Timur, later Timūr Gurkānī, also known as Amir Timur or Tamerlane ("Timur the Lame"), was a Turco-Mongol Persianate warlord and the founder and the first monarch of the Timurid dynasty. As a military commander, he never lost a battle and is often considered one of the greatest generals and tacticians of all time. At the height of his reign, his empire stretched from modern-day Turkey to India. He was the most powerful ruler of the Muslim world of the time and led successful military campaigns against the Mamluks of Egypt and Syria, the emerging Ottoman Empire, and the declining Delhi Sultanate of India. He was also victorious against Russia, the Golden Horde, Chagatai Khanate, the Ilkhanate, and the Christian Knights Hospitaller. He was the final great nomadic conqueror of the Eurasian Steppe. His empire was the precursor of the more organised and lasting Islamic Gunpowder Empires of the 16th and 17th centuries. Timur believed himself to be the heir of the legacy of Genghis Khan and sought to replicate the latter man’s accomplishments through conquests. One of the most brutal conquerors in history, he caused the deaths of millions all over Asia. He was also a prolific patron of art and architecture and held regular interactions with intellectuals and scholars.