Livro V - Commencement Of The History, Capítulo III

About this period, I asked my father to tell me the history of our family from the time of Yafet Aghlān, which he did, nearly in the following manner:

“It is written in the Tūrkish history, that we are descended from Yafet Aghlān, commonly called (Abu al Atrāk) Father of the Tūrks, son of (the Patriarch,) Japhet, he was the first monarch of the Tūrks: when his fifth son Aljeh Khān ascended the throne, the all gracious God bestowed on him twin sons, one of which was called _Tatar_, the other _Moghul_; when they were grown up, Aljeh Khān divided the kingdom of Tūrkestān between them during his life-time; after they were seated on their respective thrones, they became proud of their authority, and forsook the religion of their ancestors, placing their feet in the paths of infidelity: Tatar had eight sons, from whom are descended eight (Oulous) tribes. Moghul had nine sons, from whom are descended nine clans: these two parties frequently disagreed, and fought many battles in the plains of Tūrkestān.

Till at length, after the establishment of the _Islām_ faith, Tumenāh Khān was seated on the throne of dominion of the region of Tūrkestān; he had two sons by one birth, one of which he named Kajuly, the other Kubel Khān; when Kajuly had arrived at the age of manhood, he dreamt one night, that he saw two stars rise from the breast of Kubel Khān, and shortly after set; again he thought he saw a star, equal in splendour to the sun, which illuminated the whole world; when he awoke, he related his dream to his father, who expounded it in this manner; ‘from the posterity of your brother, a boy shall be born in the third generation, who shall be the conqueror of the world:’ Tumenāh Khān then gave orders for a grand feast, to which he invited all the nobles and principal persons; during the feast the brothers, having embraced each other, entered into an agreement, which was drawn up in the Tūrkish language, and engraved on a plate of steel, and which was deposited in the treasury; the subject of the agreement was this, ‘that the posterity of the two brothers should never quarrel with each other; that the dignity of _Khān_ should for ever remain in the descendants of Kubel Khān, and that of (Sepah Salar) Commander in Chief, and prime minister in the family of Kajuly.’

In A. H. 549, Mungū Behadur, son of Kubel Khān, had a boy, born with his two hands full of blood, to whom he gave the name of _Timujy_; when this personage arrived at the age of forty-nine, after much toil and danger, he was seated on the throne of Tūrkestān.

On the day that he took the title of Khān, a dervish entered the assembly, and proclaimed, “the Lord hath said to me, ‘I have given the surface of the earth to Timujy,’ and I confer on you the title of Jengyz Khān, that is to say, King of Kings.” But Jengyz abandoned the duty of a conqueror, by slaughtering the people, and by plundering the dominions of God, and put to death many thousands of the Muselmāns.

On the morning of the day that he died, he bestowed the sovereignty of Maveralnaher on his eldest son Jagtay Khān; he appointed Kerachār Nuyān, son of Ayzdumjyn Berlās, son of Kajuly Behadur, who is my fourth and your fifth ancestor, to be generalissimo and prime minister; and caused the agreement entered into by Kajuly and Kubel Khān, to be brought from the treasury, and given to them; Jagtay having perused it, delivered it to Kerachār Nuyān, and conferred on him the title of Gurgān or Kurkān (Great Prince).

When God had bestowed on Kerachār Nuyān a son, he called him Anchel Nuyān; Kerachār was not at first one of the true believers, but followed the religion of the (Majusy) Materialists, who say that God is in every thing, and in every person; he was however anxious to acquire a proper knowledge of God, and therefore sought the acquaintance of all holy men, at length he asked the opinion of one of those learned personages, who was descended from Muhammed, what do the Muselmāns say respecting the true knowledge of God; the holy man replied, ‘the faith of the Muselmāns is this, that from all eternity there has existed an Omnipotent and Omniscient Being, he is our God, and he is the God of all creatures, it is therefore not proper to say, as the Materialists do, for there is only one God, the creator of all things; we deny a plurality of Gods, and assert that there is only one:’ Kerachār after some reflection, said, ‘it is true, God can have no partner, he is all sufficient.’ He then submitted himself to the holy man as a convert, and repeated the Creed after his preceptor; viz. ‘there is no God but God, Muhammed is the Messenger of God;’ glory be to him who is eternal, omniscient, and omnipotent, the all seeing, the all hearing, the giver of speech, the causer of all events.

Praise be also to his Messenger Muhammed, who by the miracle of dividing the moon, evinced he was the true Prophet, he is the minister of the glorious God, and the Khalifs are his Viziers.

From that time Kerachār became firm in his faith, and invited all the people to imitate his example, in consequence of which, the religion of Muhammed encreased and became current through all that region.

He also divided the country of Irān equally between the (_Ayelat_) different clans, and appointed the plains of Kesh for the residence of the tribe of Berlās, (his own tribe) giving them the water, the grass, and pasturage of that and several other places for their support; Kerachār then took on him the business of generalissimo, and subdued the countries of Kashgār, of Badakhshān, Andejān, and Hassar, also parts of Khorasān, which he retained as his own private territory.

When Kerachār departed this life, he was succeeded by his eldest son Amyr Ayltekuz, as generalissimo, who conquered several countries; when your grandfather Amyr Burkul succeeded as _Sepah Salar_, finding that there were dissentions among the tribes and clans, (Alusāt va Kushunāt) he was disgusted, and having retired from his office, contented himself with the government of his own clan of Berlās: he however possessed an incalculable number of sheep and goats, of cattle, of slaves and servants.

On the death of your grandfather Amyr Burkul, I succeeded to his possessions, but I preferred the company of the learned and the religious persons, and associated mostly with them, frequently soliciting their blessings and prayers, that the Almighty God, would bestow on me a son, which should raise the fame and encrease the dignity of the tribe of Berlās.

About this time, a celebrated Astrologer came from Fars to Maveralnaher, and one day when seated in the assembly of the learned personages, he said, ‘from the revolution of the heavens it is well known to me, that, in the year seven hundred and thirty, (of the Hejira) a child shall be born, who will prove the conqueror of the world.’ Verse, ‘In the year seven hundred and thirty, on the 9th of the month, Rejeb, a star of auspicious title shall arise;’ God hath bestowed this boy on you.”

When my father had related all these circumstances to me, I was convinced in my own mind, that I was born to succeed to the sovereignty, and believed myself endued with all the requisite abilities; I became however very religious, constantly prayed to God for success, and made numerous offerings of cattle and sheep to the Syeds, the learned, and devout personages.

Thus I sent an offering of twenty sheep to the (Saint) Amyr Kelal, but in consequence of heavy rain, they missed the road, and I thought were lost; but some days after having gone to pay my respects to him, I saw the sheep standing at his door, and returned thanks to God, that my offering had been accepted. As soon as the Saint cast his eyes on me, he said to the by-standers, “the sovereignty of the territories of God has been bestowed on this young Tūrk;” he then began to say his prayers, I also imitated his example: after he had finished his devotions, he said, “good fortune and royalty is to be your fate, provided that you support the religion of Islām.”

At this time I repented (of my follies), and left off playing chess; I strictly adhered to the law, and followed the dictates of religion; I also made a vow never to injure any creature, and whenever I did so by chance, was very sorry for it; thus one day having unintentionally trodden on an Ant, I felt as if my foot had lost all its power; I constantly begged the intercession of the first Khalifs, and was benevolent to all mankind.

[Sidenote: A. D. 1355.]

In the year 756, I attained my twentieth year, and having reached the age of maturity, my father Teragay made over to me a number of tents, sheep, camels, slaves, servants, and attendants, from which during this year I gained much profit. The first arrangement I made of my private affairs was this, I gave the command of eighteen slaves to one slave, to whom I gave the title of _Aun Bashy_, and I named every twenty horses a (Tavyleh) stable, and every hundred camels a (Kuttar) string, and every thousand sheep a (Gileh) flock, and gave each of these in charge of a particular slave, and allotted to each of them, a certain share of the profits. During this year I was again very unwell, and a physician of Samerkund having administered pomegranates to me, I was seized with a violent palpitation, and became quite insensible, upon which my father and mother, and all the attendants wept bitterly; after this, a physician of Tūrkestān seared me with a hot iron, upon which I came to myself; they afterwards gave me some _Yelmak_ broth, and other food, and I became convalescent. In gratitude for my recovery, I made valuable offerings of sheep and horses; thus I gave an hundred camels in honour of the Prophet, and fifty more in honour of the illustrious Khalifs, and gave ample charities to the poor, the hermits, and dervishes, through whose prayers I entirely recovered.

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Footnote 37:

See Institutes, page 25.

Footnote 38:

This name is spelled in Persian both Jagtay and Chagtay, a large portion of Tūrkestān is called after him.

Footnote 39:

The date here mentioned is supposed to be a mistake either of the Persian translator, or of the copyist, as all other authorities fix the birth of Timūr on the 25th of Shabān, A. H. 736, corresponding with the 7th of May, A. D. 1336.