Tamerlane's War with Ming China: The Unfinished Campaign

By 1404, Tamerlane had conquered from Delhi to Damascus, but one great power remained: Ming China under the Yongle Emperor. This episode explores Tamerlane's ambitious plan to invade China, how he gathered an army of 200,000, the logistical nightmare of crossing the Tian Shan and Gobi Desert, and the diplomatic dance of envoys and hostages. Why did Tamerlane fixate on the Ming? What role did the Chagatai khanates and the Silk Road play? And how did his sudden death in February 1405, on the march near Otrar, unravel the entire expedition? We also examine the legends—was Tamerlane really struck down by divine wrath, as his biographer Ibn Arabshah claimed? Using sources like the Zafarnama and Chinese Ming shilu, we separate fact from myth and ask what might have happened if the two great empires had clashed. #Tamerlane #MingChina #YongleEmperor #Otrar #SilkRoad #TimuridEmpire #ChagataiKhanate #Zafarnama #IbnArabshah #Mingshilu #TianShan #GobiDesert #Kashgar #Khitay #Mughalistan #AmirTimur #CentralAsia #FexingoHistory #Timur #MongolEmpire Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo