Timurid

Medieval Lives 4: Chen Cheng, his Travels, and his Troubles at Work

Detail from a 15th-century illustrated telling of a Nizami story, commissioned in Herat. (Met Museum)

A standalone episode on medieval diplomacy, on the travels, career, and narrative of a 14th and 15th century Ming Dynasty diplomat and administrator, and on the history around him. Chen Cheng would suffer professional setbacks outside of his control, as the the Jianwen Emperor would be replaced by the Yongle Emperor, and he would make the overland journey from China to see Shah Rukh, the son of Timur (Tamerlane), in Timurid Herat.

If you like what you hear and want to chip in to support the podcast, my Patreon is here.

Sources:

  • Hecker, Felicia J. “A Fifteenth-Century Chinese Diplomat in Herat.” Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society 3, no. 1 (1993): 85–98.

  • Rossabi, Morris. “Two Ming Envoys to Inner Asia.” T’oung Pao 62, no. 1/3 (1976): 1–34.


Abd-al-Razzāq Samarqandī 3: To Home, to Herat

1550 map of the Arabian Sea and surrounding lands - Wikimedia

1550 map of the Arabian Sea and surrounding lands - Wikimedia

The Timurid ambassador's time in India comes to an end, and he heads for home.

If you like what you hear and want to chip in to support the podcast, my Patreon is here.

Sources:

  • India in the Fifteenth Century: Being a Collection of Narratives of Voyages to India. Edited by Richard Henry Major. Hakluyt Society, 1857.

  • Alam, Muzaffar and Subrahmanyam, Sanjay. Indo-Persian Travels in the Age of Discoveries, 1400–1800. Cambridge University Press, 2007.


Abd-al-Razzaq Samarqandi 1: The Unwilling Envoy

Qāliqūṭ / Calicut as depicted in Georg Braun and Franz Hogenberg’s atlas Civitates orbis terrarum, 1572

Qāliqūṭ / Calicut as depicted in Georg Braun and Franz Hogenberg’s atlas Civitates orbis terrarum, 1572

It's 1442, and Shah Rukh, the son of Timur, is sending an ambassador to Qaliqut / Kozhikode on the Indian coast. That ambassador, Abd-al-Razzāq, sails from Hormuz and experiences delays, sickness, death, and disappointment. Making matters worse, he never actually wanted to go.

If you like what you hear and want to chip in to support the podcast, my Patreon is here.

Sources:

  • India in the Fifteenth Century: Being a Collection of Narratives of Voyages to India. Edited by Richard Henry Major. Hakluyt Society, 1857.

  • Alam, Muzaffar and Subrahmanyam, Sanjay. Indo-Persian Travels in the Age of Discoveries, 1400–1800. Cambridge University Press, 2007.

  • Prange, Sebastian R. Monsoon Islam: Trade and Faith on the Medieval Malabar Coast. Cambridge University Press, 2018.


Ruy Gonzalez de Clavijo 6: There and Back Again

Vasily Vereshchagin - The Apotheosis of War

Vasily Vereshchagin - The Apotheosis of War

The Ruy Gonzalez de Clavijo story reaches its conclusion, and so does that of Timur aka Tamerlane.

If you like what you hear and want to chip in to support the podcast, my Patreon is here, my Ko-fi is here, and Paypal is here.

Sources:

  • Narrative of the embassy of Ruy Gonzalez de Clavijo to the court of Timour at Samarcand, A.D. 1403-6, translated by Clements R. Markham. Hakluyt Society, 1859.

  • Embassy to Tamerlane: 1403-1406, translated by Guy le Strange. Routledge, 2005.

  • Ahmad ibn 'Arabshah. Tamerlane or Timur the Great Amir, translated by J. H. Sanders. Luzac & Co., 1936.

  • Manz, Beatrice Forbes. The Rise and Rule of Tamerlane. Cambridge University Press, 1999.

  • Manz, Beatrice Forbes. Power, Politics and Religion in Timurid Iran. Cambridge University Press, 2007.

  • Marozzi, Justin. Islamic Empires: Fifteen Cities that Define a Civilization. Penguin, 2019.

  • Rubiés, Joan-Pau. "Late Medieval Ambassadors And The Practice Of Cross-Cultural Encounters 1250–1450," in The ‘Book’ of Travels: Genre, Ethnology, and Pilgrimage, 1250-1700, edited by Palmira Brummett.


Ruy Gonzalez de Clavijo 5: A Season of Feasting at Samarkand

Stanisław Chlebowski - Timur and his captive Bayezid

Stanisław Chlebowski - Timur and his captive Bayezid

Our travellers from early 15th century Spain arrive at the outskirts of Samarkand and meet with their host Timur.

If you like what you hear and want to chip in to support the podcast, my Patreon is here, my Ko-fi is here, and Paypal is here.

Sources:

  • Narrative of the embassy of Ruy Gonzalez de Clavijo to the court of Timour at Samarcand, A.D. 1403-6, translated by Clements R. Markham. Hakluyt Society, 1859.

  • Embassy to Tamerlane: 1403-1406, translated by Guy le Strange. Routledge, 2005.

  • Manz, Beatrice Forbes. The Rise and Rule of Tamerlane. Cambridge University Press, 1999.

  • Manz, Beatrice Forbes. Power, Politics and Religion in Timurid Iran. Cambridge University Press, 2007.

  • Rubiés, Joan-Pau. "Late Medieval Ambassadors And The Practice Of Cross-Cultural Encounters 1250–1450," in The ‘Book’ of Travels: Genre, Ethnology, and Pilgrimage, 1250-1700, edited by Palmira Brummett.


Ruy Gonzalez de Clavijo 4: Sickness & Heat, Melons & Meat

Miran Shah - Brooklyn Museum

Miran Shah - Brooklyn Museum

Clavijo and his Castilian fellow travellers continue the journey toward Timur, cutting across northern Iran and dealing with sickness and heat. On the upside, there will be melons and a great deal of wine. There will also be visit with Timur's potentially problematic son.

If you like what you hear and want to chip in to support the podcast, my Patreon is here, my Ko-fi is here, and Paypal is here.

Sources:

  • Narrative of the embassy of Ruy Gonzalez de Clavijo to the court of Timour at Samarcand, A.D. 1403-6, translated by Clements R. Markham. Hakluyt Society, 1859.

  • Embassy to Tamerlane: 1403-1406, translated by Guy le Strange. Routledge, 2005.

  • Manz, Beatrice Forbes. The Rise and Rule of Tamerlane. Cambridge University Press, 1999.

  • Manz, Beatrice Forbes. Power, Politics and Religion in Timurid Iran. Cambridge University Press, 2007.


Ruy Gonzalez de Clavijo 3: Of the Water and the Mountains

1559 map of the Black Sea by Portuguese cartographer Diego Homem

1559 map of the Black Sea by Portuguese cartographer Diego Homem

In search of Timur, the Castilian ambassadors leave Constantinople and travel east over the Black Sea and into the mountains beyond.

If you like what you hear and want to chip in to support the podcast, my Patreon is here, my Ko-fi is here, and Paypal is here.

Sources:

  • Narrative of the embassy of Ruy Gonzalez de Clavijo to the court of Timour at Samarcand, A.D. 1403-6, translated by Clements R. Markham. Hakluyt Society, 1859.

  • Embassy to Tamerlane: 1403-1406, translated by Guy le Strange. Routledge, 2005.

  • King, Charles. The Black Sea: A History. Oxford University Press, 2005.

  • Manz, Beatrice Forbes. The Rise and Rule of Tamerlane. Cambridge University Press, 1999.


Ruy Gonzalez de Clavijo 2: Sacred Objects in the Imperial City

1608 depiction of the monuments at the Hippodrome of Constantinople - Wikimedia

1608 depiction of the monuments at the Hippodrome of Constantinople - Wikimedia

In their journey to see Timur, Clavijo and the other envoys stop in at Constantinople where we visit artifacts and sacred objects.

If you like what you hear and want to chip in to support the podcast, my Patreon is here, my Ko-fi is here, and Paypal is here.

Sources:

  • Narrative of the embassy of Ruy Gonzalez de Clavijo to the court of Timour at Samarcand, A.D. 1403-6, translated by Clements R. Markham. Hakluyt Society, 1859.

  • Embassy to Tamerlane: 1403-1406, translated by Guy le Strange. Routledge, 2005.

  • Lee, A.D. From Rome to Byzantium AD 363 to 565. Edinburgh University Press, 2013.

  • Majesca, George P. Russian Travelers to Constantinople in the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Centuries. Dumbarton Oaks, 1984.

  • Manz, Beatrice Forbes. The Rise and Rule of Tamerlane. Cambridge University Press, 1999.

  • Necipoğlu, Nevra. Byzantium Between the Ottomans and the Latins: Politics and Society in the Late Empire. Cambridge University Press, 2009.

  • Norwich, John Julius. The Middle Sea: A History of the Mediterranean. Knopf Doubleday Publishing, 2007.

  • Norwich, John Julius. A History of Venice. Penguin, 2003.

  • Stephenson, Paul. The Serpent Column: A Cultural Biography. Oxford University Press, 2016.

  • Zarinebaf, Fariba. Mediterranean Encounters: Trade and Pluralism in Early Modern Galata. University of California Press, 2018.


Ruy Gonzalez de Clavijo 1: Byzantine Entanglements

Ruy Gonzalez de Clavijo, as imagined in a 19th century engraving. Wikimedia

Ruy Gonzalez de Clavijo, as imagined in a 19th century engraving. Wikimedia

In 1403, Henry III of Castile sent ambassadors to Timur (Tamerlane), among them a man named Ruy Gonzalez de Clavijo. In this episode, we cover the context and depart from port near Cadiz, travel the length of the Mediterranean, and visit Lesbos where we spend time with the ruling family and their involvements in Byzantine imperial politics.

If you like what you hear and want to chip in to support the podcast, my Patreon is here, my Ko-fi is here, and Paypal is here.

Sources:

  • Narrative of the embassy of Ruy Gonzalez de Clavijo to the court of Timour at Samarcand, A.D. 1403-6, translated by Clements R. Markham. Hakluyt Society, 1859.

  • Embassy to Tamerlane: 1403-1406, translated by Guy le Strange. Routledge, 2005.

  • Manz, Beatrice Forbes. The Rise and Rule of Tamerlane. Cambridge University Press, 1999.

  • Necipoğlu, Nevra. Byzantium Between the Ottomans and the Latins: Politics and Society in the Late Empire. Cambridge University Press, 2009.

  • Rubiés, Joan-Pau. "Late Medieval Ambassadors and the Practice of Cross Cultural Encounters" 1250-1450," in The 'Book' of Travels: Genre, Ethnology, and Pilgrimage, 1250-1700, edited by Palmira Johnson Brummett. BRILL, 2009.

  • Wright, Christopher. The Gattilusio Lordships and the Aegean World 1355-1462. BRILL, 2014.


The Travels of Johann Schiltberger 3: Timur the Conqueror

Timur.jpg

Episode 3 is here, and it follows Johann Schiltberger on his merry way, after the Battle of Angora and into the life of Timur, the limitlessly violent Turko-Mongol conqueror. There will be pyramids of heads, flaming camels, and elephants, poisoned-scimitar wielding elephants. Timur's story is actually fascinating in itself, and we'll also look at his imperial home, Samarkand, by way of a somewhat food obsessed Castilian knight. Enjoy!

(MP3)

If you like what you hear, my Patreon is here, my Ko-fi is here, and Paypal is here.