Tuzūkāt-i Tīmūrī as a Source on Chagatai Military Tactics, Late Fourteenth to Early Fifteenth Centuries

Introduction. The article examines some historical and other related circumstances behind the creation of Tuzūkāt-i Tīmūrī (The Code of [Amir] Timur). Goals. The paper seeks to identify the narrative’s place in a variety of written sources on Chagatai military tactics of the late fourteenth to earl...

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Main Authors: Leonid A. Bobrov, Aibolat K. Kushkumbayev, Zhaksylyk М. Sabitov, Myltykbayuly
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Российской академии наук, Калмыцкий научный центр 2024-09-01
Series:Oriental Studies
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Online Access:https://kigiran.elpub.ru/jour/article/view/5167
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author Leonid A. Bobrov
Aibolat K. Kushkumbayev
Zhaksylyk М. Sabitov
Myltykbayuly
author_facet Leonid A. Bobrov
Aibolat K. Kushkumbayev
Zhaksylyk М. Sabitov
Myltykbayuly
author_sort Leonid A. Bobrov
collection DOAJ
description Introduction. The article examines some historical and other related circumstances behind the creation of Tuzūkāt-i Tīmūrī (The Code of [Amir] Timur). Goals. The paper seeks to identify the narrative’s place in a variety of written sources on Chagatai military tactics of the late fourteenth to early fifteenth centuries. Results. The study discovers The Code is a composite work compiled from a text allegedly found in Arabia by Abu TalibTurbati in the early seventeenth century, subsequent comments of a translator and a copyist, some fragments of Timurid writings dated from the early fifteenth century, and corrections introduced by the Mughal historian Muhammad Ashraf Bukhari. The final version of Tuzūkāt-i Tīmūrī was completed between the mid-1620s and 1650s at the earliest. The sections about tactics of Amir Timur’s Chagatai army are very likely a combination of messages borrowed by the compilers from fifteenth-century Timurid written sources — and their own interpretations of Safavid (and possibly Mughal) combat practices of later times. Descriptions of combat formations and tactical techniques contained in Tuzūkāt-i Tīmūrī cannot be merely extrapolated to military realities of Amir Timur’ era. However, the narrative does clarify some specifics of Chagatai combat tactics mentioned in the Timurid Zafarnamas (ones by Nizam al-Din Shami and Sharaf ad-Din Ali Yazdi). Some of the descriptions are not that clear to contemporary researchers while those were obvious enough to the seventeenth-century authors. For this reason, The Code can be most instrumental in ‘deciphering’ some complicated or controversial patterns of tactics contained in Timurid sources of the late fourteenth and early fifteenth centuries. Conclusions. It is possible to highlight data pertaining to Chagatai combat tactics of the designated period through comparing the text of Tuzūkāt-i Tīmūrī to those of early fifteenth-century Zafarnamas and other works of the Timurid era.
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issn 2619-0990
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language English
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spelling doaj-art-8c17d803fe574558ad17851fff69859c2025-02-11T13:05:49ZengРоссийской академии наук, Калмыцкий научный центрOriental Studies2619-09902619-10082024-09-0117232033410.22162/2619-0990-2024-72-2-320-334Tuzūkāt-i Tīmūrī as a Source on Chagatai Military Tactics, Late Fourteenth to Early Fifteenth CenturiesLeonid A. Bobrov0https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5071-1116Aibolat K. Kushkumbayev1https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7186-156XZhaksylyk М. Sabitov2https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7186-156XMyltykbayuly3https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8840-010XNovosibirsk State University Institute for the Study of Jochi UlusDosmukhamedov Atyrau University Agatay U. Introduction. The article examines some historical and other related circumstances behind the creation of Tuzūkāt-i Tīmūrī (The Code of [Amir] Timur). Goals. The paper seeks to identify the narrative’s place in a variety of written sources on Chagatai military tactics of the late fourteenth to early fifteenth centuries. Results. The study discovers The Code is a composite work compiled from a text allegedly found in Arabia by Abu TalibTurbati in the early seventeenth century, subsequent comments of a translator and a copyist, some fragments of Timurid writings dated from the early fifteenth century, and corrections introduced by the Mughal historian Muhammad Ashraf Bukhari. The final version of Tuzūkāt-i Tīmūrī was completed between the mid-1620s and 1650s at the earliest. The sections about tactics of Amir Timur’s Chagatai army are very likely a combination of messages borrowed by the compilers from fifteenth-century Timurid written sources — and their own interpretations of Safavid (and possibly Mughal) combat practices of later times. Descriptions of combat formations and tactical techniques contained in Tuzūkāt-i Tīmūrī cannot be merely extrapolated to military realities of Amir Timur’ era. However, the narrative does clarify some specifics of Chagatai combat tactics mentioned in the Timurid Zafarnamas (ones by Nizam al-Din Shami and Sharaf ad-Din Ali Yazdi). Some of the descriptions are not that clear to contemporary researchers while those were obvious enough to the seventeenth-century authors. For this reason, The Code can be most instrumental in ‘deciphering’ some complicated or controversial patterns of tactics contained in Timurid sources of the late fourteenth and early fifteenth centuries. Conclusions. It is possible to highlight data pertaining to Chagatai combat tactics of the designated period through comparing the text of Tuzūkāt-i Tīmūrī to those of early fifteenth-century Zafarnamas and other works of the Timurid era. https://kigiran.elpub.ru/jour/article/view/5167tuzūkāt-i tīmūrīchagatai ulusamir timurtimuridsmoghulscombat tacticstactics of amir timur’s armytactics of timurid armies
spellingShingle Leonid A. Bobrov
Aibolat K. Kushkumbayev
Zhaksylyk М. Sabitov
Myltykbayuly
Tuzūkāt-i Tīmūrī as a Source on Chagatai Military Tactics, Late Fourteenth to Early Fifteenth Centuries
Oriental Studies
tuzūkāt-i tīmūrī
chagatai ulus
amir timur
timurids
moghuls
combat tactics
tactics of amir timur’s army
tactics of timurid armies
title Tuzūkāt-i Tīmūrī as a Source on Chagatai Military Tactics, Late Fourteenth to Early Fifteenth Centuries
title_full Tuzūkāt-i Tīmūrī as a Source on Chagatai Military Tactics, Late Fourteenth to Early Fifteenth Centuries
title_fullStr Tuzūkāt-i Tīmūrī as a Source on Chagatai Military Tactics, Late Fourteenth to Early Fifteenth Centuries
title_full_unstemmed Tuzūkāt-i Tīmūrī as a Source on Chagatai Military Tactics, Late Fourteenth to Early Fifteenth Centuries
title_short Tuzūkāt-i Tīmūrī as a Source on Chagatai Military Tactics, Late Fourteenth to Early Fifteenth Centuries
title_sort tuzukat i timuri as a source on chagatai military tactics late fourteenth to early fifteenth centuries
topic tuzūkāt-i tīmūrī
chagatai ulus
amir timur
timurids
moghuls
combat tactics
tactics of amir timur’s army
tactics of timurid armies
url https://kigiran.elpub.ru/jour/article/view/5167
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