opening defense statement for tamerlane
...r Lenk united the belligerent Turkish-Mongols by conquest and extended his rule over most of the Middle East. Timur Lenk’s capital, Samarkand, was a wealthy trading and craft center that boasted magnificent mosques and tombs that rivaled those of Baghdad, Damascus, and Makkah. He was a great conqueror. The Macedonians had Alexander the great as their great conqueror. The Mongols had Genghis Khan. The Jews had the conqueror Davd. The French would have Napolean. And the people of Samarkand would have Timur Lenk. After hearing the prosecution, you think you know, but you don’t. Before concluding that Timur Lenk was a ruthless, merciless ruler, I must point out that you must not believe all of what you read and/or hear. Until you’ve actually witnessed, and judg...