A grandson of the feared Amir Timur, a patron of science, a reputed astronomer, and the ruler of the fabled Samarkand. Ulugh Beg is one of Central Asia’s most fascinating characters whose architectural and scientific legacy has endured throughout the centuries.
Muhammad Taraghay bin Shahrukh, later known as Ulug Beg, was born on the 22nd of March 1394 in the former Ilkhanid capital of Sultaniye, in northern Persia, during one of his grandfather’s campaigns. He was the son of Amir Timur’s (better known in the West as Tamerlane) youngest son Shahrukh and Gawhar Shad.
If Ulugh Beg’s birth was good news for the parents, it was even better received in town of Mardin, in modern southeastern Turkey. Timur had just conquered the town but upon hearing about the birth of his grandson he decided to spare its population and even release them from payment. An uncommon show of mercy by the great conqueror.
We do not know much about Ulugh Beg’s childhood. As it was customary, he was entrusted to the care of one of Timur’s wives, in this case his chief consort Saray Mulk Khanum. During this time, he followed on his grandfather’s footsteps. Armenia, Samarkand, Khuzar, Kabul, Karabakh, Erzurum… Wherever the Amir went so did his wives and grandsons.
Aged almost 11, Ulugh Beg witnessed his grandfather’s death in Otrar during the early stages of his campaign against China. During the next few years, he would take part in the civil war that would determine Timur’s successor. Three were the contenders: Ulugh Beg’s own father Shahrukh and two of his cousins, Khalil Sultan and Pir Muhammad. It was the latter who had been appointed successor by Timur but he was the first one out, being murdered in 1407. Finally, in 1409 Shahrukh marched on Transoxiana and became the ruler of the Timurid Empire. It is worth pointing out that despite being a nominal commander of troops during this conflict, due to his young age Ulugh Beg relied on his atabeg or tutor Shah Malik.
The ruler of Samarkand
Once the civil war was over and the remnants of unrest had been put down, Shahrukh entrusted Ulugh Beg with Transoxiana, while he retired to Khorasan to rule the empire from Herat. During the first few years it was Shah Malik who was in charge, but as Ulugh Beg grew older his relationship with his tutor soured and by 1411 he became the sole ruler of Transoxiana, in his father’s name.
While up to Sharukh’s death in 1447 he was mentioned in the khutba and coins minted in Transoxiana, Ulugh Beg did enjoy great autonomy, acting as a sort of viceroy. He followed his grandfather’s custom of elevating descendants of Genghis Khan as nominal rulers, something which Shahrukh never did in Herat. Similarly, he styled himself as gurkan or son-in-law to Genghis Khan as Timur had done. In many aspects, Ulugh Beg was closer to his grandfather than to his father. Shahrukh became a ruler in the sultanic tradition, prioritising the Islamic component of his rule. He must have been one of the few Timurids that abstained from alcohol and even approved the destruction of wine cellars in his capital. Meanwhile, Ulugh Beg was more of a Turko-Mongol ruler as Timur had been.
While Herat was under Shahrukh’s rather puritanical rule, in Samarkand there was feasting with music and song. Not only did Ulugh Beg partake in banquets, but also did the religious establishment represented by the Shaykh al-Islam. This put the ruler in conflict with the Sufis, particularly the Naqshibandis, who accused him of disregarding the Sharia. This tension between both elements was clearly exemplified during the feasting, drinking of wine included, that took place to celebrate the circumcision of Ulugh Beg’s youngest son. During the celebration the muhtasib tasked with the enforcement of the Sharia approached Ulugh Beg and told him: “You have destroyed the faith of Muhammad and have introduced the customs of the infidels.” To which the Timurid replied: “You have won fame […] and have attained old age. Apparently, you also wish to attain martyrdom and therefore utter rude words, but I shall not grant you your wish.”
The astronomer-sultan
Under Ulugh Beg Transoxiana and especially its capital of Samarkand entered a new golden age. The best representative of what later became known as the Timurid Renaissance, Ulugh Beg made Samarkand a place of learning. To do so, he built an impressive madrasah that still stands in Samarkand’s Registan square. This building was the centre of learning in the Transoxianan capital, where both sciences and theology were taught. A 19th century legend had it that Ulugh Beg himself had taught in the madrasah. While this is unlikely, he did attend lectures by the learned men and made his presence felt at the learning institution he eagerly sponsored.
The madrasah at Samarkand was not the only one he built during his rule in Transoxiana. Around the same time another one was erected in Bukhara, which has also stood the test of time. Unfortunately, other buildings built in his capital during his reign, like a kanaqah for dervishes, public baths or a cathedral mosque have not been preserved.
In his capital Ulugh Beg surrounded himself with some of the most talented intellectuals and scholars of his time. These included astronomer and mathematicians like Qadi Zada al-Rumi (“the Plato of his age”), Ali Qushji (“the Ptolemy of his times”) and Jamish al-Kashi. The latter would later become known in the West for his law of cosines and for calculating Pi up to 16 decimal places. All of them benefitted from the large observatory built in the outskirts of Samarkand in the 1420s. This building stood more than 30 metres above the ground and had a diameter of 46 metres. Its sextant boasted an impressive radius of 40 metres, making it the largest astronomical instrument in the world. Unfortunately, after Ulug Beg’s death the observatory was destroyed and currently only its foundations remain.
Besides sciences, Samarkand also became a place for literary figures. The main poet in Ulugh Beg’s court was Kamal Badakhshi, while there were others who wrote in Chagatary rather than Persian like Sakkaki and Lutfi. We know Ulugh Beg was a keen reader of poetry, and he exchanged letters with his brothers ruling other parts of the empire discussing about literary subjects. The 12th century Persian poet Nizami seemed to be his favourite.
Fostering knowledge and attracting men of sciences and letters was not an exceptional feat. What set Ulugh Beg apart from many other rulers was his own interest and works in astronomy and mathematics. Among other things, he managed to map 994 stars in his Zij-i Sultani astronomical table, an accomplished only surpassed in the following century by the Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe. In addition, he calculated the length of the sideral year with an error of two seconds, more accurate than what Copernicus would come up with in 1525. In the field of mathematics, he also wrote trigonometric tables correct to eight decimal places. He was not only a Timurid ruler but a true scholar.
Military campaigns
During his reign at Transoxiana, Ulugh Beg was not only busy with his scientific endeavours but also had to ensure the safety of its borders. To the north stood the Golden Horde, ruled by the descendants of Genghis Khan eldest son Jochi. To the east the territory of Moghulistan, ruled by another Chinggisid dynasty. Ulugh Beg managed to install in both thrones his own nominees. This would in theory guarantee stable and peaceful borders. But that was not to be the case.
Shir Muhammad, the ruler of Moghulistan, was not inclined to recognise his dependence on Ulugh Beg and that was enough for the Timurid to, after finding a minor pretext, invade the region. The campaign started in February 1425, with Ulugh Beg’s army crossing the Syr Darya and culminated months later at the battle of Ketmen. Overall, the war, notwithstanding setbacks, was a success for Ulugh Beg but it was not a decisive victory. The Timurids had ventured into Moghulistan and defeated them, but Shir Muhammad remained in power and the Mongols were not subdued. Centuries later, the most significant result of this campaign was to be the slab of jade that the Timurids took and that was used as Timur’s gravestone in his mausoleum. This was the same stone that the Persian conqueror Nader Shah would try to steal during his Central Asian campaigns.
Despite the moderate success of his Moghulistan campaign, Ulugh Beg celebrated his victory and was received in Herat as a conqueror by his father Shahrukh. Having defeated one of his neighbours, events in Transoxiana’s northern borders made Ulugh Beg turn his sights on the Golden Horde. History was about to repeat itself.
Let’s go back a few decades to the late 14th century. Back then, Amir Timur supported a claimant to the Golden Horde’s throne. Tokhtamish, who managed to become khan thanks to Timur’s help, would later rebel against his sponsor and would become one of his most formidable enemies. Fast-forward to 1419. A young prince named Baraq arrived at Ulug Beg’s court in Samarkand asking for support. His father, Quyurchuq (r. 1395-97) had been appointed by Timur Khan of the Golden Horde. Now his son was asking Timur’s grandson for help. This he got and in 1423 he was successful and became khan. But as what the case with Tokhtamish, Baraq soon revolted against the Timurids.
In 1426 Baraq laid claim to Timurid possessions around the Syr Darya, including the town of Sighnaq. The following year Ulugh Beg, accompanied by his brother Muhummad Juki, marched against his erstwhile protégé. In a hill close to Sighnaq the Timurd army was surprised by a smaller enemy force but was soundly defeated.
The humiliation suffered at the hands of Baraq was to have a lasting effect on Ulugh Beg. His campaign against the Golden Horde would be the last he would undertake against a neighbouring power. The armies he later sent against them would not win any resounding victories and by the end of his reign his territories would be raided by his northern and easterly foes.
A second civil war
For 36 years Ulugh Beg ruled Transoxiana mostly in peace, with the exception of the aforementioned campaigns. But this period of stability came to an end in 1447 with the death of his father. Shahrukh had not named an heir and successor, so a civil war ensued between Ulugh Beg and his son Abd al-Latif against three of his nephews ruling parts of Khorasan and Persia.
After a year of instability that saw his son Abd al-Latif defeated and briefly imprisoned by his cousins, Ulugh Beg marched against them in the spring of 1448. At the battle of Tarnab, near Herat, the combined forces of Ulugh Beg and Abd al-Latif defeated one of Ulug Beg’s nephews. Following the victory, Timur’s grandson entered and occupied Herat. His son would then advance taking other towns in Khorasan, reaching Astabarad via Mashhad and Nishapur. Ulugh Beg was close to total victory when he decided to rush back to Transoxiana after reports reached him of a raid by the Uzbek Abu’l Khayr Khan. This would cost him dearly.
A stalemate ensued, with the Amu Darya drawing the border between Ulugh Beg and the other claimants. But Ulugh Beg most powerful enemy did not turn out to be one of his nephews but his own son. Abd al-Latif had his own reasons to resent his father. Their victory at the battle of Tarnab was mostly down to him, but Ulugh Beg had praised his younger son Abd al-Aziz for it. Later, Abd al-Latif blamed his father for not giving him enough troops to hold on to Khorasan. Then there was the issue of a mysterious letter. With Ulugh Beg back in Samarkand, Abd al-Latif retreated to his possessions around Balkh, where he faced a revolt that he put down. According to a contemporary historian, among the possessions of the rebel Abd al-Latif found a letter from Ulugh Beg encouraging him to rise up against his own son. Whether that story is true or not, war broke between father and son.
A tragic end
At first, a cold war ensued with the Amu Darya as the natural border. However, Ulugh Beg had to retreat to Samarkand. His other son whom he had left in charge was facing an open revolt after oppressing the amirs. Abd al-Latif took advantage of the situation to cross the river. Finally, both armies met in the autumn of 1449 near Samarkand. Timur’s grandson, who had ruled Transoxiana for more than three decades, was defeated by his son. After unsuccessfully looking for refuge in Samarkand and Shahrukiya, he turned himself in.
Abd al-Latif, at Ulugh Beg’s requested, allowed him to go on pilgrimage to Mecca. But at the same time a trial was being held that would determine the former ruler’s fate. As his father had done, Abd al-Latif enthroned a nominal khan. A certain person named Abbas, whose father had been killed on Ulugh Beg’s orders, claimed revenge and that was granted by the khan. However, such measure would not have taken place without Abd al-Latif’s approval, who used the khan as mere puppet. The Russian historian Vasily Bartold offers the best description of Ulugh Beg’s last hours:
“Ulugh Beg and the Hajji [his companion to Mecca] rode out of Samarqand in the evening. Ulugh Beg was in good spirits and conversed on a variety of topics. After they had travelled a short distance they were overtaken by a Chaghatay of the Sulduz clan. He ordered them, in the khan’s name, to halt at a neighbouring village for the purpose, so he said, of completing the arrangements for Ulugh Beg’s journey; the latter was meant to proceed in circumstances that would gain the approval of “great and small, Tajiks and Turks”. Ulugh Beg, much perturbed by this order, was obliged to stop at the nearest village where he entered one of the houses.
It was cold, and he gave orders to light a fire and cook some meat. A spark from the fire kindled by the nukars fell on Ulugh Beg’s cloak and burnt a hole in it. Ulugh Beg looked at the fire and said in Turkish: sän häm bildin “you too have understood”. His thoughts took a gloomy turn and the Hajji vainly sought to cheer him up.
Suddenly the door was flung open and Abbas entered with another man. At this sight Ulugh Beg, beside himself with rage, threw himself on Abbas and hit him in the chest with his fist. Abbas’s companion held him off and tore his “Altai fur coat” from his shoulders. While Abbas went off to fetch a rope, the Hajji secured the door with a chain to allow Ulugh-beg time for his ablutions. When Abbas returned Ulugh Beg was bound and dragged out, while the Hajji and Ulugh Beg’s other companions hid themselves. Abbas seated Ulugh Beg near a lighted lantern and killed him with one stroke of his sword.”
That is how Ulugh Beg, Timur’s grandson and the astronomer-king met his end. He had ruled over Transoxiana for almost four decades and had turned his grandfather’s capital city of Samarkand into a centre of learning and science, away from religious dogma and obscurantism. It is true he was not a gifted military leader as Timur had been, but whether in the two Timurid civil wars he lived through or foreign military campaigns, he did not shy away from leading his men into battle. In the end, it was his relationship with his son, known as the Padar-kush (“killer of his father”), that brought about his downfall.
Further readings:
Barthold, Vasily Vladimirovich, Four Studies on the History of Central Asia: Volume II, Ulugh Beg, E. J. Brill (1958)