Timur, also commonly known as Tamerlane, was a Muslim warrior who conquered Central Asia in the 14th century and was the founder of the Timurid Empire and Dynasty. Born in the City of Kesh in Transoxiana, in what is now Uzbekistan, [Page 1288]Timur was a member of the Barlas tribe, Turkic Tatars who were descendants of Genghis Khan's Mongol hordes. Though Timur was considered a Muslim, and his conquests and rule took place under the banner of Islam, his relationship with the religion was mixed. Timur believed himself to be a ghazi, or Warrior of the Faith, and felt that Islam justified the use of violence against anyone regardless of their religion. Despite his Muslim faith, many of Timur's conquests were against fellow Muslims, and ...