Timur was Barlas Turk. He belonged to the Mongol race and he had blood relations with Chinghiz Khan. He became Amir of Samarkhand in A.D. 1369 at the age of thirty-three. He was a very cruel man. It has been said that he rivaled Chinghiz Khan in cruelty and ferocity Before he invaded India he had been ceaselessly fighting for twenty-five years and thus he became successful in establishing a mighty empire from border of China to Asia Minor.
During the reign of the last Tughluq Sultan Muhammad Shah, in A.D. 1398, Timur invaded India. He crossed the Indus and having ravaged Multan and Punjab, he reached a place near Panipat. Muhammad Shah was easily defeated in the encounter that followed. The Sultan fled to Gujrat and Timur occupied Delhi. He was proclaimed the king. He stayed in the city for fifteen days and then he returned to Samarkand with immense booty.
There had been far reaching results of Timur’s invasion of India.
- First, it caused the drainage of wealth and treasures of India. Besides, thousands of women and other captives including all the skilled artisans available were carried to Samarkand.
- Secondly, the Delhi Sultan could not resist the invasion and he was easily defeated by Timur. It, therefore, clearly exposed the weakness of the Delhi Sultanate. Delhi never regained her own place until it came under the reign of the Mughal emperors.
In fact, Timur left anarchy, feminine, and pestilence behind him and dealt a severe blow to the Delhi Sultanate which hastened its decay.