Foreign Relations of the Ming Dynasty with the Timurid Dynasty: Reasons, Manner, Challenges, and Consequences

Articles in Press

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 , Department of History, Faculty of Literature, Alzahra University, Tehran, Iran

2 Department of History, Faculty of Literature, Alzahra University, Tehran, Iran.

3 Department of History, Faculty of Literature, Alzahra University, Tehran, Iran

10.22108/jhr.2026.149218.2955

Abstract

The Ming and Timurid dynasties, as successors to the Mongol Empire, established a turbulent diplomatic relationship in pursuit of political legitimacy and strategic interests. Using a historical method and descriptive-analytical approach based on Chinese and Persian Timurid sources, this study addresses the following question: how did foreign relations between the Ming and Timurid dynasties unfold in terms of causes, nature, challenges, and consequences?The findings reveal that these relations can be examined in four phases: maintaining diplomatic relations at a limited level, an open-door policy and expansion of bilateral relations," "restriction of relations following internal difficulties at the Ming court, anda cautious policy in conducting relations." These phases demonstrate that both dynasties pursued political legitimacy and strategic interests through diplomacy; however, the dynamics of the relationship were transformed at each phase under the direct influence of internal developments within each power.Persian Timurid sources gradually cease to document the relationship following the death of Emperor Yongle . whereas Chinese sources explicitly state that no envoy was dispatched from the Ming side due to internal difficulties, and only Timurid representatives traveled to China though in declining numbers compared to the previous period. This narrative gap between the two written traditions reflects the asymmetrical nature of these relations; asymmetrical in that the initiative for dispatching envoys and sustaining diplomatic exchanges rested predominantly with the Timurids, not the Ming. Therefore, only through the complementary combination of Chinese and Persian sources can the pattern of diplomatic relations between the two dynasties be accurately reconstructed and analyzed.

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Historical Researches

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 19 July 2026

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