The opera is in three acts and is loosely based on the historic conflict between Bajazet, a Turkish sultan, and the Tartar conqueror Timur, or Tamerlano, who ruled much of western and central Asia in the 14th century.

NPR: Placido Domingo in Handel's 'Tamerlano'

How would the BBC have reported events like the Great Fire of London in 1666 or the death of William the Conqueror in 1087?

BBC: 1066 And all that