INTERIOR OF TAMERLANE’S MAUSOLEUM, BOKHĀRĀ
THE TOMB OF TAMERLANE
CHAPTER XXV
The Successors of Tīmūr
The method taken by Chingiz Khān of assuring the continuance of sovereignty in his house was inspired by statesmanlike prescience. It is well-nigh impossible for a single individual to maintain intact an empire inherited from a father who has won it by the sword. Its founder may, indeed, say with far greater truth than the scion of a long line of kings, “the State is Myself”; but his hour of triumph is embittered by the reflection that possessions amassed by ruthless greed are apt to melt away when the strong arm that secured them has mouldered into dust. Chingiz, by dividing his unwieldy dominions among his four sons, removed all cause of jealousy, such as would inevitably have arisen had one child been exalted above the rest, and established a community of interest among his descendants which for several generations sufficed to keep the greater portion of the known world in his family.
Tīmūr’s disregard of the sound principles of statecraft in the disposal of his conquests brought upon his dynasty the curse of perennial rivalries, of mutual hatreds which led to the disruption of his empire and paved the way for the advent of alien rulers.
When the news of Tīmūr’s death reached Samarkand, his grandson, Pīr Mohammad, to whom he had bequeathed his crown, was absent in Kandahār. Khalīl Sultan, another grandson, assured of the support of the army and the more powerful nobles, took possession of Samarkand and proclaimed himself king, A.H. 807 (1405).
Meanwhile the dead conqueror’s son, Shāh Rukh,[411] who ruled Herāt, with the concurrence of the feudal chiefs of his province, laid claim to the succession, and was acknowledged as the rightful heir throughout Khorāsān, Sīstān, and Māzanderān. Leaving followers devoted to his interests in charge of these three important districts, he set out for Transoxiana, and on his way thither learnt that Khalīl had been proclaimed king of Samarkand. On hearing this news he sent back one of his generals with orders to place Herāt in a state of defence, while he himself continued his march towards the Oxus.