stantinople and the empire of the East lay at his mercy. Happily for European civilisation, his darling Samarkand attracted the war-spent conqueror. He returned thither in triumph, and three years later died at Otrār, while on his way to subdue China, A.H. 807 (1404)1—

Mors sola fatetur

Quantula sunt hominum corpuscula !

1 "He was of great stature, of an extraordinary large head, open forehead, of a beautiful red and white complexion, and with long hair-white from his birth, like Zal, the renowned hero of Persian history. In his ears he wore two diamonds of great value. He was of a serious and gloomy expression of countenance; an enemy to every kind of joke or jest, but especially to falsehood, which he hated to such a degree that he preferred a disagreeable truth to an agreeable lie,-in this respect far different from the character of Alexander, who put to death Clitus, his friend and companion in arms, as well as the philosopher Callisthenés, for uttering disagreeable truths to him. Timur never relinquished his purpose or countermanded his order; never regretted the past, nor rejoiced in the anticipation of the future; he neither loved poets nor buffoons, but physicians, astronomers, and lawyers, whom he frequently desired to carry on discussions in his presence; but most particularly he loved those dervishes whose fame of sanctity paved his way to victory by their blessing. His most darling books were histories of wars and biographies of warriors and other celebrated men. His learning was confined to the knowledge of reading and writing, but he had such a retentive memory that whatever he read or heard once he never forgot. He was only acquainted with three languages-the Turkish, Persian, and Mongolian. The Arabic was foreign to him. He preferred the Tora of Chingiz Khan to the Koran, so that the Ulemas found it necessary to issue a Fetwa by which they declared those to be infidels who preferred human laws to the divine. He completed Chingiz Khan's Tora by his own code, called Tuzukat, which comprised the degrees and ranks of his officers. Without the philosophy of Antonius or the pedantry of Constantine, his laws exhibit a deep knowledge of military art and political science. Such principles were imitated successfully by his successors, Shāh Baber and the great Shāh Akbar, in Hindustān. The power of his civil as well as military government consisted in a deep knowledge of other countries, which he acquired by his interviews with travellers and dervishes, so that he was fully acquainted with all the plans, manœuvres, and political movements of foreign courts and armies. He himself despatched travellers to various parts, who were ordered to lay before him the maps and descriptions of other foreign countries" (Wolff's Bokhara, p. 243).

CHAPTER XXV

THE SUCCESSORS OF TIMUR

THE method taken by Chingiz Khan 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.

Timūr'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 Timūr's death reached Samarkand, his grandson, Pir Mohammad, to whom he had bequeathed his crown, was absent in Kandahār. Khalil 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, Shah Rukh,1 who ruled Herat, 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 Khalil had been proclaimed king of Samarkand. On hearing this news he sent back one of his generals with orders to place Herat in a state of defence, while he himself continued his march towards the Oxus.

In the meantime his rivals came to terms; Sultan Khalil being left in possession of Transoxiana, while Pir Mohammad was acknowledged as his heir.2 Shah Rukh was conscious of his inability to contend against these combined forces, and he wisely resolved to secure a realm which they were not likely to dispute with him. He hastened back to Herāt and seized Khorāsān, Māzanderan, and Sistān. In A.H. 817 (1414) he added Isfahan and Shīrāz to these acquisitions, and ruled over the fairest province of Iran until his death, in A.H. 850 (1447).

Sultan Khalil possessed many admirable qualities, with no small share of the vices which are associated with every virtue. He was too lavish in gifts and in affection. Had it not been for the slavery in which he was held by his beloved mistress, Shad Mulk, the "Joy

1 Shah Rukh was Timur's favourite son. He derived his name, which means "King and Castle," from a well-known move in chess, which royal game was one of Timur's few amusements (Wolff's Bokhara, p. 244).

2 Cf. Price's Mohammedan History, iii. 492, quoting the Khulasat-ulAkhbar. As a fact, Pir Mohammad only obtained the government of Balkh, and was murdered in Kandahar in A. H. 809 (1406). Cf. De Guignes, v. 79.