EMÎR TİMUR’s KHWAREZM EXPEDITIONS
EMÎR TİMUR’UN HAREZM SEFERLERİ

Author : Erhan YOSKA
Number of pages : 98-109

Abstract

Establishing his state in Maveraünnehr (Transoxiana) on the basis of Turkish-Islamic and Mongol sovereignty understanding, Emîr Timur (Timurid), the final nomadic conqueror of steppes, received the title of Han-ı Kürekan, that is the bride-groom of Khan, by getting married to Saray Mülk Hatun from the Çağatay generation. Because of this marriage, Timur started to see himself as the heir of Çağatay Khanate. He launched expeditions in order to dominate Çağatay lands, to punish the khanates mushrooming on the lands of Mongol Empire, to capture the countries on the silk route thus realizing the world sovereignty. One of the destinations Timur had launched expeditions to was the Khwarezm region at the crossroads of steppe and settled cultures, along the main roads connecting the continents. Emîr Timur launched 5 expeditions to the Sufî family, from the Kongrat tribe dominating the eastern and southern parts of Khwarezm. These expeditions took place in the years of 1372, 1373, 1376, 1379 and 1388. Although Timur had dominated the Khwarezm region virtually through the expeditions he made, he couldn’t obtain the full allegiance of the Sufî family and Kongrats. Finally, he got the Ürgenç city fully destroyed in his last expedition and exiled its inhabitants to Samarkand. The study analyzes the reasons for Emîr Timur to launch expeditions to Khwarezm location after having dominated the Maveraünehr, the political, commercial and civil significance of Khwarezm, the fight with the Sufî family and its outcomes in accordance with the sources of the era.

Keywords

Keywords: Emîr Timur, Çağatay Khanate, Khwarezm, Sufî Family

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