Interestingly enough, Tamerlane got his full name from a accident (riding?) that left him lame. To accomplish what he did, as a 'lame' person, in his time as is nothing short of fantastic.
For some TUI (totally useless information) Tamerlane named one of his sons after the chess piece the rook. He also said their were only two activities worthy of a warrior, "Hunting and chess."
Finally, Belloc sounds a bit like an apologist for ISLAM and not an accurate historian.
RileyD, nwJ
Tamerlane was centuries later than Ghengis Khan, so he was neither the son or the grandson... Tamerlane did however claim descent from the Great Khan through the female line.
While the total area (and perhaps population) that Tamerlane conquered was indeed larger than the total area conquered by the Great Khan, Tamerlane never maintained an empire and the areas he conquered rapidly fell from his grasp. Thus, this total calculated conquered area was never under Tamerlane's control simultaneously.
The Great Khan still holds the record for the largest land empire ever assembled.
Timur the Lame had no real relation to Chinkis Khan. He fabricated a new family tree once he became ruler of Samarkhand. He did eventually marry two women descended from the Temujin.
You've got to be joking. Belloc was considered to be perhaps the greatest historian of the 20th century. He was a very devout Catholic who wrote much about Islam in his book "The Crusades", and his writings were anything but defenses of Islam. In fact, in a century that began to see relentless attacks on the Christian faith through revised history, (such as casting the Crusaders as 'evil invaders'), Belloc heroicly defended the Crusades and the Christian Faith, and accurately cast Islam, ('the Turk', as he called them), as ferocious, often merciless conquerors and warriors. The fact that he assigned intelligence to them shows how wise Belloc was; he was trying to tell his readers not to underestimate them.
His alleged "defense" of Islam was actually his brilliant insight into their core beliefs and his VAST knowledge of history. Belloc knew very well that no Medieval Christian took Islam lightly, and he knew that because of Islamic fanaticism they would one day rise again. He was right. Belloc was also correct in his observation that Islam was actually a bastardization of Christianity and Judaism. (The early Christians called the Mohmamedans 'heretics', because they adopted many Christian beliefs but rejected many others.) Belloc also correctly observed that the Christian faith was on the decline in the West. Just look to our own government today, which has made all public places off-limits to Christ the King. And look at Western society in general, which has morally deteriorated at a mind boggling rate over the last 100 years.