Overview

Overview

After his central Asian conquests in the late 1300's, Timur headed south and west. In 1401, he captured Baghdad, and in 1402 he destroyed the Turkish army that had been sent against him. He then captured Damascus and defeated Egyptian armies. Timur was now ruler of a vast empire with its heart in Turkestan. He next moved to conquer China. But before he could reach his objective, he died of fever in his camp. His empire soon fell apart.

A descendant of Timur named Babur, also spelled Babar, established a powerful Mongol state in India in 1526. Baburís realm was called the Kingdom of the Great Mughals. The term comes from the Persian word mughul, meanng Mongol. A Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan, built the beautiful Taj Mahal in the early 1600's. The British destroyed the Mughal kingdom after it had begun to break up in the 1700's.

Excerpt adapted from the "Mongol Empire" and "Timur" articles, The World Book Encyclopedia, © 1999