Tamerlan

Timūr-e Lang - Tamerlane - Timur the Lame - is a hero in Central Asian histories.  He was a monster in real life.   
 To quote:

Amir Timur, from Central Asia, waged Jihad against India (1398-99) to become a ghazi or martyr, had accumulated over 100,000 captives when he reached Delhi.  On the eve of his attack on Delhi, he killed them all.  From his assault on Delhi onwards to his return to his  capital, he has left a tragic trail of barbaric slaughter, destruction, pillage and enslavement, which he recorded in his memoir, Malfuzat-I-Timuri.

I suppose naming a child "Timur" might be like naming a child "Adolf",  the taint of Hitler not extending to the first name.  The name "Tamerlan" however, is very specific, and can only refer to the conqueror.   Now another Tamerlan - Tamerlan Tsarnaev - seems to have lived up to the original, being suspected of being one of the two Boston Marathon bombers.

Why are some peoples supposed to face up to their history, and others given a free pass?