Timurid dynasty

Timurid dynasty
گورکانیان, Gūrkāniyān
Parent houseBarlas
Country
Current regionCentral Asia
Greater Iran
Indian peninsula
Founded1370
FounderTimur
Final rulerBahadur Shah II
Titles
TraditionsSunni Islam (Hanafi)
Dissolution1857
Deposition
  • 1507 (Timurid Empire)
  • 1857 (Mughal Empire)
Cadet branchesMughal dynasty

The Timurid dynasty, self-designated as Gurkani (Persian: گورکانیان, romanizedGūrkāniyān), was a Sunni Muslim[1] dynasty or Barlās clan of Turco-Mongol origin[2][3][4][5] descended from the warlord Timur (also known as Tamerlane). The word "Gurkani" derives from "Gurkan", a Persianized form of the Mongolian word "Kuragan" meaning "son-in-law".[6] This was an honorific title used by the dynasty as the Timurids were in-laws of the line of Genghis Khan,[7] 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[2][8] 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.

  1. ^ Maria E. Subtelny, Timurids in Transition: Turko-Persian Politics and Acculturation in Medieval Persia, Vol. 7, (Brill, 2007), 201.
  2. ^ a b B.F. Manz, "Tīmūr Lang", in Encyclopaedia of Islam, Online Edition, 2006
  3. ^ Encyclopædia Britannica, "Timurid Dynasty", Online Academic Edition, 2007. (Quotation: "Turkic dynasty descended from the conqueror Timur (Tamerlane), renowned for its brilliant revival of artistic and intellectual life in Iran and Central Asia. ... Trading and artistic communities were brought into the capital city of Herat, where a library was founded, and the capital became the centre of a renewed and artistically brilliant Persian culture.")
  4. ^ "Timurids". The Columbia Encyclopedia (Sixth ed.). New York City: Columbia University. Archived from the original on 2006-12-05. Retrieved 2006-11-08.
  5. ^ Encyclopædia Britannica article: "Consolidation & expansion of the Indo-Timurids", Online Edition, 2007.
  6. ^ A History of the Muslim World Since 1260: The Making of a Global Community, by Vernon Egger, p. 193
  7. ^ ""The Man Behind the Mosque"". Archived from the original on 2020-11-09. Retrieved 2015-08-09.
  8. ^ Maria Subtelny, Timurids in Transition, p. 40: "Nevertheless, in the complex process of transition, members of the Timurid dynasty and their Persian Mongol supporters became acculturate by the surrounding Persianate millieu adopting Persian cultural models and tastes and acting as patrons of Persian culture, painting, architecture and music." p. 41: "The last members of the dynasty, notably Sultan-Abu Sa'id and Sultan-Husain, in fact came to be regarded as ideal Perso-Islamic rulers who develoted as much attention to agricultural development as they did to fostering Persianate court culture."