11 facts that you knew and did not know about Mirzo Ulugbek, the grandson of the great Sahibkiran Amir Temur, an outstanding statesman, mathematician and astronomer.

    1. The birth of Ulugbek saved the lives of many people

    In 1394, Amir Temur laid siege to the Mordin fortress in Iraq. At this time, Ulugbek was born in the Sultan's residence of Sahibkiran. Historian Sharafiddin Ali Yazdi writes in his work “Zafarnoma” that the envoy came to Amir Temur and told him good news about the birth of Ulugbek and that astrologers predicted that this grandson would become both a scientist and a ruler in the future. Sahibkiran with joy stops the siege of the Morda fortress and cancels the ransom imposed on his people.

    2. At the age of 15, grandfather Amir Temur ascended the throne

     After the ruler of Khorasan Shorukh, the fourth son of Amir Temur, was recognized as the Supreme ruler of the Timurid state in 1409, he restored the power of Sahibkiran, transferring control of the captured Maverannahr along with the Turkestan region to Ulugbek. As a teenager, Ulugbek ruled these territories, first with the help of the Shahstvo, and from the age of 19 he began to independently rule Maverannahr. During his reign, Ulugbek made 2 major military campaigns.

    3. Skillfully used military strategies

    Mirzo Ulugbek, during his first major military campaign in Mongolia in 1425, ordered each warrior to kindle a fire in five places at night so that the enemy had no idea about the number of troops. This technique used by Ulugbek is called argay ut in military art (Mongolian arga - deceit, Turkish ut - fire). It is used to exaggerate and exaggerate the number of troops in order to distract the enemy. The campaign ended with the victory of Ulugbek.

    4. Jade tombstone on the grave of his grandfather

    Representatives of the Timurid dynasty are buried in the mausoleum of Emir Guri in Samarkand. At the top of the sanctuary is Mir Sayyid Baraka, the patron of Timur, at the foot of his grave Amir Temur is buried. A blue jade tombstone carved on the grave of Timur was brought by Ulugbek during his campaign in Mongolia. Words glorifying Timur and his genealogy are carved on a stone slab. Later, Ulugbek himself was buried here.

    5. A giant tablet is installed in the Bibi-Khanum mosque

    Despite the fact that the elder wife of Amir Temur, Bibikhanum, had no children, Sahibkiran, along with his grandchildren, directly transferred Ulugbek to be raised by Bibikhanum. In Samarkand there is the Bibi-Khanum mosque, which Amir Temur built in honor of Bibikhanum.

    In the middle of the courtyard of the mosque there is a large marble plaque - special for reading the Koran, which was originally located inside the main building (in 1875, fearing the collapse of the large dome, it was removed in the center of the courtyard).

    The tablet was made in the middle of the 15th century by the decree of Ulugbek. It was written on it: "Sultan Azim, Supreme Khakan, patron of religion, envoy of the Hanafi sect, noble Sultan, ibn Sultan, Emir Mumin, Ulugbek Kuragan."

    6. Taught students even though he was a sultan

    Ulugbek built two madrasahs in Samarkand: one as part of the Registan ensemble and the other as part of the Guri Emir ensemble. Among other prominent scientists, Ulugbek himself gave lectures in each of these madrasas once a week.

    The rest of the time he devoted more to astronomical observations, work on the "Zij" and state affairs. Until recently, he was considered exclusively an astronomer and mathematician. But at the end of the 20th century, his work died many times, and it was discovered that he also wavered his pen in chapters of history, poetry and music. Ulugbek also wrote poetry.

    7. Ulugbek had a huge globe and a 50-meter sundial

    The observatory built by Mirzo Ulugbek in Samarkand in the 15th century had a large globe. It shows the boundaries of climates, mountains, deserts, seas and rivers. Consequently, the second globe in the world was made by Samarkand astronomers. After the death of Ulugbek, he was lost by fanatics. Historical sources testify that Ulugbek made a sundial 50 meters high in Samarkand. These unique clocks have not been preserved either.

    8. The epos of Ulugbek has come down to us

    The Manuscript Fund of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Academy of Sciences of Uzbekistan contains a copy of Mirzo Ulugbek's "Zizhi Koragoniy", copied by the Samarkand calligrapher Azizullo around 1439, when Ulugbek was 45 years old. The pages of the manuscript also contain Ulugbek's corrections. These patches provide information about his signature.

    9. A porcelain palace was built in Samarkand

    In the 1840, Ulugbek built a palace on Choponot hill in Samarkand, not far from Ulugbek's observatory. It is also called Porcelain because its walls are covered with porcelain.

    Ulugbek and other scientists rested here after astronomical observations and scientific research. Colored glass was used in the porch. Archaeological excavations have revealed that one of the stone tablets found at Chinnihan had the inscription "Be Happy".

    10. The son of Padarkush could not live even half of his father's life.

    Ulugbek was executed near Samarkand on October 27, 1449 at the age of 55 with the approval of his stubborn, selfish and ambitious son Abdullatif. Abdullatif, who had taken his father's throne, was also killed on May 8, 1450, at the age of 27, by Grandfather Hussein Bahodir, one of Ulugbek's prominent military leaders, after a six-month reign.

    11. Ulugbek's treasures were saved by his disciple

    A scientist from Samarkand, father of Ali Kushchi, a close student of Mirzo Ulugbek, was the head of the residence of Amir Temur. Ali was nicknamed "Kushchi" because of the crows in Ulugbek's palace. Ali Ulushbek in the preface to "Ziji Koragoniy" called Ali Kushchi "My child arjumand".

    After the death of Ulugbek, his famous library of 15,000 books in Samarkand was under threat. Ali Kushchi, known as the "Ptolemy of his time", is believed to have preserved the library. The legend says that Ali Kushchi moved most of the books in the library to the village of Hazrat Bashir near Samarkand. Soon he was forced to leave Samarkand, fleeing persecution.