Tamerlane, Turko-Mangol warrior, who ruled most of the Muslim world during 14th century. Timur (meaning iron') was born in 1336 near the city of Kesh in Transoxiania. This historic Persian city is now known as Shahrisabz in modern day Uzbekistan. Tamerlane is the European derivation of Timur’s Persian nickname, Timur-e Lang, which meansTimur the Lame’. At the age of 68, he died in 1405.
In 1941, Soviet Russian archaeologists excavated Tamerlane’s tomb, confirming that he had a debilitating hip injury and two fingers missing from his right hand.
Tamerlane coffin supposedly read: “Whoever opens my tomb shall unleash an invader more terrible than I”........
On June 20 the tomb of Tamerlane was opened and the mausoleum was filled with sharp choking odor of the mixture of resins, camphor, rose and frankincense. On June the 22nd 1941 Hitler invaded the USSR within two days of the exhumation. Many people in Samarkand related this event with the opening of the tomb. Excavation stopped immediately, bodies of Tamerlane and his relatives were sent to Moscow for further study.
Stalin was facing Hitler, a formidable enemy; as Tamerlane predicted. In early 1943 Stalin ordered an aircraft to carry the remains of Tamerlane to flew over the front line for a month to creat excitement and zeal among the Muslim fighters, descendant of Tamerlane from Central Asia fighting on the side of USSR against the Germans.
In January 1943 Stalin ordered Timur and his relatives bodies to be reburied with full honours, in February 1943 the Soviet victory at Stalingrad shortly followed.
Below is a painting, 'Doors of Timur' by famous Imperial Russian painter Vasily Vereshchagin (1841-1904), oil on canvas completed between 1871-72.