The Timurid dynasty (Persian: تیموریان, Chagatay: تیموریان), self-designated as Gurkani (Persian: گورکانیان, Gūrkāniyān, Chagatay: گورکانیان, Küregen), was a Sunni Muslim dynasty or clan of Turco-Mongol origin descended from the warlord Timur (also known as Tamerlane). The word “Gurkani” derives from “Gurkan”, a Persianized form of the Mongolian word “Kuragan” meaning “son-in-law”. This was an honorific title used by the dynasty as the Timurids were in-laws of the line of Genghis Khan,founder of the Mongol Empire, as Timur had married Saray Mulk Khanum, a direct descendant of Genghis Khan. Members of the Timurid dynasty signaled the Timurid Renaissance, and they were strongly influenced by Persian cultureand established two significant empires in history, the Timurid Empire (1370–1507) based in Persia and Central Asia, and the Mughal Empire (1526–1857) based in the Indian subcontinent.
Origins
The origin of the Timurid dynasty goes back to the Mongol tribe known as Barlas, who were remnants of the original Mongol army of Genghis Khan, founder of the Mongol Empire. After the Mongol conquest of Central Asia, the Barlas settled in what is today southern Kazakhstan, from Shymkent to Taraz and Almaty, which then came to be known for a time as Moghulistan – “Land of Mongols” in Persian – 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 adopted the Persian literary and high culture which had 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.
List of rulers
Timurid Empire
| Titular name | Personal name | Reign |
|---|---|---|
| Timur ruled over the Chagatai Khanate with Soyurghatmïsh Khan as nominal Khanfollowed by Sultan Mahmud Khan. He himself adopted the Muslim Arabic title of Amir. In essence the Khanate was finished and the Timurid Empire was firmly established. | ||
| Amir امیر Timur Lang تیمور لنگ |
Timur Beg Gurkani تیمور بیگ گورکانی |
1370–1405 |
| Amir امیر |
Pir Muhammad bin Jahangir Mirza پیر محمد بن جہانگیر میرزا |
1405–1407 |
| Amir امیر |
Khalil Sultan bin Miran Shah خلیل سلطان بن میران شاہ |
1405–1409 |
| Amir امیر |
Shahrukh Mirza شاھرخ میرزا |
1405–1447 |
| Amir امیر Ulugh Beg الغ بیگ |
Mirza Muhammad Tāraghay میرزا محمد طارق |
1447–1449 |
| Division of Timurid Empire | ||
| Transoxiana | Khurasan/Herat/Fars/Iraq-e-Ajam | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abdal-Latif Mirza میرزا عبداللطیف Padarkush (Father Killer) 1449–1450 |
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| Abdullah Mirza میرزا عبد اللہ 1450–1451 |
Abul-Qasim Babur Mirza میرزا ابوالقاسم بابر بن بایسنقر 1451–1457 |
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| Mirza Shah Mahmud میرزا شاہ محمود 1457 |
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| Ibrahim Sultan ابراھیم میرزا 1457–1459 |
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| Abu Sa’id Mirza ابو سعید میرزا (Although Abu Sa’id Mirza re-united most of the Timurid heartland in Central Asia with the help ofUzbek Chief, Abul-Khayr Khan (grandfather of Muhammad Shayabani Khan), he agreed to divideIran with the Black Sheep Turkomen under Jahan Shah, but the White Sheep Turkomen under Uzun Hassan defeated and killed first Jahan Shah and then Abu Sa’id. After Abu Sa’id’s death another era of fragmentation follows.) 1451–1469 |
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| **Transoxiana is divided | Sultan Husayn Bayqara سلطان حسین میرزا بایقرا 1469 1st reign |
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| Yadgar Muhammad Mirza میرزا یادگار محمد 1470 (6 weeks) |
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| Sultan Husayn Bayqara سلطان حسین میرزا بایقرا 1470–1506 2nd reign |
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| Uzbeks under Muhammad Shayabak Khan Uzbek Conquer Herat | ||||
- Abu Sa’id’s sons divided Transoxiana upon his death, into Samarkand, Bukhara, Hissar, Balkh, Kabul and Farghana.
| Samarkand | Bukhara | Hissar | Farghana | Balkh | Kabul | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sultan Ahmad Mirza سلطان احمد میرزا 1469–1494 |
Umar Shaikh Mirza II عمر شیخ میرزا ثانی 1469–1494 |
Sultan Mahmud Mirza سلطان محمود میرزا 1469–1495 |
Ulugh Beg Mirza II میرزا الغ بیگ 1469 – 1502 |
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| Sultan Baysonqor Mirza bin Mahmud Mirza بایسنقر میرزا بن محمود میرزا 1495–1497 |
Sultan Ali bin Mahmud Mirza سلطان علی بن محمود میرزا 1495–1500 |
Sultan Masud Mirza bin Mahmud Mirza سلطان مسعود بن محمود میرزا 1495 – ? |
Zahir-ud-din Muhammad Babur ظہیر الدین محمد بابر 1494–1497 |
Khusroe Shah خسرو شاہ (Usurper) ? – 1503 |
Mukim Beg Arghun مقیم ارغون (Usurper) ? – 1504 |
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| Uzbeks under Muhammad Shayabak Khan Uzbek محمد شایبک خان ازبک 1500–1501 |
Jahangir Mirza II جہانگیر میرزا (puppet of Sultan Ahmed Tambol) 1497 – ? |
Zahir-ud-din Muhammad Babur ظہیر الدین محمد بابر 1503–1504 |
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| Uzbeks under Muhammad Shayabak Khan Uzbek محمد شایبک خان ازبک 1503–1504 |
Zahir-ud-din Muhammad Babur ظہیر الدین محمد بابر 1504–1511 |
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| Zahir-ud-din Muhammad Babur ظہیر الدین محمد بابر (Never till his conquest of India were the dominions of Babur as extensive as at this period. Like his grandfather Abu Sa’id Mirza, he managed to re-unite the Timurid heartland in Central Asia with the help of Shah of Iran, Ismail I. His dominions stretched from the Caspian Sea and the Ural Mountainsto the farthest limits of Ghazni and comprehended Kabul and Ghazni;Kunduz and Hissar;Samarkand and Bukhara; Farghana; Tashkent and Seiram) 1511–1512 |
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| Uzbeks under Ubaydullah Sultan عبید اللہ سلطان re-conquer Transoxiana and Balkh 1512 |
Zahir-ud-din Muhammad Babur ظہیر الدین محمد بابر 1512–1530 |
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| Timurid Empire in Central Asia becomes extinct under the Khanate of Bukhara of the Uzbeks. However, Timurid dynasty moves on to conquer India under the leadership of Zahir-ud-din Muhammad Babur in 1526 C.E. and established the Timurid dynasty of India. | ||||||||
Mughal Empire
| Emperor | Birth | Reign Period | Death | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Babur | 1483 | 1526–1530 | 1530 | Was a direct descendant of Genghis Khan through his mother and was descendant of Timur through his father. Founded the Mughal Empire after his victories at the First Battle of Panipat and the Battle of Khanwa. |
| Humayun | 1508 | 1530–1540 | 1556 | Reign interrupted by Sur Empire. Youth and inexperience at ascension led to his being regarded as a less effective ruler than usurper, Sher Shah Suri. |
| Sher Shah Suri | 1486 | 1540–1545 | 1545 | Deposed Humayun and led the Sur Empire. |
| Islam Shah Suri | 1507 | 1545–1554 | 1554 | Second and last ruler of the Sur Empire, claims of sons Sikandar and Adil Shah were eliminated by Humayun’s restoration. |
| Humayun | 1508 | 1555–1556 | 1556 | Restored rule was more unified and effective than initial reign of 1530–1540; left unified empire for his son, Akbar. |
| Akbar | 1542 | 1556–1605 | 1605 | He and Bairam Khan defeated Hemuduring the Second Battle of Panipatand later won famous victories during the Siege of Chittorgarh and the Siege of Ranthambore; He greatly expanded the Empire and is regarded as the most illustrious ruler of the Mughal Empire as he set up the empire’s various institutions; he married Mariam-uz-Zamani, a Rajput princess. One of his most famous construction marvels was the Lahore Fort and Agra Fort. |
| Jahangir | 1569 | 1605–1627 | 1627 | Jahangir set the precedent for sons rebelling against their emperor fathers. Opened first relations with the British East India Company. |
| Shah Jahan | 1592 | 1628–1658 | 1666 | Under him, Mughal art and architecture reached their zenith; constructed the Taj Mahal, Jama Masjid, Red Fort, Jahangir mausoleum, and Shalimar Gardensin Lahore. Deposed by his son Aurangzeb. |
| Aurangzeb | 1618 | 1658–1707 | 1707 | He reinterpreted Islamic law and presented the Fatawa-e-Alamgiri; he captured the diamond mines of the Sultanate of Golconda; he spent the major part of his last 27 years in the war with the Maratha rebels; at its zenith, his conquests expanded the empire to its greatest extent; the over-stretched empire was controlled by Mansabdars, and faced challenges after his death. He is known to have transcribed copies of the Qur’an using his own styles of calligraphy. He died during a campaign against the ravaging Marathas in the Deccan. |
| Bahadur Shah I | 1643 | 1707–1712 | 1712 | First of the Mughal emperors to preside over an empire ravaged by uncontrollable revolts. After his reign, the empire went into steady decline due to the lack of leadership qualities among his immediate successors. |
| Jahandar Shah | 1661 | 1712–1713 | 1713 | The son of Bahadur Shah I, he was an unpopular incompetent titular figurehead; he attained the throne after his father’s death by his victory in battle over his brother, who was killed. |
| Farrukhsiyar | 1685 | 1713–1719 | 1719 | His reign marked the ascendancy of the manipulative Syed Brothers, execution of the rebellious Banda. In 1717 he granted a Firman to the English East India Company granting them duty-free trading rights in Bengal. The Firman was repudiated by the notable Murshid Quli Khan the Mughal appointed ruler of Bengal. |
| Rafi Ul-Darjat | 1699 | 1719 | 1719 | |
| Rafi Ud-Daulat | 1696 | 1719 | 1719 | |
| Nikusiyar | c.1679 | 1719 | 1723 | |
| Muhammad Ibrahim | 1703 | 1720 | 1746 | |
| Muhammad Shah | 1702 | 1719–1720, 1720–1748 | 1748 | Got rid of the Syed Brothers. Tried to counter the emergence of the Marathas but his empire disintegrated. Suffered the invasion of Nadir-Shah of Persia in 1739. |
| Ahmad Shah Bahadur | 1725 | 1748–54 | 1775 | |
| Alamgir II | 1699 | 1754–1759 | 1759 | He was murdered according by the Vizier Imad-ul-Mulk and Marathaassociate Sadashivrao Bhau. |
| Shah Jahan III | 1711 | 1759-1760 | 1772 | Was ordained to the imperial throne as a result of the intricacies in Delhi with the help of Imad-ul-Mulk. He was later deposed by Maratha Sardars. |
| Shah Alam II | 1728 | 1759–1806 | 1806 | He was proclaimed as Mughal Emperor by the Marathas. Later, he was again recognised as the Mughal Emperor by Ahmad Shah Durrani after the Third Battle of Panipat in 1761. 1764 saw the defeat of the combined forces of Mughal Emperor, Nawab of Oudh and Nawab of Bengal and Bihar at the hand of East India Company at the Battle of Buxar. Following this defeat, Shah Alam II left Delhi for Allahabad, ending hostilities with the Treaty of Allahabad (1765). Shah Alam II was reinstated to the throne of Delhi in 1772 by Mahadaji Shindeunder the protection of the Marathas. He was a de jureemperor. During his reign in 1793 British East India company abolished Nizamat (Mughal suzerainty) and took control of the former Mughal province of Bengal marking the beginning of British reign in parts of Eastern India officially. |
| Akbar Shah II | 1760 | 1806–1837 | 1837 | He became a British pensioner after the defeat of the Marathas in the third Anglo-Maratha war who were until then the protector of the Mughal throne. Under the East India company’s protection, his imperial name was removed from official coinage after a brief dispute with the British East India Company. |
| Bahadur Shah II | 1775 | 1837–1857 | 1862 | The last Mughal emperor was deposed in 1858 by the British East India company and exiled to Burmafollowing the War of 1857 after the fall of Delhi to the company troops. His death marks the end of the Mughal dynasty but not of the family. |