A powerful account of the life of Tamerlane the Great (1336-1405), the last master nomadic power, one of history`s most extreme tyrants, & the subject of Marlowe`s famous play. Marozzi travelled in the footsteps of the great Mogul Emperor of Samarkland to write this wonderful combination of history & travelogue. The name of the last great warlord conjures up images of mystery & romance: medieval warfare on desert plains; the clash of swords on snow-clad mountains; the charge of elephants across the steppes of Asia; the legendary opulence & cruelty of the illiterate, chess-playing nemesis of Asia. He ranks alongside Alexander as one of the world`s great conquerors, yet the details of his life are scarcely known in the West. He was not born to a distinguished family, nor did he find his apprenticeship easy
- at one point his mobile army consisted only of himself, his wife, seven companions & four horses
- but his dominion grew with astonishing rapidity. In the last two decades of the fourteenth century & the beginning of the fifteenth, he blazed through Asia. Cities were razed to the ground, inhabitants tortured without mercy, sometimes enemies were buried alive
- more commonly they were decapitated. On the ruins of Baghdad, Tamerlane had his princes erect a pyramid of 90, 000 heads. During his lifetime he sought to foster a personal myth, exaggerating the difficulties of his youth, laying claim to supernatural powers & a connection to Genghis Khan. This myth was maintained after his death in legend, folklore, poetry, drama & even opera, nowhere more powerfully than in Marlowe`s play
- he is now as much a literary construct as a historical figure. Justin Marozzi follows in his path & evokes his legacy in telling the tale of this fabulously cruel, magnificent & romantic warrior.