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The Beginning of Timur's Rise

ابتداء خروج تمرلنك

c. 1372 CE · 773 AH

Samarqand

In 773 began Timur's emergence — he ruined the lands and destroyed the people, ranging till he died on the night of Wednesday 17 Sha'ban 807, prompting the verse: 'what the Tatars did — had they seen Timur's deeds, that was the greater; his ill omen would have been the worse'. Of peasant stock, he began stealing and cutting the road, then joined the service of the sultan's horse-master and rose without end 1.

Depth

At a glance

Era
The Mongol and Post-Mongol Era
Region
Persia & Central Asia
Review
Draft Completeness 2/5 · Help complete it

In time

1360137013801390 c.
The Crusades, Ayyubids and Mamluks · The Mongol and Post-Mongol Era

In space

Samarqand

Map: Natural Earth, public domain · places and route from the graph

Overview

Al-Suyuti says that the beginning of the rising of Tamerlane was in 773 AH, and that it continued until he died on the night of Wednesday, the seventeenth of Sha'ban 807 AH. 2

His origin

Al-Suyuti relates that his origin was among the sons of peasants, who grew up stealing and robbing on the road, then joined the service of the master of the sultan's horses, and after his death was placed in his position, and he continued to rise. This is al-Suyuti's description. 2

Al-Suyuti's judgement

Al-Suyuti describes what he did as ruining the lands and destroying the people, and quotes a verse comparing his deeds with those of the Tatars. 2

In the text someone was asked about the year of his rising, and that report needs an additional source.

Connections

Explore the connections

Occurred at
Samarqand
Had participant
تمرلنك

People and things also explored

The battle of Ankara and the capture of Bayezid the Thunderbolt· Ibn Khaldun's Audience with Timur beneath Damascus· Qutham ibn al-Abbas's Death at Samarqand· Qutayba's Conquest of Samarqand· The lord of Samarqand betrays the Khwarazmians· Sultan Sanjar's defeat by the Turks beyond the river in 536· Sa'id ibn Uthman's Siege of Samarqand· Timur Takes Delhi in 801 AH

Sources

  1. Tarikh al-Khulafa — al-Suyuti (Dar al-Minhaj edition) , p. 758-759
  2. Tarikh al-Khulafa — al-Suyuti (Dar al-Minhaj edition) , p.758-759
Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “The Beginning of Timur's Rise”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/event/timur-rise-773/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-29.

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Wing

Time

Eras, timelines, this day in history, any year in the Islamic world. Related

The battle of Ankara and the capture of Bayezid the Thunderbolt

Ankara 1402 — Timur's host broke Bayezid's 120,000 in the July heat as his Tatar and Anatolian levies defected; the Thunderbolt died in chains the next year while Europe's kings congratulated Timur.