Timur Malik

Timur Malik was one of the Tajik heroes and the leader of the defenders of Khujand during the Mongol invasion of the Khwarazmshahs. After the siege of Samarkand and its occupation, Muhammad Khwarazmshah took refuge within the current borders of Iran and on one of the islands in the southern Caspian Sea, and after that he no longer thought of organizing an anti-Mongol struggle.

After the massacre of Samarkand, the part of the Mongol army sent to occupy Khujand, although it had besieged the ancient city of the Tajiks for a long time, did not succeed in occupying it. Therefore, after the capture of Bukhara and Samarkand, a large unit of Mongol soldiers came to the aid of the besiegers of Khujand, and thus tens of thousands of Genghis' troops gathered around the city. The leadership of the defense of the city at this time was under the responsibility of Timur Malik. The defenders of the city were forced to abandon the city only when it was no longer possible to resist the enemy. They went to an island located on the Seyhun River, apparently a kilometer below the city, and took up a stronghold, and from there they continued their fight against the invaders. This island was very suitable for defense. Because it was located in a place where the enemy could not target it. When the Mongols were unable to defend Khujand against this stronghold, they decided to build a dam on the Seyhun River and thereby reach the island. For this purpose, they forced military prisoners to carry stones from the mountains and build a dam. To neutralize the enemy's arrows, Timur's soldiers covered their ships with felt and smeared them with mud. They approached the coast with such ships at night and in the morning, attacked the Mongol forces, destroyed their dam, and returned. The heroism of the defenders of Khujand is considered one of the brightest pages in the history of the Tajik people. Despite their unequal strength, they did not stop fighting against the numerous enemy troops. But when the food supply ran out, Timur was forced to leave the island. In the battle that broke out near the city of Khujand, almost all of Timur's soldiers were killed. But Timur Malik managed to escape with a few people and reach Khorezm, where the rest of the defeated army of the Khorezm Shah had gathered.

Timur Malik united all the fighting men in Khorezm and launched several military operations against the Mongol invaders. He inflicted several heavy blows on the enemy and even managed to capture the city of Yanikant, one of the largest cities in the lower reaches of the Seyhun River. However, since there was no unity and understanding between Timur and the other commanders of the Khorezm Shah, he could not expand this military success and was forced to return to Khorezm.

The Tajik writer Satim Uloghzadeh wrote a play about Timur Malik's exploits.