Tamerlane: Sword of Islam, Conqueror of the World - Hardcover

Marozzi, Justin

3.89

856 ratings by Goodreads

9780007116119: Tamerlane: Sword of Islam, Conqueror of the World

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 000711611X ISBN 13: 9780007116119

Publisher: HarperCollins, 2004

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A powerful account of the life of Tamerlane the Great (1336 – 1405), the last master nomadic power, one of history’s most extreme tyrants, and subject of Marlowe’s famous play. Marozzi travelled in the footsteps of the great Mogul Emperor of Samarkland to write this wonderful book which is part history, part travelogue.

The name of the last great warlord immediately conjures up images of mystery and romance: medieval wafare on desert plains; the clash of swords on snow-clad mountain; the charge of elephants across the steppes of Asia; the legendary opulence and 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 and four horses – but his dominion grew with astonishing rapidity. In the last two decades of the fourteenth century and 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 and a connection to Genghis Khan. This myth was maintained after his death in legend, folklore, poetry, drama and even opera, nowhere more powerfully than in Marlowe’s play – he is now as much a literary construct as a historical figure.

Tamerlane and his armies swept through country after country, sacking great cities and imposing his order on the vast steppes of Asia. Justin Marozzi follows in his path and evokes his legacy in telling the tale of this fabulously cruel, magnificent and romantic warrior.

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Review:

"this book is...captivating, a delightful and fortunate conjunction between the world of Temur then and that world transformed today..." -- The Spectator

'Mr Marozzi's book has a gripping tale to tell.' -- The Economist, 27 August 2004

'Mr. Marozzi's book has a gripping tale to tell...the book scores highly in its reportage' -- The Economist

'[an] illuminating biography...Justin Marozzi tries to balance our awareness of his violent character' -- The Independent

'an engaging mixture of history, travelogue and contemporary reportage...well written and skilfully put together' -- Sunday Telegraph, 8 August 2004

'excellent biography...a superbly rounded portrait of one of history's most fascinating personalities.' -- The Scotsman, 28 August 2004

'excellent...a superbly rounded and vivid portrait of one of history's most fascinating personalities.' -- Evening Standard

'illuminating biography' -- The Independent, 10 December 2004

'robust, enthusiastic and richly detailed...full of fascinating, if often gruesome, anecdotes' -- Literary Review, August 2004

'timely...illuminating' -- Financial Times

About the Author:

Justin Marozzi is contributing editor of the Spectator. He used to sell tobacco to Libya and was the Financial Times’s correspondent in the Philippines for two years. He writes regularly for the Financial Times and has also written for The Times and The Economist and broadcast for the BBC World Service and Radio Four. He is the author of South from Barbary, an account of a journey along the old slave routes of the Libyan Sahara.

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