Tamerlane's Jewish Captives and the Samarkant Megillah

Tamerlane: The Conqueror Who Tried to Rebuild the Mongol Legacy — Fexingo History · Jul 20, 2026 · 12m · transcript

In 1393, after sacking the ancient Jewish community of Hamadan, Tamerlane's army swept a particular group of captives back to Samarkand: Jewish scribes, weavers, and physicians who carried with them not only their skills but their sacred scrolls. This episode follows the story of one such scribe, Isaac ben Benjamin, who was set to work in the Timurid kitabkhana copying Persian histories — but who also secretly copied a Megillat Esther on vellum smuggled from Baghdad. We explore what life was like for Jewish artisans under Timur, the web of religious tolerance and coercion in his capital…