244     IN RUSSIAN TURKESTAN
inscription," said my companion. "We have now
proved that the word wolf is incorrect, and that the
letters signify a ray of sunshine. The mistake was
owing to the ravages of time upon the first letter of
the word. The Arabic equivalent for B was formerly
read; we now read N. It is certainly much more
probable that Tamerlane should have traced his
origin to the sun than to a wolf." 1
The other tombstones were of rough unpolished
marble like those in the native burial-grounds of the
present day. Marble is as plentiful in Samarkand
as it is in some parts of Italy, but though one sees
so much of it, it is seldom polished. The most
prominent tomb after that of Tamerlane is that of
a mullah whom Tamerlane brought with him from
Afghanistan, because he attributed his successes to
the prayers of this holy man, and wished him to
continue his intercessions on his behalf. At the
head of the mullah's tomb are two poles bearing
flags and horsehair tails, the usual emblems used
to mark the spot where a saint has been laid to
rest. The walls of the chamber are decorated with
a dado of sculptured and polished sardonyx, while
the four arched recesses are decorated with stalactite
work of crumbling stucco, somewhat resembling that
of the Alhambra.
The tombs of Tamerlane's relatives lie in two
I The Nogai Tatirs have a tradition that Ghengis Khan was
born among them of a virgin by a sunbeam. See the travels of
Haxthausen, published in 1856.