The Ancient Curse that Kicked Off WW2

In the middle of the thirteen hundreds a warlord who walked with a limp and was missing two of his fingers killed a shocking 17 million people with an army that was armed with little more than swords and spears. You would be forgiven if you know next to nothing about Timur (also known as Tamerlane in Western history books), since most American history books barely include him as a footnote, but he was without a doubt one of the most ferocious conquerers in history. All told, his rein resulted in the deaths of a full 5% of the world population while also propelling the world in an unprecedented golden age of scientific knowledge and artistic exploration. In other words, he was kind of a big deal.

A few week's ago I was listening to a podcast about Timur's life (called, unimaginatively The Timur Podcast) which happened to mention a curse that supposedly haunted his tomb in Samarkand. Stalin violated the mausoleum just a few days before the Nazis invaded the Soviet Union. Then, when Stalin started feeling superstitious and restored the site from the desecration he causes, Russian forces turned the tide of the battle for Stalingrad and World War 2 in general.

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The Timur Podcast
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