Amir Temur and Uzbek statehood during the Timurid era. Socio-political, economic and cultural life.
Amir Temur's struggle to create a centralized state and military campaigns
Amir Temur, a great statesman and a skillful commander, on April 1336, 8 (736 Hijri, 25 days of Sha'ban) in the village of Khoja Ilgor (present-day Yakkabog district) of Kesh, one of the barlos begs, Amir Taragay ibn He was born in a Barkal family. His mother was one of the famous mistresses of Takinahotun Kesh.
Temur's childhood and teenage years were spent in Kesh. Ibn Arabshah, Rui Gonzalez de Clavijo and other historians explain his life with some information until 1360.
In 1360-1361, the ruler of Mongolia, Khan Tughluq Temur, began to pry into Movarunnahr's inner life. After his invasion activities became known to the independent rulers of Central Asia, they were confused. Haji Barlos, the emir of Kesh, can be included among them. After Tughluq Temur crossed Sirdarya with the intention of occupying Khojand, the amirs of Movaraunnahr and Haji Barlos crossed Amudarya and went to Khurasan to save their lives from fear.
In the 1360s and 1370s, along with Amir Temur, another person who influenced the political life of Movaraunnahr was Amir Husayn, the grandson of Amir Kazakhstan. Balkh and surrounding lands were under his control. In 1361, Amir Temur approached Amir Husayn. Now the two rulers united and had the opportunity to resist the Mongol khans. It is known that Amir Temur was dependent on the Mongolian ruler. When the time came, Tughluq Temur handed over the management of Movarunnahr to Ilyashhoja. Amir Temur, who was trying to be independent, did not obey the new ruler. As a result, a new conflict arose. 1361-1365 are the periods when Amir Husayn and Sahibgiron Temur were very close and had a good relationship with each other.
The event that happened in the life of Amir Temur and left a scar on him for life took place in Seistan in 1362. During the battle, Amir Temur was severely injured in the right arm from the elbow and from the right leg by a bow arrow. As a result, he will walk with a limp for the rest of his life. Therefore, his enemies, who were terrified of him, jealously called Amir Temur "Temurlang".
After the death of Tughluq Temur, the Mongol Khan Ilyashoja, who was expelled from the land of Movaraunnahr in 1363, again starts moving towards Movaraunnahr with a huge army in order to take possession of his former possessions. It was also known that the Moghul Khan was especially angry with his rivals. Timur and Amir Husayn gathered military forces as much as possible for the upcoming fierce conflict. This battle went down in history under the name "Battle of Mud". It happened between Chinoz and Tashkent in the spring of 1365. Amir Temur and Amir Husayn were defeated in this battle on the Chirchik River. The reasons for this defeat are given in different ways. Some chroniclers explain that Amir Husain acted sluggishly and incompetently in the victory of the Mongol Khan. Perhaps it is because of this, or the large number and better preparation of the Mongol Khan's army was the main factor of this success.
Amir Temur, who realized that it was futile to try again, left the battlefield and returned to Samarkand with his remaining soldiers. After coming to the city of Samarkand, without staying here for a long time, he first goes to Kesh and then to Balkh through Amudarya. As we mentioned above, at that time the chief amir of Movarounnahr was Husayn. Coming to a decision depends on his will. Because of this, Amir Temur was forced to act according to his instructions and in many cases with Husain's approval. The city of Samarkand, moreover, the entire Movaraunnahr was left to its own devices. It was up to the people of Samarkand to escape from the clutches of the Mongol Khan. Under these conditions, the generals took over the defense of Samarkand.
Sarbadors were ready to sacrifice themselves in order to be freed from Mongol oppression. Sarbador movement appeared as a socio-political movement in Iran in the 30th century, and spread to Movarounnahr in the 50s and 60s. The main goal of the participants of the movement was the struggle against the Mongol invaders and oppressive local groups.
The social structure of the participants of this movement was exactly the same in Samarkand as in Khurasan. Artisans, shopkeepers, some madrasa teachers and students actively joined this movement. Ilyashoja went straight to Samarkand. The ruler, one of the future leaders of the sarbadors, the head of the madrasa, who collected a large amount of taxes and fees from every member of the city and spent them as he saw fit, spoke before the people gathered in the city mosque. He misses the fact that he left the city to its own devices.
Maulana Khordak Bukhari and Abu Bakr Kalavi also joined the defense leadership along with Mavlanozada. The Mongols, who were not aware of the establishment of defense, thought that the city without a ruler was defenseless. Their main forces will attack from the main street at the entrance to the city. When the invaders, who had no doubt about the danger, approached the place where Mavlonozada's archers were lying in ambush, they suddenly encountered bow arrows. The defenders of the city attacked the Mongols from three sides. The Mongols, who invaded the city thinking that they would take it in the first attack, were forced to retreat after seeing great losses.
The military plan developed by the people of Samarkand was elaborate and effective. After several unsuccessful attacks, the Mongols came up with a plan to encircle the outskirts of the city and besiege it for a long time. But an infectious disease spread among the army. It is called horse plague. As a result of the plague, most of the horses belonging to Ilyashoja's troops were killed. Ilyashoja had to leave first Samarkand and then Movaraunnahr with great losses.
At that time, Amir Temur, who was in Kesh, conveyed this news to Amir Husayn, who was on the banks of the Amudarya. In the spring of 1366, they arrived in Samarkand and invited the leaders of the generals to their presence. The meeting took place in a place called Konigil in Samarkand. Here there is a disagreement with the leaders of the warlords and they are executed. At Amir Temur's request, only Mavlonozada was spared and sent to Khurasan. After the suppression of the Sarbador movement, relations between Amir Husayn and Amir Temur become tense. Amir Husayn's injustice towards the generals was also the reason for this.
Between 1366 and 1370, Amir Temur turned his attention to internal affairs. The conflicts between Amir Husayn and Amir Temur ended in 1370 with the killing of Huseyn and the accession of Amir Temur to the throne. The current khan of Movarunnahr passed to Suyurgotmish, a descendant of Genghis Khan. The state management system was left in the hands of Amir Temir, who was named the emir of Movaraunnahr, and moved from Kesh to Samarkand, making it the capital of his state.
Amir Temur's unification policy in Movarounnahr had begun. He subjugated the lands between Amudarya and Syrdarya and made them obey him. It was not difficult for him to bring Fergana and Shosh regions under his control. He used the internal dynastic wars in these lands to occupy the lands belonging to the Golden Horde in the lower reaches of the Syrdarya.
Amir Temur tried to reintroduce Khorezm to Movaraunnahr. In 1372, Husayn Sufi did not pay tribute to Amir Timur, and he replied to the ambassador sent by Sahibqiran: "I conquered the country with a sword, so it can only be taken with a sword."
In the same year, Amir Temur brought an army to Khorezm. To get to Urganch, it was necessary to pass through the city of Kiyot, which was occupied by Timur's army after some resistance. The loss of Qiyat has a strong impact on Husayn Sufi. He agrees to reconcile with Amir Temur and fulfill his demands. But some governors, not seeing Amir Temur's rapid rise to high rank, started to incite Husayn against him. Trusting in their help, Husain goes against Amir Temur, but is defeated by him. After that, Husayn hid in the Urganch fortress and died quickly. In his place, his brother Yusuf Sofi (1372) came to power and concluded a reconciliation agreement with Amir Temur. However, he treacherously violated the terms of reconciliation, after Amir Temur's return, he captured the city of Qiyat and began openly hostile actions against him. After that, Amir Temur was forced to march to Khorezm for the second time. (1373-1374). But this does not lead to a military conflict, because Yusuf Amir repents to Timur and promises to unconditionally fulfill the terms of reconciliation. As a result of this second campaign, Southern Khorezm became part of Amir Temur's state.
After 1374, Amir Temur marched to Khorezm three times. The reason for this was due to the claim of Khan of the Golden Horde Tokhtamish to Khorezm.
In 1387-1388, Tokhtamish attacked Khorezm, taking advantage of Amir Temur's absence from Movarunnahr. He encouraged Suleiman Sufi, who was the governor of Khorezm, to raise a rebellion against Amir Temur. Suleiman Sofi agreed to this. These events forced Amir Temur to march again to Khorezm in 1388. Timur occupied Urganch and ended the Sufi dynasty.
Since then, Khorezm was part of the state of Amir Temur, and then the state of the Timurids. Thus, except for the lands in Yettisuv and the foothills of the Syrdarya, all the lands of Turkestan passed into the hands of Amir Temur.
Amir Temur's military campaigns are known in history as "three-year" (1386-1388), "five-year" (1392-1396), "seven-year" (1399-1405) wars. Timur marched to Herat in 1381. During this period, Herat was ruled by the Kurdish dynasty. Their ruler Ghiyasiddin Pir Ali did not strongly oppose Temur. But in 1383, an uprising broke out in Herat. The rebellion was suppressed, and with the fall of the Kurdish dynasty, Ali Muayyad, who was the last governor of the warlords, voluntarily surrendered his lands and power to Timur. By the middle of the 80s of the XIV century, all Khorasan came under the control of Amir Temur. During the "three years" war, Amir Teur subdues Azerbaijan, Tabriz, Mazandaran, Gilan. After that, he started a campaign to the Caucasus and captured Tiflis, Arzirum and Van fortress.
Taking advantage of such an opportune moment, that is, Amir Temur's presence in Iran, Tokhtamish sent an army under the leadership of Qamariddin to Movaraunnahr.
In January 1388, waiting for the return of Amir Temur, the enemy began to retreat. Amir Timur ordered his emirs Husain, Sheikh Ali Bahadur and others to repel the enemy. They overtook the enemy in a place called Sarisuv on the banks of the Syrdarya River and inflicted heavy losses on him. At the end of 1388, Tokhtamysh launched a new attack against Amir Temur. In order to prepare for the war, Amir Temur set up his camp in Sagoron (Kattakurgan) and put his troops in battle condition. Amir Temur sends troops under the command of Konghioghlan, Temur Kutlughoghlan, and Sheikh Ali Bahadur to attack from the rear of the enemy. The attack was successful. The enemy was crushed, and Tokhtamish barely escaped.
In 1393-1394, while Amir Temur was in Sheki (the northern part of Azerbaijan), Tokhtamish attacked the regions of Kavkazorti. Amir Temur left Sheki and walked along the Kura river. The Golden Hordes heard that Amir Temur's troops were coming and had to retreat. In April 1395, the hostilities between Amir Temur and Tokhtamysh started again. The main part of the battle was on the right wing. A difficult situation has arisen in this wing. Amir Temur entered the battle with the reserve army and forced the enemy to retreat. Tokhtamysh left power after the third battle.
The defeat of the Tokhtamysh army on the banks of the Terek River and the destruction of the Berka Palace in 1395 were a very strong blow to the Golden Horde. After that, he could not correct his voice.
The events of the war show that Amir Temur's campaigns to one country were consecutive with his campaigns to other countries. Amir Temur attacked Azerbaijan several times and managed to subjugate it in 1387. Amir Temur conquered Armenia and Georgia in 1392. Timur's march to distant India ended in 1398.
Amir Temur's military skill was such that he did not let his enemies breathe freely. In 1400, Amir Temur's troops fought against the Turkish Sultan Bayazid I and the Egyptian Sultan Faraj. In 1402, Amir Temur clashed with Bayazid for the second time near Ankara and defeated him.
At the end of 1404, Amir Temur and his troops set out for China. The winter of that year was the worst winter in the history of Central Asia. The water of the Syrdarya was frozen for 1 meter, most of the soldiers had cold ears, noses, hands and feet. Amir Temur himself soon caught a cold. In the middle of January 1405, they decided to stop in Otrar, and here on February 18, the great world-lover Sahibqiron Amir Temur died.
Amir Temur conducts military campaigns for 35 years. As a result of these campaigns, he managed to establish a great state. It includes Movarounnahr, Khorezm, the regions around the Caspian, present-day Afghanistan, Iran, Turkey, India, Iraq, South Russia, the Caucasus, and a number of countries in Western Asia. Amir Temur's success was primarily due to his rare military talent. Strict order and discipline were established in Amir Temur's army. He produced every battle plan and instructions for all parts. His military talent was particularly evident in the battle against Sultan Bayazid near Ankara. The heart of the army and the core of command were made up of representatives of the Barlos clan. According to those who witnessed the events of this period, the Barlos were extremely resistant to military hardships, very good at archery, loyal and patient to their rulers.
With the honor of independence and the initiative of the President of our Republic, I. Karimov, the pure name of the great Master, which was forgotten during the Soviet era, was restored. Historical justice was decided, and in 1996, the 660th birthday of Sahibqiron was widely celebrated all over the world.
