Timurs

Timurs, in historical usage, may refer to the individuals named Timur (often Latinized as Tamerlane) or to the Timurid dynasty founded by Timur. Timur (1336–1405) was a Turko-Mongol conqueror who built a large, dynastic state in Central Asia and Iran. He consolidated fragmented powers after the collapse of the Mongol Empire and conducted campaigns across a wide swath of the region. His conquests laid the foundations for a post–Mongol Persianate empire, though his empire fragmented after his death.

The Timurid Empire, named for Timur, emerged in the 1370s and expanded under his successors to encompass much of Transoxiana, parts of Iran, Mesopotamia, and the Caucasus. Samarkand and Herat became major cultural and ceremonial centers. The state is noted for its synthesis of Persian, Turkic, and Islamic art and administration, and for fostering a cultural renaissance that influenced later Persianate kingdoms.

Key rulers included Timur’s son Shahrukh, who preserved the empire, and Ulugh Beg, his grandson, who promoted science and learning, notably through the famous Samarkand observatory. Architecture flourished, producing monumental mosques, madrasas, and the ornate urban fabric seen in cities such as Samarkand and Herat.

The Timurid line declined in the late 15th and early 16th centuries, as rivals and internal fragmentation weakened the state. A descendant line contributed to the founding of the Mughal Empire in India, with Babur tracing his heritage to Timur. Today, “Timurs” can refer to the dynasty or to rulers and peoples sharing the lineage and cultural legacy of Timur.