I.

Introduction

Tamerlane (1336-1405), Turkic ruler and conqueror, one of the greatest military campaigners in history, whose far-flung expeditions carried him from southern Russia to India, and from Central Asia to Turkey. He was born near the city of Samarqand, in what is now Uzbekistan. He was named Timur at birth; to this was later added Lang, meaning 'lame' in Persian. The name Timur Lang became, in European usage, Tamerlane (or Tamburlaine). Tamerlane was a member of the tribe of Barlas, Mongols who had accompanied 13th-century Mongol conqueror Genghis Khan and his sons on conquests of Central Asia. The tribe of Barlas settled in Transoxiana (roughly corresponding to present-day Uzbekistan) after these conquests and adopted the local Turkic tongue, as well as the religion of Islam.