The original of the tale is found in the following work, which is much esteemed for its florid elegance of style:
Ahmedis Arabsiadae (Ahmed
Ebn Arabshah) Vitæ et Rerum gestarum Timuri. Arabice et Latine. Edidit Samuel Henricus Manger. Franequerae, 1767, 2 tom. in 4to.
This Syrian author is ever a malicious, and often an ignorant enemy: the very titles of his chapters are injurious; as how the wicked, as how the impious, as how the viper, etc. The copious article of TIMUR, in Bibliotheque Orientale, is of a mixed nature, as D'Herbelot indifferently draws his materials (p. 877-888) from Khondemir Ebn Schounah, and the Lebtarikh.