Timur’s Tomb is engraved with two inscriptions that
contribute to the myth and legend of the curse.
The first inscription is written on the tombstone, and says
“When I Rise From the Dead, The World Shall Tremble”.
The second one is located inside the tomb, and says
“whosoever disturbs My Tomb Will Unleash an Invader More Terrible than I’.
In his
lifetime he conquered and governed an empire of 4.4 million square miles (to
put that in perspective, that’s the size of the Roman Empire at its greatest)
and massacred more than 17 million people. Timur built the pyramid out of 70,000
human skulls.
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| Tomb of Timurlane |
Timur’s Tomb And World War II: His Tomb Was Opened By Stalin: The Curse Fell Upon Him
One thing that other
tombs do not have, and Timur’s have, a curse that allegedly changed the course
of World War II. When Stalin opened it, not once, but twice during the worst
war in the history of mankind. The second when he returned the remains to the
tomb. Here is how?
Stalin ordered anthropologist and historian Mikhail Gerasimov to open the Timur’s Tomb in 1941. At the time, Gerasimov was a known and popular anthropologist famous for reconstructing a face from a skull. His job was to do that with Timur’s skull, and Mikhail succeeded.
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| Tomb of Timurlane opened on June 20,1942 |
Soviets opened the Tomb on June 20, 1942. The tomb was immediately filed with odor of camphor, resin, rose and frankincense. Research showed that the odor was coming from the oils used for embalming.
Two days after the Soviets opened the Tomb, Hitler and
Nazis invaded Russia on June 22 1941.The invasion came without formal
declaration of War. The operation was known as “Operation Barbarossa”.
It is worth noting
that three elder men warned Gerasimov and the Soviets that the Tomb is cursed
and something might happen.
The men told the
Soviets that the curse takes effect after 3 days. The Soviet Union suffered
numerous defeats at the hand of Hitler. And even though the Nazi were far from
conquering Russia, they made progress.
Then, after few months, Stalin started believing in the
curse, and ordered that the remains of Timur be returned to the Tomb. Stalin
ordered that the process is done with full Islamic burial rights.
The Soviets returned the remains to the tomb in December
1942. Nearly a month later, the Nazi surrendered and Stalin won the Battle of
Stalingrad. The battle remains as one of the bloodiest in the history of
mankind, not just the World War II.
Nader Shah of Iran Too Faced The Curse
Nader Shah took away the stone adorning
Timur’s tomb. At that time, the stones that were laid on the upper side of
Islamic structures were decorated, and the actual coffin would be kept in the
lower area.
Timur’s tomb too was
adorned with an expensive stone; In 1740 Nader Shah took the stone away to Iran
where it was unfortunately broken into two parts. It is said; post this Nader
Shah’s ugly phase began. On being advised by his well wishers, Nader returned
the stone on his coffin and the situation became normal.
According to one legend, the tomb stone was brought to
Persian commander Nadir shah, who used the slab as a footing for his throne.
After that, there was an earthquake in Iran, and the shah himself was overcome
by illnesses. Nadir shah decided to put the tombstone back to it place, but
while being transported, it was broken.
Who
Was Tamerlane?
Timur was born in
1336 near the city of Kesh in Transoxiana. This historic Persian city is now
known as Shahrisabz in modern day Uzbekistan.
During his
mid-twenties, Tamerlane was crippled by injuries to his right leg and right
hand. Legend states that he was shot by arrows when his band of thieves was
ambushed by a shepherd.
It is more likely
that the injuries were sustained in battle when he was a soldier for the Khan
of Sistan (in north-east Iran).
He assumed the title of great khan in 1369, and he
immediately started a campaign to make the Mongol empire as big as it was
during the reign of Genghis Khan. One of the most horrific actions of Timur is
the pyramid he built in north India.
He lived for 68
years, building the biggest dynasty after Genghis Khan. His tomb represents and
important piece of the history and culture of the Persian-Mongolian
architecture. The tomb or the mausoleum where Timur lies is the precursor for
later architectural tombs.
During his reign, 17
million people fall victim to the Timur Dynasty. His empire spread through
Eastern Turkey, Iraq, Kuwait, Syria, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, Afghanistan,
Kazakhstan, India, Russia and Turkmenistan.
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| Human Skull Pyramid made by Timurlane |
Timur’s Invasion of India (1398-1399):
Defeats the Sultan of Delhi.
In 1398, and at the
age of 62, Timur was now a legendary conqueror with a vast territory. He turned
his army toward India in the south-east
Timur started his expedition from Kabul in August 1398 and
reached Delhi in December 1398. On his way to Delhi, he captured and looted all
the towns. Timur ordered a general massacre and plunder which continued for 15
days.
Sultan Mahmud Shah,
the last Sultan of the Tughlaq dynasty of Delhi used war elephants covered with
chain mail to terrify Timur’s troops. In a stroke of cruel genius, Timur placed
hay on the backs of camels, set the hay on fire, and prodded them until they
painfully charged at the elephants.
The elephants turned
and stampeded their own troops, granting Timur an easy victory. The population
of Delhi were massacred.
Timur started his back journey from Delhi in
January 1399. On his way he plundered Meerut, Hardwar, Kangra and Jammu. Before
leaving India, he appointed Khizr Khan as governor of Multan, Lahore and
Dipalpur.
Timur’s cruelty grew in his later years. After destroying
Delhi, he turned west. Legend states that his invasion of Baghdad (Iraq) in
1399 required each of his soldiers to show him two severed heads.
Timur Defeated Ottoman Emperor Bayezidon And
kept Him in a Gold Cage
Years of insulting letters had passed
between Timur and Bayezid. Both rulers insulted each other in their own way
while Timur preferred to undermine Bayezid's position as a ruler and play down
the significance of his military successes.
In the fateful Battle of Ankara, on 20 July 1402, the Ottoman army was defeated. Bayezid tried to escape, but was captured and taken to Timur. Sultan Bayezid was captured and dragged back to Samarkand kicking and screaming. There, he was allegedly subjected to a variety of imaginative humiliations — from Timur using him as a foots tool to being put on display in a golden cage.
When Timur saw Bayezid, he laughed. Bayezid,
offended by this laugh, told Timur that it was indecent to laugh at misfortune;
to which Timur replied: “It is clear then that fate does not value power and
possession of vast lands if it distributes them to cripples: to you, the crooked,
and to me, the lame.”
Bayezid
was the only Ottoman ever to be captured by an enemy. He died in captivity in
1403, after allegedly being kept by Timur in a golden cage as a trophy
The Biggest Mistake Of Timur: He Attacked
China In Winter.
The biggest mistake
Timur made was to try and conquer China. At the time, China was ruled by the
Ming Dynasty. The mistake was that Timur tried to conquer one of the biggest
countries in the world during winter.
Right up until his
death, Timur continued to expand his empire. The leader of the new Chinese Ming
Dynasty had insulted Timur, provoking his wrath. However, after three months of
successful battles, the campaign ended when Timur succumbed to fever and died.
Samarkand had been
trading with Ming China for a long time, but Timur had grown tired of being
treated like a vassal. For example, when a message from China arrived in 1395
calling the Ming emperor “lord of the realms of the face of the earth”
(implying he was but an earthly ruler), and treating Timur like an inferior.
He decided to detain the Chinese messengers. When China dispatched more envoys to find out what happened to them, Timur supposedly imprisoned the second batch as well.
While he normally embarked on his expeditions in the
spring, in order to take advantage of good weather, he bucked his own trend and
departed Samarkand in December 1404 with an army of approximately 200,000
troops. His chief astrologers had told him that the stars were in favourable
alignment. What could go wrong?
Unfortunately for
Timur, the stars turned out to be more favorable for China than they were for
him. He fell ill on the frosty banks of the Syr Darya River in Uzbekistan and
died at 68 years old — possibly of cold — in February 1405.
With no leader to
inspire a victory, Timur’s army decided to turn around and head back home. The
fearsome conqueror was embalmed in fragrant oils and placed in an elaborate
ivory coffin for the journey to his final resting place, in Samarkand, his
treasured city.
The End
Disclamaire :---The above historical paras are taken from various articles available on net. Blogger has no claim over this short write-up, He is thankful to all original writers. Photos too are taken from sources to add visual beauty with thanks.