Editing Tokhtamysh (section)

==Initial conflict with Timur==
{{main|Tokhtamysh–Timur war}}
[[File:Battle between Timur and Toqtamish Khan, 1420-1440, possibly Herat. Topkapi H.2153.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|Battle between [[Timur]] (left) and Tokhtamysh (right), 1420–1440, possibly [[Herat]]. Topkapi H.2153.]]
In 1383, taking advantage of Timur's preoccupation with affairs in Persia, Tokhtamysh restored the Golden Horde's authority over the semi-autonomous [[Sufi dynasty|Ṣūfī Dynasty]] in [[Khwarazm]], apparently without provoking his former patron.<ref>Počekaev 2010: 164.</ref> Under pressure from his emirs to provide profitable campaigns for plunder and perhaps possessed by the traditional ambitions of his predecessors, Tokhtamysh crossed the [[Caucasus]] with a large force (5 ''tumens'', 50,000 troops) during the winter of 1384–1385, invading [[Jalayirid Sultanate|Jalayirid]] Azerbaijan. He captured the capital, [[Tabriz]], by storm and ravaged the neighboring area for ten days, before retiring with his plunder, including some 200,000 slaves, among them thousands of Armenians from the districts of [[Parskahayk]], [[Syunik (historic province)|Syunik]], and [[Nagorno-Karabakh|Artsakh]].<ref>[http://rbedrosian.com/atmi4.htm The Turco-Mongol Invasions IV, Medieval Armenian History, Turkish History, Turkey<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> Either to take advantage of Jalayirid weakness or to preempt the expansion of the Golden Horde into the area, Timur proceeded to conquer Azerbaijan in 1386. He was wintering in nearby [[Karabakh]] in 1386–1387, when Tokhtamysh crossed the mountains in the spring of 1387 and headed straight for him. Despite being taken by surprise and being nearly defeated, Timur's commanders rallied and succeeded in repelling Tokhtamysh's attack with the help of timely reinforcements led by Timur's son [[Miran Shah|Mīrān Shāh]]. Timur showed remarkable leniency to the captured warriors of Tokhtamysh, feeding and clothing them and allowing them to return home. Whether this was a sign of respect toward a royal descendant of Chinggis Khan or an attempt to defuse an unnecessary conflict on an unwanted front is unclear.<ref>Howorth 1880: 233–236; Grousset 1970: 437–438; Seleznëv 2009: 183; Počekaev 2010: 165–166 places Tokhtamysh's first invasion of Azerbaijan in 1386.</ref>

Despite his defeat and a subsequent message seeking to defuse the hostility, Tokhtamysh continued to provoke his former protector. While Timur remained in Persia, in the winter of 1387–1388, Tokhtamysh overran Central Asia, where part of his forces besieged Sawran, while another crossed Khwarazm to besiege Bukhara. Timur's commanders prepared to defend Samarqand and other towns against the expected continued advance of Tokhtamysh, and Timur himself headed back from [[Shiraz]] to Samarqand with his main forces in February 1388. Learning of the enemy's movements, Tokhtamysh's forces retreated. Timur was now convinced that a serious contest with Tokhtamysh was inevitable. He overthrew the Ṣūfī Dynasty of Khwarazm for its collusion with Tokhtamysh and razed to the ground its capital, [[Konye-Urgench|(old) Gurgānj]], in 1388. Increasingly aware that he was outmatched, Tokhtamysh sought to create an anti-Timurid coalition, reaching out to neighboring rulers (including the [[Mamluk]] sultan [[Barquq|Barqūq]]) concerned by Timur's power. Tokhtamysh attempted to take Sawran again in 1388, was driven off by Timur in the snowy January of 1389, but made another attack on Sawran later in the year. It also failed, but Tokhtamysh's forces pillaged the neighborhood and plundered the town of Yasī (now [[Turkistan (city)|Turkistan]]) before retreating to safety when Timur defeated Tokhtamysh's vanguard and crossed the Syr Darya in pursuit. Timur seized Sighnaq but then diverted his attention to Tokhtamysh's allies farther east.<ref>Howorth 1880: 236–239; Grousset 1970: 438; Seleznëv 2009: 183; Počekaev 2010; 166–170.</ref>