Source: Ruy Gonzales de Clavijo (1336–1405), the Spanish ambassador to Timur
(a.k.a. Tarnerlane), wrote the following sometime around 1406,
following his return from Samarkand.
The richness and abundance of this great capital and its
district is such as is indeed a wonder to behold… Thus trade has always been fostered by Timur…During all his
conquests wheresoever he came he carried off the best men of the population to people
Samarqand, bringing thither together
the master-craftsmen of all nations… from Damascus he carried away with him
all the weavers of that city…craftsmen in glass and porcelain, …known to be the best in all the world… Of the nations brought
here together there were to be seen Turks, Arabs and Moors, Christians …Greeks… Armenians, Catholics, Jacobites … markets of Samarqand further are amply stored with
merchandise.
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