Zayde Antrim has a piece at Jadaliyya recalling Tamerlane's siege and looting of Damascus in 1400-1401, and its lingering imagery for Syrians and Damascenes, who have reserved the name "Timur" as a particular insult. Including one now applied, apparently, to Bashar al-Asad. It's a useful reminder of how historical events continue to resonate in today's Middle East, a theme we've often revisited in this blog.
Before Tamerlane got to Damascus,he'd razed the walls of Aleppo and destroyed much of Hama,
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