There is something darkly primal in the idea of a curse, some irrational fear deep in our subconscious that gives it power. It begs for our belief, threatening dire consequences should we refuse, even though all logic points to the contrary. Are curses real or merely a collision of coincidence and circumstance? I offer the Curse of Tamerlane.
Timur, better known as Tamerlane, was a fourteenth-century warlord and ruler of the Timurids, the last of the great nomadic empires that ravaged the Eurasian Steppes. At the zenith of his power, his empire stretched across Europe, Asia, and northern Africa, claiming over seventeen million lives. While not related to Genghis Khan, Timur considered himself an heir to Genghis’ tradition and endeavored to exceed his achievements. To that end, he was nearly successful.
In the winter of 1404, Tamerlane was poised to invade Ming China. The victory would be his crowning jewel, finally surpassing the empire of the great Genghis Khan. Fate, however, had other ideas. A brutal storm descended on the region, inundating his armies. As he waited for better weather, he contracted influenza and died, ending the Timurid campaign in China.
Before he died, Tamerlane conveyed his burial instructions to his trusted commanders, which they faithfully executed. They carried his body back to Samarkand, where his body was embalmed with rose water and fragrant spices. He was laid to rest in his family tomb with this warning inscribed upon his tomb:
“When I rise from the dead, the world will tremble.”
Inside his casket, an additional inscription read:
“Whomsoever opens my tomb shall unleash an invader more terrible than I.”
Fast forward to 1941. As was seemingly vogue among despotic tyrants at the time, Joseph Stalin sought a mystical connection with the conquerors of the ancient world. To that end, he dispatched a team of archeologists under Mikhail Mikhaylovich Gerasimov to Samarkand to open the tomb of Tamerlane. This did not go over well with the Muslim cleric caretakers of the tomb. They begged the archeologists not to desecrate the place lest they invoke a terrible curse.
Regardless, on June 20, 1941, Mikhail Mikhaylovich Gerasimov and his team proceeded with their exhumation. The entire process was meticulously performed and documented by a film crew. They started with the tombs of his family members before finally lifting the stone on Timur’s sarcophagus. Immediately, the room was filled with the smell of fragrant spices and roses, and the electric lights failed. Ignoring the inscriptions, Gerasimov packed up the remains and artifacts and had them shipped back to Moscow.
Two days later, Hitler invaded the Soviet Union in Operation Barbarossa. The campaign remains the largest and most deadly invasion in human history, claiming more than twenty-six million lives.
By November of 1942, Germany was on the cusp of conquering Russia. Joseph Stalin was desperate as the Reich closed in on Stalingrad, so he did what no skeptic would. He ordered Gerasimov to return Tamerlane’s remains to his tomb in Samarkand. Gerasimov complied, burying the remains in the Muslim tradition with full military honors. Almost instantly, Russia’s fate improved.
In a twist reminiscent of Tamerlane’s invasion of China, a brutal winter descended on Russia, inundating Hitler’s armies. History records that Stalingrad was the turning point in Operation Barbarossa, where the Soviets finally stopped Hitler’s war machine.
One could argue that Barbarossa was Hitler’s greatest blunder. That he was foolish for invading so late in the year, knowing how unforgiving the Russian winter could be, and that no curse was needed to defeat him. However, it cannot be argued that Hitler was a greater scourge and more terrible of an invader than Timur. To that end, whether you believe in his curse or not, it would be advisable to let Tamerlane rest in his tomb undisturbed.
Jason Roberts is a Seattle-based author noted for his acclaimed western horror series The Dead Wind Trilogy as well as other works of cosmic horror infused with historical fiction. His web-based series, Dark Distractions, examines paranormal mysteries, unexplained phenomena, and all things strange.
