Belt Valley times. [volume] (Armington, Mont.) 1894-1977, 1926-11-04
THE WORLDS
GREAT EVENTS
ALBERT PAYsoN TERHUNE
y Doad. Mead 3 companyl
TanaerIane


tire. stood In a chariot. drawn by five
other men. Behind the chariot. trun-
ding along In an iron cage. was a
gorgeouSly attired prisoner.
The sinister charioteer had a strong,
ugly Mongolian face. He dashed the
i've luckless men who drew his char
lot and at every lash his watching
army applauded. For he was Timour
the Lame, commonly known as Tam
erlane, conqueror OF the East. And
the five men who drew his chariot
were kings whom he had captured
and whose countries he had subdued.
The man in the cage was Bajazet. the
once mighty sultan OF Turkey.
Tamerlane was in the full glory Of
his career. He chose the foregoing
way to celebrate his achievements
In 1896 this unprepossessing. ugly
son had been born to the petty chief
Of a M0ngol tribe near Samerknnd.
The lad was brought up more as a
student than as warrior. but before
he was twenty his wild fighting blood
Genghls Khan. broke out and he
threw aside his scrolls and inkhorn
for sword and helmet.
Handicapped by lameness. In
country and age when physical per-
fectiOn counted for far more than
now, he nevertheless. by sheer force
OF character, won early laurelsf sa
general and tribal chief. on his IA
theirs death Tamerlane and his broth
er-in-law. Hussein. were chosen as
joint rulers. Tamerlane. without
hesitancy. murdered Husseln and
made himself sole chleftain. But this
by no means satisfied his boundless
ambition. He had laid out a plan Of
action worthy OF Charlemagne or
Caesar. and with his scimltar pro-
ceeded to carve his name upon the
map Of the world
He began at home $by changing the
semi-savage lawlessness of his own
people into an established. firm gov
eminent, worthy of much later day;
then started on his carefully prepared
campaign Of world conquest. Persia
was the first object OF his attack. II
Is an odd fact that nearly every great
conqueror Of early times. from Alex
ander to the Tartar. chose that pow
erful but ill.dlsciplined land as
primary goal OF his achievements.
Tamerlane swept Persia, his fiery
tribesmen carrying all before them. \
He captured the Persian king and laid
the country waste.
Cheered by his easy victory over a
country so much stronger than his
own, the Monaghan invader next sub
dued all Of Central Asia and carried |
his conquests from the Great Wall of
China to Moscow Had he been
European his first idea would doubt
less have been to conquer Europe, |
and he would have left the East for
q later expedition. But TO his Orlen-
tai mind, Asia seemed the most I'm
portant part OF the earth. II was,
perhaps, due to this notion Of Tanner
lanes that Europe was not Overrun
by the Eastern hOrdes and Western
civilization and character tinged for
ever with Orlentalism. Europe was
reserved for subsequent In
vasion - an invasion which fate
averted.
Rumors Of the wealth Of India
reached Tamerlane. In 1908 he
his vast armies thlther,
blowing a bloody furrow to the
1anges, overcoming all opposition.
and leetiRg millions Of dollars. worth
II native treasure. Here his native
cropped out more strongly
han ever before. and he. left behind
him q name for mercllessness that
ives to this day. In one Hindoo dis
riot alone be .massacred 100000 prts-
,nerH.
The Turks, under Sultan Bajazet,
we're menacing the Eastern empire.
OF this and Jealous that any
,ther man should emulate himself as
IN invader, Tamerlane hurried back
rom India and marched against the
Turkish dominions. Like an army Of
nts his countless hordes overran
turkey. selling Syria from the brave
and. on June 20. 1902.
Meeting Bajazet's army on the plain
Z Angorla. After a fercely contest
d battle TameFiane routed the Turks
nd took Bajazet prisoner. Not con-
pnt with subduing Turkey, he vented
Is hate against BaJazet In a unique
ashion. He caused q great iron cage
D be built Into this be thrust the
eaten sultan and carried him nbout
$ a sort Of human menagerie exhibit
ntlI the broken-hearted prisoner died [
{ shame. I
The conqueror next planned NAM !
10Th expedition against China. When :
e should thus have subdued the last q
sian poweFaha- would be free 70 turn 2
is attention to Europe. But. 10 i405. 3
D the eve Of the Chinese campaign, 4
E died, and the yellow peril was e
lecked.
Had Tamerlane been wholly a bar q
arian his feats would have been less
preaching in their effect on the his
,ry Of the world. But he was also a
,fron NJ eclenee and the arts. a pro q,