The younger son of Tamerlane had in Persia a kingdom, and after his father’s death came a vassal named Youssouf, who expelled Miran Shah from his kingdom. He sent to his brother Shahrukh, and asked him to help him to recover his kingdom. His brother came with eighty thousand men, and sent thirty thousand men to his brother, that he might expel the vassal, and kept to himself 42 k men. With these he marched against Youssouf, who, on learning this, went to meet him with 60 thousand men, and they fought a whole day, without either the one or the other being overcome. Then Miran Shah asked his brother, Shahrukh, to come with the rest of his people. He came. Then he fought with Youssouf and drove him away, and Miran Shah returned to his kingdom. There were also two countries that were subdued by Youssouf; the one was called Churten, the other was Lesser Armeny. Shahrukh went into these countries and conquered them, and bestowed them on his brother, and then returned into his own country, leaving, for the assistance of his brother, twenty thousand men from amongst his people, with whom I also remained.

This was Johann Schiltberger summing up the situation, and situating himself in the post-Timur Timurid Empire. As we heard last episode, Timur had died following his aborted invasion of China, and he left behind him a void which several figures rushed to occupy. His sons were there certainly, but, quite aside from competition with one another, they were not guaranteed their place in line.