Tamerlane — Lord of Destruction
His armies killed 17 million people — 5% of the 14th century world population
Tamerlane, a Turco-Mongol conqueror — artistic depiction (Image: Pinterest/@Ahmet Sağsöz)
During the summer of 1941, Josef Stalin ordered the opening of the mysterious tomb in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. The superstitious locals warned the dictator of the Soviet Union about the curse. The archeologists opened the tomb on the 20th of June 1941. The sarcophagus had the following curse written on the top:
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When I Rise From the Dead, The World Shall Tremble.
Two days later, on the 22nd of June 1941, Hitler invaded the Soviet Union. Stalin believed the curse and they returned the body to the tomb.
Who was the man able to strike the fear in the hearts of the men even from his grave?
Tamerlane — a thief who became a conqueror
Tamerlane — artistic depiction (Image: Quora/@Ahmad Abubakr)
Tamerlane was born in 1336 in Transoxiana, a modern-day Uzbekistan. His actual name was Timur, which means iron in the Chagatai language. Contrary to the popular belief, he was not a Mongol; he was a Muslim Turk.
He became the most powerful ruler of the 14th century.
In his youth, Tamerlane sustained an injury in battle, which made him disabled. He limped with the right leg and was without the two fingers on his right hand. His enemies called him the Timur-i-Lang (Timur the Lame). Europeans misspelled his nickname as the Tamerlane.
Being disabled at a time when hand-to-hand combat and mounted archery were a prerequisite of political power would have been a crushing blow to most men.
But the young Tamerlane was a natural leader, charismatic and intelligent. His inspiration was Genghis Khan, the mightiest conqueror of all times. Tamerlane wanted to rebuild the great Mongol Empire.
As a teenager, he led a band of thieves. They were stealing sheep and robbing local merchants and travelers.
Through opportunism, military skills, and trickery, Tamerlane got control over the Chagatai Khanate by 1370. The Khanate was one of the successor states of the great Mongol Empire.
The capital of the new empire was Samarkand. The wealth from military raids, and artisans, came to Samarkand. The city became one of the wealthiest capitals of the 14th century.
Tamerlane — Lord of War
The Tamerlane’s soldiers (Image: Pinterest/@Norman Miller)
In 1395, Tamerlane destroyed his former ally Tokhtamysh, the khan of the Golden Horde. His army could have conquered Moscow, but they turned around and attacked Persia.
Tamerlane was a skilled military tactician and a cruel opponent. He never lost a battle.
The Ottoman campaign (1400–1402) is the best example of his military genius.
At the end of the campaign, the Ottoman sultan became an ottoman — literally.
The Ottoman Sultan Bayezid I mocked Tamerlane by saying he was a coward. He also wrote that the Ottoman army will rape Tamerlane’s wives. Tamerlane decided to teach the Ottomans a lesson.
He invaded in 1400 with an enormous army. Bayezid withdrew from the siege of Constantinople and headed towards the invader. Tamerlane evaded the Ottomans and laid siege on Ankara.
Surprised to have Tamerlane behind his back, the sultan ordered a forced march back to the city of Ankara.
His soldiers were dying from thirst, yet they knew there was a river near the city. But when they reached the river, there was only a small trickle of water. Tamerlane’s engineers had built a dam to keep water away from the Ottoman army.
Exhausted and thirsty, the Ottomans fought against the fresh Tamerlane’s forces. In the middle of the battle, the Tartar cavalry switched sides and attacked the Ottomans. Tamerlane had contacted the Tartars months before the actual battle. He had promised them a rich reward for the betrayal of the Ottomans.
Tamerlane’s troops annihilated the Ottoman janissaries. They dragged Bayezid I back to Samarkand. The sultan died in captivity, serving as a footstool for Tamerlane to mount his horse. During the state dinners, they paraded him in an iron cage, while his wife had to serve the guests naked.
The rulers of France, England, and Spain congratulated Tamerlane for the swift win. The European kings were in awe of the force capable of the destruction of the Ottomans.
However, the Knights of Rhodes thought they could resist the mighty Tamerlane. The Knights controlled the important harbor of Smyrna (nowadays Izmir, Western Turkey).
Tamerlane sent envoys demanding surrender, but the Knights denied him. They believed Smyrna was impregnable.
In December 1402, the siege began. The fortress fell after fifteen days. Tamerlane’s soldiers butchered everyone. Once they saw the relief ships coming to Smyrna, they bombarded them with the severed heads.
The Timurid Empire at the time of the Tamerlane’s death in 1405 (Image: Pinterest)
Tamerlane — Lord of Destruction
The Apotheosis of War, the painting by Vasily Vereshchagin. (Image: Wikimedia Commons)
Tamerlane was a destroyer. Apart from beautifying his own city of Samarkand, he built nothing that would last.
The killing of the Hindus
During his march towards Delhi in 1398, Tamerlane captured 100,000 Hindu prisoners. His soldiers killed every single prisoner to avoid their revolt during the battle.
Tamerlane destroyed Delhi. The city needed almost a century to recover.
The killing of the Muslims
At first, Tamerlane left Baghdad in peace. But the leader of the city insulted Tamerlane by calling him a cripple.
In 1401, Tamerlane returned with an enormous army. After they breached the city walls, Tamerlane gave his soldiers the following order:
Each soldier had to collect two heads for the skull pyramids. To fall short of the quota meant the loss of the soldier’s own head.
They erected 120 skull towers, made of 90,000 severed heads, across the ruins of Baghdad.
Isfahan, a blooming Persian city, immediately surrendered in 1387 to Tamerlane. But they made a big mistake. They revolted and killed Tamerlane’s tax collectors and garrison. Enraged, Tamerlane ordered every man, woman, and child to be killed. His soldiers had a quota for the number of severed heads they had to collect.
They massacred the entire population of 100,000 people. A historian recorded twenty-eight towers of 1,500 skulls each before he stopped. He couldn’t count anymore because he felt disgusted by the massacre.
Tamerlane brought the children, younger than seven years, in front of the city gates. His cavalry then trampled the children, while their horrified mothers were watching. He led the execution by riding first over the children.
The soldiers killed even the cattle, the dogs, and the cats.
In 1399, he promised no bloodshed to the citizens of Sivas (in central Turkey) if they surrendered. After the citizens opened the gates, Tamerlane kept his word. He had all of the 3,000 citizens buried alive, spilling no blood.
The killing of the Christians
Tamerlane invaded also Armenia and Georgia. His soldiers killed innocent people and burned the entire cities. They took over 60,000 slaves.
Conclusion
The Gur-e-Amir, the Mausoleum of Tamerlane in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. (Image: Wikimedia Commons)
One of the cruelest warlords in history died from the common cold in 1405. He was sixty-eight years old.
His youngest son Shah Rukh succeeded the throne, but he could not maintain the vast Timurid Empire.
Tamerlane’s grand-grandson, Babur, founded the Mughal Empire in India.
The Timurid Empire diminished in 1507.
Today, Tamerlane is a hero in Uzbekistan. In Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, and India he is a villain who massacred millions.
