].<ref name="EI">B.F. Manz, ''"Tīmūr Lang"'', in [[Encyclopaedia of Islam]], Online Edition, 2006</ref><ref>''"Timur"'', The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition, 2001-05 Columbia University Press, ([http://www.bartleby.com/65/ti/Timur.html LINK])</ref><ref>"Consolidation & expansion of the Indo-Timurids", in [[Encyclopaedia Britannica]], ([http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-26937/Islamic-world LINK])</ref> After the Mongol conquest of Central Asia, the Barlas settled in [[Turkistan]] (which then became also known as ''Moghulistan'' - "Land of Mongols") and intermingled to a considerable degree with the local [[Turkic peoples|Turkic]] and [[Turkic languages|Turkic-speaking]] population, so that at the time of Timur's reign the Barlas had become thoroughly Turkicized in terms of language and habits.
+The origin of the Timurid dynasty goes back to the [[Mongolian]] nomadic confederation known as [[Barlas]], who were remnants of the original Mongol army of [[Genghis Khan]].<ref name="EI">B.F. Manz, ''"Tīmūr Lang"'', in [[Encyclopaedia of Islam]], Online Edition, 2006</ref><ref>''"Timur"'', The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition, 2001-05 Columbia University Press, ([http://www.bartleby.com/65/ti/Timur.html LINK])</ref><ref>"Consolidation & expansion of the Indo-Timurids", in [[Encyclopaedia Britannica]], ([http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-26937/Islamic-world LINK])</ref> After the Mongol conquest of Central Asia, the Barlas settled in [[Turkistan]] (which then became also known as ''Moghulistan'' - "Land of Mongols") and intermingled to a considerable degree with the local [[Turkic peoples|Turkic]] and [[Turkic languages|Turkic-speaking]] population, so that at the time of Timur's reign the Barlas had become thoroughly Turkicized in terms of language and habits. Additionally, by adopting [[Islam]], the Central Asian Turks and Mongols also adopted the [[Persianate society|Persian literary and high culture]]<ref name=Iranica2>B. Spuler, "Central Asia in the Mongol and Timurid periods", published in [[Encyclopaedia Iranica]], Online Edition, 2006/7, ([http://www.iranica.com/newsite/search/searchpdf.isc?ReqStrPDFPath=/home/iranica/public_html/newsite/pdfarticles/v5_articles/central_asia/mongol_and_timurid_periods&OptStrLogFile=/home/iranica/public_html/newsite/logs/pdfdownload.html LINK]): ''"... Like his father, Olōğ Beg was entirely integrated into the Persian Islamic cultural circles, and during his reign Persian predominated as the language of high culture, a status that it retained in the region of Samarqand until the Russian revolution 1917 [...] Ḥoseyn Bāyqarā encouraged the developement of Persian literature and literary talent in every way possible ..."''</ref> which has dominated Central Asia since the early days of Islamic influence.  Persian literature was instrumental in the assimilation of the Timurid elite to the Perso-Islamic courtly culture<ref>David J. Roxburgh. The Persian Album, 1400-1600: From Dispersal to Collection. Yale University Press, 2005.  pg 130: "Persian literature, especially poetry, occupied a central in the process of assimilation of Timurid elite to the Perso-Islamicate courtly culture, and so it is not suprising to find Baysanghur commissioned a new edition of Firdawsi's Shanama</ref>.   Timur was also steeped in Persian culture<ref> Gérard Chaliand, Nomadic Empires: From Mongolia to the Danube translated by A. M. Berrett, Transaction Publishers, 2004. pg 75</ref> and in most of the territories which he incorporated, Persian was the primary language of administration and literary culture. Thus the language of the settled "[[Divan|diwan]]" was Persian, and its scribes had to be thoroughly adept in Persian culture, whatever their ethnic origin.<ref>Beatrice Forbes Manz. The Rise and Rule of Tamerlane. Cambridge University Press, 1999. pg 109: "...''In Temür's government, as in those of most nomad dynasties, it is impossible to find a clear distinction between civil and military affairs, or to identify the Persian bureaucracy solely civil, and the Turko-Mongolian solely with military government. It is infact difficult to define the sphere of either side of the administration and we find Persians and Chaghatays sharing manys tasks. (In discussiong the settled bureaucracy and the people who worked within it I use the word Persian in a cultural rather than ethnological sense. In almost all the territories which Temür incorporated into his realm Persian was the primary language of administration and literary culture. Thus the language of the settled "diwan" was Persian, and its scribes had to be thoroughly adept in Persian culture, whatever their ethnic origin.) Temür's Chaghatay emirs were often involved in civil and provincial administration and even in financial affairs, traditionally the province of Persian bureaucracy.''..."</ref>.
-== Founding the dynasty ==
+===Founding the dynasty===
 {{main|Timur}}
 Timur conquered large parts of [[Transoxiana]] (in modern day Central Asia) and [[Greater Khorasan|Khorasan]] (parts of modern day [[Iran]], [[Afghanistan]], [[Uzbekistan]], [[Tajikistan]] and [[Turkmenistan]]) from [[1363]] onwards with various alliances ([[Samarkand]] in [[1366]], and [[Balkh]] in [[1369]]), and was recognized as ruler over them in [[1370]]. Acting officially in the name of the Mongolian [[Chagatai Khanate|Chagatai ulus]], he subjugated [[Transoxania]] and [[Khwarazm]] in the years that followed and began a campaign westwards in [[1380]]. By [[1389]] he had removed the Kartids from [[Herat]] and advanced into mainland [[Persian Empire|Persia]] from [[1382]] (capture of [[Isfahan (city)|Isfahan]] in [[1387]], removal of the [[Muzaffarids]] from [[Shiraz, Iran|Shiraz]] in [[1393]], and expulsion of the [[Jalayirids]] from [[Baghdad]]). In [[1394]]/[[1396|95]] he triumphed over the [[Golden Horde]] and enforced his sovereignty in the [[Caucasus]], in [[1398]] subjugated [[Multan]] and [[Dipalpur]] in modern day [[Pakistan]] and in modern day [[India]] left [[Delhi]] in such ruin that it is said for two months "not a bird moved wing in the city"<ref>[http://persian.packhum.org/persian/index.jsp?serv=pf&file=80201010&ct=0 Volume III: To the Year A.D. 1398, Chapter: XVIII. Malfúzát-i Tímúrí, or Túzak-i Tímúrí: The Autobiography of Tímúr. Page: 389 (please press next and read all pages in the online copy)] ([http://persian.packhum.org/persian/pf?file=80201013&ct=97 1. Online copy], [http://www.infinityfoundation.com/mandala/h_es/h_es_malfuzat_frameset.htm 2. Online copy]) from: Elliot, Sir H. M., Edited by Dowson, John. [[The History of India, as Told by Its Own Historians. The Muhammadan Period]]; published by London Trubner Company 1867–1877. (Online Copy: [http://persian.packhum.org/persian/index.jsp?serv=pf&file=80201010&ct=0 The History of India, as Told by Its Own Historians. The Muhammadan Period; by Sir H. M. Elliot; Edited by John Dowson; London Trubner Company 1867–1877] - This online Copy has been posted by: [http://persian.packhum.org/persian/index.jsp The Packard Humanities Institute; Persian Texts in Translation; Also find other historical books: Author List and Title List])</ref>.
 In [[1400]]/[[1401|01]] conquered [[Aleppo]], [[Damascus]] and eastern [[Anatolia]], in 1401 destroyed Baghdad and in [[1402]] triumphed over the Ottomans at [[Ankara]]. In addition, he transformed Samarqand into the ''Center of the World''.  An estimated 17 million people may have died from his conquests.<ref>[http://users.erols.com/mwhite28/warstat0.htm#Timur Selected Death Tolls: Timur Lenk (1369-1405)]</ref>
-After the end of the [[Timurid Empire]] in [[1506]], the [[Mughal Empire]] was later established in India by [[Babur]] in [[1526]], who was a descendant of [[Timur]] through his father and possibly a descendant of [[Genghis Khan]] through his mother. The dynasty he established is commonly known as the [[Mughal Dynasty]]. By the [[17th century]], the Mughal Empire ruled most of India, but later declined during the [[18th century]]. The Timurid Dynasty came to an end in [[1857]] after the Mughal Empire was dissolved by the [[British Empire]] and [[Bahadur Shah II]] was exiled to [[Burma]].
+After the end of the [[Timurid Empire]] in [[1506]], the [[Mughal Empire]] was later established in India by [[Babur]] in [[1526]], who was a descendant of [[Timur]] through his father and possibly a descendant of [[Genghis Khan]] through his mother. The dynasty he established is commonly known as the [[Mughal Dynasty]]. By the [[17th century]], the Mughal Empire ruled most of India, but later declined during the [[18th century]].
 Due to the fact that the Persian cities were desolated by previous wars, the seat of Persian culture was now in Samarkand and Herat.   These cities became the center of the Timurid renaissance<ref name="Columbia">{{cite encyclopedia | encyclopedia = The Columbia Encyclopedia | title = Timurids | url = http://www.bartleby.com/65/ti/Timurids.html | edition = Sixth | publisher = [[Columbia University]] | location = [[New York City]] |accessdate=2006-11-08}}</ref>.
 == Culture ==
-Although the Timurids hailed from the [[Barlas]] tribe which was of Mongol origin, they had embraced [[Persian culture|Persian]] culture<ref name="Iranica">{{cite encyclopedia | last = Lehmann | first = F. | encyclopedia = [[Encyclopaedia Iranica]] | title = Zaher ud-Din Babor - Founder of Mughal empire | url = http://www.iranica.com/newsite/search/searchpdf.isc?ReqStrPDFPath=/home/iranica/public_html/newsite/pdfarticles/v3_articles/babor_zahir-al-din_mohammad&OptStrLogFile=/home/iranica/public_html/newsite/logs/pdfdownload.html
- | accessdate = 2006-11-07 | accessyear = 2006 | accessmonth = November | edition = Online | publisher = [[Columbia University]] Center for Iranian (Persian) Studies | location = [[New York City]] | pages = 320-323 | quote = "... ''His origin, milieu, training, and culture were steeped in Persian culture and so Babor was largely responsible for the fostering of this culture by his descendants, the Mughals of India, and for the expansion of Persian cultural infleunce in the Indian subcontinent, with brilliant literary, artistic, and historiographical results'' ..."}}</ref> and Persian art (distinguished by extensive adaptations from the [[China|Chinese]]<ref name="Columbia">{{cite encyclopedia | encyclopedia = The Columbia Encyclopedia | title = Timurids | url = http://www.bartleby.com/65/ti/Timurids.html | edition = Sixth | publisher = [[Columbia University]] | location = [[New York City]] |accessdate=2006-11-08}}</ref>), and also [[Chagatai language|Chagatai Literature]]<ref name="Columbia"/>. Additionally, by adopting [[Islam]], they also adopted the Persian literary and high culture in [[Islam]].<ref name=Iranica2>B. Spuler, "Central Asia in the Mongol and Timurid periods", published in [[Encyclopaedia Iranica]], Online Edition, 2006/7, ([http://www.iranica.com/newsite/search/searchpdf.isc?ReqStrPDFPath=/home/iranica/public_html/newsite/pdfarticles/v5_articles/central_asia/mongol_and_timurid_periods&OptStrLogFile=/home/iranica/public_html/newsite/logs/pdfdownload.html LINK]): "''... Like his father, Olōğ Beg was entirely integrated into the Persian Islamic cultural circles, and during his reign Persian predominated as the language of high culture, a status that it retained in the region of Samarqand until the Russian revolution 1917 [...] Ḥoseyn Bāyqarā encouraged the developement of Persian literature and literary talent in every way possible ... ''"</ref> Persian literature was instrumental in the integration of the Timurid elite to the Perso-Islamic courtly culture.<ref>David J. Roxburgh. The Persian Album, 1400-1600: From Dispersal to Collection. Yale University Press, 2005.  pg 130: "Persian literature, especially poetry, occupied a central in the process of assimilation of Timurid elite to the Perso-Islamicate courtly culture, and so it is not suprising to find Baysanghur commissioned a new edition of Firdawsi's Shanama</ref> Timur was also steeped in Persian culture<ref> Gérard Chaliand, Nomadic Empires: From Mongolia to the Danube translated by A. M. Berrett, Transaction Publishers, 2004. pg 75</ref> and in most of the territories which he incorporated, Persian was the primary language of administration and literary culture. Thus the language of the settled "[[divan]]" was Persian, and its scribes had to be thoroughly adept in Persian culture, whatever their ethnic origin.<ref>Beatrice Forbes Manz. The Rise and Rule of Tamerlane. Cambridge University Press, 1999. pg 109: "...''In Temür's government, as in those of most nomad dynasties, it is impossible to find a clear distinction between civil and military affairs, or to identify the Persian bureaucracy solely civil, and the Turko-Mongolian solely with military government. It is infact difficult to define the sphere of either side of the administration and we find Persians and Chaghatays sharing manys tasks. (In discussiong the settled bureaucracy and the people who worked within it I use the word Persian in a cultural rather than ethnological sense. In almost all the territories which Temür incorporated into his realm Persian was the primary language of administration and literary culture. Thus the language of the settled "diwan" was Persian, and its scribes had to be thoroughly adept in Persian culture, whatever their ethnic origin.) Temür's Chaghatay emirs were often involved in civil and provincial administration and even in financial affairs, traditionally the province of Persian bureaucracy.''..."</ref><ref name=Iranica2 /><ref>Robert Devereux (tr.), "Judgment of Two Languages; Muhakamat Al-Lughatain By Mir 'Ali Shir Nawāi"; Introduction, Translation and Notes: Leiden (E.J. Brill), 1966): "''Any linguist of today who reads the essay will inevitably conclude that Nawa'i argued his case poorly, for his principal argument is that the Turkic lexicon contained many words for which the Persian had no exact equivalents and that Persian-speakers had therefore to use the Turkic words. This is a weak reed on which to lean, for it is a rare language indeed that contains no loan words. In any case, the beauty of a language and its merits as a literary medium depend less on size of vocabulary and purity of etymology that on the euphony, expressiveness and malleability of those words its lexicon does include. Moreover, even if Nawa'i's thesis were to be accepted as valid, he destroyed his own case by the lavish use, no doubt unknowingly, of non-Turkic words even while ridiculing the Persians for their need to borrow Turkic words. The present writer has not made a word count of Nawa'i's text, but he would estimate conservatively that at least one half the words used by Nawa'i in the essay are Arabic or Persian in origin. To support his claim of the superiority of the Turkic language, Nawa'i also employs the curious argument that most Turks also spoke Persian but only a few Persians ever achieved fluency in Turkic. It is difficult to understand why he was impressed by this phenomenon, since the most obvious explanation is that Turks found it necessary, or at least advisable, to learn Persian - it was, after all, the official state language - while Persians saw no reason to bother learning Turkic which was, in their eyes, merely the uncivilized tongue of uncivilized nomadic tribesmen.''"</ref> Therefore, the Timurid era had a dual character,<ref name="Columbia">{{cite encyclopedia | encyclopedia = The Columbia Encyclopedia | title = Timurids | url = http://www.bartleby.com/65/ti/Timurids.html | edition = Sixth | publisher = [[Columbia University]] | location = [[New York City]] |accessdate=2006-11-08}}</ref> which reflected both the Turko-Mongol origins and the Persian culture.
+Although the Timurids hailed from the [[Barlas]] tribe which was of Mongol origin, they had embraced [[Persian culture|Persian culture]],<ref name=Iranica2><ref name="Iranica">{{cite encyclopedia | last = Lehmann | first = F. | encyclopedia = [[Encyclopaedia Iranica]] | title = Zaher ud-Din Babor - Founder of Mughal empire | url = http://www.iranica.com/newsite/search/searchpdf.isc?ReqStrPDFPath=/home/iranica/public_html/newsite/pdfarticles/v3_articles/babor_zahir-al-din_mohammad&OptStrLogFile=/home/iranica/public_html/newsite/logs/pdfdownload.html
-===Literature===
+ | accessdate = 2006-11-07 | accessyear = 2006 | accessmonth = November | edition = Online | publisher = [[Columbia University]] Center for Iranian (Persian) Studies | location = [[New York City]] | pages = 320-323 | quote = "... ''His origin, milieu, training, and culture were steeped in Persian culture and so Babor was largely responsible for the fostering of this culture by his descendants, the Mughals of India, and for the expansion of Persian cultural infleunce in the Indian subcontinent, with brilliant literary, artistic, and historiographical results'' ..."}}</ref> and Persian art (distinguished by extensive adaptations from the [[China|Chinese]]<ref name="Columbia">{{cite encyclopedia | encyclopedia = The Columbia Encyclopedia | title = Timurids | url = http://www.bartleby.com/65/ti/Timurids.html | edition = Sixth | publisher = [[Columbia University]] | location = [[New York City]] |accessdate=2006-11-08}}</ref>), converted to [[Islam]], and resided in [[Turkestan]] and [[Greater Khorasan|Khorasan]]. Thus, the Timurid era had a dual character,<ref name="Columbia">{{cite encyclopedia | encyclopedia = The Columbia Encyclopedia | title = Timurids | url = http://www.bartleby.com/65/ti/Timurids.html | edition = Sixth | publisher = [[Columbia University]] | location = [[New York City]] |accessdate=2006-11-08}}</ref> which reflected both the Turco-Mongol origins and the Persian literary, artistic, and courtly high culture<ref name=Iranica2 /> of the dynasty.
-==== National Literature in Chagatay Language ====
-The early Timurids played a very important role in the history of [[Turkic languages|Turkic literature]]. Based on the established Persian literary tradition, a national Turkic literature was developed, written in the [[Chagatay language]], the native tongue of the Timurid family. Chagatay poets such as [[Mir Ali Shir Nava'i]], [[Husayn Bayqarah]], and [[Babur]] encouraged other Turkic-speaking poets to write in their own vernacular in addition to Arabic and Persian.
+=== Language & literature ===
-The [[Baburnama]], the autobiography of Bābur, as well as Mīr Alī Sher Nawā'ī's Chagatay poetry are among the best-known Turkic literary works and have fascinated and influenced many others world wide.  The Baburnama was highly Persianized in its sentence structure, morphology or word formation and vocabulary<ref> Stephen Frederic DaleThe Garden of the Eight Paradises: Babur and the Culture of Empire.  BRILL, 2004. pg 150</ref>.
+During the Timurid period, three languages - [[Persian language|Persian]], [[Chagatai language|Chaghatay]] (back then simply known as ''türki'', "Turkish"), and [[Arabic language|Arabic]] - were in use. The major language of the period was Persian, the native language of the ''[[Tajik|Tājīk]]'' (Persian) component of society and the language of learning acquired by all literate and/or urban [[Turkic peoples|Turks]]. Persian was the official state language<ref>Robert Devereux (tr.), "Judgment of Two Languages; Muhakamat Al-Lughatain By Mir 'Ali Shir Nawāi"; Introduction, Translation and Notes: Leiden (E.J. Brill), 1966):  Any linguist of today who reads the essay will inevitably conclude that Nawa'i argued his case poorly, for his principal argument is that the Turkic lexicon contained many words for which the Persian had no exact equivalents and that Persian-speakers had therefore to use the Turkic words. This is a weak reed on which to lean, for it is a rare language indeed that contains no loan words. In any case, the beauty of a language and its merits as a literary medium depend less on size of vocabulary and purity of etymology that on the euphony, expressiveness and malleability of those words its lexicon does include. Moreover, even if Nawa'i's thesis were to be accepted as valid, he destroyed his own case by the lavish use, no doubt unknowingly, of non-Turkic words even while ridiculing the Persians for their need to borrow Turkic words. The present writer has not made a word count of Nawa'i's text, but he would estimate conservatively that at least one half the words used by Nawa'i in the essay are Arabic or Persian in origin. To support his claim of the superiority of the Turkic language, Nawa'i also employs the curious argument that most Turks also spoke Persian but only a few Persians ever achieved fluency in Turkic. It is difficult to understand why he was impressed by this phenomenon, since the most obvious explanation is that Turks found it necessary, or at least advisable, to learn Persian - it was, after all, the official state language - while Persians saw no reason to bother learning Turkic which was, in their eyes, merely the uncivilized tongue of uncivilized nomadic tribesmen</ref><ref name=Iranica2 /> and served as the language of administration, history, belles lettres, and poetry.<ref name="EI - Manz">B.F. Manz/W.M. Thackston/D.J. Roxburgh/L. Golombek/L. Komaroff/R.E. Darley-Doran; "Timurids", in [[Encyclopaedia of Islam]]; Brill; Online Edition (2007): ''"... During the Timurid period, three languages, Persian, Turkish, and Arabic were in use. The major language of the period was Persian, the native language of the Tajik (Persian) component of society and the language of learning acquired by all literate and/or urban Turks. Persian served as the language of administration, history, belles lettres, and poetry. ..."''</ref> The Chaghatay language was the native and "home language" of the Timurid family<ref>B.F. Manz/W.M. Thackston/D.J. Roxburgh/L. Golombek/L. Komaroff/R.E. Darley-Doran; "Timurids", in [[Encyclopaedia of Islam]]; Brill; Online Edition (2007): ''"... What is now called Chaghatay Turkish, which was then called simply türki, was the native and “home” language of the Timurids ..."''</ref> while Arabic served as the language ''par excellence'' of science, philosophy, theology and the religious sciences.<ref name="EI - Manz2">B.F. Manz/W.M. Thackston/D.J. Roxburgh/L. Golombek/L. Komaroff/R.E. Darley-Doran; "Timurids", in [[Encyclopaedia of Islam]]; Brill; Online Edition (2007): ''"... As it had been prior to the Timurids and continued to be after them, Arabic was the language par excellence of science, philosophy, theology and the religious sciences. Much of the astronomical work of Ulugh Beg and his co-workers [...] is in Arabic, although they also wrote in Persian. Theological works [...] are generally in Arabic. ..."''</ref>
-==== Timurid Literature in Persian Language ====
-[[Image:Jami Rose Garden.jpg|right|150px|thumb|Illustration from [[Jami]]'s ''"Rose Garden of the Pious"'', dated [[1553]]. The image blends [[Persian literature|Persian poetry]] and [[Persian miniature]] into one, as is the norm for many works of the Timurid era.]]
-Persian literature, especially Persian poetry occupied  a central place in the process of assimilation of the Timurid elite to the Perso-Islamic courtly culture.<ref>David J. Roxburgh. The Persian Album, 1400-1600: From Dispersal to Collection. Yale University Press, 2005.  pg 130: "Persian literature, especially poetry, occupied a central in the process of assimilation of Timurid elite to the Perso-Islamicate courtly culture, and so it is not suprising to find Baysanghur commissioned a new edition of Firdawsi's Shanama</ref> The Timurid sultans, especially [[Shah Rukh (Timurid dynasty)|Shah Rukh]] and his son [[Ulugh Beg]], patronized Persian culture.<ref name=Iranica2>B. Spuler, "Central Asia in the Mongol and Timurid periods", published in [[Encyclopaedia Iranica]]. ([http://www.iranica.com/newsite/search/searchpdf.isc?ReqStrPDFPath=/home/iranica/public_html/newsite/pdfarticles/v5_articles/central_asia/mongol_and_timurid_periods&OptStrLogFile=/home/iranica/public_html/newsite/logs/pdfdownload.html pdf]) <small>Note:"... Like his father, Olōğ Beg was entirely integrated into the Persian Islamic cultural circles, and during his reign Persian predominated as the language of high culture, a status that it retained in the region of Samarqand until the Russian revolution 1917 [...] Ḥoseyn Bāyqarā encouraged the developement of Persian literature and literary talent in every way possible ..."</small></ref> Among the most important literary works of the Timurid era is the Persian biography of [[Timur]], known as ''"Zafarnāma"'' ({{PerB|ظفرنامه}}), written by Sharaf ud-Dīn Alī Yazdī, which itself is based on an older ''"Zafarnāma"'' by Nizām al-Dīn Shāmī, the official biographer of Timur during his lifetime. The most famous poet of the Timurid era was [[Jami]], the last great medieval [[Sufi]] [[mysticism|mystic]] of Persia and one of the greatest in [[Persian poetry]]. The most famous painter of the Timurid court, as well as the most famous of the [[Persian miniature|Persian miniature painters]] in general, was [[Behzad]]. In addition, the Timurid sultan [[Ulugh Beg]] is known as a great [[astronomer]].
-=====BaySanghur Shahnameh=====
-{{irrelevant}}
-Baysanghur commissioned a new edition of the [[Shahnameh]] of [[Ferdowsi]] and wrote an introduction to it. According to T. Lenz<ref>T. Lenz, "''Baysonghori Shahnameh''" in [[Encyclopedia Iranica]]. ([http://www.iranica.com/newsite/articles/v4f1/v4f1a008.html Online Edition])</ref>:{{cquote|''It can be viewed as a specific reaction in the wake of Timur's death in 807/1405 to the new cultural demands facing Shahhrokh and his sons, a Turkic military elite no longer deriving their power and influence solely from a charismatic steppe leader with a carefully cultivated linkage to Mongol aristocracy. Now centered in Khorasan, the ruling house regarded the increased assimilation and patronage of Persian culture as an integral component of efforts to secure the legitimacy and authority of the dynasty within the context of the Islamic Iranian monarchical tradition, and the Baysanghur Shahnameh, as much a precious object as it is a manuscript to be read, powerfully symbolizes the Timurid conception of their own place in that tradition. A valuable documentary source for Timurid decorative arts that have all but disappeared for the period, the manuscript still awaits a comprehensive monographic study.''}}
+==== Timurid literature in Persian ====
-=== Art===
+[[Image:Jami Rose Garden.jpg|right|150px|thumb|Illustration from [[Jami|Jāmī's]] ''"Rose Garden of the Pious"'', dated [[1553]]. The image blends [[Persian literature|Persian poetry]] and [[Persian miniature]] into one, as is the norm for many works of the Timurid era.]]
-During the reign of Timurid Rule, the golden age of Persian painting was ushered.<ref> New Orient, By Czechoslovak Society for Eastern Studies, Czechoslovak Society for Eastern Studies, 1968. pg 139.</ref> Timurid artists refined the Persian art of the book, which combines paper, calligraphy, illumination, illustration and binding in a brilliant and colourful whole.<ref> John Onians, Atlas of World Art, Laurence King Publishing, 2004.  pg 132.</ref> It was the Mongol ethnicity of the [[Chagatai Khanate|Chaghatayid]] and Timurid [[Khan]]s that is the source of the stylistic depiction [[Persian art]] during the Middle Ages.    These same Mongols intermarried with the [[Persian people|Persians]] and [[Turkic peoples|Turks]] of Central Asia, even adopting their religion and languages. Yet their simple control of the world at that time, particularly in the 13-15th Centuries, reflected itself in the idealised appearance of Persians as Mongols. Though the ethnic make-up gradually blended into the [[Iranian peoples|Iranian]] and [[Mesopotamia]]n local populations, the Mongol stylism continued well after, and crossed into [[Asia Minor]] and even [[North Africa]].
+Persian literature, especially Persian poetry occupied a central place in the process of assimilation of the Timurid elite to the Perso-Islamic courtly culture.<ref>David J. Roxburgh. The Persian Album, 1400-1600: From Dispersal to Collection. Yale University Press, 2005.  pg 130: "Persian literature, especially poetry, occupied a central in the process of assimilation of Timurid elite to the Perso-Islamicate courtly culture, and so it is not suprising to find Baysanghur commissioned a new edition of Firdawsi's Shanama</ref> The Timurid sultans, especially [[Shah Rukh (Timurid dynasty)|Šāhru<u>kh</u> Mīrzā]] and his son [[Ulugh Beg|Mohammad Taragai Oloğ Beg]], patronized Persian culture.<ref name=Iranica2>B. Spuler, "Central Asia in the Mongol and Timurid periods", published in [[Encyclopaedia Iranica]]. ([http://www.iranica.com/newsite/search/searchpdf.isc?ReqStrPDFPath=/home/iranica/public_html/newsite/pdfarticles/v5_articles/central_asia/mongol_and_timurid_periods&OptStrLogFile=/home/iranica/public_html/newsite/logs/pdfdownload.html pdf]) <small>Note:"... Like his father, Olōğ Beg was entirely integrated into the Persian Islamic cultural circles, and during his reign Persian predominated as the language of high culture, a status that it retained in the region of Samarqand until the Russian revolution 1917 [...] Ḥoseyn Bāyqarā encouraged the developement of Persian literature and literary talent in every way possible ..."</small></ref> Among the most important literary works of the Timurid era is the Persian biography of [[Timur]], known as ''"Zafarnāma"'' ({{PerB|ظفرنامه}}), written by Sharaf ud-Dīn Alī Yazdī, which itself is based on an older ''"Zafarnāma"'' by Nizām al-Dīn Shāmī, the official biographer of Timur during his lifetime. The most famous poet of the Timurid era was [[Jami|Nūr ud-Dīn Jāmī]], the last great medieval [[Sufi]] [[mysticism|mystic]] of Persia and one of the greatest in [[Persian poetry]]. In addition, some of the of the [[astronomy|astronomical]] works of the Timurid sultan [[Ulugh Beg]] were written in Persian, although the bulk of it was published in Arabic.<ref name="EI - Manz2" />
-===Architecture===
-====Timurid architecture====
-[[image:Akhangan.jpg|thumb|right|150px|''"Akhangan" tomb'', where [[Goharshad|Gowharšād's]] sister Gowhartāj is buried. The architecture is a fine example of the Timurid era in [[Iran]].]]
-[[Image:Gure Amir.JPG|thumb|left|150px|''"[[Gur-e Amir]]" complex'' with its azure dome.]]
-In the realm of architecture, the Timurids drew on and developed many [[Seljuq]] traditions. Turquoise and blue tiles forming intricate linear and geometric patterns decorated the facades of buildings. Sometimes the interior was decorated similarly, with painting and stucco relief further enriching the effect.<ref name="Britannica" /> Timurid architecture is the pinnacle of [[Islamic art]] in [[Central Asia]]. Spectacular and stately edifices erected by [[Timur]] and his successors in [[Samarkand]] and [[Herat]] helped to disseminate the influence of the [[Ilkhanid]] school of art in [[India]], thus giving rise to the celebrated ''Mughal'' (or ''Mongol'') school of architecture. Timurid architecture started with the [[Mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasavi|sanctuary of Ahmed Yasawi]] in present-day [[Kazakhstan]] and culminated in Timur's mausoleum [[Gur-e Amir]] in [[Samarkand]]. Timur’s Gur-I Mir, the 14th century mausoleum of the conqueror is covered with ‘’turquoise Persian tiles’’<ref>John Julius Norwich, Great Architecture of the World, Da Capo Press, 2001. pg 278.</ref>  Nearby, in the center of the ancient town, a ''Persian style Madrassa (religious school)'' <ref>John Julius Norwich, Great Architecture of the World, Da Capo Press, 2001. pg 278.</ref>  and a ''Persian style Mosque''<ref>John Julius Norwich, Great Architecture of the World, Da Capo Press, 2001. pg 278.</ref>   by Ulugh Beg is observed.  The mausoleum of Timurid princes, with their turquoise and blue-tiled domes remain among the most refined and exquisite ''Persian architecture''<ref>Hugh Kennedy, “The Great Arab Conquests: How the Spread of Islam Changed the World We Live In”, Da Capo Press, 2007. pg 237</ref>.  [[Axial symmetry]] is a characteristic of all major Timurid structures, notably the [[Shah-i-Zinda]] in [[Samarkand]], the ''Musallah'' complex in Herat, and the mosque of [[Goharshad]] in [[Mashhad]]. Double [[dome]]s of various shapes abound, and the outsides are perfused with brilliantly colors.  Timurs dominance of the region strengthened the influence of his capital and Persian architecture upon India. <ref>Banister Fletcher, Dan Cruickshan, "Sir Banister Fletcher's a History of Architecture ",Architectural Press, 1996. pg 606</ref>
-====Mughal architecture====
+=====The ''Šāhnāma of Baysunğur''=====
-{{main|Mughal architecture}}
-After the foundation of the [[Mughal Empire]], the Timurids successfully expanded the Persian cultural influence from [[Greater Khorasan|Khorasan]] to [[India]], where the [[Persian language]], [[Persian literature|literature]], [[Persian architecture|architecture]], and [[Persian art|art]] dominated the [[Indian subcontinent]] until the [[British Raj|British conquest]].<ref name="Iranica"/>.  The Mughals, Persianized Turks who invaded from Central Asia and claimed descent from both Timur and Genghis - strengthened the Persianate culture of Muslim India<ref>Robert L. Canfield, Turko-Persia in historical perspective, Cambridge University Press, 1991. pg 20</ref>.
+The Timurid ruler Baysunğur commissioned a new edition of the Persian national epic [[Shahnameh|Šāhnāma]] and wrote an introduction to it. According to T. Lenz<ref>"[http://www.iranica.com/newsite/articles/v4f1/v4f1a008.html Baysonghori Shahnameh]" in Encyclopedia Iranica by T. Lenz </ref>:{{cquote|''It can be viewed as a specific reaction in the wake of Timur's death in 807/1405 to the new cultural demands facing Shahhrokh and his sons, a Turkic military elite no longer deriving their power and influence solely from a charismatic steppe leader with a carefully cultivated linkage to Mongol aristocracy. Now centered in Khorasan, the ruling house regarded the increased assimilation and patronage of Persian culture as an integral component of efforts to secure the legitimacy and authority of the dynasty within the context of the Islamic Iranian monarchical tradition, and the Baysanghur Shahnameh, as much a precious object as it is a manuscript to be read, powerfully symbolizes the Timurid conception of their own place in that tradition. A valuable documentary source for Timurid decorative arts that have all but disappeared for the period, the manuscript still awaits a comprehensive monographic study.''}}
-The Mughal period marked a striking revival of [[Islamic architecture]] in northern [[India]]. Under the patronage of the Mughal emperors, [[Indian architecture|Indian]], [[Persian architecture|Persian]], and various provincial styles were fused to produce works of unusual quality and refinement.<ref>[http://search.eb.com/eb/article-9054154 Mughal architecture] Encyclopædia Britannica</ref>
+==== Timurid literature in Chagatay ====
-The Mughal emperor [[Akbar]] constructed the royal city of [[Fatehpur Sikri]], located 26 miles west of [[Agra]], in the late [[1500]]s. The most famous example of Mughal architecture is the [[Taj Mahal]], the "teardrop on eternity," completed in 1648 by the emperor [[Shah Jahan]] in memory of his wife [[Mumtaz Mahal]] who died while giving birth to their 14th child. The extensive use of precious and semiprecious stones as inlay and the vast quantity of white marble required nearly bankrupted the empire. The Taj Mahal is completely symmetric other than the [[sarcophagus]] of [[Shah Jahan]] which is placed off center in the crypt room below the main floor. This symmetry extended to the building of an entire mirror mosque in red sandstone to complement the Mecca-facing mosque place to the west of the main structure. Another structure built that showed great depth of Mughal influence was the [[Shalimar Gardens (Lahore)|Shalimar Gardens]].
+The early Timurids played a very important role in the history of [[Turkic languages|Turkic literature]]. Based on the established Persian literary tradition, a national Turkic literature was developed, written in the [[Chagatay language]], the native tongue of the Timurid family. Chagatay poets such as [[Mir Ali Shir Nava'i|Mīr Alī Sher Nawā'ī]], [[Husayn Bayqarah|Sultan Husayn Bāyqarā]], and [[Babur|Zāher ud-Dīn Bābur]] encouraged other Turkic-speaking poets to write in their own vernacular in addition to Arabic and Persian.
-===Rulers of the Timurid Empire===
+=== Art===
+During the reign of Timurid rule, the golden age of Persian painting was ushered.<ref>New Orient, By Czechoslovak Society for Eastern Studies, Czechoslovak Society for Eastern Studies, 1968. pg 139.</ref> During this period as well as the [[Safavid]] dynasty, Chinese art and artists had a significant influence on Persian art.<ref>[http://www.persianpaintings.com/history.html Persian Paintings]</ref><ref>[http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761577725_5/Islamic_Art_and_Architecture.html ''MSN Encarta''. Islamic Art and Architecture.]</ref><ref>[http://www.art-arena.com/safavidart2.htm Art Arena. Persian art - the Safavids]</ref> Miniature was one these arts which was introduced by Chinese artists to Iranians at the time of Timurids. The most famous painter and miniaturist of the Timurid court, was [[Behzad|Ustād Kamāl ud-Dīin Behzād]].
+Timurid artists refined the Persian art of the book, which combines paper, calligraphy, illumination, illustration and binding in a brilliant and colourful whole.<ref> John Onians, Atlas of World Art, Laurence King Publishing, 2004.  pg 132.</ref> It was the Mongol ethnicity of the [[Chagatai Khanate|Chaghatayid]] and Timurid [[Khan]]s that is the source of the stylistic depiction [[Persian art]] during the Middle Ages.  These same Mongols intermarried with the [[Persian people|Persians]] and [[Turkic peoples|Turks]] of Central Asia, even adopting their religion and languages. Yet their simple control of the world at that time, particularly in the 13-15th Centuries, reflected itself in the idealized appearance of Persians as Mongols. Though the ethnic make-up gradually blended into the [[Iranian peoples|Iranian]] and [[Mesopotamia]]n local populations, the Mongol stylism continued well after, and crossed into [[Asia Minor]] and even [[North Africa]].
+===Architecture===
+====Timurid architecture====
+[[image:Akhangan.jpg|thumb|right|150px|''"Akhangan" tomb'', where [[Goharshad|Gowharšād's]] sister Gowhartāj is buried. The architecture is a fine example of the Timurid era in Persia.]]
+[[Image:Gure Amir.JPG|thumb|left|150px|''"[[Gur-e Amir|Gūr-e Amīr]]" complex'' with its azure dome.]]
+In the realm of architecture, the Timurids drew on and developed many [[Seljuq]] traditions. Turquoise and blue tiles forming intricate linear and geometric patterns decorated the facades of buildings. Sometimes the interior was decorated similarly, with painting and stucco relief further enriching the effect.<ref name="Britannica" /> Timurid architecture is the pinnacle of [[Islamic art]] in [[Central Asia]]. Spectacular and stately edifices erected by [[Timur]] and his successors in [[Samarkand]] and [[Herat]] helped to disseminate the influence of the [[Ilkhanid]] school of art in [[India]], thus giving rise to the celebrated ''Mughal'' (or ''Mongol'') school of architecture. Timurid architecture started with the [[Mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasavi|sanctuary of Ahmed Yasawi]] in present-day [[Kazakhstan]] and culminated in Timur's mausoleum [[Gur-e Amir]] in [[Samarkand]]. Timur’s Gur-I Mir, the 14th century mausoleum of the conqueror is covered with ‘’turquoise Persian tiles’’<ref>John Julius Norwich, Great Architecture of the World, Da Capo Press, 2001. pg 278.</ref>  Nearby, in the center of the ancient town, a ''Persian style Madrassa (religious school)''<ref>John Julius Norwich, Great Architecture of the World, Da Capo Press, 2001. pg 278.</ref> and a ''Persian style Mosque''<ref>John Julius Norwich, Great Architecture of the World, Da Capo Press, 2001. pg 278.</ref> by Ulugh Beg is observed.  The mausoleum of Timurid princes, with their turquoise and blue-tiled domes remain among the most refined and exquisite ''Persian architecture''<ref>Hugh Kennedy, “The Great Arab Conquests: How the Spread of Islam Changed the World We Live In”, Da Capo Press, 2007. pg 237</ref>.  [[Axial symmetry]] is a characteristic of all major Timurid structures, notably the [[Shah-i-Zinda|Shāh-e Zenda]] in [[Samarkand]], the ''Musallah'' complex in Herat, and the mosque of [[Goharshad|Gowhar Shād]] in [[Mashhad]]. Double [[dome]]s of various shapes abound, and the outsides are perfused with brilliantly colors.  Timurs dominance of the region strengthened the influence of his capital and Persian architecture upon India.<ref>Banister Fletcher, Dan Cruickshan, "Sir Banister Fletcher's a History of Architecture ",Architectural Press, 1996. pg 606</ref>
+==Rulers of the Timurid Empire==
+{{History of Greater Iran}}
 *[[Timur]] (Tamerlane) [[1370]] - [[1405]] (771-807 [[Hijra (Islam)|AH]]) - with [[Suurgatmish|Suyur<u>gh</u>itmiš]] Chaghtay as nominal overlord followed by [[Sultan Mahmud (Chagatai)|Mahmūd]] Chaghtay as overlord and finally Muhammad Sultān as heir
 *[[Pir Muhammad]] bin Jahāngīr [[1405]] - [[1407]] (807-808 AH)
-{{History of Greater Iran}}
-====Rulers of Herat====
+===Rulers of Herat===
 *[[Shah Rukh (Timurid dynasty)|Shāhru<u>kh</u>]] [[1405]] - [[1447]] (807-50 AH) (overall ruler of the Timurid Empire 1409 - 1447)
@@ Line 70: / Line 88: @@
 ''Herat is conquered by the [[Uzbeks]] under [[Muhammad Shaybani]]''
-====Rulers of Samarkand====
+===Rulers of Samarkand===
 *[[Khalil Sultan|<u>Kh</u>alīl Sultān]] [[1405]] - [[1409]] (807-11 AH)
@@ Line 85: / Line 103: @@
 ''Samarkand is conquered by the [[Uzbeks]] under [[Muhammad Shaybani]]''
-===Other rulers===
+==Other rulers==
 *Qaidu bin Pir Muhammad bin Jahāngīr 808-811 AH
@@ Line 103: / Line 121: @@
 *Sultān Uways [[1508]] - [[1522]] (913-927 AH)
-===Rulers of Mughal Empire===
+==Heads of the Timurid Dynasty==
-[[Image:BahadurShah Zafar.jpg|thumb|250px|A photo of [[Bahadur Shah II]] in 1858, possibly the only picture ever taken of a Timurid king.]]
-*[[Babur|Zahiruddin Babur Mirza]] [[1526]] - [[1530]] (933-937 AH) - established [[Mughal Dynasty]] in [[History of India|India]] ([[Mughal Empire]])
-*[[Humayun|Nasiruddin Humayun Mirza]] [[1530]] - [[1556]] (937-963 AH) - ruler of [[Mughal Empire]], son of Babur
-*[[Kamran Mirza]] [[1530]] - [[1557]] (937-962 AH) - ruler of [[Kabul]] and [[Lahore]], son of Babur
-*[[Akbar|Jalaluddin Muhammad Akbar Mirza]] (Akbar the Great) [[1556]]-[[1605]] (963-1014 AH) - greatest ruler of [[Mughal Empire]], son of Humayun
-*Abul Qasim Muhammad bin Kamran 968 AH
-*Suleiman Mirza 936-92 AH
-*Shahrukh III 983-87 AH - son of Ibrahim
-*[[Jahangir|Nuruddin Muhammad Jahangir]] [[1605]] - [[1627]] (1014-1036 AH) - ruler of [[Mughal Empire]], son of Akbar and [[Rajput]] Princess [[Jodhabai|Mariam Zamani]]
-*[[Shah Jahan|Shahbuddin Muhammad Shah Jahan]] (Shah Jahan I) [[1627]] - [[1658]] - ruler of [[Mughal Empire]], son of Jahangir and Rajput [[Princess Manmati]]
-*[[Aurangzeb|Mohiuddin Mohammed Aurangzeb]] (Aurangzeb Alamgir I) [[1658]]-[[1707]] - ruler of [[Mughal Empire]], son of Shah Jahan
-*[[Bahadur Shah I]] (Shah Alam I) [[1707]] - [[1712]] - son of Aurangzeb
-*[[Jahandar Shah]], b. [[1664]], ruler from [[1712]] - [[1713]] -
-*[[Furrukhsiyar]], b. [[1683]], ruler from [[1713]]-[[1719]]
-*[[Rafi Ul-Darjat]], ruler [[1719]]
-*[[Rafi Ud-Daulat]] ([[Shah Jahan II]]), [[ruler]] [[1719]]
-*[[Nikusiyar]], ruler [[1719]]
-*[[Muhammad Ibrahim]], ruler [[1720]]
-*[[Muhammad Shah]], b. [[1702]], ruler from [[1719]]-[[1720]], [[1720]]-[[1748]]
-*[[Ahmad Shah Bahadur]], b. [[1725]], ruler from [[1748]]-[[1754]]
-*[[Alamgir II]], b. [[1699]], ruler from [[1754]]-[[1759]] - son of Jahandar Shah
-*[[Shah Jahan III]], ruler [[1759]]
-*[[Shah Alam II]], b. [[1728]], ruler from [[1759]]-[[1806]]
-*[[Akbar Shah II]], b. [[1760]], ruler from [[1806]]-[[1837]]
-*[[Bahadur Shah II]] (Bahadur Shah Zafar) [[1837]]-[[1857]] - last ruler of the Timurid Dynasty
-===Heads of the Timurid Dynasty===
 *[[Bahadur Shah II]] ([[1857]]- [[1862]])
@@ Line 146: / Line 136: @@
 ==Further reading==
+*[http://www.iranica.com/newsite/articles/v4f1/v4f1a008.html Baysonghori Shahnameh in Encyclopedia Iranica]
 * Elliot, Sir H. M., Edited by Dowson, John. [[The History of India, as Told by Its Own Historians. The Muhammadan Period]]; published by London Trubner Company 1867–1877. (Online Copy: [http://persian.packhum.org/persian/index.jsp?serv=pf&file=80201010&ct=0 The History of India, as Told by Its Own Historians. The Muhammadan Period; by Sir H. M. Elliot; Edited by John Dowson; London Trubner Company 1867–1877] - This online Copy has been posted by: [http://persian.packhum.org/persian/index.jsp The Packard Humanities Institute; Persian Texts in Translation; Also find other historical books: Author List and Title List])
@@ Line 155: / Line 146: @@
 *[http://www.hostkingdom.net/centasia.html#Samarkand Chronology of Samarkand rulers]
 *[http://www.hostkingdom.net/Centasia3.html#Herat Chronology of Herat rulers]
-*[http://www.4dw.net/royalark/India4/delhi.htm INDIA - The Timurid Dynasty - BRIEF HISTORY]
+*[http://www.4dw.net/royalark/India4/delhi.htm royalark]
+*[http://pagesperso-orange.fr/steppeasia/genealogie_tamerlan.htm Timurid genealogy]
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