The End of the Timurid Empire

Bert G. Fragner (1941–2021) deals with the decline of the so-called “Timurid Empire” (15th and early 16th centuries). The descendants of the Central Asian conqueror Timur (reigned 1370–1405) inherited from their ancestor parts of his empire. They tried to maintain political power in Eastern Iran (Khorasan), Transoxiana and Khorazm but failed subsequently due to a lack of territorial legitimacy. The so-called “Uzbeks”, led by the dynasty of the Chinggisid Shaybanids, took over Khorazm (Khiva) and Transoxiana (Samarkand), and the Iranian Safavids following ideological traditions of the also Chinggisid “Il-Khans” (ca. 1240 until 1332) incorporated Khorasan into their newly established empire (1501–1722). Nevertheless: The “Timurid fifteenth century” has remained as a glorious and culturally bright period in the collective memory of the Eastern Islamic World. The Timurids’ imperial strength was less based on military power but much more on cultural representation.