1. Tamerlane (or Timur) was born in 1336 in a region called Transoxiana, in present-day Uzbekistan. He was the son of the head of a small Mongolian tribe called Barlas, which was part of the empire founded by the famous leader Genghis Khan – Tamerlane’s inspiration for the creation of the Timurid Empire in the future
two. As a young man, Tamerlane stole sheep. It was at this time that he suffered a notable attack: he took two arrows, one in the shoulder, the other in the waist – probably shot by a disgruntled shepherd. The young man lost movement in his right arm and leg, becoming known as Timur the Lame (or “Timur the Lame”, which would later become Tamerlane and be translated as Tamerlane)
3. As an adult, he was appointed Minister of Transoxiana. Greedy, he joined his brother-in-law, Amir Husayn, and overthrew the governor, who was above him in the hierarchy. A few years after the coup, in 1370, came the betrayal: he attacked the city Husayn commanded, ordering the death of his former ally.
4. After the conquest of the city headed by Husayn, called Balkh and located in Afghanistan, Tamerlane became a conqueror and appropriated several nearby cities. A skilled commander and politician, he was able to unite soldiers of diverse backgrounds under one banner and maintain his rule by alliances and betrayals. He was known for his intelligence and, of course, his cruelty.
Fun fact: He claimed to be rescuing the grandeur of the Mongol Empire by building his own reign
5. Tamerlane began to desire more distant frontiers. In 1383, he invaded Persia (in what is now Iran). During the next decade, while far away dominating regions of Russia and surroundings, the Persians started revolts against the Timurid Empire. He returned enraged: he decimated cities, murdered entire populations and, to top it off, built towers with the skulls of his victims.
6. In 1391, he invaded India, then commanded by Muslims. Wherever it went, the invading army decimated cities and slaughtered innocents. After destroying Delhi, the capital, Tamerlane stole dozens of elephants. These animals made the long way back to Samarkand, the capital of the empire, carrying giant stones to build a mosque in honor of the conqueror.
7. From 1401, Tamerlane turned his eyes to the present-day Middle East. He destroyed Aleppo and Damascus and took over Baghdad, Iraq, killing thousands and demolishing monuments and mosques. The emperor varied in cruelties: the vanquished could be beheaded, crucified, cemented by the waist in walls (still alive) or trampled by horses. Whoever remained was enslaved
8. The Ottoman Empire was the next conquered. In the city of Sivas, he asked the population to surrender and promised not to kill anyone. In fact, he did not kill: after surrendering, they were all buried alive. Tamerlane even kidnapped the Ottoman sultan, sparking a civil war between the heirs to the throne that lasted a decade.
9. By 1404, the head of the Timurid Empire already commanded a vast swath of Central Asia. Ambitious, he decided to invade China. But he didn’t count on a rival: the cold. He left with his army in December, winter time. He traveled for months, but fell ill halfway there and died in Otrar, Kazakhstan, in 1405. His body was taken to Samarkand
10. His tomb said: «When I rise from the tomb, the world will shake». In June 1941, it was opened by the Russians, over protests from the people, who feared a curse. Said and done: two days later, the Soviet Union was invaded by the Nazis. When he was reburied in December 1942, the German downfall began.
WHAT END DID IT TAKE?
He died in 1405 on his way to China, after more than three decades of constant battles and no major defeats. His empire, led by his children and grandchildren, did not last long after his death.
SOURCES Tamerlane books: Sword of Islam, Conqueror of the World, by Justin Marozzi, and The Rise and Rule of Tamerlane, by Beatrice Forbes Manz; Encyclopaedia Britannica, History Today and BBC websites