State administration and the military system in Amir Temur’s empire
The state had two bodies: the dargah (the supreme ruler) and the divan; the divan was headed by the divanbegi (chief minister) and included ministers for military affairs, property and taxes, and finance. Couriers and yam stations a day’s ride apart carried messages. Temur gave the uluses as suyurghal to his sons, grandsons and amirs; near his death Khorasan went to Shahrukh, western Iran and Azerbaijan to Miranshah, Fars to Umar Shaykh (later his children) and Afghanistan and India to Pir Muhammad. The army was based on a decimal system: ayl (10), qoshun (100), hazara (1,000), tümen (10,000); in battle it had a centre, right and left wings, and vanguard and reserve units. Temur’s campaigns included seven against Moghulistan in 1371–1390, the victory over Toqtamish at the Terek River on 15 April 1395, the three wars (three-, five- and seven-year) in Iran, Iraq and Syria, India in 1398–1399, and the defeat and capture of Bayezid Yildirim at Ankara on 20 July 1402. He set out against China in November 1404 and died at Otrar on 18 February 1405. The “Temur Tuzuklari” is a work linked with his name; historians debate its authorship and text.
“Army structure”: divide the class into “ayls” and “qoshuns” and arrange the scheme in the classroom.