Timurids

Primary culture

Uzbek (Altaic)

Capital province

Herat (446)

Government

Iqta

State religion

Sunni

Technology group

Muslim

Timurid ideas

Traditions:

+1 Diplomatic relation

+1 Land leader shock

Timurid Architecture

+1 Yearly prestige

Mantle of the Great Khan

+10% Morale of armies

Unleash the Tiger

+10% Shock damage

Chagatai Literature

+1 Yearly legitimacy

+1 Yearly horde unity

Timurid Renaissance

−5% Technology cost

Salaried Officials

+25% Domestic trade power

Reform the Diwan

−0.10 Yearly corruption

Ambition:

+5% Discipline

Shah Rukh is the supreme ruler of the Timurid Empire and the son of the great conqueror Timur.

Much has changed since the death of the Great Emir however, and his empire that once stretched from Anatolia to Delhi.

Shah Rukh has been able to keep most of Timur's empire together and patronized a thriving center of learning and arts in Herat, the pearl of Khorasan, but his reign is near its end and the aging ruler has fallen ill during the past year. In the outer provinces sons and grandsons are observing the court in Herat with great interest.

Ajam under Muhammad bin Baysonqor is already independent in all but name. In Astarabad, Khorasan, his brother Babur has built a small power base for himself, no doubt with the only goal to have a base in the coming succession struggles. Transoxiana, and Timur's own old capital Samarkand, has been left in the able hands of Ulugh Beg, son of our ruler and a great patron of the sciences and arts, while Fars is in the hands of a 12 year old prince of the dynasty.

Meanwhile the Qara Qoyunlu Federation has taken over many of the western parts of Timur's original empire and in southern Iraq the millenarian Mushasha have conquered Khuzestan and ousted the Timurid administrators from that region. The Uzbeks are continually raiding our holdings in Transoxiana and our Indian governors have been ousted from Delhi.

As 1444 draws to an end the fate of the empire seems uncertain. Should Shah Rukh recover he may well rule for a number of years yet, but the tension is tangible, every son and grandson has been waiting for the moment of the emperor's death their entire lives…

In 1444, Timur Lenk (aka Tamerlane) is long dead, but the remnants of his empire still control the Persian heartland. The Timurids are a Sunni Iqta Empire. With Cradle of Civilization, they follow the Hanafi school. Their position gives them easy access to the formation of Mughals which they can do by conquering some of Delhi and Jaunpur's starting territories.

The Timurids' starting position is precarious due to the high variation of the frequent revolts. Uniting the empire will be difficult, but will allow the Timurids to become a major player in world politics due to its powerful starting position and its access to Muslim land units.

In the beginning of the game, the Timurids have many vassals : Transoxiana, Sistan, Afghanistan, Fars and Khorasan. When Shah Rukh dies, all the vassals will have an additional 55% liberty desire due to lost modifiers, so it's difficult to maintain control over them.

Missions[edit]

Main article: Timurid missions

Timurid missions are mainly focused around conquering and vassalising its neighbours, Persia in particular should it appear.

Events[edit]

Timurid events primarily deal with the dislocation of the empire: Shah Rukh, the starting ruler of the Timurids, has a ruler modifier providing −50% liberty desire in subjects. When he dies, the powerful Timurid vassals, representing the various Timurid princes and governors, are very likely to rebel, partitioning Timur's empire.

A Gathering Storm

The aging ruler of the Timurid Empire, Shah Rukh, has been ill since the beginning of 1444. In his absence his wife, Goharshad, had taken over the daily rule of the empire but this sign of weakness has set wheels in motion among the princes that rule the Timurid provinces.

In western Iran the young prince Muhammad Baysonqor, an ambitious grandson, has started to accept taxes and tokens of loyalty from a much larger region than his assigned governorate. Having finally recovered and learned of this insolence Shah Rukh has now declared Muhammad Baysonqor a rebell and is moving to strike at him at first opportunity.
If a civil war among all sons and grandsons, like that at the end of Timurs life, is to be avoided Shah Rukh knows he must strike down any sign of rebellion harshly and quickly.

Trigger conditions

Is Timurids
Ajam exists
Ruler is Shah Rukh

Mean time to happen

1 month

Only time will tell what the other princes will do.

As long as Shah Rukh lives, as the ruler of the Timurids he will greatly reduce the liberty desire of the remaining vassal countries ruled by his sons and grandsons.^[1]

Hidden effect:

Every country that isn't the Timurids and meets one of the following conditions:
- Has the Timurid dynasty
- Owns a core of the Timurids
- Is a neighbour of the Timurids or of a country with the Timurid dynasty
Gets the event A Gathering Storm

A Gathering Storm

The aging ruler of the Timurid Empire, Shah Rukh, has been ill since the beginning of 1444. In his absence his wife, Goharshad, had taken over the daily rule of the empire but this sign of weakness has set wheels in motion among the princes that rule the Timurid provinces.

In western Iran the young prince Muhammad Baysonqor, an ambitious grandson, has started to accept taxes and tokens of loyalty from a much larger region than his assigned governorate. Having finally recovered and learned of this insolence Shah Rukh has now declared Muhammad Baysonqor a rebell and is moving to strike at him at first opportunity.
If a civil war among all sons and grandsons, like that at the end of Timurs life, is to be avoided Shah Rukh knows he must strike down any sign of rebellion harshly and quickly.

Trigger conditions None	Is triggered only by the A Gathering Storm Timurids event
Only time will tell what the other princes will do. As long as Shah Rukh lives, as the ruler of the Timurids he will greatly reduce the liberty desire of the remaining vassal countries ruled by his sons and grandsons.^[1]

Death of Shah Rukh

After a lifetime of war and iron fisted rule, Timur's heir and son, Shah Rukh, has finally passed on. His life's work has been to keep the empire his father built together, unifying it after Timur's death and then stamping out any rebellions against his own rule.
Shah Rukh brought peace to many parts of the empire and under his rule the arts and sciences have blossomed. During his last years he has been ill often, however, and his sons and cousins have used this time to prepare for the inevitable war of succession.

Trigger conditions

The country:

is the Timurids.
did not have this event before.

This event happens only once.

Is triggered only by

{{{triggered only}}}

My time has come!

We will no longer have the benefit of the reputation of Shah Rukh and the Timurid vassal princes will therefore most likely start to plot for the throne themselves.^[1]

Hidden effect:

Every country that isn't the Timurids and meets one of the following conditions:
- Has the Timurid dynasty
- Owns a core of the Timurids
- Is a neighbour of the Timurids or of a country with the Timurid dynasty
Gets the event Death of Shah Rukh

Death of Shah Rukh

After a lifetime of war and iron fisted rule, Timur's heir and son, Shah Rukh, has finally passed on. His life's work has been to keep the empire his father built together, unifying it after Timur's death and then stamping out any rebellions against his own rule.
Shah Rukh brought peace to many parts of the empire and under his rule the arts and sciences have blossomed. During his last years he has been ill often and his sons and cousins have used this time to prepare for the inevitable war of succession.

Trigger conditions

None

Is triggered only by

the Death of Shah Rukh Timurids event

Option conditions

Enabled if: Dynasty is Timurids

My time has come!

The Timurids will no longer have the benefit of the reputation of Shah Rukh and all vassal princes will therefore most likely start to plot for the throne themselves.^[1]

Enabled if: Dynasty is not Timurid

Long may they splinter.

If:

Dynasty is not Timurids
Is a monarchy, but not a tribal federation
Is not the Holy Roman Empire, the Mughals, or Persia
Culture is in the Iranian group (except azerbaijani), is Uzbehk, or is Turkmeni
Is muslim

Then:

We can now use the decision Enthrone Timurid Prince to invite a Timurid claimant to rule our country if we fulfill its requirements.

Ulugh Beg's Observatory

Our illustrious monarch, Ulugh Beg, has indicated that he desires to build a grand observatory so that Samarkand will become the center of astronomical learning for the entire world. His beliefs are summarized by the words he wishes to have carved on its walls: 'Religions rise and fall, empires crumble into dust, but the works of science are for all time'. But however noble his intentions, such projects are very costly. Should we build the observatory?

Trigger conditions

The year is before 1465 and the country:

is Transoxiana or the Timurids
Has ruler Ulugh Beg

This event happens only once.

Mean time to happen

63 months

Build it!

The country:

lose 1 years of income
gain 50 administrative power
gain 50 diplomatic power
gain 50 military power

We have neither the time nor the money for such foolishness!

The country:

lose 5 prestige.

Reformation[edit]

id

Enthrone Timurid Prince

Amir Timur once crushed all realms in this region and entrusted their rule to his relatives. Ever since they have been torn apart by the Timurid princes' lust to rule it all, and there are many princes who could yet stake their claim to Timur's empire. Some local rulers have been known to invite Timurid claimants to their states, propping them up as leaders, and using the strength Timur's name to extend their rulership over all lands he once ruled.


Potential requirements The year is before 1490. The country: does not have a ruler of the Timurid dynasty. is a monarchy but not a feudal theocracy or a tribal federation. is not the Mughals, Persia, the Holy Roman Empire or the Roman Empire. has its primary culture in the Iranian group, or it is Uzbek or Turkmeni. is not a colonial nation. is Muslim. If the country is an AI-controlled custom nation, then it is one of the following: Ajam, Transoxiana, Fars, Khorasan, Afghanistan or Yazd.^[2]	Allow The year is before 1490. The country: does not have a ruler of the Timurid dynasty. is not a subject nation. owns and cores one of the following provinces: Teheran, Isfahan, Herat, Kabul, Ferghana, Samarkand, Qom, Astarabad, and Shiraz.

Effects The country: loses 2 stability. gains 20 legitimacy. gets a ruler and a heir of the ‘Timurid’ dynasty (former heir is removed if applicable). This will make it possible for us to form the Timurid Empire.

id

Claim Timur's Legacy

As the descendant of Timur Lenk, the great conqueror of Iran, Transoxiana and Khorasan, it is our duty to reclaim his legacy. With the traditional Timurid Strongholds under our control we can at last proclaim ourselves the head of Timur's dynasty, and the leader of all of the Ghurkani princes.


Potential requirements Playing with normal or historical nations. This decision was not enacted before. The country: is not The Papal State, Holy Roman Empire, Roman Empire, Mughals, Persia, Timurids, or Arabia. is not a colonial nation. has its primary culture in the Iranian group, or it is Uzbek or Turkmeni. is Muslim. has a ruler of the Timurid dynasty. If the country is AI-controlled, then: it is not a custom nation. it is not a former colonial nation	Allow Timurids do not exist. The country: is not a subject nation other than a tributary state. is not at war. owns and cores the provinces Samarkand and Herat. owns and cores all of either one of the following sets of provinces: Isfahan, Qom, and Shiraz. Kabul, Merv, and Teheran.

Effects The country: moves its capital to Samarkand. becomes Timurids. gets new missions. leaves the Holy Roman Empire, unless it is an elector or the Emperor. changes government rank to Empire. gains 25 prestige gets country modifier “Increased Centralization” for 10 years, giving the following effects: −0.05 Monthly autonomy change +1 National unrest changes its primary culture to Uzbek. gains a permanent claim on all unowned, non-core provinces in the Persia and Khorasan regions. gains a permanent claim on all unowned, non-core provinces in the following areas: Transoxiana, Arys, Transcaspia, Khiva, Ferghana, Khuttalan, Basra, Iraq Arabi, Al Jazira, Armenia, Kurdistan, and Erzurum. gets country event “New Traditions & Ambitions”, unless it has custom ideas.

Provinces in orange must be owned and cored to reform the Timurids. All of either the red or blue provinces must be owned and cored. Shaded provinces are permanently claimed after formation.

Decisions[edit]

The Timurids, once establishing order among their disloyal vassals, are in an excellent position to form Mughals. This requires conquering most of Delhi, the country also gets Indian units which are better than Muslim (more fire pips), the country gets permanent claims on the entire Indian subcontinent, the country's rank is upgraded to empire, and finally the renamed country gets new and superior ideas and events. Alternatively, since they begin in the Altaic culture group, they could invade China and restore the Yuan dynasty, provided they switch to a Pagan or Eastern religion.

Form Mughal Empire

$MONARCH$ has begun to lay the foundation of his new empire. Although inferior in numbers, his well-disciplined troops have managed to achieve several decisive victories against the Sultans of India. The battle of $CAPITAL$ became the first great victory in a series of territorial expansions and, with time, the empire of the Mughals could stretch over the larger part of the Indian plateau.


Potential requirements The country: is not Persia, Mughals, Ottomans, or Holy Roman Empire. does not have Government reform Celestial Empire. has not been an end game nation. is in the Iranian culture group or is Turkmeni, Uzbek or Kyrgyz. is not a colonial nation. has not yet enacted this decision. If the country is AI-controlled, then: it can not be a custom nation. Mughals must not exist it can not be a former colonial nation. it must own at least 5 cities.	Allow Mughals does not exist The country: is Muslim is not at war is not a subject nation other than a tributary state. Owns one of core provinces Doaba, Lahore (507), Central Doab (524), Owns core province Delhi (522).

Effects Change country to Mughals. Move Capital to Delhi (522). Adds 1 base tax, 1 base production, 1 base manpower to Delhi (522). Become an empire. Gain a permanent claim on all not owned provinces in the Indian subcontinent. Remove all not owned cores and permanent claims in the following regions: Persia, Khorasan, Central Asia and Caucasus. Gain 25 prestige Change technology group to Indian. Change unit type to Indian. Change primary culture to Hindavi. If not a Monarchy, change government type to Monarchy Add Government Reform Indian Sultanate. If Dharma is enabled, then: adds Government Reform Mughal Diwan, adds Government Reform Mansabdari System if government reform tier 3 was previously enacted, adds Government Reform Zabt System if government reform tier 4 was previously enacted, removes Government Reform States General if previously enacted, update Mission tree to Mughal missions. If not using custom ideas, get the event ‘New Traditions & Ambitions’.

Reform Great Yuan

The heirs of Kublai Khan once ruled over all Chinese and Mongol lands. Let us rise to reclaim the legacy of the old Yuan and crush the weaker lineages that have attempted to claim the Empire that is our birthright!


Potential requirements Yuan does not exist. The country: is in the Altaic culture group. was never an end-game tag. is not Manchu. is not a colonial nation. has not yet enacted this decision. If the country is AI-controlled, then: it can not be a custom nation. it can not be a former colonial nation. it must own at least 8 cities.	Allow The country: is not at war. is not a subject nation other than a tributary state. has a stability of at least 2. owns its core provinces Xilin Gol (723), Beijing (1816), Qaraqorum (2190), and Xuanhua (2136). owns or has a non-tributary subject own all provinces of Mongol, Korchin, Khalkha, and Oirat culture. If Mandate of Heaven DLC is active and there is an Emperor of China: then the country must be Emperor of China. else the country must be an empire.

Effects If Beijing (1816): is a part of the Holy Roman Empire but the country is not a member of the HRE then Beijing (1816) leaves the HRE. the emperor of the HRE: loses 1 imperial authority. gets the opinion modifier “Removed provinces from the Empire” towards the country, worth −50 opinion with a yearly decay of 1. Beijing (1816): becomes the capital of the country. gains 1 base tax, 1 production, and 1 manpower. is renamed to Khanbaliq. has its capital renamed to Khanbaliq. The country: becomes Yuan. gets a permanent claim on every province of China, Manchuria, Mongolia, and Tibet that it does not own. gains 20 prestige. If Yuan: is a member of the Holy Roman Empire but not the emperor or an elector then all its provinces are removed from the HRE. is not using custom ideas then it gets the event ‘New Traditions & Ambitions’. Xilin Gol (723): is renamed to Xanadu. has its capital renamed to Xanadu. Xuanhua (2136): is renamed to Zhongdu. has its capital renamed to Zhongdu.

Strategy[edit]

Early steps[edit]

The Timurids are in a tough position at the start of the game. After the death of the initial ruler, all their vassals will turn rebellious. Any player wishing to succeed as the Timurids should tackle this internal problem first, or else will likely face disaster.

To make the vassals loyal, for the time being, pass the lenient taxation iqta modifier. This should make all the vassals drop below 50% liberty desire. The vassals can then be used to start the reconquest war against Ajam. The goal of this war is to take back as many cores as possible and exhaust the vassal's armies. This will decrease liberty desire of the vassals. While the war is going on, diplomats should work on improving relation with a potential ally, the vassals or fabricating claim on the next target - vassals in war can't declare independence. However if they still have high liberty desire, they will not participate actively in the war apart from defending of their own land. By building up to force limit and taking the ajam cores back, the vassals should stay loyal should the Shah die. If Transoxiana is disloyal using prestige to placate them could be used to keep them in line. Continue waging war, each successful war will generate trust in your vassals which makes them more loyal to you. After ten years the player can start integrating the vassals. The vassals of which all lands hold Timurid cores will be annexed instantly. While the annexed vassal malus of -3 diplomatic reputation does not stack, the negative modifier of -30 on other vassals does stack. Once a few vassals have been annexed, the loyalty is no longer an issue.

Uzbeks have few Transoxiana's cores which can be conquered before annexing this vassal. Note that these cores are not timurid cores, which makes the annexation procedure no longer instant.

Another possible strategy for dealing with the vassals is to simply release them one at a time, until the remaining vassals are loyal. The player can then integrate the remaining vassals, and then reconquer the vassals that were released earlier on. This should not be too difficult, and is probably the most reliable starting strategy. If the player pursues this path, try not to release Transoxiana as they will be hard to beat later on, or Sistan as the player does not start with any cores on them.

When the vassals are under control and annexed, the player has a lot of choices. If the player is successful at this, the Timurids will be a strong regional power with potential to become one of the strongest countries. By conquering Delhi the Timurids can form the Mughals, who get strong national ideas, and missions to conquer much of India alongside extra bonuses for conquering culture groups. The player could also choose to go north and conquer the steppes of Asia, or go west to try to measure up to the Ottomans.

Good option is also not to rush to form Mughals but finish the Timurids missions providing permanent claims (if any remaining). Then after forming Mughals and completion of Pacify Punjab mission, Mughals get missions providing claims on Persia and central Asia steppes (Afghan Frontier and Abu Said's Dream). Best if the player push into the west to conquer Persia, Basra and Gulf of Aden trade nodes before Ottomans will do it. Not necessarily each province but rather as quickly as possible to conquer the provinces bordering with Allepo and Crimea trade node. And start to consume Arabia. Rest of the landlocked provinces can be conquered later as Ottomans won't be able to do it.

Allies and rivals[edit]

The player should find a strong ally and sacrifice 1 dip point for exceeding the relations limit in the beginning of game. This will make Timurid's vassals less likely to declare independence war. Fortunately, the Timurids rarely have any problems securing allies as many nations around them start out with friendly attitude. Ideal choice are Ottomans which usually become a juggernaut quickly. They will be especially helpful in wars against Qara Qoyunlu and Mamluks. If the Ottomans are managed to remain a long time ally and their expansion into east is blocked, they will push into North Africa and mainly Europe. They can be used as an excellent battering ram against Russia and for increasing of warscore during wars with European colonizers or any nations buying provinces in Africa/Asia. In case Ottomans are losing their war, it is better to support them to turn warscore in their favor. Losing a war may result in a broken alliance and that can easily turn into rivalry. Fine ally might be also one of the hordes bordering Muscovy/Russia (e.g. Kazan or Great Horde), ideally a common ally with Ottomans. They will anyway need a help to criple Russia during initial wars till they become strong enough to compete Russia alone. While expanding into southeast Asia, Tibet or Mongolia, the war against protector Ming is inevitable. If Russia is not blocked from expanding into Siberia, it is just a matter of time when both superpowers start to clash, so that is the time to declare war on one of them or on Ming's tributaries.

Trade[edit]

While holding whole Persia trade node, only a little money will flow away from it (after Mughals forming, the player needs to move home trade port back to Persia). Timurids/Mughals will definitely need Trade idea group to be able to direct the trade from Basra, Gulf of Aden, Samarkand and India into Persia. An option is to push this strategy even further and conquer from Mamluks complete Red Sea coastline in Alexandria trade node. Ottomans will then not be able to colonize/buy provinces in India/Spice Islands due to huge range and disrupt player's invasion there. Samarkand is vulnerable even if holding most of centers of trade, thus conquering as much land as possible there is required in order to keep the trade flow into Persia secured. Conquest of inland Ethiopia should not be a priority. Mughals can instead keep there a vassal/march and feed it by the Ethiopian lands - e.g. sunni Funj or some of the Somalian sunni states. Conquest of Cape of Good Hope might be a a more difficult task as it will require a war against one or more European colonizers. Conquest of Alexandria and keeping the trade power is too difficult as half of Europe usually steer trade from here. Thus much easier is to hold Gulf of Aden and Basra to steer trade to Persia and collect trade in Cape of Good Hope with using enough trade ships. Most of the wealth routed from India and Spice Islands can be then securely steered and collected and not much will reach Europe.

The later game depends a lot on what paths the player decides to follow, but often a strong rival appears to challenge the supremacy of the player, and it is important to not be unprepared when this happens. Likely rivals are Russia expanding in the north, or Ottomans to the west. The Player should have strong allies by this time, and/or a powerful military themselves.

Footnotes[edit]

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 ^1.3 Shah Rukh, the starting ruler of the Timurids, has a ruler modifier providing -50% Liberty Desire in Subjects
↑ Since a custom nation won't have any of these tags, this just means it isn't an AI-controlled custom nation. Bug report.