Background: Timur was born in Transoxiana near the city of Kesh (modern Shahrisabz, Uzbekistan) some 80 kilometres (50 mi) south of Samarkand, part of what was then the Chagatai Khanate. His father, Taraqai, was a minor noble of the Barlas, a Mongolian tribe that had been turkified in many aspects. According to Gerard Chaliand, Timur was a Muslim, and he saw himself as Genghis Khan's heir. Though not a Borjigid or a descendent of Genghis Khan, he clearly sought to invoke the legacy of Genghis Khan's conquests during his lifetime.
Context: Timur is regarded as a military genius, and as a brilliant tactician with an uncanny ability to work within a highly fluid political structure to win and maintain a loyal following of nomads during his rule in Central Asia. He was also considered extraordinarily intelligent - not only intuitively but also intellectually. In Samarkand and his many travels, Timur, under the guidance of distinguished scholars, was able to learn the Persian, Mongolian, and Turkish languages. (according to Ahmad ibn Arabshah, Timur didn't know Arabic) More importantly, Timur was characterized as an opportunist. Taking advantage of his Turco-Mongolian heritage, Timur frequently used either the Islamic religion or the law and traditions of the Mongol Empire to achieve his military goals or domestic political aims. Timur, mostly considered a barbarian, in fact was a well learned king, and did enjoy the company of scholars --he was tolerant and generous to them against his nature. Once Persian poet Hafez wrote a ghazal whose verse says if this Turk accept his homage:  --For the black mole on his cheekI would give the cities of Samarkand and Bukhara  Timur upbraided him for this verse and said; "By the blows of my well tempered sword I have conquered the greater part of the world to enlarge Samarkand and Bukhara, my capitals and residences; and you pitiful creature would exchange these two cities for a mole". Hafez replied "O Sovereign of the world, it is by the state of similar generosity that I have been reduced, as you see my present state of poverty." It is reported that the King was amazed by the witty answer and the poet departed with magnificent gifts.  Timur used Persian expressions in his conversations often, and his motto was the Persian phrase rasti rusti (rsty rsty, meaning "truth is safety" or "veritas salus").
Question: did he gain a following ?
Answer: ability to work within a highly fluid political structure to win and maintain a loyal following of nomads during his rule in Central Asia.

Problem: Background: James was born in Holton, Kansas; his mother, died in 1954 when he was five. His father was a janitor and a handyman. After four years at the University of Kansas residing at Stephenson Scholarship hall, James joined the Army in 1971. He was the last person in Kansas to be sent to fight in the Vietnam War, although he never saw action there.
Context: An aspiring writer and obsessive fan, James began writing baseball articles after leaving the United States Army in his mid-twenties. Many of his first baseball writings came while he was doing night shifts as a security guard at the Stokely-Van Camp's pork and beans cannery. Unlike most writers, his pieces did not recount games in epic terms or offer insights gleaned from interviews with players. A typical James piece posed a question (e.g., "Which pitchers and catchers allow runners to steal the most bases?"), and then presented data and analysis written in a lively, insightful, and witty style that offered an answer.  Editors considered James's pieces so unusual that few believed them suitable for their readers. In an effort to reach a wider audience, James began self-publishing an annual book titled The Bill James Baseball Abstract beginning in 1977. The first edition, titled 1977 Baseball Abstract: Featuring 18 categories of statistical information that you just can't find anywhere else, presented 68 pages of in-depth statistics compiled from James's study of box scores from the preceding season and was offered for sale through a small advertisement in The Sporting News. Seventy-five people purchased the booklet. The 1978 edition, subtitled The 2nd annual edition of baseball's most informative and imaginative review, sold 250 copies. Beginning in 1979, James wrote an annual preview of the baseball season for Esquire, and continued to do so through 1984.  The first three editions of the Baseball Abstract garnered respect for James's work, including a very favorable review by Daniel Okrent in Sports Illustrated. New annual editions added essays on teams and players. By 1982 sales had increased tenfold, and a media conglomerate agreed to publish and distribute future editions.  While writers had published books about baseball statistics before (most notably Earnshaw Cook's Percentage Baseball, in the 1960s), few had ever reached a mass audience. Attempts to imitate James's work spawned a flood of books and articles that continues to this day.
Question: Did other writer reach a mass audience after him?
Answer:
Attempts to imitate James's work spawned a flood of books and articles that continues to this day.