Textbook
Our Pasts I, II & III (Classes 6–8)
The simplest possible start: short, illustrated and the base of countless exam questions.
Timurid Empire (Herat)
Empire
Level 2
1370 – 1507
Empire of Timur; under Shah Rukh and Husayn Bayqara, Herat became a great cultural capital.
- Capital
- Samarkand, later Herat
- Region
- Northwest
- Duration
- 137 years
- Main period
- Delhi Sultanate & Regional Kingdoms
Changing extent
Approximate extent over time (solid = latest, dashed = earlier).
At a glance
Move along the chart to read any year; click a ruler or event to open the map there.
Rulers
- Timur Amir1370 – 1405Sacked Delhi in 1398.
- Shah Rukh Sultan1405 – 1447Moved the capital to Herat.
- Husayn Bayqara Sultan1469 – 1506Patron of Bihzad and Jami.
Selected rulers; gaps in the list are not gaps in the dynasty.
📚 Recommended reading on the Timurid Empire (Herat)
Textbook
Themes in Indian History, Parts I–III (Class 12)
Source-based chapters on Harappa, Vijayanagara, the Mughal court and 1857 — essential for UPSC.
Textbook
An Introduction to Indian Art, Part I (Class 11)
The standard base for art and architecture questions — stupas, temples and sculpture.
Textbook
History of Medieval India
The go-to single volume on the Sultanate, Mughals and regional kingdoms.
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📄 Research papers
Paper🏛 Library access
Inscribing the Other, Inscribing the Self: Hindu-Muslim Identities in Pre-Colonial India
Uses Andhra inscriptions to show how identities were described in the Kakatiya and Sultanate era.
Paper🏛 Library access
Temple Desecration and Indo-Muslim States
A documented, case-by-case study of temple destruction and its political context, 1192–1760.
Paper🏛 Library access
🇮🇳 Indian scholarship
The Pursuit of Persian: Language in Mughal Politics
How Persian became the language of Mughal government and of Hindu and Muslim elites alike.
Contemporaries
Powers that coexisted with the Timurid Empire (Herat) for a significant part of its history. The bar shows when, within its own span.
Sultanate of the Maldives ★
Islands · c. 1153 – 1968
Overlap: 137 years
Malla Dynasty of Nepal ★
Himalaya · 1201 – 1769
Overlap: 137 years
Delhi Sultanate ★
North · 1206 – 1526
Overlap: 137 years
Ahom Kingdom ★
Northeast · 1228 – 1826
Overlap: 137 years
Mewar (Sisodia) ★
West · 1326 – 1949
Overlap: 137 years
Vijayanagara Empire ★
South · 1336 – 1646
Overlap: 137 years
Bahmani Sultanate ★
Deccan · 1347 – 1527
Overlap: 137 years
Kingdom of Mysore ★
South · 1399 – 1950
Overlap: 108 years
Kingdom of Kandy ★
Sri Lanka · c. 1469 – 1815
Overlap: 38 years
Eastern Ganga Dynasty
East · c. 1078 – 1434
Overlap: 64 years
Khasa Malla Kingdom
Himalaya · c. 1100 – c. 1400
Overlap: 30 years
Zamorins of Calicut
South · c. 1124 – 1766
Overlap: 137 years
Kachwahas of Amber (Jaipur)
West · c. 1128 – 1949
Overlap: 137 years
Jaffna Kingdom
Sri Lanka · c. 1215 – 1619
Overlap: 137 years
Marwar (Rathore)
West · c. 1226 – 1949
Overlap: 137 years
Kashmir Sultanate
North · 1339 – 1586
Overlap: 137 years
Samma Dynasty
Northwest · 1351 – 1524
Overlap: 137 years
Bengal Sultanate
East · 1352 – 1576
Overlap: 137 years
Malwa Sultanate
Central · 1392 – 1562
Overlap: 115 years
Jaunpur (Sharqi) Sultanate
Gangetic Plain · 1394 – 1479
Overlap: 85 years
Gujarat Sultanate
West · 1407 – 1573
Overlap: 100 years
Kingdom of Kotte
Sri Lanka · 1412 – 1597
Overlap: 95 years
Gajapati Kingdom
East · 1434 – 1541
Overlap: 73 years