During the 16th and 17th centuries, stories circulated in Europe about the Great Tamberlane, a ruler who was known to have reigned around 1390 and had crushed the Turkish sultan. This referred to Timur the Lame (1336-1405), a Mongol ruler who conquered much of the Islamic world in the second half of the 14th century, but about whom little was known in Europe – not even that Timur himself had been Islamic.
However, the story of the defeat and capture of the Turkish sultan Bajazet or Bajezid was repeatedly told. The Great Tamberlane was said to have defeated Sultan Bajazet with the largest army ever in the bloodiest battle ever and then locked him up in an iron cage. The cruel and ruthless ruler of humble origins would have constantly humiliated the Sultan, using him as a stool to mount his horse, until Bajazet died.
Not only was this legend often told to illustrate how precarious earthly power was and how quickly one could lose all one’s wealth, but it was also a favorite story because at this time many Europeans felt threatened by the mighty Turkish empire. Bajazet’s defeat was one of the few times the Turks had been beaten and it took half a century before they became a strong threat again.
The story was also known in the Netherlands. Why the grower of this tulip decided to name his new flower ‘Den Grooten Tamberlaan‘ is unknown – perhaps the grower was familiar with Turkish tulips and felt that his new tulip surpassed those tulips from the land of the great enemy.
Van Baaren, M.C. (2020). Tamberlaan, (25×35 cm). Museum de Zwarte Tulp, Lisse.
Text: Henk Looijesteijn, Researcher Social History bij IISG Amsterdam
Ninetynine Tulips 