Lands of Asia layouts (Eng) 26.11.21

part iv | migrations of cultures
de Clavijo, to further strengthen the alliance with Amir Timur and establish trade
relations. He was accompanied on the long journey by Fray Alfonso Paez de Santa
Maria, Master of Theology, and Gomez de Salazar, the king’s security guard.
They set off from the port of Santa Maria near Cadiz on 22 May 1403 and after
a long voyage Ruy Gonzáles de Clavijo and his companions arrived in the territory
of present-day Uzbekistan on 21 August the following year, having crossed the Amu
Darya near Termez. From Termez they passed through the Iron Gate and arrived in
Kesh (Shahr-i Sabz) on 28 August. The Spaniards spent two days in Kesh, visiting the
majestic palace of Amir Timur, the Ak Sarai and the Timurid tombs.
On 8 September 1404 Amir Timur received the envoys of the Spanish king in
his palace in Samarkand. After enquiring after the king’s health, Amir Timur is said
to have turned to those present saying: ‘Look at these envoys sent to me by my son,
the King of Spain, the first of all the kings among the Franks, who live at the edge of
the world. They are indeed a great people and I bless my son, the King [of Spain]. It
would be enough if he had sent you only with a letter, without gifts, as I am very glad
to learn of his health and affairs…’
The Spanish envoys remained in Samarkand for almost three months, and only
left the city on 21 November.
Upon his return to Spain, Ruy González de Clavijo completed his diary of the
journey to Samarkand, which he had apparently kept throughout the journey; some
believe, however, that he only wrote it after his return to Spain. The diary is one of the
most important sources for the history of Amir Timur’s era as it contains a wealth of
information that is absent from other descriptions. It was first published in 1582 in
Seville by Gonzalo Argote de Molina under the title Historia del gran Tamerlan (The
History of the Great Tamerlane) and it was frequently published in Spain and in other
countries such as Argentina and Japan.
The most popular edition of Clavijo’s Diary was translated by I.S. Mirokova from
its first Spanish edition, and published in Moscow in 1990. This translation has a
commentary that takes into account contemporary scholarship and is one of the best
editions of Clavijo’s diary in the world.
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