Monthly Archives: January 2024

Samarkand’s Math Emperor, 1405

Posted on January 24, 2024 by Ruth

Timur’s grandson Mohammed, son of Shah Rukh, was a huge nerd. It’s hard to be born into a notorious warlord’s family when you really just want to sit up at night in an observatory measuring the stars, or calculate Pi … Continue reading →

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Showdown at Ankara: Bayezid v. Timur, 1402

Posted on January 24, 2024 by Ruth

Two empires were expanding during the late 1300s; inevitably, they collided. In 1400, Timur’s Turko-Mongolian army based in Samarkand invaded the region we know as Turkey, and we’re almost to the point where we can call it that, but not … Continue reading →

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The Crusade of Nicopolis, 1396

Posted on January 24, 2024 by Ruth

While Timur was taking over Central Asia and India, the Ottoman-ruled zone was also growing. In 1389, Sultan Murad died in the Battle of Kosovo, killed by Serbian knights, but his son Bayezid was on hand. Bayezid had his brother … Continue reading →

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Amir Timur (Tamerlane) 1370-1400

Posted on January 7, 2024 by Ruth

We know little about the early life of Timur, until he stepped into world history in 1370. That’s when he became the ruler of Balkh, in Afghanistan, and began to prosecute a new “Mongol” war of conquest. He wasn’t a … Continue reading →

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Sultan Bayezid’s Child Tax, 1362-1402

Posted on January 7, 2024 by Ruth

The Ottoman Empire was growing east and south of Constantinople. It pushed against other Turkish beyliks, absorbing land as they were conquered. Orhan, son of Osman, defeated the Karası beylik and his son Murad married one of the captured widows. … Continue reading →

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Ibn Khaldun Asks Tough Questions about History, 1377

Posted on January 7, 2024 by Ruth

The Ibn Khaldun family were descended from a Bedouin, Khaldun, who settled near Seville in the early years of Muslim conquest. Under Reconquista pressure in the 13th century, they moved to Tunis, where they were among the educated governing elite. … Continue reading →

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Ibn Battuta Sees the World, 1325-55

Posted on January 7, 2024 by Ruth

The Muslim world had grown so large that it was very hard for them to know all parts of their own lands, let alone the rest of the world. Around 1355, a Moroccan named Ibn Battuta dictated and published his … Continue reading →

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