I am sorry to say, your history books where either too bad or you were very biased when reading about Taimur
Do you know Timur was Turco-Mongol by birth. Adoption to core Islam came in later part of his life while he was conquering the middle east, marrying the princesses etc prior to that he married the mongol princess to prove he is mongol and to gain there loyalty, same thing he did when he reached middle east
His ambitions where to be like Changez Khan and re-establish Mongols leadership. He could not call him as Khan because he did not inherit the Khan blood, so no mater how powerfull he became he could never be Khan as of Changez Khan. His conquest of delhi sultanate came after 25yr of his battle life across the middle east, Delhi was then ruled by then Nasir-ud-Din Mahmud Shah Tughluq , so he killed 10000s of muslims at that time along with hindus.
When Taimur attacked Delhi, Delhi was weakest, it had faced 2 civil wars in last 10 yrs and there was already big chaos as sunnis where fighting internally, there where fights between peasants and sunnis and during same time hindus revolted against paying Jizya and Kharaj..Under such civil war conditions, the kind of results that we saw when Timur invaded was probably on expectations lines given the history of Timur war methods.
Timur probably killed more Persians, middle east guys compared to Hindus, so you got to see his history in totality.
He didnt attacked India because it was ruled by Hindus and he was on a mission to kill Kaafirs. He was a military leader and was on drive to expand his base. He did war crimes where ever he camapinged, he had been doing that for 35yrs of his life, that was how it use to be in history, probably he became more notorious because he was the one who had more success and thus did more war crimes.
Timur was Amir, mean general, since he could not be Khan nor could he can became Caliph as both need blood descendant requirements. He was called Ghazi by certain parts of Islamic world after he defeated Christian Knights (it happen after the Delhi was taken over) .And at that time "Ghazi" an Arabic word meaning a person who participates in Ghazwa. Where Ghazwa meant carrying out a military operation or raid. Since he was Amir, people felt apt to call him the best Ghazi. And since by then he was strong follower of Islam, his victories were also seen as victory of Islam and spread of Islam.
And then history associated Ghazwa as a religious affair of killing Kafirs on the name of religion.
I hope this helps, else please study history with clear glasses, it will help you in understanding things in much better way.
Looks like you brushed up your wikipedia so that you could pretend, but its not good enough.
1. Timur was NOT Turco-Mongol by birth. He was Uzbek by birth. He was born near the city of Kesh in Uzbekistan. His father however was from Mongolia.
2. Timur was ALWAYS muslim, his teacher was Mulla Shamsiddin Kulol. His entire clan the Burla tribe had converted to Islam.
3. Timur claimed to be Mongol because his father claimed to be Mongol. His features were Mongol.
4. He became the head of the clan when the Mongols Tughlugh Khan from the Mongol Chagatai Khanate invaded his land only to find the head of the Barlas tribe had run away. Timur was chosen by the Mongols as his replacement.
5. Here is Timurs OWN words from his campaign recorded in his autobiographic memoirs
"About the year 800 A.H. (1398 A.D.), there arose in my heart the desire to lead an expedition against the infidels and to become a Champion of the Faith (GAZI), for it had reached my ears that the slayer of infidels is a Champion and that, if he is slain, he becomes a martyr. It was for this reason that I formed my resolution, but I was undetermined in my mind whether I should direct my expedition against the infidels of China or against the infidels and polytheists of India. In this matter I sought an omen from the Koran, and the verse to which I opened was this: “O Prophet, make war upon infidels and unbelievers, and treat them with severity.”
My chief officers told me that the inhabitants of Hindustan were infidels and unbelievers. In obedience to the mandate of Almighty God, I determined to make an expedition against them, and I issued orders to the amirs of mature years and to the leaders in war to assemble in my presence, and when they had come together, I questioned the assembly as to whether I should invade Hindustan or China, and said to them: “By the command of God and of His Prophet I needs must make war upon these infidels and polytheists.” Throwing themselves upon their knees, they all wished me good fortune. "
About his account of the attack on India (now pakistan),
"I immediately ordered my valiant and experienced troops to ascend, whereupon they raised the war-cry of “ALLAH HO AKBAR” and rushed to the attack. Before all the rest Shaikh Arslan Aztuman Kabak Khan, who is a lion in the day of battle, mounted the hill on the left hand and commenced the fight. Leading his men against the infidels, he put them to flight, and following up the enemy, he entered the fastnesses of the rock and slew vast numbers of the unbelievers. ........
Some of the infidels held out in their defiles for three days and nights, but sending my valiant troops against them, I so pressed them that they were obliged to surrender and beg for quarter. I sent Ak Sultan to them with the message that if they would submit unconditionally and would all become Mussulmans and repeat the creed, I would grant them quarter, but otherwise I would exterminate them to a man. When Ak Sultan reached the infidels with this message, which he explained to them through the medium of an interpreter conversant both with their language and with Turkish, they all proffered submission, and repeating the necessary formula, embraced the Mohammedan faith. Relying upon this external conversion, I spared their lives and property"
Some more accounts,
"....they made prisoners of their women and children and secured an enormous booty. I directed towers of the skulls of those obstinate unbelievers to be built on the mountain, and I ordered an engraver on stone, who was in my camp, to cut an inscription somewhere on those defiles to the effect that I had reached this country by such and such a route, in the auspicious month of Ramazan, A.H. 800 (May, 1398), so that, if chance should conduct any one to that spot, he might know how I had reached it.
About his attack on delhi,
"For my intended attack on Delhi in this same year 800 A.H. (1398 A.D.), I arranged my forces so that the army extended over a distance of twenty leagues. Being satisfied with my disposition of the troops, I began my march on Delhi. On the twenty-second of Rabi’-al-awwal (Dec. 2) I arrived and encamped at the fort of the village of Aspandi, where I found, in answer to my inquiries, that Samana was seven leagues distant.
The people of Samana and Kaithal and Aspandi are all heretics, idolaters, infidels, and misbelievers. They had now set fire to their houses and had fled with their children and property toward Delhi, so that the whole country was deserted.
On the next day, the twenty-third of the month, I started from the fort of Aspandi, and after marching six leagues, arrived at the village of Taghlak-pur, at which I encamped opposite the fort of that same name.
When the people of the fort had heard of the approach of my army, they had abandoned it and scattered throughout the country. From the information supplied me I learned that these people were called Sanawi [that is, Fire-worshippers, Zoroastrians, or Ghebers]. Many of this perverse creed believe that there are two gods. One is called Yazdan, and all the good they have they believe proceeds from him. The other god they call Ahriman, and every sin and wickedness of which they are guilty they hold is caused by him. These misbelievers do not know that whatsoever there is of good or evil comes from God, and that man is the mere instrument of its execution. I ordered the houses of these heretics to be burned and their fort and buildings to be razed to the ground.
About his mind set before reaching Delhi,
"from the time of entering Hindustan up to the present we had taken more than one hundred thousand infidels and Hindus prisoners, .................. I immediately directed the commanders to proclaim throughout the camp that every man who had infidel prisoners was to put them to death, and that whoever neglected to do so, should himself be executed and his property given to the informer. When this order became known to the champions of Islam, they drew their swords and put their prisoners to death. One hundred thousand infidels, impious idolaters, were slain on that day. Maulana Nasir-ad-din Omar, a counsellor and man of learning, who had never killed a sparrow in all his life, now, in execution of my order, killed fifteen idolatrous Hindus, who were his captives.
His actions in Delhi,
"When Friday morning dawned, my entire army, no longer under control, went off to the city and thought of nothing but killing, plundering, and making prisoners. The sack was general during the whole day, and continued throughout the following day, Saturday, the seventeenth (Dec. 27), the spoil being so great that
each man secured from fifty to a hundred prisoners, men, women, and children, while no soldier took less than twenty. There was likewise an immense booty in rubies, diamonds, garnets, pearls, and other gems; jewels of gold and silver; gold and silver money of the celebrated Alai coinage; vessels of gold and silver; and brocades and silks of great value. Gold and silver ornaments of the Hindu women were obtained in such quantities as to exceed all account.
Excepting the quarter of the Sayyids, the scholars, and the other Mussulmans, the whole city was sacked. The pen of fate had written down this destiny for the people of this city, and although I was desirous of sparing them, I could not succeed, for it was the will of God that this calamity should befall the city.
On the following day, Sunday,
it was brought to my knowledge that a great number of infidel Hindus had assembled in the Jami’ Masjid of Old Delhi, where they had carried arms and provisions, and had prepared to defend themselves. Some of my people who had gone that way on business were wounded by them, whereupon I immediately ordered Amir Shah Malik and Ali Sultan Tawachi to take a party of men and clear the house of God of infidels and idolaters. They accordingly attacked these infidels and put them to death, after which Old Delhi was plundered."
The grand finale as written by Timur himself,
"After spending fifteen days at Delhi, passing my time in pleasure and enjoyment, and in holding royal courts and giving great feasts, I reflected that I had come to Hindustan to war against infidels, and that my enterprise had been so blessed that wherever I had gone I had been victorious. I had triumphed over my adversaries,
I had put to death hundreds of thousands of infidels and idolaters, I had dyed my proselyting sword with the blood of the enemies of the Faith, and now that I had gained this crowning victory, I felt that I ought not to indulge in ease, but rather to exert myself still further in warring against the infidels of Hindustan. Having made these reflections, on the twenty-second of Rabi’-al-akhir, 800 A.H. (Jan. 1,1399 A.D.), I again drew my sword to wage a religious war (JIHAD).
Now if you have any shame left, go drown yourself for being the fool you are.
Dr Neelakshi Goswami @DrNeelakshiGswm
