ABSTRACT
The encounter takes place in Samarkand, but before arriving at the center of political power, the embassy enters Kesh, Tamerlane's native city, on 28 August 1404. The narration of the sections creates a feeling of suspense in the reader; shortly before reaching the city of Samarkand, the embassy is told to wait a few more days in a nearby garden, enjoying the food brought by Tamerlane's servants, until the emperor has finished his business with other ambassadors. The text is an account of a journey undertaken in the early 15th century by a Spanish embassy to the court of Tamerlane, the conqueror of West, South, and Central Asia, at Samarkand. The report sets in on 20 May 1403 and ends three years later, on 24 March 1406, with the visit of the embassy at the court of King Henry III of Castile and Leon in Alcala de Henares.
