Latest / Tamerlane: The Conqueror Who Tried to Rebuild the Mongol Legacy — Fexingo History / Tamerlane's Indian Invasion The Delhi Sultanate Campaign of 1398
Transcript
- Lucas: So, we've covered a lot of Tamerlane's campaigns — his wars with the Ottomans, the Mamluks, Tokhtamysh. But one of his most infamous and consequential invasions was his march into India in 1398. It's not just about the loot — though there was plenty of that — it reshaped northern India for centuries. Luna: India feels like a big shift from the steppe. Why did he go there? Lucas: Good question. Officially, he claimed the Delhi Sultanate's rulers were too tolerant of Hindu practices — he used religion as a pretext. But really, it was the same motive as always: wealth, glory, and the restoration of the Mongol Empire. The Delhi Sultanate under the Tughluq dynasty was rich but weakened by internal strife. Sultan nasir ud din Mahmud Shah Tughluq was just a teenager, and his realm was fracturing. Luna: So he smelled weakness. Lucas: Exactly. In early 1398, he crossed the Indus River near Attock. His army was around 90,000 strong — cavalry, infantry, siege engineers, and a contingent of war elephants he'd captured earlier in Persia. But he also brought along something else: a fatwa from Islamic scholars justifying the war against fellow Muslims who 'compromised' with non-believers. Luna: He always had a religious justification ready, didn't he? Lucas: Whenever it suited him. The campaign itself was brutal. He marched through the Punjab, sacking towns like Sirsa and Panipat. The Delhi Sultanate's army met him near Loni, just north of Delhi, in December 1398. Mahmud Shah had assembled a massive force — including over a hundred war elephants — but Tamerlane had a plan. Luna: How do you fight elephants on the steppe? Lucas: He anticipated them. He ordered trenches dug and stakes driven into the ground, then set camels and oxen on fire to stampede them. His own infantry used fire arrows and javelins. The elephants panicked, trampled their own ranks, and the Delhi army collapsed. Mahmud Shah fled, and Tamerlane entered Delhi on December 17, 1398. Luna: And then the massacre began. Lucas: Yeah. Accounts differ — the Zafarnama, Tamerlane's official biography, claims he tried to restrain his troops but couldn't. Ibn Arabshah, a contemporary Arab historian who hated him, says he ordered it. Either way, for three days, the city was sacked. Tens of thousands were killed — soldiers, civilians, even prisoners. He built towers of skulls, as was his custom. Luna: That's horrifying. But also — he didn't stay. Lucas: No, he left within weeks. He had no interest in administering India. He appointed Khizr Khan, a local noble, as governor, and marched back to Samarkand with an enormous train of loot: gold, jewels, and — crucially — skilled craftsmen. Stonecarvers, masons, weavers. They were taken back to Samarkand to build his grand monuments, like the Bibi-Khanym mosque. Lucas: It's a theme we've seen before — Tamerlane didn't just destroy, he also transferred talent to his capital. The Delhi campaign was a massive infusion of wealth and skill into Samarkand. Luna: So the Bibi-Khanym mosque was partly built by Indian artisans? Lucas: Exactly. The Zafarnama proudly notes that the craftsmen from Delhi and other Indian cities were put to work on his architectural projects. It's a reminder that Tamerlane's legacy isn't just destruction — it's also the forced relocation of culture. Lucas: You know, if today was actually useful to you, the way these stay ad-free is listener support — buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. Luna: Yeah, it really helps keep the show going. Lucas: So, back to India — the aftermath was significant. Khizr Khan, the governor Tamerlane left behind, later founded the Sayyid dynasty, which ruled Delhi for about 30 years. The Tughluq dynasty never recovered, and the Delhi Sultanate entered a period of decline that eventually led to the rise of the Mughals. Luna: Wait — the Mughals were descended from Tamerlane, right? So this invasion kind of paved the way for them? Lucas: Indirectly, yes. The Mughal founder Babur was a Timurid on his father's side. He drew on Tamerlane's legacy and even used similar tactics. In a way, Tamerlane's invasion weakened the old Delhi Sultanate enough that a century later, Babur could sweep in. Lucas: But there's another side to this that rarely gets discussed: the environmental impact. The campaign was in winter, and Tamerlane's army stripped the land bare. The Zafarnama mentions severe cold, rain, and scarcity of fodder. Thousands of horses and camels died. Luna: That must have been brutal for the local population too. Lucas: Absolutely. The campaign was a disaster for northern India. It's estimated that the population of Delhi fell by more than half. The economy was shattered, and it took decades to recover. Tamerlane's invasion was a shock from which the Delhi Sultanate never truly bounced back. Lucas: And yet, when you look at his own writings, he framed it as a great victory for Islam and a restoration of Mongol authority. He even claimed that the Delhi sultans had insulted envoys from earlier Mongol khans — so he was avenging Genghis Khan. Luna: He really saw himself as Genghis's heir, didn't he? Lucas: Absolutely. He used the title 'Sahib-i Qiran' — Lord of the Auspicious Conjunction — but he also styled himself as a Chinggisid by marriage. The Indian campaign was part of his broader project to reunite the Mongol Empire, even if it meant destroying cities. Luna: It's a strange legacy. He built up Samarkand while tearing down Delhi. Lucas: That's Tamerlane in a nutshell. His empire was built on destruction and relocation. The Indian campaign was one of his most profitable — and one of his most brutal. It left a mark on both Central Asia and India that lasted long after his death.