ePub Destruction And Reconstruction by General Richard Taylor in History

Description

A powerful account of the life of Tamerlane the Great (1336-1405); the last great Mongol conqueror of Central Asia; ruler of a vast empire; and one of history's most brutal tyrants Tamerlane; aka Temur-the Mongol successor to Genghis Khan-ranks with Alexander the Great as one of the world's great conquerors; yet the details of his life are scarcely known in the West. Born in obscurity and poverty; he rose to become a fierce tribal leader; and with that his dominion and power grew with astonishing speed. He blazed through Asia; razing cities to the ground. He tortured conquered inhabitants without mercy; sometimes ordering them buried alive; at other times decapitating them. Over the ruins of conquered Baghdad; Tamerlane had his soldiers erect a pyramid of 90;000 enemy heads. As he and his armies swept through Central Asia; sacking; and then rebuilding cities; Tamerlane gradually imposed an iron rule and a refined culture over a vast territory-from the steppes of Asia to the Syrian coastline. Justin Marozzi traveled in the footsteps of this fearsome emperor of Samarkand (modern-day Uzbekistan) to write this book; which is part history; part travelogue. He carefully follows the path of this infamous and enigmatic conqueror; recounting the history and the story of this cruel; cultivated; and indomitable warrior. About the Author: Justin Marozzi; a journalist; has traveled extensively throughout the Muslim world. Recently he has been on assignment in Iraq. He is the author of South from Barbary.