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Tamerlane's conquests and the brilliant art of Herat and Samarkand.

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Timurid & Turkmen Iran · 1370-1501 AD
The Timurid Renaissance

Timurid & Turkmen Iran

From the conquests of Timur and the sack of Delhi through the dazzling Timurid Renaissance of Herat and Samarkand, the observatory of Ulugh Beg, and the rival Black Sheep and White Sheep Turkmen, to the militant Sufi order from which Shah Ismail would forge the Safavid state. Slide across the years to read the major events of Iran between the Mongols and the Safavids.

1370 AD
The Rise of Timur
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Timur seizes power in Samarkand

The warlord Timur (Tamerlane) makes himself master of Transoxiana and begins the conquest of Iran.

1370 AD

The Rise of Timur
  • Military

    Timur seizes power in Samarkand

    Facial reconstruction of Timur (Tamerlane)
    Via Wikimedia Commons

    The warlord Timur (Tamerlane) makes himself master of Transoxiana and begins the conquest of Iran.

9 milestones

Meanwhile

Around 1370 AD

Full Chronicle

Timurid & Turkmen Iran

From the conquests of Timur and the sack of Delhi through the dazzling Timurid Renaissance of Herat and Samarkand, the observatory of Ulugh Beg, and the rival Black Sheep and White Sheep Turkmen, to the militant Sufi order from which Shah Ismail would forge the Safavid state. Slide across the years to read the major events of Iran between the Mongols and the Safavids.

  1. The Rise of Timur

    • Timur seizes power in Samarkand

      The warlord Timur (Tamerlane) makes himself master of Transoxiana and begins the conquest of Iran.

  2. The Conquests of Timur

    • Timur sacks Delhi

      Timur storms Delhi and massacres its inhabitants, one of the bloodiest episodes of his campaigns.

  3. The Conquests of Timur

    • Timur defeats the Ottomans at Ankara

      At Ankara, Timur crushes the Ottoman sultan Bayezid I and takes him prisoner, briefly shattering the young Ottoman state.

  4. The Timurid Renaissance

    • Shah Rukh and the golden age of Herat

      Timur's son Shah Rukh moves the capital to Herat and presides over a dazzling revival of Persian art and letters.

  5. The Timurid Renaissance

    • Ulugh Beg's observatory at Samarkand

      The scholar-prince Ulugh Beg builds a great observatory at Samarkand and compiles a celebrated star catalogue.

  6. The Turkmen Confederations

    • The Qara Qoyunlu and Aq Qoyunlu

      The 'Black Sheep' and 'White Sheep' Turkmen confederations contend for western Iran as Timurid power fades.

  7. The Turkmen Confederations

    • Uzun Hasan and the Aq Qoyunlu zenith

      Under Uzun Hasan the Aq Qoyunlu dominate Iran and negotiate with Venice against the Ottomans before his death in 1478.

  8. Seeds of the Safavids

    • The Safaviyya order turns militant

      The Sufi order of Ardabil, once quietist, becomes a militant Shia movement with a devoted following of Qizilbash warriors.

  9. Seeds of the Safavids

    • Ismail proclaims the Safavid state

      The fifteen-year-old Ismail takes Tabriz, crowns himself shah, and declares Twelver Shiism the religion of Iran.