And thus bring the earth and water under our wings.”
The sentiment was given in Persian verse, and Timūr soon found a poet who could write a suitable response, when the following answer was returned:
“Place thy neck on the block of adversity, and move not thy head.
Thou canst not consider trifling a most severe misfortune.
Like the Sīmūrgh, why shouldst thou attempt to climb the mountain, Qāf?
Rather like the little sparrow, gather in thy wings and feathers and retire.”
Soon afterward Timūr approached Bagdad,[[272]] and he not only captured that city and province, but he proved to be the veritable scourge of the Orient. The country had scarcely recovered from the ravages of Genghis Khān when Timūr conquered the whole of ancient Persia, and, flushed with success, he invaded India and sacked Delhi, where he obtained the richest spoils of his campaign. It was said that he erected towers of human heads,[[273]] waded through streams of blood, and marched over the ruins of burning cities, in order to achieve his triumphs.
Such men are scarcely calculated to encourage the science of letters, but it is claimed that he was friendly to scholars, and it is certain that history was developed during this period.
HĀFIZ.
Not only history, but also poetry flourished under the rule of the Mongol conqueror.[[274]] This was the period which gave birth to the finest lyric poet of Persia, and when the great Timūr conquered Fārs and put Shah Mansūr to death, Hāfiz was in Shīrāz.