This Extensive And Fertile Country, Now
Called Western Turkestan, Great Bucharia, Kharism, Chorassan, And Balk,
With Some Other Smaller Territories,
Is bounded on the west by the Caspian,
on the east by the Belur-tag or Imaus, on the north
By the deserts of
western Tartary, and on the south by the mountains of the Hindoo-koh, and
the desert of Margiana. The descendants of Zagatai were long considered as
the khans or sovereigns of this fair empire, which fell into civil war and
anarchy, through the divisions and subdivisions of the hordes, the
uncertain laws of succession, and the ambition of the ministers of state,
who reduced their degenerate masters to mere state puppets, and elevated or
deposed successive khans at their pleasure; and the divided and distracted
country was subjected or oppressed by the invasions of the khans of
Kashgar, who ruled over the Calmucks or Getes in eastern Turkestan, or
little Bucharia, on the cast of Imaus or the Belur-tag.
In this state of misery and depression, a new hero arose, in 1361, to
vindicate and re-establish the fame and empire of the Moguls[5]. Timour,
usually called Tamerlane, was the son of the hereditary chief of Cash, a
small but fruitful territory about forty miles to the south of Samarcand.
He was the fifth in descent from Carashar-Nevian, who had been vizir or
prime minister to Zagathai, of which sovereign Timour was descended in the
female line. After various fortunes, he in 1370, rendered himself absolute
sovereign of Transoxiana, then called Zagatai, after its first Mogul ruler;
but for some time, he affected to govern as prime minister, or general, to
a nominal khan of the house of Zingis, who served as a private officer at
the head of his family horde in the army of his servant.
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