The Invasion of Syria by Tamerlane (1400-1)
and Ibn Taghri Birdi's description of the life of Tamerlane

Tamerlane, also called Timur Leng or Timur the Lane, was born near Samarkand in 1335.  Of Mongol origin, but Turkish in speech and culture, Tamerlane was also Muslim.  A skilled and ruthless military tactician, he would conquer Transoxiana, Persia, Iraq, India, Syria, Armenia and Georgia.  In 1398 he sacked Delhi, and two years later he invaded Syria, as is described ibn Taghri Birdi.  This was followed by his conquest of Baghdad in 1401 and the defeat and capture of the Ottoman ruler Bayezit I (in the text below he is referred to as Abu Yazid ibn 'Uthman) a year later.  He died in 1405 while preparing to invade China, and his empire fragmented soon after.  Our source gives a good description of his invasion of Syria, as well as efforts by the Mamluk Sultanate to deal with this threat.  Afterwards Ibn Taghri Birdi recounts the life of Tamerlane, although not with complete accuracy.

 

[A] report was brought from Aleppo that Tamerlane had besieged Siwas and fought a battle with Sulaiman ibn Abu Yazid ibn ‘Uthman.  Sulaiman had then fled to his father in the city of Brusa together with Qara Yusuf, and Tamerlane had taken Siwas, killing a vast number of its inhabitants.

            A short time after this report, ambassadors from Ibn Uthman arrived at Cairo; the letter they brought asked for an understanding between him and Egypt, and stated that he would support the Sultan in combating this tyrant Tamerlane so that Islam and the Muslims might cease to be troubled by him. In the letter Ibn 'Uthman used ingratiating terms and pressed strongly for the alliance. No attention was paid to his request, however; the Egyptian emirs said: "Now he is ready to be our friend; but when our master az-Zahir Barquq died he marched against our land, and took Malatya from our control - he is no friend of ours; let him defend his own land; we will defend ours and our subjects." This was the tenor of the letter which was sent to him.

            What Abu Yazid ibn 'Uthman proposed, however, was the wisest policy; for afterward Asanbai az-Zahiri, warden of the armory, whom Tamerlane had made prisoner and treated with favor, making him his own warden of the armory, said: "Tamerlane said to me in substance that during his lifetime he had met and fought many armies, but among them had never seen the likes of two of them, the army of Egypt and the above-mentioned army of Ibn 'Uthman: the former however, was a mighty force without anyone to direct it, because of the youth of al-Malik an-Nasir Faraj and the lack of military knowledge on the part of the emirs about him, while Ibn ‘Uthman was sagacious, adroit, and energetic, but had not the forces to aid him." It is for this reason that I have said that good policy demanded peace with Bayazid ibn 'Uthman; for the Egyptian armies would then have had someone to plan for them, while Ibn 'Uthman would have had the Egyptian forces to reinforce his own, and Tamerlane would have been powerless to oppose them; each of the two forces would have strengthened its own resistance to him. But there happened what we have narrated; and whatever God wishes happens.  No one in Egypt made any preparation for war against Tamerlane after the reply mentioned above was written to Ibn 'Uthman, nor was any attention given to the matter. On the contrary, the highest aim of each one was for that which would help him attain the sultanate of Egypt and for the removal from the scene of everyone else - and let the world be turned topsy turvy! For at the same time that the distressing reports mentioned arrived in Egypt the Sultan and emirs received reports also that Emir Qani Bai al-'Ala'i az-Zahiri, an emir of the second class and head of guards, proposed to instigate a revolt; when the Sultan summoned him and ordered him to put on a robe in honor of his appointment as viceroy of Gaza, he refused to wear it. He was therefore apprehended and given into custody of Emir Aqbai the chamberlain, who took him down to his own house. Qani Bai remained there until the end of the day, when a party of the Sultan's mamluks assembled with the purpose of taking him away by force from Aqbai the chamberlain. In fear Aqbai took him up again to the Citadel, where the Sultan summoned the emirs; they considered the case, and agreed to leave Qani Bai in his emirate and office.

            Muharram 25, 803 [September 15, 1400]: The post brought word to the Sultan from Aleppo that Tamerlane had taken Malatya. And on the following morning another report arrived by post that the advance guard of Tamerlane's army had reached 'Ain Tab; and in the letter were the words: "Aid the Muslims or they will perish."

            The Sultan two days later summoned the Caliph, the Cadis, the emirs and foremost administrators, and they were informed that Tamerlane's vanguard had reached Mar'ash and 'Ain Tab. The purpose in calling this assembly was to secure money from the merchants as a means of aiding the distribution of funds among the army. The Cadis said: "It is yours to command and forbid, and no one can withstand you in this. But if a legal opinion on the subject is desired, confiscation of the property of anyone is not permitted, lest a curse fall upon the army." Then they were told: "We will take half of the trust funds of the country and use the money to bestow fiefs upon the troopers who are now out of service; for the troops are few because the trust funds are so many." To this the Cadis replied: “And what would be the value of that? For if you rely in war upon soldiers out of service, it is to be feared that Islam will be lost." The matter was discussed for a long time, until finally the decision was reached to send Emir Asanbugha the executive secretary to investigate the reports received, and to send the Syrian forces toward Tamerlane. Asanbugha left by horse post on Safar 5 of the year 803 [September 25th]; but neglect and inattention marked affairs at Cairo because of the absence of centralized authority and because of the varied opinions that were held.

            In the meanwhile the people of Syria were in a state which God alone could know, because of the fear and terror which had seized them; all wished to desert the towns, while the officials in charge of each restrained them, and promised that the Egyptian forces were coming to their defense.

            Some days later the post brought a letter from the viceroy of Aleppo, Emir Damurdash al-Muhammadi, and with it a letter also from Asanbugha the executive secretary, stating that Tamerlane was maintaining the siege of the citadel of Bahasna after having taken the city itself, and that his armies had reached' Ain Tab.  This report reached Cairo on Safar 24. Then preparations began for the Sultan's campaign, and the signal flag for departure was raised on I Rabi' 3.

            Asanbugha the executive secretary had arrived at Damascus on Safar 7 [September 27th], and in the Umayyad Mosque had read the Sultan's letter ordering the Syrian forces to be armed and to take the field against Tamerlane. On the 9th the ambassador of Tamerlane had come to Damascus with official communications from him to the shaikhs, cadis, and emirs; the letters stated that he had gone to Iraq the proceeding year to punish those who had killed his ambassadors at ar-Rahba, and then had returned to India. The news of az-Zahir's death had reached him there, and he had returned and attacked the Georgians. Then when he received word of the incivility of that boy, Sulaiman ibn Abi Yazid ibn 'Uthman, he had set out for Asia Minor that he might twist his ears. He had gone to Siwas, and had done there and elsewhere in Asia Minor the things of which they had reports; then he had turned toward Egypt in order that he might strike coins there and have his name mentioned in the Friday sermon; thereafter he would return home. In his letter he demanded that Atilmish, one of his emirs who had been captured earlier during the reign of al-Malik az-Zahir Barquq, should be sent back to him, adding: "If you do not send him, you will be responsible for the blood of the Muslims." Sudun, viceroy of Damascus, paid no heed to Tamerlane's words; on the contrary, at his orders Tamerlane's ambassador was cut in two at the waist.

            Asanbugha proceeded to Aleppo, and found that the reports which had been received at Cairo were correct: he sent to Egypt a report of what he saw and knew, enclosed with the letter of the viceroy of Aleppo. The letter in question reached Cairo on I Rabi' 3. It narrated that Tamerlane had besieged Buza'a, outside of Aleppo, while all the Syrian viceroys had assembled in Aleppo; and it urged that the Sultan and his forces should go from Cairo to Syria. It added that when Tamerlane had encamped at Buza'a, Emir Shaikh al-Muhmudi, viceroy of Tarabulus (he was the future al-Malik al-Mu'ayyad) had gone out toward Tamerlane's vanguard with seven hundred horsemen while the Tatars numbered about three thousand; the two forces, after shooting at each other with arrows, had fought a short while, Shaikh capturing four of the Tatars; each of the two parties had then returned to its own position. The four prisoners were then halved at the waist at the gates of Aleppo in the presence of all the assembled viceroys. Those gathered in the city were: Sudun, the viceroy of Damascus, with its army, enlisted troops, and [Druze] tribesmen; Shaikh al-Mahmudi, viceroy of Tarabulus with its army, enlisted troops, and infantry; Duqmaq al-Muhammadi, viceroy of Hama, with its army and Arabs; Altunbugha, viceroy of Safad, with its army and tribesmen; and 'Umar ibn at-Tahhan, viceroy of Gaza, with its army. The forces thus gathered in Aleppo were vast, but authority was divided and opinion unsettled because of the Sultan's absence.  Tamerlane, when he had encamped at 'Ain Tab, had sent his ambassador to Emir Damurdash al-Muhammadi, viceroy of Aleppo, promising him continuance in his office and ordering him to seize Sudun, viceroy of Damascus, because he had put to death the ambassador whom he had before this date sent to Damascus. Damurdash took this messenger into the presence of the viceroys, and the messenger, disregarding the matter of the seizure of Sudun, to Damurdash: "The Emir (meaning Tamerlane) came to this country only because of your correspondence with him inviting him to encamp against Aleppo; you informed him that there was no one who could defend it." Damurdash was enraged at him when he heard say this; and he went toward him and struck him, then gave a command, and he was beheaded. It is said that the ambassador's remarks were a design of Tamerlane's craftiness and cunning to sow dissension among the army; that the emirs were aware of this, so that it failed of its purpose. However, a number of the Aleppans tell me how now that Damurdash did write to Tamerlane and held back from the battle; God knows best whether this was so or not.

            The emirs and viceroys then agreed to make war on Tamerlane and each one prepared for the fray; for they now had lost hope that the Sultan and his forces would come to Syria; they knew that the emirs who were administering the government of Egypt had no plan, while the Sultan himself was too young and it was now too late.  They themselves, however, had extremely meager forces in comparison with the armies and followers of Tamerlane. The most fitting procedure would have been for the Sultan to take his army from Cairo and arrive at Aleppo before Tamerlane marched from Siwas, az-Zahir Barquq (God have mercy on him) did on the occasion which has been mentioned before.

            He the viceroys were putting their affairs in order for the battle, Tamerlane encamped his forces at Hailan, outside of Aleppo, on Thursday, I Rabi' 9 [October 28], and surrounded the city of Aleppo. The next morning, Friday, he assaulted the city and beleaguered its walls.  On these two days there were many battles and engagements between him and the people of Aleppo, with arrows and with naphtha and other inflammable missiles; the people mounted the walls of the city and fought him vigorously.

            At sunrise on Saturday the viceroys of Syria took all their forces as well as the populace outside Aleppo. They drew up their battalions and armies for the battle against Tamerlane; Sayyidi Sudun, viceroy of Damascus, with his mamluks and the Damascus army, was stationed on the right; Damurdash, viceroy of Aleppo, with his mamluks and the Aleppo army, on the left, and the rest of the viceroys in the center; they placed in front of them the people of Aleppo who were unmounted - this was the worst possible tactical blunder, despite Damurdash's claim to be an expert in tactics. As soon they had all taken their assigned positions Tamerlane attacked with armies which filled the landscape; he advanced against the Aleppo army in a mighty charge. He was met by the viceroys, who at first stood firm against the charge; although the left wing then was routed, Sudun, viceroy of Damascus, still held his position on the right supported by Shaikh, viceroy of Tarabulus; and they fought a mighty battle.

            In the course of the battle Emir 'Izz ad-Din Azdamur, brother of Commander-in-Chief al-Yusufi, and his son Yashbak ibn Azdamur, advanced from the ranks with a number of horsemen; having offered their lives on the path of God, they fought mightily and displayed the greatest valor. Indeed, Azdamur and his son Yashbak ibn showed a degree of courage and valor which will perhaps be recalled until the judgment day, for Azdamur continued hurling himself against the enemy and wheeling among them until he was killed.  At the time there was no report of what happened to him, for he was killed only when he had penetrated into the enemy's center.  His son Yashbak fell among the slain also, covered with wounds; his head alone received more than thirty saber and other strokes, in addition to wounds in other parts of his body. He was then seize, and carried before Tamerlane, who on seeing the extent of his injuries marveled extremely at his bravery and endurance and, it is said, ordered that he be given medical treatment.

            Only a short time passed before the Syrian forces turned in flight toward the city of Aleppo, with Tamerlane's men in hot pursuit; and a countless number of the inhabitants of Aleppo and others who were on foot perished under the horses' hoofs, for the citizens of Aleppo had gone out from the city to fight Tamerlane, even the women and boys; moreover, as they tried to enter through the city gates people crowded so closely together that they trampled upon one another; and corpses lay there man-high while crowds walked over them. The Syrian viceroys made for the Aleppo citadel and ascended to it, hordes of the inhabitants entering with them; they had previously transported to the Citadel all the property of the men of Aleppo.

            Tamerlane's army had in the meanwhile immediately assaulted the city, lighted fires in it, and began to take prisoners, to plunder, and to kill. The women and children fled to the great mosque of Aleppo and to the smaller mosques, but Tamerlane's men turned to follow them, bound the women with ropes as prisoners, and put the children to the sword, killing every one of them. They committed the shameful deeds to which they were accustomed; virgins were violated without concealment; gentlewomen were outraged without any restraints of modesty; a Tatar would seize a woman and ravage her in the great mosque or one of the smaller mosques in sight of the vast multitude of his companions and the people of the city; her father and brother and husband would see her plight and be unable to defend her because of their lack of means to do so and because they were distracted by the torture and torments which they themselves were suffering; the Tatar would then leave the women and another go to her, her body still uncovered.

            They then put the populace of Aleppo and its troops to the sword, until the mosques and streets were filled with dead, and Aleppo stank with corpses. This continued from the early forenoon of Saturday until the middle of Tuesday, I Rabi' 14 [November 2]. In the meantime the citadel was being subjected to the closest siege and attack, for Tamerlane's armies had mined its walls in a number of places and filled up its moat, so that it was all but captured.

            Then the viceroys and other prominent men who were in the citadel held a council and agreed to ask for amnesty. They sent the request to Tamerlane, who demanded that some of the viceroys come down from the citadel to him. When Damurdash did so, Tamerlane bestowed on him a robe of honor, gave him letters of amnesty and robes for the viceroys, and sent with him to the citadel a vast number of his men. They went up and brought out the viceroys and the emirs and notables who were with them, shackled them together in pairs, then brought them all to Tamerlane. When they were made to stand before him he gazed at them a long time as they stood there, with Sudun, viceroy of Syria, as their head; then he began to upbraid and censure them, reproaching and threatening Sudun repeatedly for the murder of his ambassador, after which he gave each one of them into the charge of a custodian. Then the women were driven before him as captives, and money, jewels, and precious objects were brought to him, which he distributed among his emirs and intimate followers. The robbery, enslavement, and murder continued in Aleppo daily; trees were cut down, houses were ruined, and mosques were burned. The stench of corpses filled Aleppo and the environs; bodies lay on the ground, overspreading it like a carpet - one could step nowhere without finding dead bodies under his feet. Tamerlane constructed out of the heads of Muslims a number of pulpits about ten cubits in height and twenty in circumference; the human heads which they contained were counted and found to be more than 20,000; the structures were built with the heads protruding and seen by every passer-by.

            Tamerlane remained in Aleppo - for a month, then departed; he left the city "fallen on its roofs," empty of its inhabitants and every human being, reduced to ruins; the muezzin's call and the prayer services were no longer heard; there was nought there but a desert waste darkened by fire, a lonely solitude where only the owl and the vulture took refuge.

            Tamerlane next set out for Damascus, passing by the city of Hama, which his son Mirim Shah had taken. Miran Shah had encamped against Hama on the morning of Tuesday, I Rabi' 14 [November 2]. He had first plundered the surrounding territory, taken the women and children captive, and imprisoned the men, while his followers subjected the women and virgins to the most shameless treatment. When they had reduced everything outside the walls to ruin, Miran Shah encircled the walls themselves with his men. The people of Hama had in the meantime prepared for the conflict; men stood on the city walls and refused to surrender the city all night. The next morning Tamerlane's son induced them by a pretext to open one of the gates of the city for him; he then entered and issued a proclamation of security. Men came to him and brought him various sorts of food, which he accepted from them. He decided to appoint one of his followers to take charge of the city, for he was told that its prominent men had left it. Then he went to his camp, where he passed the night; and on Thursday he departed from Hama, promising that the people would be treated with kindness.  The citadel of Hama, however, had not yet been taken by him, but had held out against him; and in the night before Friday its defenders went down to the city and killed two of the followers of Tamerlane's son whom he had placed in charge of it. On hearing the news Tamerlane's son returned to the city, attacked it, and set fire to it; his followers took to killing, capturing, and plundering until Hama was left like Aleppo. To the people of Aleppo, however, he had been [comparatively] mild. He had interrogated the Cadis of Aleppo, when they became his prisoners, concerning his war and asked them: "Who is a martyr?" To this Muhibb ad-Din Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn ash-Shihna the Hanafite had replied: "The prophet of God (God bless him and grant him peace!) was asked this question, and he answered: "He who fights that the word of God be supreme is a martyr." The answer pleased him, and he engaged them in further conversation; they asked him then to pardon the people of Aleppo and put none to death; he granted safety to all, and swore to them to that effect, so that some received merciful treatment in comparison with others.

            At Damascus, when news of the taking of Aleppo was received a proclamation was issued that people should move from the environs to the inside of the city and prepare to fight the Godforsaken enemy. As they began their preparations the fugitives from Hama arrived so that, filled with fear, the Damascenes thought to leave.  From this they were prevented, and this proclamation was made: "Whoever sets out will be subject to plunder." All those who had gone outside then returned; Damascus was fortified, the catapults were mounted on the citadel, and the naphtha throwers on the city walls; the preparations thus made to fight were excellent.  Messengers from Tamerlane then came to the interim viceroy in Damascus, demanding the surrender of the city. The interim viceroy wished to flee, but the populace turned him back ignominiously.  Then there was a loud outcry among the men, and they also agreed to leave the city; the women and children cried to God for aid, and the women went out with uncovered heads, going they knew not whither, until the interim viceroy issued the proclamation to prepare for defense. In the meanwhile the report arrived that the Sultan was coming to Syria, and determination of the men to depart from Damascus, held as long as the Sultan was not present, weakened.

            In Egypt on I Rahi' 18 [November 6], seven days after Tamerlane had taken Aleppo, expense money for the journey was distributed among the Sultan's mamluks; on the 20th the enlisted troops were by proclamation ordered to appear on Wednesday for review at the palace of Emir Yashbak ash-Sha'bani the executive secretary.

            I Rabi' 25. The report of the capture of Aleppo by Tamerlane and his siege of the citadel arrived at Cairo, but it was not believed, and the bearer of the news was arrested and imprisoned awaiting future punishment on the charge of falsification.

            The distribution of money among the mamluks then began, each one of them receiving 3,400 dirhams.  The night before Wednesday, the 29th [November 27], Emirs Sudun min Zada and Inal Hatab set out on dromedaries to investigate the report that had been received.

            Shaikh Siraj ad-Din 'Umar al-Bulqini, the Chief Cadis, and Emir Aqbai the chamberlain then rode through the city preceded by a herald proclaiming a holy war on the path of God (Who is exalted) "against your greatest enemy Tamerlane; for he has seized the land, and, arriving at Aleppo, has killed children at their mothers' breasts, has destroyed the mosques and made them stables for their animals; and now he is coming against you to destroy your land and kill your men."  Cairo was thrown into commotion at this proclamation; men's fears mounted and there was much weeping and lamentation among them, while tongues were loosened with vituperation against the government leaders.

II Rabi' 3 [November 19]: Emir Asanbugha, an executive secretary, arrived at Cairo and reported that Tamerlane had taken Aleppo and its citadel by agreement with Damurdash; he narrated the disasters which had descended on the people of that city, and that he had told the interim viceroy of Damascus to leave men free to depart from the city, for conditions were very difficult there.

            The same day the Sultan an-Nasir set out from Cairo and encamped with his emirs, the army, and the cadis, at ar-Raidaniya. He designated Emir Timraz an-Nasiri, emir of the council, to be interim viceroy in Egypt, and stationed in Cairo Emir Jakam min 'Iwad and several other emirs. Timraz remained there to spur on the enlisted troops and to gather a thousand horses and a thousand camels to send on with the troopers who should be chosen for the expedition.

            It was then ordered that Emir Aristai min Khuja 'Ali, former chief head of guards, should be appointed viceroy of Alexandria because of the death of the viceroy Faraj al-Halabi. Aristai from the time that he had been liberated had been in retirement in Alexandria, and the news of his appointment reached him there.

            At Cairo Emir Timraz began to review the enlisted troops and gather the horses and camels; he also summoned the Arabs from Northern and Southern Egypt to fight against Tamerlane. This took place while the Sultan was still in ar-Raidiniya.

            Friday morning, II Rabi' 8 [November 26]: The vanguard set out, including of the prominent emirs of the first class Baibars, commander-in-chief; Nauruz al-Hafizi, head of the corps of emirs; Baktamur ar-Rukni, emir of arms; Aqbai, grand chamberlain; Yalbugha an-Nasiri; and Inal Bai ibn Qajmas, together with a number of emirs of the second and third classes. The Sultan with the remainder of the emirs and soldiers then likewise set out from ar-Raidiniya in the direction of Syria to wage war on Tamerlane, and continued the march to Gaza.

            II Rabi' 20 [December 8]: The Sultan encamped at Gaza, and summoned my father and Aqbugha al-Jamali al-Utrush, former viceroy of Aleppo, from Jerusalem. He invested my father with the vice-regency of Damascus in succession to Sudun, kinsman of Sultan az-Zahir Barquq, because the latter was then Tamerlane's prisoner; this was my father's first appointment as viceroy of Damascus. Emir Aqbugha al-Jamali al-Utrush was invested with the vice-regency of Tarabulus in place of Shaikh al-Mahmudi, who, also was a prisoner; Tamurbugha al-Manjaki was similarly made viceroy of Safad, succeeding Altunbugha al- 'Uthmani, also a prisoner; Tulu min 'Ali Basha was made viceroy of Gaza, in succession to 'Umar at- Tahhan; and Sadaqa ibn at-Tawil became viceroy of Jerusalem. The Sultan then sent all to their respective provinces.

            My father then said to the Sultan and the emirs: "I have an opinion which I wish to express, for it will be of value to the Sultan and the Muslim people." On being asked what it was he replied: "It is my opinion that neither the Sultan nor his forces should undertake any movement from the city of Gaza, but that I should go to Damascus, encourage its people to fight, and fortify the city; for it is a mighty city which has not suffered disaster since ancient times, and it contains supplies enough to suffice its people for many years; moreover, its people are now filled with the greatest fear, so that they will fight to the death. Tamerlane will not he able to take it from me quickly, and he has an extremely large army which he cannot maintain long in anyone place. He will then either leave Damascus and proceed to Gaza against the Sultan, and when he penetrates far into the land, will be between two armies – and this I do not think he will do; or he will return to his own country; like a fugitive. Moreover, his armies are unacquainted with the Syrian country, and there are few provisions on his path because the land has been wasted. Then let the Sultan with both the Egyptian and Syrian armies ride hot on the heels of Tamerlane's forces to the Euphrates and he will achieve his aim and more."

            This plan was approved by all men, including Tamerlane himself when it was reported to him after he had taken Damascus. The order to carry it out had been all but given when some of the stupid emirs who had retained some grudge against my father from the affair of Aitamish and Tanam conversed secretly with one another and said: "You put his associates to death, and then hand Damascus over to him; by God, his purpose is surely to go to Damascus, come to an agreement with Tamerlane, and then return to make war on us, so that he can take vengeance on us for his companions' deaths."  Nauruz al-Hafizi was opposite my father at the time, and when he heard this conversation, though he hesitated to repeat it to him, signaled to him to keep silence and refrain from urging his plan.  The council then disbanded, and my father left the ceremonies and, after arranging his affairs, set out, for Damascus. There he found that Emir Damurdash, viceroy of Aleppo, had fled before Tamerlane had come to Damascus, whose inhabitants were terrified when they heard of the near approach. My father then undertook to organize the affairs of the people; he found them well armed and determined to fight Tamerlane until they all should perish. He grieved then that the Sultan had not accepted his advice - but he could do nothing now except remain silent.

            II Rabi' 24 [December 12]: The Sultan's vanguard set out from Gaza, and the Sultan with the remainder of the army followed on the 26th; all continued their march until they reached Damascus.

            On Thursday, I Jumada 6, the Sultan entered Damascus; it was a day made tragic by the cries of men, their tears, and their supplications to God for his succor. He went up to the citadel, and remained there until Saturday, the 8th, when he descended again and went out with his armies to his tent at the Dome of Yalbugha, outside the city. He and his army prepared to give battle to Tamerlane; the Zahiri mamluks had cut the shafts of their lances short so that they might be able to stab Tamerlane's men one after the other - such was their contempt for his soldiers.

            At noon of that day Tamerlane's vanguard approached from the direction of Mount Hermon, consisting of about a thousand horsemen. A hundred of the Sultan's soldiers sallied forth to meet them, delivering one attack in which they scattered and routed them ignominiously and killed a large number of them, after which they returned. A number of Tamerlane's men then came to offer submission to the Sultan, and reported that Tamerlane had encamped in the Azizi Valley, adding: "So be on your guard, for Tamerlane is very wily and crafty." So the people took the greatest precautions against him.

            Five emirs of Tarabulus then brought to the Sultan a letter from Asandamur, its interim viceroy, stating that Ahmad ibn Ramadan, emir of the Turcomans, together with Ibn Sahib al-Baz and the sons of Shahri had conspired together and proceeded to Aleppo, which they had taken from Tamerlane's followers and had killed of them more than 3,000 horsemen; that Tamerlane had sent to Tarabulus an army which had been attacked by the villagers and been killed to the last man with rocks (hurled upon them) as they entered between two mountains; that five of Tamerlane's soldiers had come and reported that half of his army intended to submit to the Sultan though this report was but a ruse of Tamerlane's. Asandamur added that letters had come from the rulers of Cyprus and Famagusta stating that they were awaiting permission to send ships by sea to fight against Tamerlane as a support to the Sultan. No attention was paid to this letter, for discord prevailed among those in Damascus.

On Saturday Tamerlane encamped at Qatanci with his armies, which were so numerous that they filled the land. A detachment of them rode forward to reconnoiter and found the Sultan and emirs prepared, with their lines drawn up for battle. Tamerlane's followers advanced and delivered a violent attack; both sides held their position for a while, then a battle followed in which the Sultan's left was routed and the Gaza army and others fled toward the Hauran, while a number were wounded. Tamerlane himself then led a mighty and violent attack in order to get possession of Damascus, but the Sultan's right repelled him at the point of the lance until it forced him back to his position.

The two armies then encamped in their respective camps, and Tamerlane sent to the Sultan requesting an armistice; he asked that Atilmish, one of his followers, be sent to him and offered in return to send to the Sultan the emirs who had been taken prisoner at the battle of Aleppo and were now with him. My father, Damurdash and Qutlubugha al-Karaki advised the acceptance of this offer, because of the discord which they knew existed among themselves, not because of the weakness of their forces. Their advice was not accepted, however, and it was insisted that the war should continue. Tamerlane then sent another messenger asking for peace, and repeated what he had said before, but although the emirs and all the men believed that his offer was sincere and was meant in earnest, the emirs refused to accept it, and fighting continued between the two sides daily.

On I Jumada 12 [or I Jamada 19, February 5th] a number of the Cairene emirs and Sultan's mamluks disappeared, including Sudun at-Tayyar, Qani Bai al-'Ala'i, head of guards, and Jumaq; and of the Sultan's intimate emirs Yashbak al-'Uthmani, Qumush al-Hafizi, Barsbugha an executive secretary, Tarabai, and a number of others. Dissension then arose among the emirs, and they returned to their bickering in regard to offices, fiefs, and control of the government, leaving the matter of Tamerlane as though it did not exist; and they also discussed among themselves the reason for the disappearance of the emirs and others mentioned above.

During all this Tamerlane continued w put forth his utmost endeavors to take Damascus and devise a ruse to that end; and when, he was informed of the quarrels of the emirs his position was strengthened and his efforts increased, though he had been on the point of marching off and had made his preparations accordingly.  The report was then spread in Damascus that the emirs who had disappeared had gone together toward Cairo to raise to the sultanate Shaikh Lajin al-Jarkasi, one of the outside enlisted troopers.  This gave great concern to the emirs who were carrying on the government, and because of their poor judgment it outweighed for them in importance the war against Tamerlane. They therefore agreed among themselves to take Sultan al-Malik an-Nasir in a lightly equipped detachment by night back to Egypt, informing only a few of their plan. But the matter of Lajin did not deserve the attention given it, for Tiniraz, the interim viceroy in Cairo, was fully able to deal with the conspirators on behalf of the Sultan; but what happened was done so that God might accomplish that which was to be done.

In the latter part of the night before Friday, II Jumada 21 [January 8th], the emirs took Sultan al-Malik an-Nasir Faraj suddenly, without the knowledge of the army, and rode in the direction of Egypt by way of the pass of Dummar, leaving the army and the Muslim subjects as sheep without a shepherd. They pressed the march by night and day until they arrived at Safad, whose viceroy, Tamurbugha al-Manjaki, they summoned and took with them. Many of the government officials and emirs also met them, and together they proceeded until they overtook at Gaza the other emirs who had set out for Egypt - may God punish them as they deserve! When they interrogated the emirs in regard to what they had done, they made excuses which could not be accepted either in this world or the next. The emirs then repented, when repentance was useless, that they had left Damascus; they had left that city to be devoured by Tamerlane, a city which at that time was the most beautiful and flourishing city of the world.

The remainder of the emirs and leading cadis and others of Egypt, when they learned of the departure of the Sultan from Damascus, immediately followed in groups, hoping to overtake him; but the [Druze] tribesmen captured most of them, plundering them and killing many of them.

Several of the chief Zahiri mamluks said to me: "When we learned of the Sultan's departure we immediately rode out, and we were delayed from overtaking him only because of the many arms lying on the ground along the way, thrown there by the Sultan's mamluks to lighten their horses' burden; if their horses were swift they escaped; otherwise Tamerlane's soldiers overtook them and made them prisoner. Among the latter was Chief Cadi Sadr ad-Din al-Munawi, who died while a captive, as will be narrated in the necrologies.

The stragglers - Sultan's mamluks and others - continued to arrive one after the other at Cairo in a desperate condition by reason of walking, lack of clothing, and hunger; and the Sultan ordered that each of the mamluks should be given a thousand dirhams and two months' subsistence pay.

The emirs likewise entered Cairo, accompanied only by one or two mamluks, having left in Damascus property, horses, battalions, and everything else which they possessed, for they had departed suddenly, without any mutual agreement, when they learned of the Sultan's going, and each one thought only of escape.

The armies which they left in Damascus, its own residents, and others for there were gathered in it many from Aleppo, Hama and Hima, as well as villagers who had fled before Tamerlane – when on Friday morning they found the Sultan, emirs, and viceroy missing, closed the gates of Damascus, mounted on the city walls, and proclaimed a holy war. The people of Damascus prepared to fight, and when Tamerlane led his armies in an attack the inhabitants fought vigorously from on top of the walls, forcing the enemy to withdraw from both the walls and the moat, making prisoners of a number who had assaulted the Damascus Gate, seizing a large, number of their horses, and killing about a thousand men whose heads they brought within the city. They had the advantage now; and Tamerlane, baffled by them and aware that he would find the matter long drawn out, resorted to a ruse to take the city. While the Damascenes were fighting with all their strength and straining themselves in fortifying their city, two of Tamerlane's men approached beneath the walls and cried out from a distance: "The Emir desires an armistice; therefore send some wise man to discuss, the matter with him."

I remark: This is what my father referred to at Gaza when he was appointed viceroy of Damascus and said that the people of Damascus had the strength to repel Tamerlane from the city; and that Damascus was rich in supplies and food, was most strongly fortified, and that he should go thither and fight Tamerlane there.  No one listened to what my father said on the subject; but, on my life, if those who did not approve what he said could have seen the way the people of Damascus now fought, and their great courage, though they were without a viceroy or anyone to direct their affairs - and how much more would this have been so had there been with them their ruler and his mamluks together with the emir, of Damascus, their armies, and all those who were attached to them - certainly they would have rightly repented and acknowledged their error.

When the people of Damascus heard Tamerlane's message concerning peace, their choice for ambassador fell upon the chief Hanbalite cadi, Taqi ad-Din Ibrahim ibn Muflih.  He was lowered to the ground from the wall of Damascus, went to Tamerlane, had a meeting with him, and then returned to the city. Tamerlane had beguiled him by his artful speech, had spoken ingratiatingly and kindly to him. He had said to him: "This is the city of the prophets and the companions of Muhammad; I give it its freedom for the sake of the messenger of God (Whose blessing and peace be upon him!), as an alms offering from me and my sons; had it not been for my anger at Sudun, viceroy of Damascus, when he killed my messenger, I should not have come to the city; now Sudun has been captured and imprisoned by me; and since he was the object of my coming hither, my only remaining purpose is to return to my land. However, I must receive my usual gift of 'tuquzat'."  It was his custom, namely, that when he took a city by surrender its inhabitants should bring to him nine of each species of food, drink, animals, clothing, and precious objects, and this they call "tuquzat," "tuquz" being the Turkish word for "nine"; this gift is a custom of Tatar kings to the present day.

When Ibn Muflih was back in Damascus he urged the men to cease fighting, and highly praised Tamerlane, his piety, and his sincere faith. He sought to restrain the Damascenes from carrying on the war against him, and one party was favorably inclined while another opposed him and insisted on continuing to fight. Thus they passed the eve of Saturday; but Saturday morning those who had opposed Ibn Muflih were won over to his view, and he decided to carry out the peaceful surrender of the city; he issued a proclamation that any who opposed this plan should be put to death and his life be taken with impunity. The men thereupon ceased fighting, and an ambassador of Tamerlane immediately came to Damascus to seek the gifts mentioned above. Ibn Muflih hastened to demand of the cadis, lawyers, prominent men, and merchants that they contribute the sum, each one in proportion to his circumstances.  This they proceeded to do until the amount was complete, when they took it to the Gate of Succor in order to convey it to Tamerlane. But the viceroy of the Damascus citadel forbade them to do so, and threatened that if they did he would burn the city against them. They disregarded his words and said: "Rule over your citadel and we will rule over our city."

They then left the Gate of Succor and went on, sending the gifts outside the wall; Ibn Muflih again let himself down from the wall together with many of the prominent men of Damascus and others, and they proceeded to Tamerlane's camp. They passed the eve of Sunday there, and returned on Sunday morning. Tamerlane had appointed a number of them to various positions, such as that of chief cadi, vizier, collector of funds, etc. They also carried a royal patent from Tamerlane in their favor, a document of nine lines declaring safety for the inhabitants of Damascus, specifically for themselves and families. The patent was read from the pulpit of the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus.

The Little Gate of the city alone was then opened, and one of Tamerlane's emirs came and took his seat there to guard the city against the entrance of any of Tamerlane's soldiers. The people of Damascus acquiesced in all this and rejoiced at it. Ibn Muflih and the prominent men of Damascus who had gone with him heaped praises on Tamerlane, repeating his virtues and excellent qualities.  Ibn Muflih called upon the people to yield obedience and show themselves friendly to Tamerlane, and urged all to collect the sum which had been fixed for them to pay him, namely, 1,000,000 dinars. The payment of this sum he made an obligation of the people as a whole, and they provided it without difficulty because of the vastness of their wealth.

When the entire sum was ready Ibn Muflih conveyed it to Tamerlane, and set it down before him; but when the latter looked at it he became exceedingly angry - he was not satisfied with it. He ordered Ibn Muflih, and those with him to leave him; they were taken away from his presence and placed under the charge of a number of guards, until they obligated themselves to bring a thousand "tumans," a tuman being the equivalent of 10,000 gold dinars, although the price of gold differed for them; under all circumstances, however, the sum was 10,000,000 dinars. They accepted the obligation, returned to the city, and again made the payment an obligation of the whole people, on the basis of three months' rent of their properties; they also obligated each person, male and female, free and slave, to contribute ten dirhams, and each trust administrator to pay a sizable sum.

In the exaction of this second sum from them a great trial came upon the people; many of them were tortured with blows; prices rose, and provisions became very scarce, one "mudd," that is, four "qadah’s” of wheat rose to 40 silver dirhams. Friday prayers ceased to be recited in Damascus, and Friday services were held there only twice, until prayers were said on its pulpits for Sultan Mahmud and his heir apparent, the son of Emir Tamerlane. Sultan Mahmud was but a tool in the hands of Tamerlane, appointed because according to their custom only one of royal descent might rule over them.

Then Shah Malik, one of Tamerlane's emirs, came to Damascus as viceroy there representing Tamerlane. Two weeks later Friday prayers were forbidden in Damascus because of the vast number of Tamerlane's followers in the city.

During all this time the viceroy of the citadel was holding out there, while Tamerlane's assisting forces were besieging it tightly; he surrendered it, however, after twenty-nine days, during which innumerable catapults and ballistas directed their fire against it.

Suffice it to say that because of the extreme difficulty of the capture of the citadel they built opposite it a wooden fortress; and when it was finished and the forces of Tamerlane wished to ascend to combat from its top those in the citadel, the latter hurled naphtha upon it and burnt it down. Tamerlane's men then erected another tower greater than the first, ascended it, and from it fought the men in the citadel. This was despite the fact that there were in it but few fighting men, less than forty. But the siege had lasted too long for them, and in despair of receiving aid they requested amnesty and surrendered the fortress under promise of safety. I remark: May their hands never wither! They were truly brave men, God (Who is exalted) have mercy on them.

When the collection of the money, a thousand tumans, had been completed, Ibn Muflih took it to Tamerlane, who said to him and his companions: "This according to our reckoning is only 3,000,000 dinars, so you still owe 7,000,000; it appears to me that you are in default." Tamerlane, when he first agreed with Ibn Muflih upon the sum of 1,000,000 dinars, stipulated that this should be paid by the inhabitants of Damascus specifically, and that the arms and property left behind by the Egyptian armies should be his in addition Ibn Muflih had taken to him all the property of the people of Egypt, and when he had all this in his possession and knew that he had gotten everything that the Egyptians possessed, he compelled them to produce the possessions of those who had fled from Damascus; they hastened to bring all that also, and became informers against each other before him, until all that they had was gone.

Then when this was completed he obligated them to bring to him all the arms, great and small, that were in the city; and they sought them out for him until there was no weapon left.

When this too had been finished, he seized Ibn Muflih and his companions and forced them to write down the names of all the quarters, squares, and streets of Damascus; when they had done so and given the lists to him, he distributed them among his emirs, dividing the city among them. The emirs entered the city with their mamluks and attendants, and each emir settled in his alloted section and then summoned its inhabitants and demanded money of them.  At that time there came upon the people of Damascus afflictions beyond description: they were subjected to all sorts of tortures; they were bastinadoed, crushed in presses, scorched in flames, and suspended head down; their nostrils were stopped with rags full of fine dust which they inhaled each time they took a breath so that they almost died. When near to death, a man would be given a respite to recover, then the tortures of all kinds would be repeated, so that the sufferer would envy a companion who had perished under his tortures and would say: "Would that I might die and be at rest from my pain.”

And in the meanwhile all his women and daughters and sons were divided among the companions of that emir, and while under torture he would see his wife and daughter ravished and his son defiled; as he cried out in the pain of his torture the boy and girl would cry out in the suffering of their violation. All this took place without any concealment, in broad daylight and in the presence of crowds of people. Indeed, the people of Damascus witnessed tortures of kinds that had never been heard of before. For example, they would take a man and tie a rope around his head, and twist it until it would sink into his flesh; they would put a rope around a man's shoulders, and twist it with a stick until they were torn from their sockets; they would bind another victim's thumbs behind him, then throw him on his back, pour powdered ashes in his nostrils to make him little by little confess what he possessed; when he had given up all, he would still not be believed, but the torture would be repeated until he died; and then his body would be further mutilated in the thought that he might be only feigning death, And some would tie their victim by his thumbs to the roof of the house, kindle a fire under him and keep him thus a long time; if by chance he fell in the flames, he would be dragged out and thrown on the ground till he revived, then he would be thus suspended a second time.

These trials and tortures of the people of Damascus continued for nineteen days, the last being Tuesday, Rajab 28, 803 [March 14, 1401] There perished, during this period of torture and hunger, human beings whose number God (Who is exalted) alone knows. When Tamerlane's emirs knew that nothing was left in the city they went to him, and he asked them: "Have you any more concern with Damascus?" And when they said "No," he granted the city to the followers of the emirs, who entered it on foot on Monday, Rajah 30, with swords drawn from their sheathes. They stole whatever they could lay their hands on, household furniture, etc., took captive all the women of the city, and drove before them, bound with ropes, the men and boys, leaving only the children less than five years old. They then set fire to the dwellings, palaces, and mosques, and as it was a day of high winds the fire spread throughout the city, and the flames almost mounted to the clouds. The fire continued burning for three days and three nights, the last of which was Friday.

Tamerlane (may God curse him) departed from Damascus on Saturday Sha'ban 3 [March 19th], having been there 80 days. The whole city had burned, the roofs of the Umayyad Mosque had fallen in because of the fire, its gates were gone, and the marble cracked - nothing was left standing but the walls. Of the other mosques of the city, its palaces, caravanseries, and baths, nothing remained but wasted ruins and empty traces; only a vast number of young children was left there, who died, or were destined to die, of hunger.

Sultan al-Malik an-Nasir Faraj, after remaining in Gaza three days, had departed for Egypt, sending on in advance Aqbugha al-Faqfh, one of the executive secretaries. The latter had arrived at Cairo on Monday, II Jumada 2, and informed Emir Timraz, the interim viceroy, of the Sultan's arrival at Gaza. Cairo was in commotion at the news and men almost lost their minds, for each had thought that the Sultan had been defeated by Tamerlane and that the latter was in pursuit of him. They had begun to sell all they possessed and prepared to flee Cairo; the price of animals rose until it was several times the normal.

Thursday, II Jumada 5 [January 20th]: The Sultan arrived at the Citadel with the Caliph, emirs, the Syrian viceroys, and about a thousand of the Sultan's mamluks - others say about five hundred.

Saturday, II Jumada 7: The Sultan granted my to father an emirate of the first class in Egypt which was unassigned in the Sultan's private bureau, after he had asked to be relieved of the vice-regency of Damascus; the Sultan then nominated for that office Aqbugha al-Jamali al-Utrush, and ordered my father to sit at the head of the right side of the council.

The Sultan then gave permission to Emir Yalbugha as-Salimi, the major-domo, to direct all affairs connected with the government, and ordered that he should send an army to Damascus to make war won Tamerlane. Yalbugha as-Salimi began to collect revenues, and imposed contributions on all lands in Egypt, including the fiefs of the emirs, the Sultan’s cities, the appanages of the enlisted troops, and the trust-fund cities, at the rate of 500 silver dirhams and one horse per 1,000 dinars. Then he taxed all real properties in Cairo and Old Cairo with a month's rent; even the value of a man’s own dwelling would be estimated and a month's rent taken; also the trust lands - that is, those the product of which were received by certain individuals as alms and charity - were taxed at the rate of ten dirhams per acre, the rent per acre at that time being from thirty dirhams down. I remark that he collected a half of its land tax in one round which he made, taking for an acre of sugar cane, colocassia, or indigo, a hundred dirhams, or about four dinars, per hundredweight. Gardens he taxed at the rate of one hundred dirhams per acre.

He then summoned the treasurers of the judiciary and the merchants and demanded loans from them; he made a surprise visit by night to the caravanseries and storehouses, and in case he found anyone there he opened his money chest and took half of the cash which he found (that is, of the gold, silver, and copper coins), but if he did not find the owner of the property he would take all the coins. Furthermore, he seized all the trust deposits he could find. In addition to this the money changer received three dirhams per hundred dirhams; the messenger who brought anyone who was summoned received six dirhams, or, if he held the rank of sergeant, ten. This is according to the Shaikh Taqi ad-Din al-Marqrizi (God have mercy on him), who says: "The people suffered severely, and they cursed as-Salimi bitterly." I remark: On the whole they were better off than the people of Damascus; and if a half of what they had was taken from them, what was as-Salimi - poor fellow! - to do, since the Sultan had directed him to send a second army from Egypt to combat Tamerlane?

II Juriiada 13 [January 28th]: Cadi Amm ad-Din Abd al-Wahhab, son of Chief Cadi Shams ad-Din Muhammad at-Tarabulusi, cadi of the army, was invested with the office of chief Hanafite cadi of Egypt upon the death of Chief Cadi Jamal ad-Din Yusuf al-Malati; and Cadi Jamal ad-Din 'Abd Allah al-Aqfahsi was made chief Malikite cadi, succeeding Cadi Nur ad-Din 'Ali ibn al-Khallal because of the latter’s  death.  On the same day there arrived three hundred of the straggler mamluks in a deplorable state from traveling on foot, lack of clothes and hunger.

II Jumada 21 [February 5th]: Chief Hanbalite Cadi Muwaffaq ad-Din Ahmad ibn Nasir Allah arrived at Cairo, likewise in a deplorable state; also the chief Shafiite cadi of Damascus, 'Ala' ad-Din 'AIr ibn Abi I-Baqa'.  Also a letter for the Sultan from Tamerlane was brought by one of the Sultan's mamluks, seeking the surrender of Atilmish, and stating that when he should come to him he would send the emirs, viceroys, and others who were with him, also Chief Shafiite Cadi Sadr ad-Din al-Munawi, and would depart from Damascus. Atilmish was summoned from the Citadel Tower, set free, given 5,000 dirhams and lodged with Emir Sudun Taz, grand emir of the horse; Qutlubugha al-' Ala'i and Emir Muhammad ibn Sunqur were designated to make the journey with him. Emir Baisaq ash-Shaikhi, an emir of the horse, then went to Tamerlane as messenger from the Sultan to report the liberation of Atilmish, and other matters

In the meanwhile Yalbugha as-Salimi was energetically gathering funds, and began to review the enlisted troops. He obligated everyone able to travel to go to Damascus for war against Tamerlane; and those unable to journey he obligated to furnish a substitute, or contribute half his crops for the year; from the owners of produce brought for sale in ships to the shores of Cairo he required that there be collected one dirham per irdabb.

Tuesday, Rajab 1 [February 15th]: As-Salimi ordered that dinars should be struck weighing some 101 mithqals,12 some 91 mithqals, and then so on down to those weighing 10 mithqals; a number of such coins were then struck off.

The Sultan then invested Alam ad-Din Yalwa ibn As'ad, known as Abu Kumm, with the office of vizier in Egypt in succession to Fakhr ad-Din Majid ibn Ghurab.  A report then arrived stating that Damurdash al-Muhammadi, viceroy of Aleppo, had escaped from Tamerlane, had gathered bands of Turcomans, and had taken the city and citadel of Aleppo from Tamerlane's officials, of whom he had put a large number to death. 

The Sultan then invested Shahin al-Balabi, second commander of the Sultan's mamluks, with the office of commander in succession to Sawwab, known as Shankal, and made the eunuch Firuz min Jirji, commander of the Rafraf Barrack, second commander of the mamluks.

Rajab 7 [February 21st]: There arrived in the environs of Cairo 6,000 horsemen of the Arabs of Buhaira Province, 2,500 Ibn Baqar Arabs from Sharqiya Province, and 1,500 of the 'Isawi and Banu Wa'il; Yalbugha as-Salimi distributed money among them so that they might prepare to take the field against Tamerlane.

Rajab 8. The ambassador of Emir Nu'air arrived at Cairo and related that he had gathered many Arabs and encamped with them at Palmyra; likewise that Tamerlane had gone from the outskirts of Damascus to al-Qutaiyifa.

By this time the government officials had directed their attention to Yalbugha as-Salimi and had been working for his downfall, which they eventually accomplished. On Rajab 14 Yalbugha was arrested together with Shihab ad-Din ‘Umar ibn Qutaina, my father's major-domo, who had held the office of vizier before this date. The two were handed over to Sa'd ad-Din Ibrahim ibn Ghurab for an accounting of the sums taken from the people in the tax collections. I remark that this case exemplifies the proverb: "Make me poor among those I love and I will not ask for riches."

Rajab 18 [March 4th]: Sa'd ad-Din Ibrahim ibn Ghurab was appointed to the office of major-domo succeeding as-Salimi and, in addition to the two other offices which he had held, to the controllership of the army and that of the Sultan's privy funds.

Sha'ban 5. The emirs who had been designated to go on the campaign to fight Tamerlane led the Sultan's mamluks, and the enlisted troops similarly designated, to the suburbs of Cairo; they were those who had remained in Cairo while the Sultan had been absent in Damascus. The commander of the entire force was Timraz an-Nasiiri, emir of the council, with Aqbai min Hasan Shah az-Zahiri, grand chamberlain, and, of the second class emirs, Jarbash ash-Shaikhi, Tumantamur, and Sumai al-Hasani.  Emir Jakam refused to make the journey.

On Sha'ban 7 Emir Shaikh al-Mahmudi, viceroy of Tarabulus, arrived at Cairo, having escaped from Tamerlane; he reported that Tamerlane had set out for his own land. The Sultan then ordered that the expedition be canceled and the emirs should each return from the environs of Damascus to his own home. The following morning Duqrnaq al-Muhammadi, viceroy of Hama, also arrived, having fled from Tamerlane.

On that day also my father was summoned and invested with the vice-regency of Damascus a second time, against his own desire; the post had been vacant since the day Tamerlane had come to Damascus. Next Shaikh al-Muhmudi was invested with the vice-regency of Tarabulus (the office which he held before); Duqmaq with that of Hama (likewise a continuance in office); Tamurbugha al-Manjaki with that of Safad, and Tankizbugha al-Hitati with that of Ba'labakk.

A proclamation was then made in Cairo that no Persians should remain in the city; they were allowed three days in which to leave, and threats of punishment made against anyone who should remain. None of them left, however; .and people wrote on many of the walls: “To kill the A’jam is an aid to Islam.”

In the meanwhile Egyptian affairs remained unsettled, while in Syria there was a great plague of locusts after Tamerlane left, and ruin was added to ruin there. 

TAMERLANE

Here let me recount a selection of events from Tamerlane's history, his genealogy, the size of his armies, and his great shrewdness and craftiness, so that he who looks into this book may have a knowledge of the events and circumstances of his life; and although therein is some prolixity and a departure from the main subject, it is still not without some usefulness.

He was Timurlank - others say Timur, both of which have the same meaning, though the second is the better Turkish form – ibn Aitamish Qanligh ibn Zankl ibn Sanya ibn Tarim ibn Tughril ibn Qalpah ibn Sunqur ibn Kanjak ibn Taghar Sabuqa ibn Iltakhan, Mongol by origin, a Turk of the group of Jaghatai; the tyrant Timur Kurkan - that is, in Persian, "the relative by marriage of kings."

He was born in 728 [1328] in a village named Khawaja Abghar, of the district of Kashsh1 one of the, cities of Transoxania; the distance of this town from the city of Samarkand is one day.

It is said that on the night he was born something resembling a helmet was seen which appeared to be flying in the middle of the sky and which fell to the ground in a great open plain; live coals and sparks from it were scattered about until they filled the land. It is said also that when he came forth from his mother's womb his palms were found to be filled with blood; and this was understood to mean that blood would be shed by his hand. I remark: and so it happened.

It is said further by some that his father was a shoemaker; others say that his father was an emir at the court of Sultan Husain, ruler of the city of Balkh, and was one of the pillars of his government, and that his mother was a descendant of Chingiz Khan. Again it is said that Sultan Husain had four viziers, of whom Tamerlane's father was one, and that on the father's death Tamerlane took over his position at the court of the Sultan. Tamerlane was by origin of the tribe of Barlas.

It is said that the first known circumstance of Tamerlane's life was that he used to engage in robbery. One night he stole a sheep, which he took up in order to carry it off, when the shepherd awoke and shot him with an arrow which hit his shoulder; he followed this with another, which missed him, and then with still another which hit him in the thigh, leaving its effects on him so that he became lame from it, and for this reason he was called “Timurlank," because "lank" in Persian means 'lame.' His real name, however, was Timur, without "lank," which was added only after he became lame. When he had recovered he took to brigandage again and became a highway robber; in this he was aided by a band numbering forty.

During those days Tamerlane used to say to them: “I shall surely rule the earth and kill the kings of the world." Some used to laugh at him, but some believed him because of the determination and bravery which they saw he possessed.  It is said that on one of his brigandage raids he wandered about lost for a number of days, and finally happened on the horses of the Sultan Husain, mentioned above. The herdsman in charge of the horses gave him shelter, felt a liking for him, and showed him hospitality by bringing him the food and drink which he needed.  Tamerlane had a perfect knowledge of what good horses were, a fact which pleased the horse keeper. He kept him with him until, he sent him in charge of some horses to Sultan Husain and informed the latter about him. The Sultan bestowed a gift on him and sent him back to the keeper, with whom he remained until the keeper died, when Sultan Husain appointed him to succeed him in charge of his horses on pasture.

Thereafter Tamerlane continued to rise from one position to another until he became a man of importance and one of the emirs.  He married Sultan Husain's sister, and remained with her for a time until one day they had an argument in which she taunted him with the poor circumstances of his earlier life. He killed her, and took to flight and to open rebellion against Sultan Husain. He then grew in power, conquered Transoxania, and married the daughters of its kings. It was then that he was given the by-name "Kur Kan;" which name has been spoken of above.

His power continued to increase and his territories expand until Sultan Husain came to fear him and determined to make war on him.  When news of this reached him he fled. But after 760 A.H. [1359] his power increased, and when he had a large army he sent to the rulers of Balakhshan, two brothers who had come to the throne after their father's death, and invited them to acknowledge his authority, to which they returned a favorable reply.

The Moghuls, under their leader Khan Qamr ad-Din, had risen in the East against Sultan Husain and the latter had marched against them and fought them. Tamerlane now sent and invited them to come to him; they accepted and acknowledged his authority; he thus gained further in power.

Sultan Husain then proceeded against them a second time with a large army and arrived at Daghlugha, a narrow pass through which it takes a man an hour to ride; in the middle of it is a gate which when it is closed and defended no one can take; and around it are high mountains. The army took possession of the mouth of this pass on the Samarkand side, while Tamerlane stationed his men\on the other road. The army thought they had besieged and hemmed him in, but he left them and took a little-known: way going by night through rough and difficult terrain, and came upon them in the early morning. They had begun to load their impedimenta, under the supposition that Tamerlane had fled and gone from them in fear. But Tamerlane tricked them by dismounting with his men, while they thought that he was of their own party and was planning to rest.  When Husain's army had entirely passed, Tamerlane and his men rode close on their heels, shouting and striking fiercely with their swords. Husain's men were thrown into confusion, and Husain fled with those who were with him, each one by himself, until he reached Balkh. Tamerlane took possession of all that the Sultan had had, and the remainder of the latter's soldiers attached themselves to him. So his following and his resources grew, he took possession of territories, and continued on his course until he captured Sultan Husain after he had granted him a safe-conduct; and he then put him to death. This was the beginning of his renown.

Next was his battle with Tuqtamish Khan, king of the Tatars, whom he encountered at the extremities of Turkestan, near the Khujand River. The battle between them waxed hot, and Tamerlane's army lost so many men that it was almost annihilated, and he determined to flee.

Just then there approached him the revered Sayyid and Sharif Baraka, to whom Tamerlane, worn out by his trials, said: "Sayyidi, my army is defeated"; but the Sayyid and Sharif Baraka replied: "Have no fear"; and dismounting from his horse and taking up a handful of pebbles he mounted again and threw them in the faces of Tuqtamish's soldiers, crying out at the top of his voice: "yaghi qajti,” which in Turkish means "the enemy has fled." Tamerlane shouted loudly the same words as the Sharif Baraka, so that the ears of his men were filled with their cry, and they all rallied to him after having already turned in flight. Tamerlane led them back to a second charge against the army of Tuqtamish, every man. Of them shouting "yaghi qajti," whereupon Tuqtamish Khan's army fled, and Tamerlane's men were at their backs, plundering them of uncountable amounts of property. He then conquered most of the country of Tuqtamish Khan.

His third conflict was with Shira Ali, ruler of Mazandaran, Gilan, the land of Rai and Iraq, whom he defeated, captured and slew, and then ruled all of his territory.

Then comes the account of his relations with Shah Shuja', ruler of shiraz, the marriage of the daughter of Shah Shuja' to Tamerlane's son, and the truce which Shah Shuja' made with him and which lasted until his death, when his sons quarreled and Shah Mansur gained power over all his brothers. Tamerlane then took the field against Shah Mansur, who with only two thousand horsemen met him in battle.  This Shah Mansur was indisputably the bravest horseman of all the rulers who fought Tamerlane, for he went forth to meet him with the two thousand horsemen while Tamerlane's army numbered almost a hundred thousand. And as Shah Mansur thus went out to meet him one of the emirs of his army named Muhammad ibn Amin ad-Din fled to Tamerlane with most of the men, so that he was left in command of less then one thousand. Nevertheless he led them in battle against Tamerlane the whole day until nightfall, when each of the opposing forces went to its camp.

Shah Mansur then mounted during the night, attacked Tamerlane's forces in the dark, and killed about ten thousand horsemen. He next chose five hundred of his own horsemen and led them to battle the next morning; making for Tamerlane he forced him from his position, and Tamerlane took to flight and hid among his women. With his small force he surrounded Tamerlane's men despite their vast numbers, fighting them until his hands became weak and his warriors had fallen; he became separated from his followers and cast himself among the slain. One of Tamerlane's men struck and killed him, and then brought his head to Tamerlane; but the latter in grief for his loss put to death the man who had slain him. Tamerlane ruled over all the domain of Persia after Shah Mansur. This battle with Shah Mansur I have described in greater detail than here in my work "al-Manhal as-Safi," since that is a biographical work.

Tamerlane then brought under his rule one government after another, until he took possession to the two Iraqs; Sultan Ahmad ibn Uwais fled from him, and he ruined the greater part of Iraq, including Bagdad, Basra, al-Kufa, and their dependencies. Then he took possession of most of the Diyar Bakr region, and ruined a number of cities there also.

His next objective, in 798 [1396], was Syria, but in fear of al-Malik az-Zahir Barquq he turned back to his own country. There he received news that Firuz Shah, ruler of India, had died without leaving a son and that there was discord among the people of the city of Delhi. A vizier named Mallu had usurped the throne there, but he was opposed by the brother of Firuz Shah, Sarank Khan, who was ruler of the city of Multan.

When Tamerlane heard this report he seized the opportunity, marched in the month of Dhu Hijja, 800 [1398], from Samarkand to Multan, besieged King Sarank Khan for six months, and took the city.  Tamerlane then proceeded to Delhi, the capital. Mallu went out to give him battle; in the forces which were before him were eight hundred elephants, which were a part of Sarank Khan's army. Upon each of the elephants there had been mounted a tower containing a number of fighting men. The animals had also been clothed with armor and caparisons, upon which had been hung gongs and bells which made a terrific din, the purpose being to stampede thereby the horses of the Jaghatai; they had also fastened to the elephants' trunks a number of thin blades. The forces of India marched behind the elephants, so that the elephants in front of them might set the horses of Tamerlane's men in panic by means of the objects which they carried.

Tamerlane, however, outwitted them; he reckoned with their plan by preparing thousands of three-pointed iron spines which he strewed in the paths of the elephants. He also loaded five hundred camels with reeds stuffed with wicks dipped in oil, and placed these camels before his own army. When the two armies came in sight of each other and advanced for battle Tamerlane set fire to the loads of reeds and drove the camels toward the elephants; the camels because of the intense heat of the fire leapt forward, and then their drivers goaded them from behind.

Tamerlane had also placed some of his men in ambush. He slowly led his army on in the early morning, and as the enemy charged he turned his horse's head back to make them believe that he had fled from them, and, swerving aside from the path of the elephants as though his horses were running away in fear, he made for the area in which he had scattered the iron spines prepared by him. His ruse was effective in deceiving the Indians; they drove the elephants vigorously after him until they trod upon the iron thorns, and as they stepped upon them they recoiled. Tamerlane then wheeled his army against them with the camels, on whose backs the flames were now burning with intense heat while the sparks flew everywhere; their panic became hideous because of the violence with which they were being goaded in the rear.  When the elephants saw this they took fright and wheeled about toward the Indian army; and when they felt the harsh spines which Tamerlane had thrown in their course they knelt down, becoming like mountains in the path, and lay on the ground unable to move, while their blood poured out in rivers. At that Tamerlane's men who were in ambush emerged on both sides of the army of India, and Tamerlane then galloped forward with his men. The Indians turned, and the two armies shot at one another with arrows; then they came to close combat, first with lances, then with swords and battle-axes. Each of the armies held its ground for a long time, until finally the army of India was defeated, having lost their prominent leaders and warriors; then the remainder fled, worn out with battle.

Tamerlane followed in hot pursuit until he alighted at Delhi, which he besieged and after a time took by force, gaining possession of the throne and seizing all its treasures, while his armies in their usual shameful manner took prisoners and captives, killed, plundered, and ruined.

While they were thus engaged Tamerlane learned of the death of al-Malik az-Zahir Baruq, ruler of Egypt, and also of the death of Cadi Burhan ad-Din Ahmad, ruler of Siwas in Asia Minor. Tamerlane thought that now by their death he had conquered their countries, and almost flew for joy at the news. He settled his affairs and turned about hastily, leaving as viceroy in India one of his emirs in whom he had full confidence. He journeyed until he arrived at Samarkand, then in the early part of 802 A.H. [October 1399] hastily departed, encamped in Khurasan, then went to Tabriz and appointed his son Miran Shah to rule there. Proceeding on, he encamped in Qarabagh in the month of I Rabi', killing and taking captives there; then he departed and encamped at Tiflis in the month of II Jumada [February 1400] and traversed the land of Georgia, killing and taking captives wantonly.

His next objective was Baghdad, whose Sultan, Ahmad ibn Uwais, fled from him to Qara Yusuf; and Tamerlane returned from Baghdad and spent the summer in the country of the Turcomans. He then went to Siwas, which Sulaiman ibn Abu Yazid ibn 'Uthman had taken; after a siege of eighteen days he took it on Muharram 5, 803 A.H [August 27, 1400]; and seizing its armed men, three thousand individuals, he dug for them an underground vault into which he threw them and then covered them with earth. This was after he had sworn to them that he would shed the blood of none of them; and he then said: "I have kept my oath, since I have not shed the blood of any of them." He then put the inhabitants to the sword and destroyed the city, wiping out every trace of it.

Next he went to Bahasna, plundered its outskirts, and took its citadel after a siege of twenty-three days, then proceeded to Malatya and leveled it. He went on and attacked Qal'at ar-Rum, but, unable to conquer it, left for Ain Tab, whose viceroy, Arikmas az-Zahiri fled from it. Aleppo and Damascus were his next objectives; what he did there until the time he left Syria has already been recounted. His departure from Damascus was on Saturday, Sha'ban 3, 803 A.H. [March 19, 1401]  He then passed by Aleppo and subjected it a second time to the fate that had been decreed for it. From there he went and attacked Maridin on Monday; Ramadan 10 [April 25, 1401] of the same year. Certain events befell him there, and he departed from the city, giving the impression that he was making for Samarkand so as to distract attention from Baghdad.

Sultan Ahmad ibn Uwais had appointed as viceroy in Baghdad an emir named Faraj, while he himself and Qara Yusuf had gone toward Asia Minor. Tamerlane in a surprise move sent Amirzah Rustum with twenty thousand men to take Baghdad, then followed him with the remainder of his forces. He encamped at Baghdad and besieged it, finally taking it by conquest on the day of the Festival of the Sacrifices that year [July 22, 1401], and put the inhabitants to the sword.

Emir Asanbai, the warden of the armory (one of az-Zahir Barquq's former mamluks, who had been taken prisoner by Tamerlane, had found favor with him, and was made by him his own armory warden), told me concerning the capture and siege of Baghdad some terrible tales. For instance, when Tamerlane got possession of the city he compelled everyone of his followers to bring him the heads of two of the inhabitants. The slaughter took place in Baghdad and its territories, and blood flowed in streams before they had brought him what he required. Of these heads he then built 120 minarets; the number of Baghdad’s inhabitants who were killed on this day was about 100,000 men (AI-Maqrizi says 90,000), and this was in addition to those killed during the days of the siege, those killed on the day when he entered Baghdad, and those who threw themselves into the Tigris and were drowned, a number even larger than that first mentioned. He says: "If a man who was ordered to bring two heads could not secure heads of two men he would cut off the head of a women, shave off its hair, and bring it instead. And some of them would stand in the streets, pursue one of the passers-by and cut off his head."

From Baghdad, after he had razed it level with the ground, Tamerlane went to Qarabagh, where he encamped. He then wrote to Abu Yazid ibn 'Uthman, lord of Asia Minor, to expel Sultan Ahmad ibn Uwais and Qara Yusuf from his territories, threatening that if he did not comply he would bring upon him the same punishment that had befallen others. Abu Yazid sent back an exceedingly gruff reply, so Tamerlane set out in his direction.

Abu Yazfd ibn 'Uthman assembled his forces of Muslims, Christians, and various divisions of the Tatars, and when his army was complete he marched to give him battle. Before his arrival Tamerlane sent to the Tatars who were with Abu Yazid ibn 'Uthman, saying: "We are one race, and these are Turcomans whom we shall expel from our midst, and then Asia Minor will be yours instead of theirs."  The Tatars were deceived by him and promised that when the encounter took place they would be with him.

Abu Yazid ibn 'Uthman marched on with the expectation that he would meet Tamerlane outside of Siwas and repulse him so that he could not enter Asia Minor. But Tamerlane took another road; marching through untraveled country, he entered Ibn 'Uthman's territory and encamped in a wide, fertile district. Before Ibn 'Uthman was aware of it he had been robbed of his land, and in consternation turned back; he and his men had become so weary that their strength was gone and their horses were worn out too. He was encamped now in a waterless region, and his soldiers were near to perishing. As they approached each other for battle, the first disaster that alighted upon Ibn 'Uthman was that the Tatars in their entirety betrayed him; since they constituted his main force, his army was thus much reduced.

His son Sulaiman then followed them and left his father, to return to the city of Brusa with the remainder of his army; there were now left with Abu Yazid only about 5,000 horsemen, with whom he held his ground until Tamerlane's forces had surrounded them.  Against these, however, he delivered a terrific attack with sword and battle-axe and continued fighting until his followers had killed of Tamerlane's men several times their own number. The battle continued from forenoon of Wednesday until the afternoon, when Ibn 'Uthman's soldiers were worn out, overwhelmed by the forces of Tamerlane, who attacked them with swords because they were so few while the Tamerlane forces were so many; indeed one of the 'Uthman is fought against ten opponents, until most of their warriors lay prostrate. Abu Yazid ibn 'Uthman himself was taken prisoner, captured by hand about a mile from the city of Ankara, on Wednesday, Dhu l-Hijja 27, 804 A.H. [August 7, 1402], after most of his men had died of thirst, for the time was the twenty-eighth day of the Coptic month Abib, which is the Greek Tamuz.

Tamerlane had Ibn 'Uthman stand before him every day, deriding and insulting him. One day he sat at a wine-drinking bout with his companions and summoned Ibn 'Uthman in a manner which caused him to be alarmed; he entered hobbling in his shackles and trembling.  Tamerlane sat him before himself and began to converse with him; then he arose and gave him to drink at the hands of Ibn 'Uthman's slave girls whom he had made captive, and returned him to his prison.

Tamerlane then received a visit from Isbandar, one of the minor kings of Asia Minor, bringing magnificent gifts; Tamerlane accepted these, treated the giver with honor, and sent him back to his dominions.

In the meanwhile Tamerlane's armies had been perpetrating in Asia Minor and upon its inhabitants those deeds that have been described before.

Then Sulaiman, son of Abu Yazid ibn 'Uthman, collected the money and everything else which was in the city of Brusa and went to Adrianople, whose men joined him one after another; and he also made peace with the inhabitants of Istanbul [Constantinople].  Tamerlane then sent a large part of his army with Shaikh Nur ad-Din to Brusa and they seized whatever they could find there, while he himself then followed with [the remainder of] his army.  He next set free Muhammad and 'Ali, sons of Ibn Qaraman, from the prison of Abu Yazid ibn 'Uthman, and invested them with the government of their country, obligating each of them to have the public prayer recited and coinage struck in his name and that of Sultan Mahmud Khan, called Surghatmish. He then spent the winter in the province of Mantasha, and devised a ruse for killing the Tatars of the army of Ibn 'Uthman who had come to him and he wiped them an out.

Abu Yazid ibn 'Uthman remained in captivity with Tamerlane from Dhu l-Hijja, 804, until he died, grieving in fetters, within Dhu I-Qa'da, 805 [June 1403], having ruled Asia Minor about nine years. He was one of the greatest monarchs, resolute, firm, and brave (God the Exalted have mercy on him); it was he who was called Yildirim Bayazid.

Tamerlane then turned back from Asia Minor, having set his hopes on taking China; but God took him before he could attain his wish.  Were it not for the fear of being too prolix I would give an account of him and what happened to him on the road to China until his death (God curse him!); I refrain from doing so not only out of fear of digressing but also because I have already given the account in detail in my work “Al-Manhal as-Safi," to which the reader is referred. Tamerlane died on the eve of Wednesday, Sha'ban) 17, 807 A.H. [February 19, 1405]; he was then encamped near Utrar, which is near Ahankaran; the Arabic translation of this last name is "the smiths".