Tamerlane and the Indian War Elephants

Tamerlane: The Conqueror Who Tried to Rebuild the Mongol Legacy — Fexingo History · May 2, 2026 · 5m · transcript

In this episode of Fexingo History, Lucas and Luna dive into Tamerlane's 1398 invasion of the Delhi Sultanate, focusing on his tactical adaptation to Indian war elephants. Drawing on accounts from the Zafarnama and Ibn Arabshah, Lucas explains how Timur—already a master of siege warfare and cavalry tactics—devised a novel counter: digging trenches, using iron-spiked caltrops, and deploying his own cavalry in a disciplined formation to panic the elephants, which then trampled the Delhi army. The episode explores the broader context of Timur's Indian campaign, including the brutal…