Tamerlane (Timur the Lame) was the last of the great barbarian/nomad warlords. Uniting the Turkish tribes of
central Asia under his command in the 14th Century, Timur conquered most of the Middle East and Northern India. Shortly before his death, he was preparing to invade China. Timur succeeded in destroying much of the
infrastructure and educated population of the Middle East (just 100 years after the Mongol invasions) leaving behind him minarets (
prayer towers) of human skulls and other grisly reminders of conquest. Since he failed to provide for his succession, his empire fell apart shortly after his death, eventually being divided between the Ottoman, Safavid and Mughal empires. While he excelled in the art of war, Tamerlane's failure to create any kind of stable administrative structure for he empire he conquered has tarnished his reputation. Much of the fatalism and backwardness of the modern Middle East is due to the brutal, short-lived conquests of Tamerlane.
