Spring of 1665 AD, Samarkand.

This ancient city built on a fertile oasis in Central Asia has a history of more than 2,000 years and was founded in the fifth century BC. When Alexander the Great of the Macedonian Empire occupied it in the fourth century BC, it was

I was amazed by its magnificence. In the next 1,700 years, Samarkand was the most prosperous and wealthy city in Central Asia. It was not until the arrival of Genghis Khan's army that the city suffered destruction.

Disaster!

More than a hundred years after the Mongol Empire destroyed Samarkand, Emperor Timur, who claimed to be from the Mongolian Beggar tribe and the same clan as Genghis Khan, spent countless financial and material resources to rebuild the city of Samarkand, and built a

Numerous exquisite buildings that can be handed down from generation to generation have been left in the city, making the city full of vitality again.

It is a pity that the empire left by Timur the Great did not stand on the land of Central Asia for as long as the rebuilt Samarkand. After the death of the great emperor, his empire began to decline due to the continuous civil strife, which spread to him.

His grandson Abu Said (this grandson did not succeed peacefully, but won the throne in a civil war among a group of Timur's sons and grandsons), was completely defeated by the Aries Dynasty of the Turkmen, and the empire

It also fell apart. In 1500, the newly emerged Uzbek Khanate sounded the death knell for the surviving Timur Empire, and successively occupied Bukharin and Samarkand. In 1501, the Timurid Empire in the river

The rule came to an end, and six years later, the remnants of the Timurid Empire in Khorasan were also eliminated by the Uzbek Khanate.

However, the Timurid dynasty did not completely perish due to the Uzbek attack. After Abu Said's grandson Babur lost his homeland, he went south to Afghanistan and Tianzhu to start a business, and actually opened up a Timurid dynasty in Tianzhu, which is the so-called

Mughal Empire.

And the kings of the Timurid dynasty of Tianzhu did not forget their homeland in the north just because of Tianzhu's wealth and warmth. At least before the decline of the Timur dynasty of Tianzhu, the emperors (emirs) of all dynasties had the idea of ​​regaining their old capital in their hearts.

, the dream of reviving the Timurid Empire.

This dream has finally come true in the hands of Aurangzeb!

And what helped him realize this dream was the great emperor of the Eastern Celestial Dynasty who supported him to act as a shield for the Jungar Kingdom from the West!

Aurangzeb, who liked to overestimate himself, suffered heavy losses from nomadic cavalry in his early years, so he still maintained enough sobriety and humility when attacking the Bukhara Khanate.

A total of 10 million rupees of silver coins were sent to the army of King Sengge of Jungar by thousands of camels. The piles of silver won the favor and commitment of King Sengge. Tens of thousands of Jungar Kingdom's cavalry were like a violent storm.

Same, sweeping in from Dayuzi Grassland!

This is not a traditional prairie cavalry, but a powerful army armed with matchlock guns and 6-pound cannons produced by the Ming Dynasty!

Moreover, this new army of Jungar is not only good at charging and galloping on horseback, but also able to dismount and fight in formation, and is even good at using trenches and artillery to attack cities. King Sengge has two lamas who are both civil and military, named

They are called Mingzhu Lama and Sanbao Lama. They are not only good at governing the country, but also proficient in military strategy. They are especially good at using artillery and digging trenches to attack cities. Under their command, all the strong cities of the Bukhara Khanate are vulnerable to attack.

In addition to wooing the Sengha king of Jungar, Aurangzeb also sent 5 million rupees of silver coins to Abkhazi Khan of the Khiva Khanate and bought cavalry from the Khwarezm Oasis.

In addition, Aurangzeb also scattered money on the Afghan plateau and used the rupees scraped from Asan in India to bribe many Afghan tribal leaders, making this land that had always been unruly temporarily surrendered to the war of the Timurid Empire.

Under the flag.

Finally, Aurangzeb organized a force mainly composed of Hindu Rajput cavalry and heavily recruited Qizilbash musketeers (composed of warriors from Persia and Central Asia). The number of soldiers was about

Thirty thousand elite expeditionary troops embarked on the journey.

This costly war was opposed by many people in India. Because Aurangzeb's father, Shah Jahan, had fought one before, and Aurangzeb had also served as the commander-in-chief of the former enemy, but in the end he returned defeated.

.

However, Aurangzeb defied all opinions and insisted on launching a war.

Because in his opinion, although Central Asia is a remote and remote area, elite soldiers come from remote areas! Elite soldiers from Central Asia and Afghanistan have always been the backbone of the Indian Tianfang Sect dynasty.

If the Timurid dynasty in India loses its military sources in Central Asia and Afghanistan for a long time, then its decline will be a matter of time.

In the original history, Aurangzeb was also aware of this problem, but he was unable to win over powerful enough allies, so he could only enhance the dynasty's combat effectiveness by strengthening the clear rules and precepts of Tianfang Sect... It is a pity that he

Not only were their efforts unsuccessful, they also backfired, accelerating the collapse of the Mughal dynasty.

But this time, he was lucky!

Thanks to the support of the Jungar Kingdom and the Khiva Kingdom, Aurangzeb's conquest of Bukhara went very smoothly. Within a year of sending troops, he succeeded in capturing the Tajik and Samarkand regions.

The old capital of Timur's empire has been recovered!

So from now on, Aurangzeb is no longer the Emperor of the Mughal Empire or the Emperor of Hindustan, but the real Emperor of the Timurid Empire!

The great emperor of the Timur Empire is now sitting quietly in the magnificent Tianfang Temple in front of the tomb of his ancestor Timur, without saying a word. He seems to be thinking about the great achievements of his ancestors, and he seems to be thinking.

Where will the revived Tamerlane Empire go?

Although the empire was revived, it no longer had the invincible intimidation it had during the emperor's lifetime. From all sides of the empire, there were enemies who coveted the vast and rich land it occupied.

What worries Aurangzeb most now is the situation in Hezhong. Although the Bukhara Khanate has perished, the Khiva Khanate, which has occupied the city of Bukhara, seems to be taking its place - and the people who have left Hezhong for more than 160 years

Compared with the Timurid Empire, the Khiva Khanate was easier to win the allegiance of the Uzbeks of the Bukhara Khanate.

Moreover, the Khiva Khanate also received assistance from Persia...Obviously, Abbas II of the Safi Empire of Persia, who was dying of illness, was very worried that a resurgent Timurid Empire would come to him to recover.

Lost territory (Persia was also ruled by Timur).

What troubled Aurangzeb even more was the Dzungar Kingdom in the north of Samarkand - they contributed the most in the war to destroy the Bukhara Khanate, and they were allocated the most and the best land! They took away the riches

The Fergana Basin and the Syr Darya-Chirchik River area outside the Fergana Basin are rare fertile plains suitable for farming and grazing in the middle of the river!

Unlike Aurangzeb's original imagination, the Dzungars were not just nomadic Mongols. They were good at managing cities and ruling agricultural areas.

Therefore, after seizing the fertile Fergana and Syr Darya-Chirchik River areas, they did not just grab a handful and leave. Instead, they began to occupy cities one by one. They also began to occupy land outside the cities and set up

The farms also began to distribute taxes to villages in various places.

The most hateful thing is that these Mongols are not Tianfang believers, but Buddhists. After they occupied Fergana and the Syr Darya-Chirchik River area, they began to build lamaseries and Confucian temples in the city, and began

Collect a poll tax from Tianfang believers!

Many nobles and people who were unwilling to be enslaved by the Dzungars poured into Samarkand during this period, making this once somewhat deserted famous city become overcrowded again.

The strength of Aurangzeb, the resurgent Timurid Empire, was also greatly increased by the addition of a large number of warriors from Fergana and the Syr Darya-Chilchik River region.
Chapter completed!