TIMUR (te-mor'), called also TIMUR BEG and Timurt LENK (that is, Timur the Lame), and, by corruption, TAMERLANE, a celebrated Oriental conqueror, of Mon gol or Tartar race; born in the territory of Kesh, near Samarcand, in 1336. His ancestors were chiefs of the district, and Timur by his energy and abilities raised himself to be ruler of all Turkestan (1370). By degrees he conquered Persia and the whole of Central Asia, and ex tended his power from the great wall of China to Moscow. He invaded India (1398), which he conquered from the Indus to the mouths of the Ganges, mas sacring, it is said, on one occasion 100, 000 prisoners. On his way from India to meet the forces of Bajazet, the Tur kish sultan, he subjugated Bagdad, plun dered Aleppo, burned down the greater part of Damascus, and wrested Syria from the Mamelukes, after which he overran Asia Minor with an immense army. Bajazet's army was completely defeated on the plain of Ancyra (An gora), in 1402, and the Sultan was taken prisoner. The conquests of the Tartar now extended from the Irtish and Volga to the Persian Gulf, and from the Ganges to the Grecian Archipelago. He was making mighty preparations for an in vasion of China when death arrested his progress at his camp at Otrar, beyond the Sir-Daria, in 1405, and his empire immediately fell to pieces. He is the re puted author of the "Institutions of Ti mur" and the "Autobiography of Timur," both translated into English. He is the hero of Marlowe's "Tamburlaine." TIN, in chemistry, a white, metallic, easily fusible metal, not much affected by exposure to dry or moist air at ordinary temperatures, but becoming oxidized su perficially when heated, burning with a brilliant flame if the temperature be raised sufficiently high. It dissolves in hydrochloric acid, with the evolution of hydrogen, forming hydrated chloride of tin. Strong nitric acid acts on it vio lently, producing an insoluble hydrated binoxide of the metal, a considerable amount of ammonia being formed at the same time by the decomposition of the water and nitric acid present. Cold dilute sulphuric acid has no action on it, but if the concentrated acid be used the metal is converted into the sulphate, while sul phurous acid escapes. Hot dilute sul
phuric acid also converts it into sulphate of tin, hydrogen being evolved. The tin which is imported from Rance is nearly pure; that made in England generally contains small quantities of arsenic, cop per, iron, and lead. In its chemical char acteristics, tin has but few alliances. In some of its properties, however, it seems related to tantalum and titanium. Its chemical combinations are numerous and important, and its resistance to oxi dation and to the action of vegetable acid renders it extremely useful for do mestic purposes. Symbol Sn. Prof. For rest Shepherd, of Missouri, advanced an assertion that tin is not a simple, but a compound metal. His opinion, neverthe less, so far as we know, is not the result of analyses, but of speculation and incon clusive analogies.
In metallurgy, tin is a white metal, with a slight yellowish tinge, and a bril liant metallic luster. It is wanting in tenacity, but is extremely malleable at a temperature of 212°. It has a great ten dency to crystallize, and its 2rystalline form may be easily shown. by rubbing a piece with a little nitric or hydrochloric acid, when it assumes the appearance known as moire metallique. By slow cool ing it may be procured in octohedral crys tals, and on bending a piece of tin back ward and forward, a peculiar crackling or grating sound is heard, from the fric tion of the internal crystals. It fuses at 442° F., but it is not sensibly volatilized at that or any higher temperature. If it is stirred while melted till it cools, it may be obtained in a state of powder. Its brilliancy and power of resisting atmos pheric changes render it exceedingly useful in the arts as a covering for other metals. What is ordinarily called tin in domestic language, is sheet-iron covered with a layer of tin, a process which is ex plained further on. Copper is also very well fitted for being coated with this metal. In India, it is applied instead of steel and iron to articles by way of or nament, and there is no reason why our artisans should not take pattern from their more artistic Eastern brethren.