Lamb was a writer for Adventure magazines and an excellent historical novelist, being considered an expert on the periods he wrote about. Tamerlane is a Westernization of the Persian tale of Tamer Lenk. When the baby was first born, his parents took him to a holy sheik to be blessed. As they arrived, the sheik was reading a section of the Koran with that word, and instantly upon seeing him declared that his name would be Tamuru. During his lifetime, he conquered more territory than anyone except Alexander. His rule extended from his home base in Samarkand, southern Russia down through Iran and Syria in the west and into Northern Indian the south, and eastward into the westernmost parts of China. Although at times a brutal conqueror, he was also a man of compassion and great intelligence.