Chapter III

About this period, I asked my father to tell me the history of our family from the time of Yafet Aghlān, which he did, nearly in the following manner:

“It is written in the Tūrkish history, that we are descended
from Yafet Aghlān, commonly called (Abu al Atrāk) Father of the
Tūrks, son of (the Patriarch,) Japhet, he was the first monarch
of the Tūrks: when his fifth son Aljeh Khān ascended the throne,
the all gracious God bestowed on him twin sons, one of which was
called _Tatar_, the other _Moghul_; when they were grown up,
Aljeh Khān divided the kingdom of Tūrkestān between them during
his life-time; after they were seated on their respective
thrones, they became proud of their authority, and forsook the
religion of their ancestors, placing their feet in the paths of
infidelity: Tatar had eight sons, from whom are descended eight
(Oulous) tribes. Moghul had nine sons, from whom are descended
nine clans: these two parties frequently disagreed, and fought
many battles in the plains of Tūrkestān.

Till at length, after the establishment of the _Islām_ faith,
Tumenāh Khān was seated on the throne of dominion of the region
of Tūrkestān; he had two sons by one birth, one of which he
named Kajuly, the other Kubel Khān; when Kajuly had arrived at
the age of manhood, he dreamt one night, that he saw two stars
rise from the breast of Kubel Khān, and shortly after set; again
he thought he saw a star, equal in splendour to the sun, which
illuminated the whole world; when he awoke, he related his dream
to his father, who expounded it in this manner; ‘from the
posterity of your brother, a boy shall be born in the third
generation, who shall be the conqueror of the world:’ Tumenāh
Khān then gave orders for a grand feast, to which he invited all
the nobles and principal persons; during the feast the brothers,
having embraced each other, entered into an agreement, which was
drawn up in the Tūrkish language, and engraved on a plate of
steel, and which was deposited in the treasury; the subject of
the agreement was this, ‘that the posterity of the two brothers
should never quarrel with each other; that the dignity of _Khān_
should for ever remain in the descendants of Kubel Khān, and
that of (Sepah Salar) Commander in Chief, and prime minister in
the family of Kajuly.’[37]

In A. H. 549, Mungū Behadur, son of Kubel Khān, had a boy, born
with his two hands full of blood, to whom he gave the name of
_Timujy_; when this personage arrived at the age of forty-nine,
after much toil and danger, he was seated on the throne of
Tūrkestān.

On the day that he took the title of Khān, a dervish entered the
assembly, and proclaimed, “the Lord hath said to me, ‘I have
given the surface of the earth to Timujy,’ and I confer on you
the title of Jengyz Khān, that is to say, King of Kings.” But
Jengyz abandoned the duty of a conqueror, by slaughtering the
people, and by plundering the dominions of God, and put to death
many thousands of the Muselmāns.

On the morning of the day that he died, he bestowed the
sovereignty of Maveralnaher on his eldest son Jagtay Khān;[38]
he appointed Kerachār Nuyān, son of Ayzdumjyn Berlās, son of
Kajuly Behadur, who is my fourth and your fifth ancestor, to be
generalissimo and prime minister; and caused the agreement
entered into by Kajuly and Kubel Khān, to be brought from the
treasury, and given to them; Jagtay having perused it, delivered
it to Kerachār Nuyān, and conferred on him the title of Gurgān
or Kurkān (Great Prince).

When God had bestowed on Kerachār Nuyān a son, he called him
Anchel Nuyān; Kerachār was not at first one of the true
believers, but followed the religion of the (Majusy)
Materialists, who say that God is in every thing, and in every
person; he was however anxious to acquire a proper knowledge of
God, and therefore sought the acquaintance of all holy men, at
length he asked the opinion of one of those learned personages,
who was descended from Muhammed, what do the Muselmāns say
respecting the true knowledge of God; the holy man replied, ‘the
faith of the Muselmāns is this, that from all eternity there has
existed an Omnipotent and Omniscient Being, he is our God, and
he is the God of all creatures, it is therefore not proper to
say, as the Materialists do, for there is only one God, the
creator of all things; we deny a plurality of Gods, and assert
that there is only one:’ Kerachār after some reflection, said,
‘it is true, God can have no partner, he is all sufficient.’ He
then submitted himself to the holy man as a convert, and
repeated the Creed after his preceptor; viz. ‘there is no God
but God, Muhammed is the Messenger of God;’ glory be to him who
is eternal, omniscient, and omnipotent, the all seeing, the all
hearing, the giver of speech, the causer of all events.

Praise be also to his Messenger Muhammed, who by the miracle of
dividing the moon, evinced he was the true Prophet, he is the
minister of the glorious God, and the Khalifs are his Viziers.

From that time Kerachār became firm in his faith, and invited
all the people to imitate his example, in consequence of which,
the religion of Muhammed encreased and became current through
all that region.

He also divided the country of Irān equally between the
(_Ayelat_) different clans, and appointed the plains of Kesh for
the residence of the tribe of Berlās, (his own tribe) giving
them the water, the grass, and pasturage of that and several
other places for their support; Kerachār then took on him the
business of generalissimo, and subdued the countries of Kashgār,
of Badakhshān, Andejān, and Hassar, also parts of Khorasān,
which he retained as his own private territory.

When Kerachār departed this life, he was succeeded by his eldest
son Amyr Ayltekuz, as generalissimo, who conquered several
countries; when your grandfather Amyr Burkul succeeded as _Sepah
Salar_, finding that there were dissentions among the tribes and
clans, (Alusāt va Kushunāt) he was disgusted, and having retired
from his office, contented himself with the government of his
own clan of Berlās: he however possessed an incalculable number
of sheep and goats, of cattle, of slaves and servants.

On the death of your grandfather Amyr Burkul, I succeeded to his
possessions, but I preferred the company of the learned and the
religious persons, and associated mostly with them, frequently
soliciting their blessings and prayers, that the Almighty God,
would bestow on me a son, which should raise the fame and
encrease the dignity of the tribe of Berlās.

About this time, a celebrated Astrologer came from Fars to
Maveralnaher, and one day when seated in the assembly of the
learned personages, he said, ‘from the revolution of the heavens
it is well known to me, that, in the year seven hundred and
thirty, (of the Hejira) a child shall be born, who will prove
the conqueror of the world.’ Verse, ‘In the year seven hundred
and thirty, on the 9th of the month, Rejeb, a star of auspicious
title shall arise;’ God hath bestowed this boy on you.”[39]

When my father had related all these circumstances to me, I was convinced in my own mind, that I was born to succeed to the sovereignty, and believed myself endued with all the requisite abilities; I became however very religious, constantly prayed to God for success, and made numerous offerings of cattle and sheep to the Syeds, the learned, and devout personages.

Thus I sent an offering of twenty sheep to the (Saint) Amyr Kelal, but in consequence of heavy rain, they missed the road, and I thought were lost; but some days after having gone to pay my respects to him, I saw the sheep standing at his door, and returned thanks to God, that my offering had been accepted. As soon as the Saint cast his eyes on me, he said to the by-standers, “the sovereignty of the territories of God has been bestowed on this young Tūrk;” he then began to say his prayers, I also imitated his example: after he had finished his devotions, he said, “good fortune and royalty is to be your fate, provided that you support the religion of Islām.”

At this time I repented (of my follies), and left off playing chess; I strictly adhered to the law, and followed the dictates of religion; I also made a vow never to injure any creature, and whenever I did so by chance, was very sorry for it; thus one day having unintentionally trodden on an Ant, I felt as if my foot had lost all its power; I constantly begged the intercession of the first Khalifs, and was benevolent to all mankind.

[Sidenote: A. D. 1355.]

In the year 756, I attained my twentieth year, and having reached the age of maturity, my father Teragay made over to me a number of tents, sheep, camels, slaves, servants, and attendants, from which during this year I gained much profit. The first arrangement I made of my private affairs was this, I gave the command of eighteen slaves to one slave, to whom I gave the title of _Aun Bashy_, and I named every twenty horses a (Tavyleh) stable, and every hundred camels a (Kuttar) string, and every thousand sheep a (Gileh) flock, and gave each of these in charge of a particular slave, and allotted to each of them, a certain share of the profits. During this year I was again very unwell, and a physician of Samerkund having administered pomegranates to me, I was seized with a violent palpitation, and became quite insensible, upon which my father and mother, and all the attendants wept bitterly; after this, a physician of Tūrkestān seared me with a hot iron, upon which I came to myself; they afterwards gave me some _Yelmak_ broth, and other food, and I became convalescent. In gratitude for my recovery, I made valuable offerings of sheep and horses; thus I gave an hundred camels in honour of the Prophet, and fifty more in honour of the illustrious Khalifs, and gave ample charities to the poor, the hermits, and dervishes, through whose prayers I entirely recovered.

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Footnote 37:

See Institutes, page 25.

Footnote 38:

This name is spelled in Persian both Jagtay and Chagtay, a large
portion of Tūrkestān is called after him.

Footnote 39:

The date here mentioned is supposed to be a mistake either of the
Persian translator, or of the copyist, as all other authorities fix
the birth of Timūr on the 25th of Shabān, A. H. 736, corresponding
with the 7th of May, A. D. 1336.