One of the Great but Ruthless Muslim Conquerors: Timur Lang
One of the great dichotomies of world history is that Islam produced a string of world conquerors, while the Buddhists and Hindus have nothing to show in this field. Perhaps it's something to do with fanaticism that is bred by Islam in contrast of the tolerance of the Buddhists and the Hindus. This is observed by Field Marshal Montgomery in his "History of Warfare"
We can now examine the psychology of one of the great conquerors of the world known by the name of Timur or Tamerlane. One can safely say he was almost the last of great Muslim conquerors whose empire covered a gigantic area and straddled 2 continents. In his, prime Timur ruled over an area that encompassed Turkey, Moscow, Persia to North India. His sacking of Delhi 1398 was so severe and brutal, that the city took a 100 years to recover from that calamity.
Timur was born in 1336 in Central Asia. He was a staunch Muslim and he had a dream to restore the empire of the great Genghis Khan. He was however an intolerant man and his entire philosophy was based on slaughtering the conquered people. If figures have a meaning then its worth pointing out that he slaughtered 17 million people under his rule. This amounts to 5% of the entire population of the world at that time.
Timur was particularly severe on infidels and there are reports that entire villages were massacred by him. Yes, he was a tyrant but that does not detract from his military capabilities. Timur believed only in cavalry and he thus selected the best horses. His force could ride a 150 miles in a day and speed and surprise one of the principles of war were achieved by him. His victories are a tribute to his knowledge of the art of war.
His campaign against the Tughlaq Sultanate of Delhi is a pointer. He was well aware that the Delhi ruler had a massive elephant force, but as a shrewd general he had a plan to counter them. Firstly, he crossed the 5 rivers of the Punjab, no mean feat as he had no boats and then waylaid the countryside. He approached Delhi and made a devious plan to frighten the elephants. He sent in a camel force with fire burning at their tail. The frightened Camels pressed forward and the smoke frightened the elephants who ran back and attacked the Tughlaq force itself. A triumphant Timur now entered Delhi and a blood bath commenced. It is reported by scribes of that time that blood flowed like water as Timur launched a massacre. He also looted the city and after a few days decided to go back with the loot. He also took with him the choicest Hindu girls for his and his chiefs harems. Timur was a barbarian in the true sense.
Timur on his return decided the time had come for an attack on the Chinese civilization and he set course for China, but died on the way in 1405. There is no doubt that Timur was a great soldier and general and his name is bracketed with the great conquerors of the world, but he had a mean and sadistic treat that saw him execute millions of conquered people. Perhaps for that reason the empire founded by him did not last long after his death. It is worth pondering that he was the ancestor of another ruler who ruled India and demolished Hindu temples galore-Babur.
Timur is now given a face lift and the people of Central Asia respect him as a great conqueror( which he was). They rarely mention about his massacres.
Map from wiki free commons
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