Timur Khan

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Contemporary depiction of Timur Khan (detail).
Ilkhan's letter to the French king, which mentions the restored internal peace in the Mongol Empire (1305).

Uldjaitu-Timur Khan ( Chengzong , Mongolian ᠥᠯᠵᠡᠶᠢᠲᠦ ᠲᠡᠮᠦᠷ Öljeyitü Temür , * 1265 in Beijing , † February 10, 1307 in Beijing) was an emperor of the Mongolian Yuan dynasty in China , son of Chingkim and grandson of Kublai Khan . He ruled from 1294 to 1307 and was considered a patron of the teachings of Confucius and a benevolent ruler who avoided wars.

government

Timur prevailed against his brother Kamala with the help of his mother Kökejin and the general Bayan († 1295). The choice wasn't great: Timur was addicted to alcohol, ate too much and suffered from severe gout from 1300 onwards . But he represented Chinese interests. Kamala is said to have had a speech impediment and less knowledge of the Jassa and preferred life in the steppe. Even so, Timur became a better emperor than his grandfather thought. He allegedly tried successfully to get rid of his drinking addiction.

Around 1303 there was a major corruption scandal involving grain transport. Initially only two senior transport officials were charged, but an Imperial investigation soon found the involvement of 18,473 officials and clergy, including the highest level of ministerial, and an illegal profit of at least 45,865 ting . Timur removed the officials from their posts, but within two years at least most of the ministers were back in office.

Inflation was also recorded , so that new paper money had to be issued in 1309/10.

Timur had to deal militarily with the two Central Asian khan Qaidu and Du'a, who had already caused problems for Kublai Khan (especially in the last years of his life). Around 1300 Timur seems to have taken the initiative and at least to have achieved success, as Qaidu died of a wound on his return from this campaign. After Qaidu's death around 1303/04 he was once again generally recognized as a Mongolian khagan by all Mongol khans, even if the empire was no longer uniformly controlled.

Tensions arose in the yuan's immediate sphere of influence when Prince Ananda (Kublai's grandson and governor of Gansu ) converted to Islam with most of his troops. Timur disapproved of this and had Ananda temporarily imprisoned, but was convinced by his mother of the need for a peaceful settlement (1296). From then on he tolerated Ananda's behavior.

In the last years of his life, his wife Buluyan and several ministers ruled. With their intrigues, they tried to prevent the successful prince Khaishan (nephew of Timur) from ascending to the throne and, among other things, sent his mother into exile.

literature

Remarks

  1. ↑ At the time of Marco Polo, a ting was worth ten Chinese ounces ( tael ) in silver or one tael in gold. See Henry Yule (Ed.): The travels of Marco Polo. The Complete Yule-Cordier Edition . Dover Publications, New York, ISBN 0-486-27586-8 , Vol. 2, p. 217, note 2.
  2. ^ Franke, Twitchett: The Cambridge History of China , Vol. 6: Alien regimes and border states 907-1368 . Cambridge 1994, p. 499.
  3. ↑ The topic is discussed by Michal Biran: Qaidu and the Rise of the independent Mongol State in Central Asia . Curzon, Richmond 1997, ISBN 0-7007-0631-3 , p. 51 ff.
  4. ↑ Presentation by Rašīd-ad-Dīn: The successors of Genghis Khan , translated by John Andrew Boyle, New York 1971, p. 323 ff.
predecessor Office successor
Kublai Khan ( 世祖 , Shìzǔ ) Emperor of China
1294–1307 		Külüq Khan ( 武宗 , Wǔzōng )
Kublai Khan Khagan of the Mongols
1294–1307 		Külüq Khan
personal data
SURNAME Timur Khan
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Chengzong
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Mongolian Khagan, Chinese Emperor of the Yuan Dynasty
DATE OF BIRTH 1265
PLACE OF BIRTH Beijing
DATE OF DEATH February 10, 1307
Place of death Beijing