Asadova chexrangiz salim qizi saydullayev nuriddin zayniddin o‘G‘li 35 – O‘zbek theme: idealism in tamburlane the great- the work of christopher marlowe contents

Now, Orcanes, where’s the Turkish Alcoran,
And all the heaps of superstitious books
Found in the temples of that Mahomet
Whom I have thought a god? They shall be burnt. (Part II, V.i.171–74)
The spiritual outlook of the Turks as depicted in ‘the Turkish Alcoran’ is interpreted with prejudice, and even facts are modified as being Islamic Qur’ān, to suit the interpretation. In describing the Qur’ān as ‘Turkish’, Marlowe means that it is highly respected by the Turks. Therefore, he identifies that this book is a real enemy of Elizabethans. Tamburlaine’s burning of the Qur’ān is a sign of Christian power and victory. The Qur’ānic biblioclasm on London stage was bizarre. Irving Ribner identifies the Qur’ān burning and the mockery of the Prophet Muhammad as “the greatest statement of the classical humanist conception of history” (1968:92).
Christians who deny the Qur’ān must have their reasons. Everything around them says that Islam is a heresy and the Qur’ān is full of errors. They are convinced of the error of Islam. Subsequently, they attack the Qur’ān and the Prophet Muhammad. They have been taught that Muhammad is an imposter because he was a robber, a murderer, a traitor and an adulterer. Muhammad wrote the Qur’ān from the old holy books secretly. Therefore, sacrilege and misusing the Qur’ān is normal for Elizabethan audience since it scores for Christendom. When the Islamic books are collected, Tamburlaine orders his soldiers to set fire to the heap of Qur’ān copies, which raises a huge flame. The scene is in Bagdad. It remarks the anniversary of the Tatar invasion to the city of six centuries ago. At the command of Genghis Khan, the Tatar army burnt and threw all the Islamic books including the Qur’ān into Euphrates (Hitti 1953:484–9). The same burning action was repeatedly carried out by the Christian crusaders during the twelfth and fourteenth centuries in Palestine (Hitti 1953:645–6). After burning the holy books of knowledge, he burns people of those mosques as well. Along with this scene Tamburlaine sees things evil, and he himself becomes a barbarous and bloodthirsty devil. He continued killing off all Prophet’s kinsmen and scholars, men, women, and even children. Tamburlaine has now slain all Muslims. Tamburlaine produces an earthly hell for Muslims in the East with no limits. It seems the end of the Islamic world. In a remarkable pause for a moment in the scene, he comments that he is alive and ‘untouched by’ the Prophet Muhammad. Harry Levin quotes a Marlovian concept that is not mentioned in other works, although in the speech of “Orcanes, the noble infidel (renegade) used a similar expression to affirm a belief in a god who is not circumscriptible” (Jump 1967:98). This Marlovian concept is perfectly Islamic.
There is a God, full of revenging wrath,
From whom the thunder and the lightning break, Whose scourge I am, and him will I obey.
So, Orcanes; fling them in the fire. (Part II, V.iii.147–150)
When they burn the books, the blaspheming Tamburlaine defies the Prophet Mahomet. His monologue with Muhammad is as a divine entity. It shows Marlowe’s knowledge about the miracles of aprophet. Marlowe is aware that historically the Prophet Muhammad triumphed over his enemies. It is a triumphant moment for Tamburlaine to mock the Prophet Muhammad: “Now Mahomet, if thou have any power:\ Come down thyself and work a miracle” (Part II, V.i.185–6). He falsifies his prophecy in the mind of the audience with evidence that he saw “in vain… men worship Mahomet:\ My sword hath sent millions of Turks to hell.” (Part II, V.i.193–5). Again, there is no answer from Muhammad. Tamburlaine speaks about Muhammad as a godlike person. He refers to him repeatedly. This technique of argument shows the medieval tradition in a dialectic treatment. It establishes an implication of heresy and orthodox Islam which looks alien to the audience. Tamburlaine loudly speaks, “Thou art not worthy to be worshipped\ That suffer’st flames of fire to burn the writ.” (Part II, V.i.187–8).
Tamburlaine’s defiance of the Prophet gives the impression of his superiority to other competent warriors, rulers, and deities. Chew criticizes Marlowe’s thoughts. He depicts him as ‘the enemy of all religion’ (1937:397). Tamburlaine calls ‘Mahomet,’ to send a tornado to blow his Qur’ān up to his throne in heaven, as it is his own proof as a prophet. He defies the Prophet through his barbarous way of treatment to the Qur’ān, as well as describing it as ‘foolish laws’. Tamburlaine’s speech is hostile to everything celestial. The Elizabethan material written about Islam is largely and wholly concerned with Islam and some dealt with the Islamic subject accidently. For Elizabethan community, the Qur’ān is made up from the Old and New Testaments which is absent in Tamburlaine, but it is frequently noted by Marlowe that Muhammad is like Christ and the Qur’ān is like the Bible, despite the fact that the nature of Muhammad is not like that in Islamic belief. The teachings of the Qur’ān are laws. Norman Daniel asserts this idea in the past as Ramon Lull “spoke of the Qur’ān as containing the law” (1960:33). Greenblatt imagines “when he burns the Koran! The one action which the Elizabethan churchmen themselves might have applauded seems to bring down a diving vengeance” (2005:202). For revenge to this silence, Tamburlaine attacks the Qur’ān, especially the holy book for Turks and source of laws. He defies the Prophet saying: