Watching the news coverage of the two young terrorist bombers in Boston, I kept wondering if one of them wasn't trying to live up to his namesake. Our more western-oriented European-oriented education tend to neglect the figure of Tamerlane, who launched military campaigns that killed millions (an estimated 5% of the world population at the time) and who converted people to Islam by the sword. We need to know the cultures and history of the whole world; we are a global society.We need to embrace more of our global diversity, not try to hide from it or fight against it (as the right wing nuts argue we should do, being composed almost entirely of crazy old white guys).
For those of our readers who don't recognize the name of the historic Tamerlane (or Tamerlan, as the older brother of the two brothers was named), here is the thumbnail info courtesy of Wikipedia:
Timur, Tarmashirin Khan, Emir Timur (Persian: تیمور Timūr, Chagatai: Temür "iron"; 9 April 1336 – 18 February 1405), historically known as Tamerlane[1] (from Persian: تيمور لنگ, Timūr-e Lang, Aksak Timur "Timur the Lame" in Turkish), was a Turkic ruler.[2][3][4] He conquered West, South and Central Asia and founded the Timurid dynasty. He was the grandfather of Ulugh Beg, who ruled Central Asia from 1411 to 1449,[5][6][7] and the great-great-great-grandfather of Babur Beg, founder of the Mughal Empire, which ruled South Asia for centuries.[8][9][10][11][12]
Timur envisioned the restoration of the Mongol Empire of Genghis Khan.[13] Unlike his predecessors Timur was also a devout Muslim who referred to himself as the Sword of Islam, converting nearly all the Borjigin leaders to Islam during his lifetime.[14] His armies were inclusively multi-ethnic. During his lifetime Timur would emerge as the most powerful ruler in the Muslim world after defeating the Mamluks of Egypt and Syria, the emerging Ottoman Empire and the declining Sultanate of Delhi. Timur had also decisively defeated the Christian Knights Hospitaller at Smyrna; styling himself a Ghazi.[15] By the end of his reign Timur had also gained complete control over all the remnants of the Chagatai Khanate, Ilkhanate, Golden Horde and even attempted to restore the Yuan dynasty.[citation needed]
Timur's armies were feared throughout Asia, Africa, and Europe,[16] sizable parts of which were laid to ruin by his campaigns.[17] Scholars estimate that his military campaigns caused the deaths of 17 million people, amounting to about 5% of the world population.[18][19]
On the other hand, Timur is also recognized as a great patron of art and architecture, as he interacted with Muslim intellectuals such as Ibn Khaldun and Hafiz-i Abru.[20]read more here
