Timur - Epic Music

Music and vocals by Farya Faraji. Timur, also known as Tamerlane or Timur the Lame, was a Turco-Mongol conqueror of the 14th century who built the Timurid Empire; a culturally Persianate Turco-Mongol state that ruled more or less over the region of Greater Iran. Timur saw himself as the heir to Genghis Khan, and sought to emulate him in that regard; in many ways reproducing his deeds as a great conqueror, as well as the brutality of his methods, killing millions in incredibly destructive conquests. Perhaps the most salient feature of his empire was its dual Turco-Mongol and Persian identity; like the Seljuks centuries before, they were a steppes people with Turkic roots who assimilated into the Persianate world of the area, using the Persian language as the official means of communication for their arts, literature and governance whilst retaining their Turkic (and in the case of the Timurids, also Mongolic) roots when it came to their dynastic identity. His rule saw the rise of the Timurid Renaissance, a revival of arts, literature and sciences in the Islamic world, and saw some great achievements in those fields, as well as in architecture, as evidenced by some of the mosques still seen today in Uzbekistan.

Given the rich cultural background of the subject, I decided to create a synthesis of Iranian, Central Asian and Mongolian music. The instruments are the Central Asian dombra, the Mongolian morin khuur, the Iranian tanbour, the ney, santour, kemencheh and tombak drums. The melody uses the Iranian Shur mode, as well as the Kurdi maqam, called Phrygian in Western music theory, often heard in Central Asia. A major model for this music was that of Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, which show some of the highest degree of Turkic and Iranian musical synthesis. The sung languages are Chagatay and Persian; Chagatay being the Turkic language spoken in the area. The Chagatay lyrics are taken from the Karsakpay inscription, an inscription carved in stone on April 28, 1391 by Timur, and the Persian lyrics are from the Zafarnameh, a Persian epic written by Hatefi in the 15th century, which recounts the life and deeds of Timur in a style imitating the Shahnameh, the Iranian epic of kings written by Ferdowsi which would serve as a model of high literature and kingship for most Persianate states such as the Seljuks and the Timurids.

Chagatay Turkic lyrics:
Yettı yuz yıl toqsan üçintä qoy yaznıŋ ara ay
Turannıŋ sultānı Timurbäg üç yuz miŋ çärig bilä
Bu yergä yetip bälgü bolzun tep bu obanı qopardı
Täŋri nısbat bergäy inşallah!
Täŋri ul kişikä rahmat qılğay bizni duā bıla yād qılğay!

Summer seven hundred and ninety-three, in the middle spring month of the year of the sheep,
Sultan of Turan Timur-Bey went up with three hundred thousand troops,
Reaching the area, he built this mound to have been a memorial.
God willing, the Lord would execute justice!
The Lord will have mercy to the people of the country! Yes, they will remember us with prayer!

Persian lyrics:
Vagar ātashe ghahr-ash afrookhti,
Be yek shoğle zān keshfari sookhti,

Be kooh ar (agar) ze kin sāye andākhti,
Cho yakh pishe khorshid bog dākhti!

Dam az kine oo, kas be ālam nazad,
Vagar zad, de gar dar jahān dam nazad,

If you did light the fire of his wrath,
With that one ember, you burned an entire country,

If you dared cast your shadow upon that high mountain,
Like the sun, he would melt down your mountain of ice,

If any dared tempt his anger by speaking ill of him,
Then that one would cease to exist in this world.

[faryafaraji]

Music and vocals by Farya Faraji. Please note that this is not reconstructed historical music, only modern music about those ancient cultures. Timur, also known as Tamerlane or Timur the Lame, was a Turco-Mongol conqueror of the 14th century who built the Timurid Empire; a culturally Persianate Turco-Mongol state that ruled more or less over the region of Greater Iran. Timur saw himself as the heir to Genghis Khan, and sought to emulate him in that regard; in many ways reproducing his deeds as a great conqueror, as well as the brutality of his methods, killing millions of people in incredibly destructive conquests. Perhaps the most salient feature of his empire was its dual Turco-Mongol and Persian identity; like the Seljuks centuries before, they were a steppes people with Turkic roots who assimilated into the Persianate world of the area, using the Persian language as the official means of communication for their arts, literature and governance whilst retaining their Turkic (and in the case of the Timurids, also Mongolic) roots when it came to their dynastic identity. His rule saw the rise of the Timurid Renaissance, a revival of arts, literature and sciences in the Islamic world, and saw some great achievements in those fields, as well as in architecture, as evidenced by some of the mosques still seen today in Uzbekistan.

Given the rich cultural background of the subject, I decided to create a synthesis of modern Iranian, Central Asian and Mongolian music. The instruments are the Central Asian dombra, the Mongolian morin khuur, the Iranian tanbour, the ney, santour, kemencheh and tombak drums. The melody uses the Iranian Shur mode, as well as the Kurdi maqam, called Phrygian in Western music theory, often heard in Central Asia. A major model for this music was that of Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, which show some of the highest degree of Turkic and Iranian musical synthesis. The sung languages are Chagatay and Persian; Chagatay being the Turkic language spoken in the area. The Chagatay lyrics are taken from the Karsakpay inscription, an inscription carved in stone on April 28, 1391 by Timur, and the Persian lyrics are from the Zafarnameh, a Persian epic written by Hatefi in the 15th century, which recounts the life and deeds of Timur in a style imitating the Shahnameh, the Iranian epic of kings written by Ferdowsi which would serve as a model of high literature and kingship for most Persianate states such as the Seljuks and the Timurids.

Chagatay Turkic lyrics:
Yettı yuz yıl toqsan üçintä qoy yaznıŋ ara ay
Turannıŋ sultānı Timurbäg üç yuz miŋ çärig bilä
Bu yergä yetip bälgü bolzun tep bu obanı qopardı
Täŋri nısbat bergäy inşallah!
Täŋri ul kişikä rahmat qılğay bizni duā bıla yād qılğay!

Summer seven hundred and ninety-three, in the middle spring month of the year of the sheep,
Sultan of Turan Timur-Bey went up with three hundred thousand troops,
Reaching the area, he built this mound to have been a memorial.
God willing, the Lord would execute justice!
The Lord will have mercy to the people of the country! Yes, they will remember us with prayer!

Persian lyrics:
Vagar ātashe ghahr-ash afrookhti,
Be yek shoğle zān keshfari sookhti,

Be kooh ar (agar) ze kin sāye andākhti,
Cho yakh pishe khorshid bog dākhti!

Dam az kine oo, kas be ālam nazad,
Vagar zad, de gar dar jahān dam nazad,

If you did light the fire of his wrath,
With that one ember, you burned an entire country,

If you dared cast your shadow upon that high mountain,
Like the sun, he would melt down your mountain of ice,

If any dared tempt his anger by speaking ill of him,
Then that one would cease to exist in this world.

[sbd]

Bayezid ; Why are you laughing ?
Timur ; God has left this huge world to a blind man like you and a crippled man like me!

[Al-waqwaq]

Timur, Ulug beg... once I learnt Timur Dynasty. astronomy and turk-islam culture are great. greeting from Japan.

[dannymarashi]

Turco-Mongolic and Iranian musical styles and instruments play so well together. I really love and respect the way you blend cultural influences together in writing your music. ♡

[UzbekistonBuyuk]

Selamun Aleykum JAN GARDASLARIMA, Özbegistandan 🇺🇿 ✊️

[Abdullatif-pjwq]

One turkic almost destroyed whole asia but restore his land built buildings and started reinissance named after him. His career also started with as soldier but ended with most powerful of his time, idk but as a person who come from his bloodlines whenever i heard that song i feel like i wandered somewhere in Samarkand. Thank you for that Masterpiece and love your work Farya.

[DDazai]

I am Hazara from Afghanistan and love your work. We are believed to be Turco-Mongol people who gradually mixed with local iranic populations, so that's why so many different hazara tribes can trace their lineage to different people and founding ancestors. What has always been mind blowing for me is how our dialect of Farsi Hazaragi has alot of turkic and mongol loan words and just how it kind of fused with the local farsi dialect and became our language. I know Chagatai turkic is related to uzbek and uyghur languages, but it's just fascinating to know how many generations ago my people did not even speak farsi, but rather either monoglian or a turkic language depending on the tribe you're from. I am talking alot but just fascinating to witness the synthesis of culture and music. I never knew I could relate to this kind of music. Thanks you so much for the wonderful music you share. I will always be a huge fan of your work.

[ShahanshahShahin]

This is the first time I hear someone throat-singing in Persian.

[Шоира-кн]

Buyuk wa kudratli, birorta jangda engilmagan, qahrli, mard sarkarda AmirTemur bobomiz.Ruhlari shod bulsin.Sohibqiron Amir Temur kezi kelganda marhamatli, buyuk inson.Sizlarga tashakkur. Chiroyli kushik uchun.

[morquendil]

Ağzına ve yüreğine sağlık Farya! Bir gün daha fazla şarkını spotifyda görmek dileğiyle...

[archivesoffantasy]

Timur ⚔️ Golden Horde
(Result: Timurid Victory)

Timur ⚔️ Delhi Sultanate
(Result: Timurid Victory)

Timur ⚔️ Mamluke Sultanate
(Result: Timurid Victory)

Timur ⚔️ Ottoman Empire
(Result: Timurid Victory)

[Ecthelionus]

As a Turk I feel really happy when see you publish a new Turkic song. With your compositions I can feel my ancestors deeply. Thank you so much Dear Farya!

[Yazdegerdiranyar]

I've been listening to this 100 times and I can't get enough of it. I speak both Persian and Turkish thus the song sounds legendary to me. Just imagine what a talent and knowledge it takes to combine two different musical cultures. Great job Farya! 🤍💚❤️

[TheZerech]

Wow, what a synthesis! This is fantastic, it's so cool to hear the languages contrasting, flowing along the same melodies.

These songs never fail to impress, but this one is one of the best. I flat out don't comprehend how the pace of songs can be so quick and content so diverse. Please keep it up!

[banzaiyakudza]

Я персо тюрк и живу в Узбекистане, 7 поколения ханов, клянусь Аллахом скоро мы объединим земли Турана

[dinmalikogli]

As an uzbek. It made me proud.

Edit:

Uzbek nation ..Many small Turkic tribes 92 tribes (karluk, kipchaks, jalayir, oghuz, barlas, ming, manghud, karachopan, moghul, and etc. ) and clans who shared similar culture lived in Transoxiana have taken the name Uzbek{ Öz - self, Bek - cheiftain }, after 15 th century . Most of Uzbeks are Karluks 60% .They had come to Mawarannahr( modern day Uzbekistan) during First Turkic Khaganate (Kokturk khaganate)

[johnnyrosado]

I’m Dominican and Puerto Rican Muslim im soo impressed with the Turkish Turks Seljuks Mongols etc in case I left any great warriors of Allah out.. i am in love with the culture… one day the empire will rise and honor will be restored. The darkness can not hide from the suns greatness that Allah has bestowed upon it..

[theshadowsagas]

Right now I'm worldbuilding the Otrar Khanate, an empire in my science-fantasy series that combines Mongol, Central Asian, Anatolian Turkish, and Iranian influences so this came at the perfect time!

[Lion_Hamza]

Timur spent his life leading a nearly constant military campaign. The nomadic tactics of mobility and surprise were his major weapons of attack. He was brutal to his enemies, massacring cities, and he never missed an opportunity to exploit the weakness of the adversary or to use intrigue, treachery, and alliance to serve his purposes.

[akbarxudoyberdiyev-mnko]

May God make your place paradise, great ancestor of Uzbeks. Greetings to all Turkic peoples who are the builders and owners of great countries. Great music, thank you for your creativity. No matter what anyone says about the great Amir Temur today, he is the ancestor of today's Uzbeks. The country where he was born is now Uzbekistan, the Barlos tribe, where he was born, is one of the largest Uzbek tribes in the Uzbeks, and the Chigatoi language he spoke is the basis of the modern Uzbek language. Regardless of what anyone says, he is the rightful ancestor of today's Uzbeks.