TIMUR BEG. 
71 
massacred five thousand of the besieged,, formed a 
pile with their bodies,, and a tower with their heads, 
which had been separated from the trunks for this 
cruel purpose. The capital of Seistan likewise fell into 
the hands of the vanquisher, who, enraged at the de- 
sperate resistance which had been made, commanded 
the walls to be demolished, the houses to be levelled, 
and all the inhabitants, men, women, and children, to 
be slaughtered. The sovereign of Seistan, the gene- 
rals of his army, and governors of provinces, were 
sent prisoners to Samerkund. Several other cities 
shared the same fate : their fortifications were razed 
and their inhabitants slain. 
The career of the Jagatay sovereign was from this 
time marked with the most cruel carnage. His cha- 
racter was now fully developed : where any opposition 
was made to his victorious progress, he spared nei- 
ther sex nor age. And yet one of his historians * has 
said of him — “ He was temperate, chaste, moderate, 
attached to the duties of religion, and, notwithstanding 
the assertions of one who has written his history, not 
cruel for a conqueror.” Immediately upon the con- 
quest of Seistan followed that of Kandahar, the go- 
vernor of which was sent to the imperial camp and 
there hanged. After these successes the emperor re- 
turned to Samerkund, where a prince was soon after 
bom to him, but did not long survive his birth. 
Timur remained but three months at his capital, and 
again marched to new conquests. In the course of 
this year, 1385, having conquered Iran as far west- 
* Father Fran§ois Catrou, of the Society of Jesus. 
