Tamerlane, the builder of pyramids with human heads

“If I were to rise from the grave, the whole world would tremble”. The first thing one might think after this statement of intentions is that it is still a relief that the person who subscribes to this sentence is dead and, above all, well buried.The second, that it is better to leave the dead in peace, even if their lives were full of war, like that of the character we are dealing with, Tamerlà.

The Palau de la Música has just resurrected his memory by programming a strangely performed opera by Vivaldi. In reality, it is a pasticcio that includes alien arias that the author of The Four Seasons makes his own. Before accusing him of plagiarism, it is good to remember that it was an accepted practice and that invited authors were cited. There was some ethics and obviously more creative flexibility from borrowing that we all, even unconsciously, can come to practice. Nothing comes out of nothing.

Not even Tamerlane, that last great conqueror of Central Asia who sought to emulate Genghis Khan in everything, including the use of violence. Just one example: he built a pyramid with the heads of enemies. The feared warrior of the 14th century was still present in the popular imagination of the 18th century to the point of starring in four operas within a few years of each other, the most popular of which is Handel’s. The Orientalism imported by Marco Polo had not fallen into disrepair.

Tamerlane has almost disappeared from our collective memory. With Átila we already cover the quota of the leader who destroys the grass in his path. And with little grass we can stay, forgetting great names in history that are not included in educational programs. As the ancient Egyptians feared, oblivion is the true death, even if in the case of Tamerlà, from time to time it makes itself present to us musically.

The graves also contribute. His is a must-see in Samarkand. His memory then revives. How he revived his curse when Stalin, one of his admirers, commissioned the study of his remains. Hours after opening the tomb, Germany attacked Russia. In November 1942, the Red Tsar ordered that he be reburied. It was then that he retook Stalingrad. Who can resist these peeks that history gives us so that we don’t relegate it to a closed book?