Timur, having conquered Khorezm by 1381, had…

Timur, having conquered Khorezm by 1381, had initiated a successful onslaught against the rulers and peoples of the Middle East and Transcaucasia, although he has been diverted several times by military threats from Tokhtamysh, his former ally and khan of the Golden Horde.

Since the death of Abu Sa'id, ruler of the Ilkhanid Dynasty, in 1335, there has been a power vacuum in Persia.

Timur initiates his military conquest of the area with the capture of Tabriz in 1382.