Timur's army invades Anjudan, a Nizari Ismaili…
1393 CE
Timur's army invades Anjudan, a Nizari Ismaili stronghold situated near the major Shi'i centers of Qumm and Kashan in Iran, in May 1393, crippling the Ismaili village only one year after his assault on the Ismailis in Mazandaran.
The village is prepared for the attack, evidenced by its fortress and a system of underground tunnels.
Undeterred, Timur's soldiers flood the tunnels by cutting into a channel overhead.
Timur's reasons for attacking this village are not yet well-understood.
However, it has been suggested that his religious persuasions and view of himself as an executor of divine will may have contributed to his motivations.
The Persian historian Khwandamir explains that an Ismaili presence was growing more politically powerful in Persian Iraq.
A group of locals in the region was dissatisfied with this and, Khwandamir writes, these locals assembled and brought up their complaint with Timur, possibly provoking his attack on the Ismailis here.