Tamerlane was a Turkmen Mongol conqueror, who established an empire extending from India to the Mediterranean Sea in the 15th century. Tamerlane, a European corruption of Timur Lang (“Timur the Lame”) was used because his left side was partially disabled.
He is buried in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, which has also the tomb of the Old Testament Prophet Daniel. The tomb was opened in 1941 by Soviet scientists upon Stalin’s approval. Tamerlane’s tomb was opened shortly before the German invasion of the Soviet Union, on 20 June 1941. Local leaders attempted to warn the excavation team of the “risks”. The tomb is inscribed with two warnings that read “When I Rise From the Dead, The World Shall Tremble”. Once opened another inscription was discovered: “Whosoever Disturbs My Tomb Will Unleash an Invader More Terrible than I”. Two days after the opening of the Timur’s tomb, on the night of June 22, Nazi Germany, without declaring war, invaded the Soviet Union. When Stalin ordered to return of the remains of Temur, the USSR won the Stalingrad battle and the war situation changed.