Tamerlane was in the habit of taking his wives with him on his campaigns, as well as learned men, and it is related that when in India he had the latter placed _behind_ the women, and the women behind the army during the battles. The fear of him was so great that even after he had left Delhi prayers were said in his name in the mosque there until his death; afterwards in the name of his son. Tamerlane’s religiosity (for it can really be called by no other name) is shown in the account which he caused to be written in his Memoirs giving his reasons for the invasion of India. “My principal object in coming to Hindustan and in undergoing all this toil and hardship was to accomplish two things. The first was to war with infidels, the enemies of the Mohammedan religion; and by this religious warfare to acquire some claim to reward in the life to come. The other was a worldly object, that the army of Islam might gain something by plundering the wealth of the infidels; plunder in war is as lawful as their mother’s milk to Mussulmans who fight for their faith, and the consuming of that which is lawful is a means of grace.” The necessity for keeping his troops in good humour can be readily understood, but that the awful atrocities and unmentionable crimes committed by them, which are veiled in that last sentence, should be characterised as “a means of grace,” sounds like an unholy jest. It is impossible to ascertain with any accuracy the numbers of Tamerlane’s troops, but not only were there picked troops of some 200,000 men, but also vast numbers of irregulars, who flocked to his standard in the hope of plunder. But besides Tamerlane’s hosts of soldiers, who are said by his biographer to have idolised him, he had also hosts of artificers and workmen, for he built many palaces, mosques, and houses, of which only a comparatively small number survive the ravages of time. Clavijo describes the building of a street full of shops, which was to extend from one end of Samarkand to the other. No heed was taken of the claims of those who already were in possession; their houses were torn down, while the inmates fled with such things as they were able to snatch up and take with them. As fast as the houses were demolished others rose upon the ruins, as by enchantment, and at the end of twenty days and nights of uninterrupted labour the street was complete, and Tamerlane had it occupied forthwith by shopkeepers. The various trades were formed into guilds as in western lands apparently, and at one of the feasts given during the visit of the Spanish embassy we are told that “an amphitheatre was covered with carpets, where there were masquerades. The women were dressed like goats, others like sheep and fairies, and they ran after each other. The skinners and butchers appeared like lions and foxes, and all other tradesmen contributed specimens of their skill.”