# Death of Timur (1405)

URL: https://christianity-history.com/timeline/1405-death-of-timur
Location: Otrar, Central Asia
Themes: War

Timur (Tamerlane), whose campaigns across Persia, Mesopotamia and Central Asia devastated the remaining Church of the East communities, dies while preparing to invade China. By then the once vast church survives mainly in upper Mesopotamia and India. At this point in the timeline (1405), the Bishop of Rome was Pope Innocent VII (17 October 1404 – 6 November 1406).

## Why it matters
His wars completed the collapse of Asian Christianity along the Silk Road.

Pope at the time: [Pope Innocent VII](https://christianity-history.com/popes/pope-innocent-vii)

## Sources
- [Wikipedia — Timur](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timur)
- [Encyclopaedia Britannica topic lookup — Death of Timur](https://www.britannica.com/search?query=Death+of+Timur)
- [Wikipedia — Medieval Church (period overview)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Catholic_Church#Middle_Ages)