At the end of the fourteenth century, Tamerlan (1336-1405) appeared on the ‘international’ political scene, his Western name, derived from his Turkish nickname, Tîmûr Leng, i.e. ‘the boitous iron man’, became synonymous with war, conquest, victimisation of all kinds. From Anatolia to Herat through Baghdâd, a new dynasty is emerging in the Eastern world, replacing the descendants of Gengis Khân, confronting Ottoman and Mamelouks, denying North India and China. After...