Timurid dynasty

This article is about the royal family. For the territorial states over which it ruled, see Timurid Empire and Mughal Empire. For the imperial family of the latter empire, see Mughal dynasty.

Timurid dynasty گورکانیان
Parent house	Barlas
Country	Timurid Empire Mughal Empire
Current region	Central Asia Greater Iran Indian peninsula
Founded	9 April 1370
Founder	Timur
Final ruler	Muzaffar Husayn Mirza (Timurid) Bahadur Shah II (Mughal)
Titles	Emir Khan Beg Sheikh Gurkani Mirza Sahib Qiran Sultan Shah Padishah
Traditions	Sunni Islam (Hanafi)
Dissolution	1507 (Timurid) 21 September 1857 (Mughal)
Cadet branches	Mughal dynasty

The Timurid dynasty, self-designated as Gurkani, was the ruling dynasty of the Timurid Empire (1370–1507). It was a Sunni Muslim dynasty from the Barlās clan of Turco-Mongol origin descended from the warlord Timur (also known as Tamerlane).

The word "Gurkani" derives from Gurkân (گورکان)—a Persianized form of the Mongolian word kürgen, meaning 'son-in-law'. This was an honorific title used by the dynasty as the Timurids were in-laws of the line of Genghis Khan, founder of the Mongol Empire, as Timur had married Saray Mulk Khanum, a direct descendant of Genghis Khan.

Members of the Timurid dynasty signaled the Timurid Renaissance, and they were strongly influenced by Persian culture and established two significant empires in history, the Timurid Empire (1370–1507) based in Persia and Central Asia, and the Mughal Empire (1526–1857) based in the Indian subcontinent.

Origins

Main articles: Barlas, Turco-Mongol tradition, Turco-Persian tradition, and Persianate society

The origin of the Timurid dynasty goes back to the Mongol tribe known as Barlas, who were remnants of the Mongol army of Genghis Khan, founder of the Mongol Empire. After the Mongol conquest of Central Asia, the Barlas settled in what is today southern Kazakhstan, from Shymkent to Taraz and Almaty, which then came to be known for a time as Moghulistan – "Land of Mongols" in Persian – and intermingled to a considerable degree with the local Turkic and Turkic-speaking population, so that at the time of Timur's reign the Barlas had become thoroughly Turkicized in terms of language and habits.

Additionally, by adopting Islam, the Central Asian Turks and Mongols adopted Persian literary and high culture which had dominated Central Asia since the early days of Islamic influence. Persian literature was instrumental in the assimilation of the Timurid elite into Perso-Islamic courtly culture.

List of rulers

Emirs of Timurid Empire

No.	Coin	Name	Reign	Life details
1		Timur Beg Gurkani تیمور بیگ گورکانی	9 April 1370 – 18 February 1405 (~35 years)	1320s – 18 February 1405 (aged 85) De facto ruler of Chagatai Khanate under Soyurghatmïsh Khan and Sultan Mahmud Khan. Adopted the junior Arabic title of Emir.
2		Pir Muhammad پیر محمد	18 February 1405 – 22 February 1407 (~2 years)	1376 – 22 February 1407 (aged 31) Grandson of Timur through Jahangir Mirza, and his nominated heir.
3		Khalil Sultan خلیل سلطان	18 February 1405 – 1409 (~4 years)	13 August 1384 – 3 November 1411 (aged 27) Grandson of Timur through Miran Shah. Seized and ruled from Samarkand against Pir Muhammad.
4		Shahrukh Mirza شاھرخ میرزا	20 February 1405 – 13 March 1447 (~35 years)	20 August 1377 – 13 March 1447 (aged 69) Son of Timur
5		Ulugh Beg Mirza الغ بیگ میرزا	13 March 1447 – 27 October 1449 (~2 years)	22 March 1394 – 27 October 1449 (aged 55) Son of Shahrukh Mirza

Emirs of Khorasan (Herat)

1. Sultan Muhammad, nephew of Ulugh Beg, 1447–1451
2. Babur Mirza, brother of Sultan Muhammad, 1451–1457
3. Mahmud Mirza, son of Babur Mirza, 1457
4. Ibrahim Mirza, nephew of Babur Mirza, 1457–1459
5. Abu Sa'id Mirza, grandson of Miran Shah, son of Timur, 1459–1469
6. Husayn Bayqara Mirza, grandson of Umar Shaikh, son of Timur, 1469
7. Yadgar Muhammad Mirza, son of Sultan Muhammad, 1470
8. Husayn Bayqara Mirza (second reign), 1470–1506
9. Badi' al-Zaman Mirza, son of Bayqara Mirza, 1506–1507
10. Muzaffar Husayn Mirza, son of Bayqara Mirza, 1507

In 1507, the capital Herat fell to Uzbek Khanate of Bukhara under Muhammad Shaybani Khan.

Emirs of Transoxiana (Samarkand)

1. Abd al-Latif Mirza, son of Ulugh Beg, 1449–1450
2. Abdullah Mirza, nephew of Abd al-Latif, 1450–1451
3. Abu Sa'id Mirza, grandson of Miran Shah, son of Timur, 1451–1469

After his death, Abu Sa'id's sons split Transoxiana among themselves.

Emirs of Samarkand, Bukhara and Hissar

1. Ahmad Mirza, son of Abu Sa'id Mirza, 1469–1494
2. Baysonqor Mirza, son of Mahmud Mirza, 1495–1497 (only Samarkand)
3. Ali Mirza, son of Mahmud Mirza, 1495–1500 (only Bukhara)
4. Masud Mirza, son of Mahmud Mirza, 1495–1500 (only Hissar)

By 1501, Samarkand, Bukhara and Hissar were conquered by the Uzbek Khanate of Bukhara under Muhammad Shaybani Khan.

Emirs of Ferghana

1. Umar Shaikh Mirza, son of Abu Sa'id Mirza, 1469–1494
2. Babur, son of Umar Shaikh Mirza, 1494–1497
3. Jahangir Mirza, brother of Babur, 1487–1503

In 1503, Ferghana fell to Uzbek Khanate of Bukhara under Muhammad Shaybani Khan.

Emirs of Balkh

1. Mahmud Mirza, son of Abu Sa'id Mirza, 1469–1495
2. Khusrau Shah, usurper, 1495–1504
3. Babur, son of Umar Shaikh Mirza, 1504

In 1504, Balkh fell to Uzbek Khanate of Bukhara under Muhammad Shaybani Khan.

Emirs of Kabul

1. Ulugh Mirza, son of Abu Sa'id Mirza, 1469–1502
2. Abd al-Razzaq, son of Ulugh Mirza, 1502
3. Muqim Arghun, usurper, 1502–1504
4. Babur, son of Umar Shaikh Mirza, 1504–1530

In 1526, Babur moved into India and conquered the Dehli Sultanate, establishing the Mughal empire.

Mughal Emperors

Main article: List of emperors of the Mughal Empire

1. Babur, son of Umar Shaikh Mirza, 1526–1530
2. Humayun, son of Babur, 1530–1540, then 1555–1556
3. Akbar, son of Humayun, 1556–1605
4. Jahangir, son of Akbar, 1605–1627
5. Shah Jahan, son of Jahangir, 1628–1658
6. Aurangzeb, son of Shah Jahan, 1658–1707
7. Azam Shah, son of Aurangzeb, 1707
8. Bahadur Shah I, son of Aurangzeb, 1707–1712
9. Jahandar Shah, son of Bahadur Shah I, 1712–1713
10. Farrukhsiyar, grandson of Bahadur Shah I, 1713–1719
11. Rafi ud-Darajat, grandson of Bahadur Shah I, 1719
12. Shah Jahan II, brother of Rafi ud-Darajat, 1719
13. Muhammad Shah, grandson of Bahadur Shah I, 1719–1748
14. Ahmad Shah, son of Muhammad Shah, 1748–1754
15. Alamgir II, son of Jahandar Shah, 1754–1759
16. Shah Jahan III, grandson of Bahadur Shah I, 1759–1760
17. Shah Alam II, son of Alamgir II, 1760–1788
18. Jahan Shah, son of Ahmad Shah Bahadur, 1788
19. Shah Alam II (second reign), 1788–1806
20. Akbar II, son of Shah Alam II, 1806–1837
21. Bahadur Shah II, son of Akbar II, 1837–1857

Family Tree

See also: Timurid family tree

House of Barlas

Timurid Empire   Timurid Empire of Farghana   Timurid Empire of Kabul   Timurid Empire of Herat   Timurid Empire of Samarkand   Timurid Empire of Transoxiana   Timurid Empire of Hissar   Timurid Empire of Khurasan   Mughal Empire Timur r. 1370–1405 Jahangir Umar-Shaykh Miran-Shah Shah-Rukh r. 1405–1447 Pir-Muhammad r. 1405–1407 Bayqara Khalil r. 1405–1409 Muhammad Ulugh-Beg I r. 1447–1449 Ibrahim Baysunghur Mansur Abu Sa'id r. 1451–1459 r. 1459–1469 Abdul-Latif r. 1449–1450 Abdullah r. 1450–1451 Ala ad-Dawla r. 1447–1448 Muhammad r. 1449–1451 Babur I r. 1449–1449,  1451–1457 r. 1447–1457 Husayn-Bayqara r. 1469–1470,  1470–1506 Ahmad r. 1469–1494 Mahmud r. 1469–1469 r. 1469–1495 r. 1494–1495 Umar-Shaykh r. 1469–1494 Ulugh-Beg II r. 1469–1502 Ibrahim r. 1457–1459 r. 1457–1459 Yadigar-Muhammad r. 1470–1470 Shah-Mahmud r. 1457–1457 r. 1457–1457 Badi az-Zaman r. 1506–1507 Muzaffar-Husayn r. 1506–1507 Mas'ud r. 1495–1497 Baysunghur r. 1495–1497 r. 1497–1499 Ali r. 1497–1500 Babur II r. 1494–1497 r. 1497–1497,  1511–1512 r. 1504–1526 r. 1526–1530 Jahangir r. 1497–1504 Abdur-Razaq r. 1502–1504 Humayun r. 1530–1540,  1555–1556 Akbar I r. 1556–1605 Jahangir r. 1605–1627 Shah-Jahan I r. 1628–1658 Aurangzeb Alamgir I r. 1658–1707 Bahadur-Shah I Shah-Alam I r. 1707–1712 Azam-Shah r. 1707–1707 Kam-Bakhsh Jahandar-Shah r. 1712–1713 Azim ash-Shan Rafi ash-Shan Jahan-Shah Muhi as-Sunnat Alamgir II r. 1754–1759 Faruqsiyar r. 1713–1719 Shah-Jahan II r. 1719–1719 Rafi ad-Darajat r. 1719–1719 Muhammad-Shah r. 1719–1748 Shah-Jahan III r. 1759–1760 Shah-Alam II r. 1760–1788,  1788–1806 Ahmad-Shah r. 1748–1754 Akbar II r. 1806–1837 Shah-Jahan IV r. 1788–1788 Bahadur-Shah II r. 1837–1857

See also

• Borjigin
• List of Sunni Muslim dynasties
• Mughal Empire
• Muhammad Khwaja
• Timur
• Timurid Empire
• Turco-Mongol
• Turco-Persian
• House of Babur

References

Sources

• Morby, John (18 September 2014). "Tīmūrid Empire". Dynasties of the World. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-178007-3.

Further reading

• BĀYSONḠORĪ ŠĀH-NĀMA in Encyclopædia Iranica
• Elliot, Sir H. M.; edited by Dowson, John. The History of India, as Told by Its Own Historians. The Muhammadan Period; published by London Trubner Company 1867–77. (Online Copy: The History of India, as Told by Its Own Historians. The Muhammadan Period; by Sir H. M. Elliot; Edited by John Dowson; London Trubner Company 1867–1877 – This online copy has been posted by: The Packard Humanities Institute; Persian Texts in Translation; Also find other historical books: Author List and Title List)

External links

• Timurid Dynasty
• Virtual Art Exhibit