Issues:
Sections:
Issue 96
HISTORY, ARCHAEOLOGY, ETHNOGRAPHY
UDK: 94(470.67)
THE WORKS "ZAFAR-NAMEH" ("THE BOOK OF VICTORIES") BY NIZAM AL-DIN SHAMI AND SHEREF AL-DIN YAZDI AS THE MAIN HISTORICAL SOURCE ON TIMUR'S CAMPAIGNS IN DAGHESTAN IN 1395-1396
The article is devoted to the analysis of information about the Timur's campaigns in Daghestan, available in the works of Nizam al-din Shami and Sheref al-din Yazdi, published under the same name "Zafar-nameh" ("Book of Victories"). But first, brief information about the authors is given and it is indicated when and in connection with what their works were written. It is noted that the works of Nizam al-din Shami and Sheref al-din Yazdi are the main historical source on the campaigns of the Central Asian conqueror in Daghestan in 1395-1396, although they are biased and written in the spirit of praising Timur, glorifying his victories and silencing the struggle of the Daghestani peoples and their successes in the fight against the conquerors. Practically, in the works of these authors, although briefly, almost all the events related to the arrival of Timur with his numerous army in Daghestan in 1395 and ending with his departure in 1396 after the completion of the campaign in the mountainous societies and possessions (Central Daghestan) and the foothills are given. They contain information about the possessions and villages ("fortresses", "territories", "regions") where the conquerors came, their actions in these "fortresses", "territories" and "regions", indicating their names, which makes it possible to trace the routes of the Timur conquerors to various parts of Daghestan. It is emphasized that the main purpose of the Timur's campaign, as indicated in the Zafar-nameh, in Gorny (Central) Daghestan was the destruction of the Christian center of the Dargins - Uskudzha (Uskisha-Usisha). It is shown that the conquerors rampaged wherever they went, ravaging, destroying villages, robbing residents, killing and taking them captive. The authors of "Zafar-nameh" did not hide it. They described the atrocities, pogroms, and robberies of the Timurites as great deeds, just like Timur's victories, which, according to their description, he won everywhere and every time. It is noted that they did not write about Timur's failures, we learn about them only from folk legends. Both authors practically write about the same events, since Sheref al-din Yazdi's work-plan is "fully accepted" from Nizam al-din Shami's Zafar-nameh, although Sheref al-din Yazdi used other works when composing his work, and oral reports of Timur's contemporaries and participants of his campaigns. Therefore, in the latter's work, the events related to the Timur's campaigns in various regions (parts) and societies of Daghestan are given more fully.
Pages: 61 - 71
Date: 30.03.2025