Latest / Tamerlane: The Conqueror Who Tried to Rebuild the Mongol Legacy — Fexingo History
Tamerlane's Captive Scientists: The Knowledge Heist That Built Samarkand
In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore how Tamerlane's conquests doubled as a massive brain-drain operation. After sacking cities like Damascus, Baghdad, and Delhi, the conqueror didn't just loot gold and silk—he kidnapped astronomers, mathematicians, architects, and poets, relocating them to Samarkand. Lucas walks through the story of Jamal al-Din, the astronomer who built the first observatory in Samarkand and mentored Ulugh Beg, Tamerlane's grandson. They discuss how the captive scientists translated Greek and Persian texts, designed the Bibi-Khanym Mosque, and created a…
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