Sogdiana is the oldest region of Central Asia, in the center of which the capital Marakanda grew up before our era and which later became known as Samarkand. Timur in XIV made it his capital, but he wanted it to become the capital of the whole world.
What was Samarkand like
This city was surrounded by a fortress wall with towers and a moat. Monumental buildings were built there. These buildings glorified both the country and its ruler. Therefore, the buildings were gigantic and richly decorated with tiles, openwork lattices. Poets, musicians, doctors, astronomers, historians also served to adorn Timur's court. This flattered his vanity. He did not hesitate to invite them to his place, or forcibly relocate them from the conquered countries to his capital. Timur carefully controlled how the crafts developed. He ordered that all masters be freely allowed into the territory of the state, but there was no way out for them. Architects, artists, ceramists, stonemasons, calligraphers were invited to build, but more often they were taken prisoner in foreign countries. The city was striking in its beauty. Against the backdrop of a dazzling blue sky, there were shining bright blue with rich gilding.(Kundal technique) huge, sky-high buildings. The mausoleum of Gur-Emir was built in the same style, in which the grave of Timur (Tamerlane) is located.
Timur's personality
Tamerlane (or Timur) was a brave and fearless man. He knew how to control himself and not reveal his feelings. Timur soberly and balancedly judged everything and always made well-considered decisions. These qualities of character attracted people to him. He also had great artistic taste, as evidenced by the structures erected during his time.
Appearance of the ruler
He was a tall man. His height was 1.72 m. His hair, strange as it may seem, had the color of a chestnut walnut with gray hair. The grave of Tamerlane showed such his appearance. He was lame on his right leg. But in general, according to scientists, his biological age fluctuates around fifty years, although he was 68 at the time of his death.. He has many teeth, massive and he althy bones, broad shoulders, a large volume of lungs and chest - everything shows an athlete.
The opened grave of Tamerlane (photo above) allowed M. M. Gerasimov to restore the appearance of Timur. His portrait is as accurate as can be. Timur's beard and mustache were, like his hair, thick and red.
Where Tamerlane died
Born in the foothills of modern Shakhrisab, Timur spent most of his life on campaigns. Taking after the battlesSamarkand and having established himself in it, the commander made raids towards Tashkent and brought rich booty.
Then he changed the direction of campaigns and went towards Persia and practically captured it. After that there was a struggle with the Golden Horde and campaigns against Iran and India. From everywhere, Tamerlane brought treasures to Samarkand, one of which was a huge jade slab. We will mention it below. And only when he was sixty-eight years old, he fell ill and died during a campaign against China. This happened in the cold winter of 1405. His body was embalmed and laid in a coffin, which was lined with silver brocade and made of rare ebony. In this form, Timur was taken to his capital, where Tamerlane's grave is located.
Gur Emir
The construction of the Emir's tomb was started during his lifetime in 1403, as his heir and grandson died. The construction of this monumental structure will be completed much later by his grandson Ulugbek, a scientist and poet, and not a warrior, like his grandfather.
In this still unfinished Gur-Emir, the grave of Tamerlane found a place. Later, it was covered with a jade slab, on which an epitaph was applied. We hope that now it is possible to answer the question: “Where is the grave of Tamerlane?” In Samarkand, in the tomb of the Timurids.
Who was the first to desecrate the grave
His grave has been inviolable for centuries. Only in the middle of the 18th century, the Persian khan not only set out to, but also took away the precious jade slab. She was, by all accounts,exported from Mongolia, where it came from China. And on the same day, an earthquake occurred in Iran, and the shah himself fell ill. This was the first violation of the integrity of the tomb of Tamerlane. According to legend, the spirit of Tamerlane's mentor appeared to the khan in a dream and said that the stove should be returned. Khan was scared, and he sent her back, but on the way the plate broke into 2 parts. In Samarkand, the masters carefully connected them, but the crack is still noticeable. Thus, the grave of Tamerlane, where the jade slab is located to this day, remained inviolable until the 20th century.
Works in Soviet times
No one knew exactly where Tamerlane was buried. Maybe in his homeland in Shakhrisab. There was a tomb there. Or maybe in Samarkand. It was decided to explore the huge mausoleum of Gur-Emir and excavate the tomb of Tamerlane, if it is found there. The commission was headed by the archaeologist Kary-Niyazov. It also included such cultural figures as M. M. Gerasimov, who had already created a portrait of Ivan IV, the formidable Russian Tsar, as well as the writer Aini and cameraman Kayumov.
All work began on June 16, 1941. There were many tombs, and it was decided to open them sequentially. First met the burial of the sons of Timur. Two days later - his grandchildren, including Ulugbek, who was recognized by the fact that his head was cut off from the body (and it was known that he died a violent death), and by the fact that he was buried in clothes, and not in the shroud. June 20th finally happenedthe opening of the grave of Tamerlane began. He was recognized immediately, because this skeleton had a damaged kneecap, that is, he was limping. This grave was special. On it lay not only a three-ton slab of jade, which was lifted with jacks, but also several more marble ones. They needed to be lifted with a winch, which suddenly broke down. While it was being restored, a break was announced.
In the teahouse
Operator Kayumov went to drink tea. Three old men were sitting at the dastarkhan - this is a common Samarkand picture. But suddenly one of the elders turned to the operator and said that it was dangerous to release the spirit of war from the grave.
And the legend that if you disturb the ashes of Timur, a terrible bloody war will begin, has always been around Central Asia. The old man opened an old book with Arabic text and began to read this gloomy legend. But, interestingly, for some reason Kayumov did not shoot either the book or the three elders on film. And he has no evidence other than his words. Returning to the expedition, Kayumov told about his conversation to all its members. However, work continued.
Work on opening the sarcophagus
When they opened the grave of Tamerlane, lifting three plates, they saw a massive sarcophagus under them. Intoxicating aromas of incense emanated from the burial. Suddenly, for unknown reasons, the electricity went out. It spontaneously recovered after three hours. The work continued: the bones of Tamerlane were taken out of the black coffin and put into boxes.
And the next morningThe scientists learned by radio that the war had begun. Coincidence or not, no one knows. But only after the skeleton of Tamerlane was returned to the tomb and buried with honors, and this was in March (19-20) 1942, a turning point in the war occurred. An offensive began near Stalingrad on March 19, and our troops resolutely began to liberate the territory of the Motherland.
Here is such a mystical story with amazing coincidences in dates that happened after the opening of the tomb of Tamerlane. How to deal with this is simply unknown. But the facts say we still have a lot to learn.
