Warmatrix

Reconstruction of Tamerlane based on cranial analysis

Tamerlane is derived from the Persian "Temur-i-lang", Timur the Lame. He was a great conqueror, one of the last to come from the central Asian steppe and carve himself an empire, though failed to establish any lasting state.
Timur was born in the late 1320's CE, some distance south of Samarkand, as the son of a lesser chief of the half-Mongol, half-Turkic Barlas tribe. Their territory was part of the Mongol Chagatai khanate, which was in the process of disintegrating into two parts. He grew up with horsemanship and warfare, and at the age of 21 earned the command of an army. When Kazgan, emir of Transoxania, was murdered in 1357 CE, civil war broke out, lasting several years. Tamerlane was an important figure in the struggle, who sometimes won and sometimes lost. He became a renegade several times. Some stories tell that in this period he was wounded in his hand and leg and crippled for life; others claim that the wounds were older and suffered during an ordinary cattle raid.
In 1370 CE Timur, by clever political maneuvering, managed to come out on top and proclaimed himself "Emir el Kebir", great emir, of Samarkand. He claimed to be the successor of Genghis Khan, though there was no discernable lineage between the two men. His empire was not so large as that of Genghis Khan and he had to fight hard to secure his eastern border with Moghulistan. It was here that he established a reputation of total ruthlessness, building pyramids of skulls of slaughtered enemies. He gave extensive aid to the Mongolian prince Tokhtamysh, helping him to re-establish the Golden Horde. Timur's aim was to gain power in Russia, but later found Tokhtamysh to be a powerful enemy.
Timur's army echoed its inspiration, the Mongol army. It consisted mainly of mounted archers, the core being tribes from Transoxania, however had more foot soldiers than the traditional steppe armies. Cities supplied "sarbadar" militia and in later years he added an Indian elephant corps. Discipline and bravery were rewarded with promotion, loot and pensions. The result was a large and effective fighting force, which had an unsatiatable urge for plunder. Despite its size, under Timur's command it moved very fast, often allowing him to outmaneuver his enemies.
In 1381 CE Timur extended his power into Persia, conquering the main eastern cities and moving into Azerbaijan and Georgia, the latter under the pretext of holy war. In 1388 CE he was interrupted by Tokhtamysh, who threatened Samarkand, and was forced to divert his attention back north. He chased his adversary through winter and the harsh steppes, defeated his army at the Battle of the Kondurcha River in 1391 CE and again at the Battle of the Terek Rivier four years later. In the same period he also extended his territory in the west, conquering western Persia, Armenia and Mesopotamia. While Timur's army was victorious, in his absence cities and states revolted against his harsh rule. He reacted by burning most of them and razed Sarai, Berke Khan's old capital of the Golden Horde, to the ground. The northern trade routes were cut off and all traffic was redirected through Samarkand, which grew rich on it.
Timur was an intelligent man, a good chess player and also very adept in the political game. He used a sophisticated spy network and planned his campaigns well in advance. When he conquered, he spared artisans and scientists and sent them to his capital to make his city a marvel of opulence, which they did. But the magnificence of Samarkand was paid for with the destruction of dozens of other cities. Timur did not enjoy his city much, because he was always away on campaign. He was often in the thick of the battle and might have been killed by shah Mansur or Persia or Tokhtamysh, both of whom came very close to that.
After his Russian and Persian campaigns, already in his sixties, Timur came home to his city, though he did not rest there long. There was division and unrest in the sultanate of Delhi and he saw an opportunity. In the spring of 1398 CE, together with his army he boldly ascended the Hindu Kush mountains, battled his way through and defeated the sultan of Delhi in the autumn. In the meanwhile his western provinces revolted and he had to hurry back to take Baghdad and Damascus, fight the Mamluks and outmaneuver the Ottoman Turks. In 1404 CE the great conqueror had set his sights on China, but his health was failing. In January of the next year, already on the march towards the east, he caught pneumonia and died. After his death his empire, held together only by his martial prowess, quickly fell apart.
Timur's body was lifted from his grave in 1941 CE by Russian anthropologists. From his skeleton they learned that he was tall, of strong build and indeed crippled at the right arm and leg. Mikhail Gerasimov made a reconstruction of his face, which may be quite accurate. It is said that there was a curse inscribed on Tamerlane's tomb that predicted that when it was opened, a more terrible invader would arise. On the same day that that happened, Adolf Hitler's nazi Germany launched Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the USSR.