The author of a new history of the Mongols profiles Tamerlane, the great 14th century conqueror.
Tamerlane (Timur ‘the Lame’, c. 1327-1405) was the last major conqueror to emerge from Inner Asia. He was not himself a nomad – except insofar as he spent several decades in incessant campaigning. But the kernel of his army was made up of nomadic cavalry. Although a...