MOGUL. 
of the countries of Lefler Afia, which had not been at¬ 
tacked by them; and during all thefe vaft conquefts no 
Mogul army had ever been conquered, except one by Ja- 
loloddin, as mentioned under the article Hindoostan. 
From this period, however, the empire began to decline. 
The ambition of the khans having prompted them to in¬ 
vade the kingdoms of Japan and Cochin-china, they were 
miferably diiappointed in their attempts, and loll a great 
number of men. The fame bad fuccefs attended them in 
Hindoollan ; and in a Ihort time this mighty empire 
broke into feveral fmaller ones. The governors of Perfia, 
being of the family of Gengis Khan, owned no allegi¬ 
ance to any luperior; thofe of Tartary did the fame. The 
Chinefe threw off the yoke ; and thus the continent of 
Alia wore much the fame face that it had done before 
Gengis Khan began his conquefts. 
The fucceffors of Hulaku reigned in Perfia till the year 
1335 > but that year Abufaid Khan, the eighth from Hu¬ 
laku, dying, the affairs of that country fell into confufton 
for want of a prince of the race of Gengis Khan to fuc- 
ceed to the throne. The empire, therefore, was divided 
among a great number of petty princes who fought againft 
each other almoft without intermiftion, till, in the year 
1369, Timur Bek, or Tamerlane, one of thefe princes, hav¬ 
ing conquered a number others, was crowned at Ealkh, 
with the pompous title of Sahcb Karan ; that is, “ Empe¬ 
ror of the Age, and Conqueror of the World.” As he 
had juft before taken that city, and deftroyed one of his 
1110ft formidable rivals who had Ihut himfelf up in it, the 
new emperor began his reign with beheading lbme of the 
inhabitants, imprifoning others, burning their houfes, 
and felling the women and children for llaves. In 1370 
he crofted the Sihun, made war on the Getes, and attacked 
Charazm. Next year he granted a peace to his enemies ; 
but two years after he again invaded the country of the 
Getes, and by the year 1379 had fully conquered that 
country as well as Chorafan ; and from that time he con¬ 
tinued to extend his conquefts in much the fame manner 
as Gengis Khan had done, though with left cruelty. In 
1387 he had reduced Armenia, Georgia, and all Perfia; 
the conqueft of which laft was completed by the reduc¬ 
tion of Ifpahan, 70,000 of the inhabitants of which were 
flaughtered on account of a fedition raifed by fome rafh 
or evil-difpofed perfons. See the article Persia. 
After the reduction of Perfia, Timur turned his arms 
northward and weftvvard, fubduing all the countries to 
the Euphrates. He took the city of Bagdad ; l’ubdued 
Syria; and, having ravaged great part of Ruflia, returned 
to Perfia in 1396, where he l'plendidly feafted his whole 
army. In 1398 he invaded Iiindooftan, crofted the In¬ 
dus on the 17th of September, reduced feveral fortrefles, 
and made a vaft number of captives. However, as he 
was afraid that, in cafe of any emergency, thefe prifoners 
might take part with the enemy, he gave orders to his 
foldiers to put all their Indian llaves to death; and, in 
confequence of this inhuman order, more than 100,000 
of thefe poor wretches were flaughtered in left than an 
hour. 
In the beginning of the year 1399 Timur was met by 
the Indian army; whom, after a defperate battle, he de¬ 
feated with great daughter, and foon after took the city 
of Delhi the capital of the country, as related under the 
article Hindoostan, vol. x. p. 30. 
After this, Timur marched into the different provinces 
of Hindooftan, every-where defeating the Indians who op- 
pofed him, and flaughtering the Ghebers, or worlhippers 
of fire. On the 25th of March he fet out on his return, 
and on the 9th of May arrived at Samarcand. In a few 
months after his arrival, he was obliged to undertake an 
expedition into Perfia, where affairs were in the utmoft 
dilorder on account of the mifeonduft of his foil, whom 
he had appointed fovereign of that empire. Here Timur 
foon fettled matters; after which he again fet out on an 
expedition weft ward, reduced many places in Georgia 
which had not fubmitted before, and invaded and con¬ 
015 
quered Syria. At the fame time he quarrelled with Ba- 
jazet the Turkilh lultan, then bulied in an enterprife 
againft Conftantinople, in which he would probably have 
lucceeded had not Eimur mterpoled. The caufe of this 
quariel at firft was, that Bajazet had demanded tribute 
from a prince who was under Timur’s protection, and is 
faid to have returned an infulting anfwer to the Tartar 
ambaffadors who were fent to him on that account. Ti¬ 
mur, however, who was an enthufiaft in the caufe of Ma- 
hometanifm, and conlidered Bajazet as engaged in the 
caufe of heaven when befieging a Chriftian city, was* very 
unwilling to difturb him in fo pious a work; and there- 
fore undertook feveral expeditions againft the princes ot 
Syria and Georgia, in order to give the Turkilh monarch 
time to cool and return to reafon. Among other places, 
he again inverted the city of Bagdad, which had. cart off 
its allegiance to him; and, having taken it by ftorm, made 
fuch a dreadful maffacre of the inhabitants, that 120 
towers were ereCted with the heads of the flain. In the 
mean time Bajazet continued to give frefh provocation, 
by protecting one Kara Yufef a robber, who had even in¬ 
fill ted the caravan of Mecca; fo that Timur at length 
refolved to make war upon him. The fiiltan, however, 
forefeemg, the danger of bringing fuch a formidable ene- 
my againft himfelf, thought proper to alk pardon, by a 
letter, for what was part, and promife obedience to Ti¬ 
mur’s will for the future. This embafly was gracioufly 
received ; and. Timur returned for anfwer, that he would 
forbear hoftilities, provided Bajazet would either put 
Kara Yufef to death, fend him to the Tartar camp, or 
expel him out of his dominions. Along with the Turk¬ 
ilh ambaffadors he fent one of his own; telling Bajazet 
that he would march into the confines of Anatolia, and 
there wait his final anfwer. 
Though Bajazet had feemed at firft willing to come to 
an agreement with Timur, and to dread his fuperior power; 
yet he now behaved in fuch an unfatisfa&ory manner, 
that the Tartar monarch defired him to prepare for war; 
upon which he raifed the liege of Conftantinople, and, hav¬ 
ing met Timur with an army greatly inferior to the Tar¬ 
tars, was utterly defeated and taken prifoner. Accord¬ 
ing to fome accounts, he was treated with great humanity 
and honour; while others inform us, that he was fhut up 
in an iron cage, againft which he dafhed out his brains 
the following year. At any rate, it is certain that he was 
not reftored to liberty, but died in confinement. 
This viClory was followed by the fubmiflion of many 
places of the Lefler Afia to Timur ; the Greek emperor 
owned himfelf his tributary, as did alfo the fultan of 
Egypt. After this, Timur once more returned to Geor¬ 
gia, which he cruelly ravaged; after which he marched 
to Samarcand, where he arrived in the year 1405. Here, 
being now an old man, this mighty conqueror began to 
look forward to that ftate which at one time or other is 
the dread of all living creatures; and, in order to quiet 
the remorfes of his own confidence, he came to the 
following curious refolution, which he communicated to 
his intimate friends ; namely, that, “as the vaft conquefts. 
he had made were not obtained without Jbme violence, 
which had occafioned the dellruftion of a great number 
of God’s creatures, he was refolved, by way of atone¬ 
ment for his pall crimes, to perform fome good action ; 
namely, to make war on the infidels, and exterminate 
the idolaters of China.” This atonement, however, he 
did not live to accomplifli; for he died the fame year of 
a burning fever, in the 71ft year of his age and 36th of 
his reign. 
On the death of Timur, his empire fell immediately 
into great diforder, and the civil wars continued for five 
or fix years; but at laft peace was reftored, by the fettle- 
ment of Shah Rukh, Timur’s fon, on the throne. He did 
not, however, enjoy the empire in its full extent, or in¬ 
deed much above one half of it; having only Charazm, 
Chorafan, Candahar, Perfia, and part of Hindoollan. 
Neither was he able, though a brave and warlike prince, 
to 
