Tamerlane [antikvár]

Acknowledgements I owe thanks to many people who have helped with this book in many ways. My friend Vic Hutchinson, though she did not know it at the time, got me started by giving me Jason Elliot's An Unexpected Light: Travels in Afghanistan. A tantalising line about Tamerlane set me on my path. Travels in Central Asia would have been less fruitful and interesting without the assistance of a number of people. Though they represent one of the world's more unpleasant regimes, Alisher Faizullaev, Uzbek Ambassador to the Court of St James's, and his colleague Mardon Yakubov both provided useful introductions. In Uzbekistan, I was fortunate enough to meet Eric Walberg, who was a generous guide to all things Uzbek. He repeatedly pointed me in the right direction, smoothed my path across the country, and remained a tireless source of information. This acknowledgement is a meagre reward for his uncomplaining assistance and good-hearted friendship, I would also like to thank my translator Farkhad for his patience as we pursued the trail of Tamerlane across desert, steppe and mountain. Another translator, Sabit, was invaluable in making sense of a rare and important manuscript. In Tashkent, I am grateful to the Temurid historians Professor xvu