father, who despises his cowardice.

Callepine

Callepine (KA-leh-pin), Bajazeth’s son, imprisoned by Tamburlaine. He escapes with the help of his jailer and becomes the leader of the forces opposing Tamburlaine.

Orcanes

Orcanes (ohr-KAY-neez),

Gazellus

Gazellus (gah-ZEH-luhs), and

Uribassa

Uribassa (ew-rih-BA-suh), Muslim rulers who attempt to make an alliance with their Christian enemies to halt the power of Tamburlaine.

Sigismund

Sigismund (SIH-gihs-muhnd), the king of Hungary,

Frederick

Frederick, the lord of Buda, and

Baldwin

Baldwin, the lord of Bohemia, the Christian leaders who break their solemn vows of allegiance to the Muslims, attack them, and lose the battle to those they have betrayed.

The soldan of Egypt

The soldan of Egypt, Zenocrate’s father, who is enraged at the kidnapping of his daughter.

Meander

Meander (mee-AN-dur),

Ortygius

Ortygius (ohr-TIH-jee-uhs),

Ceneus

Ceneus (SEE-nee-uhs), and

Menaphon

Menaphon (MEH-nuh-fon), Persian supporters of Mycetes and Cosroe.

Capolin

Capolin (KA-poh-lihn), an Egyptian captain.

Philemus

Philemus (fih-LEE-muhs), the soldan’s messenger.

Almeda

Almeda (al-MEE-duh), Callepine’s jailer, who aids him to escape and joins his party.

Perdicas

Perdicas (PUR-dih-kuhs), Calyphas’ servant.

Agydas

Agydas is a Median, or Iranian, nobleman traveling to Egypt with Zenocrate when Tamburlaine captures them. Tamburlaine overhears Agydas advising Zenocrate to resist the "vile and barbarous" Tamburlaine’s advances. To avoid torture, Agydas stabs himself.

Alcidamus

See King of Arabia

Almeda

Almeda is the jailer of Callapine, whom Callapine persuades to release him by promising him a kingdom in Turkey. Callapine indeed grants him a kingdom before fighting Tamburlaine, although Almeda never gets to rule it as Tamburlaine wins the battle.

Amyras

Amyras, Tamburlaine’s son and heir, reluctantly takes the crown as his father is dying. A young man with a militaristic spirit, he idolizes his father and delights in warfare. After defeating the Turks, he asks his father if they can release and fight them again to ensure their victory wasn't due to luck. However, in the final lines of the play, Amyras laments that he cannot continue his father's legacy of glory.

Anippe

Anippe is Zenocrate’s maid, and after Tamburlaine overcomes the Turkish forces, she has the right to treat the Turkish Empress Zabina as a servant.

Bajazeth

Bajazeth, the emperor of Turkey in part 1, is a proud Islamic leader until Tamburlaine defeats his armies and makes him a slave. Bajazeth ultimately beats his brains out on his cage to avoid further humiliation and starvation. Before his last battle, he vows to castrate Tamburlaine and force him to pull his wife’s chariot. While imprisoned, Bajazeth often curses Tamburlaine, highlighting his most brutal acts. His son Callapine carries on the theme of a bitter and vengeful enemy into part 2.

Bassoes

Now spelled "Bashaws" or "Pashas," a bassoe was a title given to Turkish officials. In the play, the bassoes are servants of Bajazeth.

Callapine

Callapine, the son and heir of Bajazeth, dedicates his life to avenging his father’s cruel treatment and destroying Tamburlaine. A cunning leader, Callapine convinces his jailer to release him and escapes from Tamburlaine’s prison. Although he loses a battle to Tamburlaine, Callapine escapes and returns to fight again. While he is no match for Tamburlaine, he remains alive and unconquered, determined to "conquer the tyrant of the world." It is implied that he will continue to challenge Amyras after Tamburlaine's death.

Calyphas

Calyphas, Tamburlaine’s son, is murdered by his father for refusing to participate in the battle against the Turks. Calyphas is somewhat weak and lazy, traits that Tamburlaine despises. However, he is also simply uninterested in war, preferring to play cards and daydream about women.

Captain of Balsera

Olympia’s husband, the Captain of Balsera, refuses to surrender his hold to Techelles and Theridamas, resulting in his death during the ensuing invasion.

Casane

See Usumcasane

Celebinus

Celebinus, the son of Tamburlaine, is a determined young man who strives to follow in his father's footsteps.

Cosroe

Cosroe, the brother of Mycetes, the king of Persia, seizes his brother's throne with Tamburlaine's assistance. Concerned about the empire's condition under his brother's ineffective leadership, Cosroe resolves, at the urging of several Persian lords, to take the crown and govern more effectively. Although Cosroe is stronger than his brother, he is naive enough to let Tamburlaine and his soldiers remain after they win the battle for the Persian throne. Tamburlaine soon challenges him to a fight and prevails.

Frederick

Frederick, a Hungarian noble, convinces Sigismund to break his peace agreement with Orcanes.

Gazellus

Gazellus, the viceroy of Byron in Turkish territory, serves as an ally and advisor to Orcanes.

Governor of Babylon

The governor of Babylon, known for his stubbornness, refuses Tamburlaine entry into his city. When he is defeated and threatened with death, he tries to bribe Tamburlaine by revealing a hidden gold stash. Nonetheless, Tamburlaine has him hanged.

Governor of Damascus

Fearing that Tamburlaine will massacre everyone in his city, the governor of Damascus attempts to seek mercy by sending four virgins to Tamburlaine's camp. However, his plea fails.

King of Arabia

The king of Arabia, also called Alcidamus, is engaged to Zenocrate before she is captured by Tamburlaine. Zenocrate prays for his life, but Alcidamus is killed during Tamburlaine's battle with the sultan of Egypt. As he dies, Alcidamus professes his love for Zenocrate.

King of Jerusalem

The king of Jerusalem, an ally of Callapine, is forced by Tamburlaine to pull his chariot after being defeated.

King of Soria

The king of Syria, also referred to as Soria, is one of Callapine's subordinate kings. After conquering him, Tamburlaine forces him to pull his chariot until he is exhausted, at which point Tamburlaine orders him to be hanged.

King of Trebizon

Similar to the king of Soria, the king of Trebizon is an ally of Callapine who is compelled to pull Tamburlaine's chariot after being defeated. When he becomes too weary to continue, Tamburlaine has him hanged.

Meander

Meander, the Persian lord closest to Mycetes, advises the king on defending against the uprising but switches his loyalty to Cosroe after the battle.

Menaphon

Menaphon, the Persian lord closest to Cosroe, plays a significant role in the plot to overthrow Mycetes.

Mycetes

Mycetes is the king of Persia at the start of part 1, until Tamburlaine and Cosroe dethrone him. He is a feeble ruler, known for his repetitive and clichéd speech. Despite lamenting his brother's mistreatment, he takes no action. When Tamburlaine finds Mycetes trying to hide his crown on the battlefield in a futile effort to protect it from theft, Tamburlaine allows him to keep it until Tamburlaine wins the battle.

Olympia

Olympia, the wife of the Captain of Balsera, is a resigned yet clever woman. She witnesses her husband's death, stabs her son, and attempts to burn herself on their funeral pyre, only to be stopped by Theridamas. Instead of succumbing to Theridamas’s romantic pursuits, she cunningly makes him stab her in the neck.

Orcanes

Orcanes is the king of Natolia, a region slightly larger than modern-day Anatolia in Turkey. He is a formidable adversary to Tamburlaine, possessing more vocal strength than most of Tamburlaine's other foes. Orcanes is a more nuanced character, even paying homage to Christ, believing Christ granted him victory over the king of Hungary, who violated a Christian peace vow. After Tamburlaine enslaves him, Orcanes curses Tamburlaine, highlighting the contrast between them with insights like, "Thou showest the difference 'twixt ourselves and thee / In this thy barbarous damned tyranny."

Perdicas

Perdicas is Calyphas’s indolent companion, seen playing cards with Calyphas just before his father kills him.

Sigismund

Sigismund, the Christian king of Hungary, swears by Christ to keep peace with Orcanes. However, his advisors convince him to break this vow and attack Orcanes when the opportunity arises. After losing the battle and lying on his deathbed, Sigismund repents for his betrayal and seeks Christian forgiveness.

Soldan of Egypt

The Soldan of Egypt is Zenocrate’s father. He initially despises Tamburlaine for abducting his daughter and invading his land. However, after Tamburlaine defeats his armies, spares his life, and returns more territory than he previously held, the Soldan praises Tamburlaine and blesses his daughter's marriage.

Son

The son of the Captain of Balsera is a courageous young man who consents to his mother stabbing him to avoid being tortured by Tamburlaine’s soldiers.

Tamburlaine

Majestic and articulate, Tamburlaine has the prowess to conquer not only kings and emperors but also the audience of the play. He is a pivotal figure in Elizabethan drama, serving as the inspiration for the poetry that brought Marlowe fame. His character is both captivating and repellent due to his brutality. Central to his persona are immense power and ambition, coupled with a readiness to employ any extreme measures to achieve victory. Indifferent to social norms or mundane life, Tamburlaine perceives himself in relation to the gods. Marlowe uses him to explore philosophical questions about the ultimate reach of human power and achievement, and its significance compared to the divine.

Tamburlaine starts his journey in what Marlowe refers to as Scythia, a region north and northeast of the Black Sea. He initially gains power in Persia and goes on to conquer vast areas of North Africa, the Middle East, Eastern Europe, and India. Marlowe’s narrative focuses on his conflicts with Turkish emperors and their vassal kings, whose domains then included much of the Middle East and North Africa. Tamburlaine’s personal life is deeply intertwined with his conquests; he wins his wife by defeating her father’s kingdom and wreaks havoc across the Middle East in his rage over her death. He views his sons solely as military leaders, even killing his idle son Calyphas for refusing to fight against the Turkish armies. By the end of his life, Tamburlaine remains unsatisfied with his conquests, his insatiable thirst for power highlighted by his son Amyras, who stresses that none can rival Tamburlaine’s might.

Like many of Marlowe’s protagonists, Tamburlaine has a complex relationship with the play’s audience. He evokes mixed reactions due to his boundless brutality, yet he is also passionate and magnificent. Elizabethan audiences would find his audacity offensive and somewhat intriguing, seeing him as a presumptuous heathen. Although the historical Tamburlaine was a Muslim, Marlowe portrays him burning sacred Islamic texts and speaking as if he views the gods in ancient Greek and Roman terms. This focus on mythology is significant because Scythia is traditionally believed to be the location of the mountain where Zeus chained Prometheus, the Titan known for stealing fire from the gods. Like Prometheus, Tamburlaine dares to challenge Jupiter and the other classical deities.

Techelles

A close ally of Tamburlaine, Techelles is an ambitious military leader who remains entirely loyal to him. Having accompanied Tamburlaine from Scythia, he continues to be an adept general after being appointed king of Fez, North Africa. Techelles’s unwavering loyalty, including his willingness to massacre the virgins of Damascus and drown the population of Babylon, underscores Tamburlaine’s formidable leadership.

Theridamas

As the chief captain in the Persian army, Theridamas is initially sent to eliminate Tamburlaine but ends up becoming his devoted and lifelong ally. He confesses to Tamburlaine that he has been, ‘‘Won with thy words, and conquered with thy looks.’’ Theridamas quickly rises to become one of Tamburlaine’s three closest advisors and most competent generals. Tamburlaine appoints him as the king of Argier in North Africa. Theridamas plays a key role in the sieges of Balsera and Babylon in part 2. During the siege of Balsera, he falls in love with Olympia, the wife of Balsera’s captain, and prevents her from throwing herself onto her husband and son’s funeral pyre.

Tamburlaine refers to Theridamas as majestic upon their first meeting, and it is evident from part 1 that he is a brave and influential Persian lord. Unlike Techelles and Usumcasane, he seems less driven by a thirst for power, as he mentions in Act 2, Scene 3 that he could live without being a king. However, when he threatens to rape Olympia and naively accepts her magic war ointment over her ‘‘honour,’’ resulting in her accidental stabbing, Theridamas reveals his true nature as a warrior rather than a lover.

Uribassa

Uribassa is an ally of Orcanes and serves as a viceroy of an unspecified Turkish territory. Alongside Gazellus, he acts as a viceroy for Callapine while the emperor remains Tamburlaine’s prisoner in Egypt.

Usumcasane

Usumcasane is a close companion of Tamburlaine, hailing from Scythia like Techelles. His devotion to Tamburlaine is so profound that he cannot fathom Tamburlaine’s death from illness.

Virgins of Damascus

Despite their pleas for mercy on their city, Tamburlaine orders the slaughter of the four virgins of Damascus and has their bodies displayed on the city walls.

Zabina

Zabina is the proud Turkish empress married to Bajazeth. She initially tells Zenocrate that she would enslave her before their husbands go to battle, which causes the audience to feel little sympathy for her when she is made a servant to Zenocrate’s maid. However, after Tamburlaine tortures her and her husband, imprisoning them in a cage, and they both commit suicide, Zenocrate and the audience come to pity them and are shocked by Tamburlaine’s cruelty. Before losing her sanity and taking her own life, Zabina demonstrates practicality by urging her husband to eat and stay alive, hoping for eventual freedom.

Zenocrate

Zenocrate, the daughter of the Sultan of Egypt, is captured by Tamburlaine at the start of part 1. She remains with him as his concubine and later becomes his wife until her death in part 2, act 2. Initially, she resists Tamburlaine's romantic advances and describes herself as "wretched" because she is forced to stay with him. However, by act 3, she has fallen in love with him and becomes enthralled by the glory of his conquests. Despite this, Zenocrate is troubled by Tamburlaine's intention to wage war against her father and her people. Her most challenging moment occurs in part 1, act 5, scene 2, following Tamburlaine's brutal siege of Damascus. She is devastated after witnessing the slaughter of four innocent virgins by Tamburlaine and then discovering the bodies of Bajazeth and Zabina, who have committed suicide due to Tamburlaine's cruelty. Nevertheless, she wishes for Tamburlaine's victory over her father and her former fiancé, Arabia, hoping their lives will be spared.

Tamburlaine frequently describes Zenocrate's beauty and divine nature in superlative terms, highlighting her significant influence on the play's events. His conquests in part 1 are closely linked to his desire to win Zenocrate, and in part 2, they are largely driven by his mourning of her death. These eloquent speeches, however, do not necessarily reveal Zenocrate's true character or her internal struggle, especially in part 1, where she is torn between her loyalty to her lover and her people—a conflict between brutality and peace. This struggle is resolved when the Sultan consents to Zenocrate's marriage to Tamburlaine. Yet, in part 2, act 1, Zenocrate questions when her husband will finally stop his bloody campaigns. Additionally, Tamburlaine's conflict with his son Calyphas, who has no interest in war, reflects the ongoing tension between peace and war within Zenocrate's character.