Tīmūr's ascent to the throne of his Central Asian realm followed a sequence of events whose aim was not only to establish the hero's merit and worthiness of the esteemed position, but also to show how reluctant he had been to part with the old tradition that prescribed that only Chinggis Khan's male descendants had the legitimacy to claim the seat of majesty. By the time the last Chaghatayid khan had died, Tīmūr had already secured the support of the military commanders and the Sufis. They all agreed that he should become king, but he still hesitated. A seemingly chance meeting with a 200-year-old deformed woman affected him greatly. After all, she had in her possession – courtesy of an early thirteenth-century Sufi shaykh – the original agreement between Tīmūr's ancestor, Qachulai, and the latter's brother, Qabūl (Chinggis Khan's great-grandfather), that she had been instructed to deliver to him. After further deliberation, Tīmūr was still not persuaded. He believed that he had located the real heir to the throne, a Chinggisid youth residing in a village to the east. Messengers were dispatched to fetch the boy, but despite all efforts the boy found his premature demise. On his death bed the boy implored Tīmūr to take upon himself the task of ruling the land. Tīmūr seemed moved but still not fully convinced. That night, the Prophet himself was revealed to our hero in a dream and commanded him to accept leadership.