Sultan Husayn Tayichiud (1380 – 1405) was a noble of the

Timurid Empire The Timurid Empire was a late medieval, culturally Persianate, Turco-Mongol empire that dominated Greater Iran in the early 15th century, comprising modern-day Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, much of Central Asia, the South Caucasus, and parts of co ...

and a maternal grandson of its founder, the

Central Asia Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...

n conqueror

Timur Timur, also known as Tamerlane (1320s17/18 February 1405), was a Turco-Mongol conqueror who founded the Timurid Empire in and around modern-day Afghanistan, Iran, and Central Asia, becoming the first ruler of the Timurid dynasty. An undefeat ...

. Sultan Husayn held prominent positions in the Imperial army and accompanied his grandfather on several of his military campaigns. He was executed by his uncle

Shah Rukh Shah Rukh or Shahrukh Mirza (, ''Šāhrokh''; 20 August 1377 – 13 March 1447) was the ruler of the Timurid Empire between 1405 and 1447. He was the son of the Central Asian conqueror Timur (Tamerlane), who founded the Timurid dynasty in 1370 ...

during the war of succession following Timur's death.

Birth and family

Sultan Husayn was born in 1380, the son of Muhammad Beg of the

Tayichiud The Taichuud (; ) was one of the three core tribes of the Khamag Mongol confederation in the Mongolian Plateau during the 12th century, its first recorded with Ambaghai Khan in 1148 AD, however this Clan founded by Ambaghais grandfather Chirh ...

tribe and his wife Aka Biki, also known as (d.1382), a daughter of

. His paternal grandfather was Amir Musa, an influential noble and the uncle of the empress,

Saray Mulk Khanum Saray Mulk Khanum ( Chagatai: سرای ملک خانم; 1341 – 1408) was the empress consort of the Timurid Empire as the chief consort of Timur, also known as Tamerlane the Great, the founder of the Timurid Empire as well as the Timurid dynast ...

Military career

Indian campaign

Sultan Husayn was recorded as accompanying Timur to the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographic region of Asia below the Himalayas which projects into the Indian Ocean between the Bay of Bengal to the east and the Arabian Sea to the west. It is now divided between Bangladesh, India, and Pakista ...

during his war against the

Delhi Sultanate The Delhi Sultanate or the Sultanate of Delhi was a Medieval India, late medieval empire primarily based in Delhi that stretched over large parts of the Indian subcontinent for more than three centuries.

in 1398. On 18 December, he led the left flank of the Timurid army in the Second Battle of

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...

against Mahmud Shah Tughlaq. Following a surprise assault against Mahmud Shah's advance guard, Sultan Husayn's cousin Pir Muhammad led a charge against the left wing of the Tughlaq army, whilst Sultan Husayn simultaneously attacked the right, pushing it back against the gates of the city. When an elephant-led charge against the Timurid centre was beaten back by volleys of arrows, the Tughlaq army was forced to retreat back into Delhi. On 20 December, the city surrendered to Timur.

Ottoman and Levantine campaigns

The following year, Timur declared war on the

Mamluks Mamluk or Mamaluk (; (singular), , ''mamālīk'' (plural); translated as "one who is owned", meaning "slave") were non-Arab, ethnically diverse (mostly Turkic, Caucasian, Eastern and Southeastern European) enslaved mercenaries, slave-sold ...

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

and the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

, ruled by

An-Nasir Faraj Al-Nasir Faraj or Nasir-ad-Din Faraj (; ) also Faraj ibn Barquq was born in 1386 and succeeded his father Sayf-ad-Din Barquq as the second Sultan of the Burji dynasty of the Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt in July 1399 with the title ''Al-Nasir''. He w ...

and

Bayezid I Bayezid I (; ), also known as Bayezid the Thunderbolt (; ; – 8 March 1403), was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1389 to 1402. He adopted the title of ''Sultan-i Rûm'', ''Rûm'' being the Arabic name for the Eastern Roman Empire. In 139 ...

respectively. When approaching the Mamluk city of

Aleppo Aleppo is a city in Syria, which serves as the capital of the Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Governorates of Syria, governorate of Syria. With an estimated population of 2,098,000 residents it is Syria's largest city by urban area, and ...

in October 1400, the emperor defeated the city's defenders during a battle in which Sultan Husayn led the

vanguard The vanguard (sometimes abbreviated to van and also called the advance guard) is the leading part of an advancing military formation. It has a number of functions, including seeking out the enemy and securing ground in advance of the main force. ...

of the left flank. However, by the time the Timurids moved on to lay siege to Damascus, soldiers in the army had begun to complain of weariness from the long campaign. Many started to desert to the enemy, including Sultan Husayn, who led a small band of followers to defect to the Egyptians on 30 December 1400. He was forced to change out of his Central Asian clothing and his

pigtail A woman with long pigtails and braids. In the context of hairstyles, the usage of the term pigtail (or twin tail or twintail) shows considerable variation. The term may refer to a single braid, but is more frequently used in the plural ("pi ...

, a style commonly worn among Timur's warriors, was cut off. He was captured following a sortie against the besiegers and brought before his grandfather, who ordered his feet be whipped as punishment for his betrayal. The wars culminated in the

Battle of Ankara The Battle of Ankara or Angora () was fought on 28 July 1402, at the Çubuk plain near Ankara, between the forces of the Ottoman sultan Bayezid I and the emir of the Timurid Empire, Timur. The battle was a major victory for Timur, and it led to ...

, fought against

on 20 July 1402. Sultan Husayn was once more placed at the command of the vanguard of the left flank. Bayezid's

Tatar Tatar may refer to: Peoples * Tatars, an umbrella term for different Turkic ethnic groups bearing the name "Tatar" * Volga Tatars, a people from the Volga-Ural region of western Russia * Crimean Tatars, a people from the Crimea peninsula by the B ...

cavalry switched sides to Timur during the battle, whilst Sultan Husayn forced the Ottoman right flank into retreat. These prompted Bayezid's son,

Süleyman Çelebi Süleyman Çelebi (also Emir Süleyman; – 17 February 1411) was an Ottoman prince and a co-ruler of the Ottoman Empire for several years during the Ottoman Interregnum. There is a tradition of western origin, according to which Suleiman th ...

, to flee the battlefield with his soldiers. Following the rout of the Ottoman infantry by the Timurid centre and the defeat of the

Janissaries A janissary (, , ) was a member of the elite infantry units that formed the Ottoman sultan's household troops. They were the first modern standing army, and perhaps the first infantry force in the world to be equipped with firearms, adopted du ...

, Bayezid was captured and victory was declared by Timur.

War of succession and death

In the winter of 1404, Timur launched his invasion of

Ming The Ming dynasty, officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming was the last imperial dynasty of China ruled by the Han people, t ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

, in what was to become his final campaign. Aware that the marches of

Moghulistan Moghulistan, also called the Moghul Khanate or the Eastern Chagatai Khanate, was a Muslims, Muslim, Mongol, and later Turkic peoples, Turkic breakaway khanate of the Chagatai Khanate and a historical geographic area north of the Tian Shan, Teng ...

, which lay between his empire and China, would need to be subjugated before any attack further east, Timur distributed his 200,000 strong force across the region. Sultan Husayn, commanding the left wing, was dispatched to Yasi while

Khalil Sultan Khalil Sultan () was the Timurid ruler of Transoxiana from 18 February 1405 to 1409. He was a son of Miran Shah and a grandson of Timur. Biography During Timur's lifetime, Khalil Sultan gained Timur's particular favor. He distinguished himself ...

, commanding the right, was sent to

Tashkent Tashkent (), also known as Toshkent, is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Uzbekistan, largest city of Uzbekistan. It is the most populous city in Central Asia, with a population of more than 3 million people as of April 1, 2024. I ...

. Both grandsons were ordered to return with their men in the spring, while Timur himself continued on toward

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

. He died however, on 18 February 1405, prior to ever reaching the Chinese border. News of the emperor's death quickly reached his family, who began marshalling their forces in preparation for the imminent power struggle. Sultan Husayn, aware that he could not count on the loyalty of all his soldiers, abandoned his army and broke away with a detachment of 1000 troops towards

Samarqand Samarkand ( ; Uzbek and Tajik: Самарқанд / Samarqand, ) is a city in southeastern Uzbekistan and among the oldest continuously inhabited cities in Central Asia. Samarkand is the capital of the Samarkand Region and a district-level ...

. He hoped to take his grandfather's imperial capital by surprise and by capturing it, bolster his claim as Timur's successor. However, his cousin Khalil Sultan (who had declared himself emperor at Tashkent) reached the city first, claiming it alongside Timur's imperial treasury. Sultan Husayn, knowing that his claims were now hopeless, aligned himself with Khalil Sultan, who dispatched him at the head of a 30,000 strong army against Pir Muhammad, Timur's favoured successor. However, a noble named Pir 'AlI Taz convinced Sultan Husayn to abandon his cousin and reassert his own claim. Heeding this advice, he called an assembly of his nobles and immediately had two of them executed. The remaining number, in fear of their lives, swore their allegiance to Sultan Husayn, who then led his army against Samarqand. Khalil Sultan's troops went out to meet him and on July 1405, defeated Sultan Husayn and pursued him up to the city of

Balkh Balkh is a town in the Balkh Province of Afghanistan. It is located approximately to the northwest of the provincial capital city Mazar-i-Sharif and approximately to the south of the Amu Darya and the Afghanistan–Uzbekistan border. In 2021 ...

, capturing his belongings and

harem A harem is a domestic space that is reserved for the women of the house in a Muslim family. A harem may house a man's wife or wives, their pre-pubescent male children, unmarried daughters, female domestic Domestic worker, servants, and other un ...

. Sultan Husayn took refuge with Sulayman Shah

Dughlat The Dughlat clan (; Mongolian: '' Dolood/sevens, Doloo/seven; Middle Mongolian: Doluga, Dolugad''; Dulğat; ) was a Mongol (later Turko-Mongol) clan that served the Chagatai khans as hereditary vassal rulers of several cities in western Tarim Ba ...

, a nephew of Timur and a regional governor. While Khalil Sultan had no interest in pursuing his cousin further, Pir Muhammad insisted on his extradition. Sulayman Shah refused, and when Pir Muhammad sent an army against him in response, he and Sultan Husayn both fled to Timur's youngest son

, who ruled from

Herat Herāt (; Dari/Pashto: هرات) is an oasis city and the third-largest city in Afghanistan. In 2020, it had an estimated population of 574,276, and serves as the capital of Herat Province, situated south of the Paropamisus Mountains (''Se ...

. Shah Rukh, deciding that Sulayman Shah should have surrendered the pretender on the first demand, had the latter imprisoned. Sultan Husayn was subsequently executed. The skin of his head, stuffed with grass, was sent to Pir Muhammad, while his body parts were displayed in the bazaars of Herat.

Descendants

*Sultan Husayn Tayichiud – married Qutlugh Sultan, a daughter of his uncle

Miran Shah Mirza Jalal-ud-din Miran Shah Beg (1366 – 20 April 1408), commonly known as Miran Shah (), was a son of the Central Asian conqueror Timur, founder of the Timurid Empire. During his father's reign, Miran Shah was initially a powerful regio ...

**Firuza Begum (d.1489) – married Mansur Mirza, son of

Bayqara Mirza I Bayqara Mirza I (1392 – 1422?) was a Timurid prince and a grandson of the Central Asian conqueror Timur by his eldest son Umar Shaikh Mirza I. Described by the biographer Dawlatshah as "the noblest, fairest, and bravest of Timur’s descend ...

, son of

Umar Shaikh Mirza I Mu'iz-ud-din Umar Shaikh Mirza (; 1356 – February 1394) was a member of the Timurid dynasty and a son of its founder, the Central Asian conqueror Timur. Known for being a skilled soldier, Umar Shaikh was one of Timur's military commanders and ...

***Bayqara Mirza II (d.1487) – married Sa'adat Sultan, a great-granddaughter of

***Aka Biki – married Sultan Ahmad Mirza, a grandson of both

and

Muhammad Sultan Mirza Muhammad Sultan Mirza (1375 – 1403) was a member of the Timurid dynasty and a grandson of its founder, the Central Asian conqueror Timur. As Timur's favourite grandson, Muhammad Sultan served as one of his principal military commanders, he ...

***Badi al-Jamal – married Ahmad Khan, Khan of the

Golden Horde The Golden Horde, self-designated as ''Ulug Ulus'' ( in Turkic) was originally a Mongols, Mongol and later Turkicized khanate established in the 13th century and originating as the northwestern sector of the Mongol Empire. With the division of ...

*** Sultan Husayn Bayqara Mirza (1438–1506) – married several women ***Urun Sultan Khanum

References

{{Reflist People from the Timurid Empire 1380 births 1405 deaths