"Timur's hair is thick and long, reddish-grey in colour, dark brown and red being the dominating shades...Timur's beard had been short and thick. It's hairs are rough, almost straight, and rather thick; their colour is red, with a great deal of grey."Apparently historical sources describe Timur as red-haired as well, but this had been thought incorrect as Timur is generally believed to have been Oriental/Mongolian. Incidentally Fomenko contests this, believing him to be European.
Now I'm going to read Christopher Marlowe's play 'Tamburlaine the Great' to see if red hair pops up in that. I've been meaning to read it for a while now but have never gotten round to it. This has inspired me.
I am watching a series on Amazon Prime on the Silk Road. It that said he was taken out of his burial site in Sumarkand taken to Russia in 1941. They found he still had red hair.
ReplyDeleteGenghis Khan also had red hair and blue eyes. Since Timur claimed to be descended from, debated, but maybe his red hair was genetic from Khan after all. Also, he was called Tamer-Lame by enemies vs Tamerlane. That was lost in translation over time. At least according to a friend who is historian in Samarqand.
ReplyDeleteYes, history records red-hair and green eyes for Tamerlane which makes me believe he was of the Wusun tribe - European.
ReplyDelete