Genghis Khan is one of history's immortals: a leader of genius, driven by an inspiring vision for peaceful world rule. Believing he was divinely protected, Genghis united warring clans to create a nation and then an empire that ran across much of Asia. Under his grandson, Kublai Khan, the vision evolved into a more complex religious ideology, justifying further expansion. Kublai doubled the empire's size until, in the late 13th century, he and the rest of Genghis’s ‘Golden Family’ controlled one fifth of the inhabited world. Along the way, he conquered all China, gave the nation the borders it has today, and then, finally, discovered the limits to growth. Genghis's dream of world rule turned out to be a fantasy. And yet, in terms of the sheer scale of the conquests, never has a vision and the character of one man had such an effect on the world. Charting the evolution of this vision, John Man provides a unique account of the Mongol Empire, from young Genghis to old Kublai, from a rejected teenager to the world’s most powerful emperor.

The Mongol Empire

This book examines the life and work of Rashid al-Din Tabib (d. 1318), the most powerful statesman working for the Mongol Ilkhans in the Middle East. It begins with an overview of administrative history and historiography in the early Ilkhanate, culminating with Rashid al-Din's Blessed History of Ghazan, the indispensable source for Mongol and Ilkhanid history. Later chapters lay out the results of the most comprehensive study to date of the manuscripts of Rashid al-Din's historical writing. The complicated relationship between Rashid al-Din's historical and theological writings is also explored, as well as his appropriation of the work of his contemporary historian, `Abd Allah Qashani.

Making Mongol History

The Mongol Empire can be seen as marking the beginning of the modern age, and of globalization as well. While communications between the extremes of Eurasia existed prior to the Mongols, they were infrequent and often through intermediaries. As this new book by Timothy May shows, the rise of the Mongol Empire changed everything—through their conquests the Mongols swept away dozens of empires and kingdoms and replaced them with the largest contiguous empire in history. While the Mongols were an extremely destructive force in the premodern world, the Mongol Empire had stabilizing effects on the social, cultural and economic life of the inhabitants of the vast territory, allowing merchants and missionaries to transverse Eurasia. The Mongol Conquests in World History examines the many ways in which the conquests were a catalyst for change, including changes and advancements in warfare, food, culture, and scientific knowledge. Even as Mongol power declined, the memory of the Empire fired the collective imagination of the region into far-reaching endeavors, such as the desire for luxury goods and spices that launched Columbus’s voyage and the innovations in art that were manifested in the masterpieces of the Renaissance. This fascinating book offers comprehensive coverage of the entire empire, rather than a more regional approach, and provides an extensive survey of the legacy of the Mongol Empire.

The Mongol Conquests in World History

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The startling true history of how one extraordinary man from a remote corner of the world created an empire that led the world into the modern age—by the author featured in Echoes of the Empire: Beyond Genghis Khan. The Mongol army led by Genghis Khan subjugated more lands and people in twenty-five years than the Romans did in four hundred. In nearly every country the Mongols conquered, they brought an unprecedented rise in cultural communication, expanded trade, and a blossoming of civilization. Vastly more progressive than his European or Asian counterparts, Genghis Khan abolished torture, granted universal religious freedom, and smashed feudal systems of aristocratic privilege. From the story of his rise through the tribal culture to the explosion of civilization that the Mongol Empire unleashed, this brilliant work of revisionist history is nothing less than the epic story of how the modern world was made.

Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World

“A fascinating romp through the feminine side of the infamous Khan clan” (Booklist) by the author featured in Echoes of the Empire: Beyond Genghis Khan “Enticing . . . hard to put down.”—Associated Press The Mongol queens of the thirteenth century ruled the largest empire the world has ever known. The daughters of the Silk Route turned their father’s conquests into the first truly international empire, fostering trade, education, and religion throughout their territories and creating an economic system that stretched from the Pacific to the Mediterranean. Yet sometime near the end of the century, censors cut a section about the queens from the Secret History of the Mongols, and, with that one act, the dynasty of these royals had seemingly been extinguished forever, as even their names were erased from the historical record. With The Secret History of the Mongol Queens, a groundbreaking and magnificently researched narrative, Jack Weatherford restores the queens’ missing chapter to the annals of history.

The Secret History of the Mongol Queens

An annotated translation of the third volume of the detailed, comprehensive history of the Mongolian People’s Republic.

History of the Mongolian People’s Republic

This fresh translation of one of the only surviving Mongol sources about the Mongol empire, brings out the excitement of this epic with its wide-ranging commentaries on military and social conditions, religion and philosophy, while remaining faithful to the original text.

The Secret History of the Mongols

Accessible scholarly treatment of Mongol history for the wider public, offering a comprehensive view from pre-historic times to the modern age.

Genghis Khan and the Mongol Empire

First published in 2004. The Mongols are one of the great peoples in the history of High Asia. Their name has been familiar over the whole of the old world for close on eight hundred years. Yet at the most generous estimate it would be anachronistic to speak of a Mongol state, in the modern sense of the word, as existing before the end of 1911. The imperial adventure under Genghis Khan and his successors left the Mongols exhausted and disunited politically, and in the seventeenth century they fell, piecemeal, under Manchu domination which continued for over two hundred years. This study looks at the Mongol society as it was during the comparatively static two centuries between the final submission to the Manchus in 1691 and the national revolution of 1911. The second part of the book describes the dynamic course of events since that revolution and more especially since the second, Soviet-inspired, revolution which began in 1921.

The Modern History of Mongolia

The Gobi Desert, cold mountainous regions, and harsh climate of Mongolia leave it with one of the lowest population densities in the world. Nonetheless, Mongolians are proud of their long heritage, and carry even today their customs of the past. In this all-inclusive study of contemporary Mongolian life, readers will learn about nomadic lifestyles still practiced today. Other topics covered include Buddhism and other religions, literature, arts, cuisine, dress, family life, festivals and leisure activities, social customs, and lifestyle. May also includes an overview of Chinggis Khan, the father of the Mongol Empire, and his legacy in Mongolian culture today. Ideal for high school and undergraduate students, this volume is an essential addition to library shelves.

Culture and Customs of Mongolia

A comprehensive reference to Mongolia and the Mongols includes alphabetically arranged entries on the region's history, political movements, key figures, culture, languages, religion, economy, sociology, medicine, and climate .

Encyclopedia of Mongolia and the Mongol Empire

This is the first history of Mongolia available in English which benefits from access to historic data that only became available following the collapse of the socialist regime in 1990. Accordingly, it highlights the role of international politics, especially the former Soviet Union, Russia, China and Japan, in the shaping of modern Mongolia’s history. The volume actually comprises three ‘books’. Book One, entitled 'The Steppe Warriors', offers a history of Mongolia up to the 1911 revolution; Book Two, entitled ‘Incarnations and Revolutionaries’ addresses political developments in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries (1920s); Book Three, entitled ‘A Puppet Republic’ provides an in-depth analysis of the 1920s and 30s, concluding with the 1939 Haslhyn Gol Incident, The Second World War, the Post-war Map of Asia and the Fate of Mongolia’s Independence.

Twentieth Century Mongolia

A significant aspect of this work is the emphasis on source materials, including some translated from Mongolian and other languages for the first time. The source materials and other articles are all fully contextualized and situated by introductory material by the volume’s editors. This is the first work in English to bring together significant articles in Mongolian studies in one place, which will be widely welcomed by scholars and researchers in this field. This essential reference in two volumes includes works by noted scholars including Charles Bawden, Igor de Rachewiltz, David Morgan, Owen Lattimore and Caroline Humphrey. It also includes excerpts from translations of source documents, such as the works of Rashid al-Din, The Secret History of the Mongols and the Yuan Shih. In addition, more recent historical periods are covered, with material such as Batmonh’s speech that heralded Mongolia’s versions of glasnost and perestroika, as well as Baabar’s Buu Mart, a key work associated with the Democratic Revolution of 1990.

The History of Mongolia (3 Vols.)

How did women contribute to the rise of the Mongol Empire while Mongol men were conquering Eurasia? This book positions women in their rightful place in the otherwise well-known story of Chinggis Khan (commonly known as Genghis Khan) and his conquests and empire. Examining the best known women of Mongol society, such as Chinggis Khan's mother, Hö'elün, and senior wife, Börte, as well as those who were less famous but equally influential, including his daughters and his conquered wives, we see the systematic and essential participation of women in empire, politics and war. Anne F. Broadbridge also proposes a new vision of Chinggis Khan's well-known atomized army by situating his daughters and their husbands at the heart of his army reforms, looks at women's key roles in Mongol politics and succession, and charts the ways the descendants of Chinggis Khan's daughters dominated the Khanates that emerged after the breakup of the Empire in the 1260s.

Women and the Making of the Mongol Empire

Using Mongolia as its example, this book examines how knowledge is transmitted and transformed in light of political change by looking at shifting conceptions of historical figures. It suggests that the reflection of people's concept of themselves is a much greater influence in the writing of history than has previously been thought and examines in detail how history was used to subvert the socialist project in Mongolia. This is the first study of the symbolic struggle over who controlled 'the past' and the 'true' identity of a Mongol, fought between the ruling party and its protesters during the democratic revolution.

Truth, History and Politics in Mongolia

The remote vastness of Mongolia has remained somewhat of a mystery to most Westerners - no less so in the 20th century. Homeland of the legendary conqueror Chingiz Khan, in modern times Mongolia itself has been the object of imperial rivalry. For most of the 20th century it was under Soviet domination. Mikhail Gorbachev began the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Mongolia in 1989, a process completed in 1992. By 1996 a coalition of opposition parties triumphed in national elections, and Mongolia launched itself on a new course. It is perhaps the most intriguing of the post-community "transition" societies. This volume examines Mongol history over the past century, embracing not only Mongolia proper but also Mongol communities in Russia and China. Contributions, based on new archival research and the latest fieldwork, are from the world's top experts in the field - including four authors from Mongolia and others from Japan, Russia, Taiwan, Great Britain and the United States. Stephen Kotkin's introductory chapter is an overview of Mongol studies. The essays in part 1 examine Sino-Russian competition over Outer Mongolia. Part 2 looks at international diplomacy in Mongolia, including the role of Japan. Part 3 focuses on contemporary issues ranging from economic and cultural change to emergent elites. A concluding essay surveys Mongolian foreign policy.

Mongolia in the Twentieth Century

This book analyzes the social, economic, and political impact of Han Chinese migration into the borderlands that became Inner Mongolia during the Qing period. Linking local history to global movements, Yi Wang traces Inner Mongolia's integration into what would become the nation-state of China and from there into a global capitalist economy.

Transforming Inner Mongolia

First Published in 1971 The History of the Mongol Conquests presents a general history of the Mongols of the thirteenth century. By using primary and secondary sources, J. J. Saunders fills up a major gap in the English historical literature on the subject. It goes without saying that the Mongol conquests of the thirteenth century turned the world upside down. The book opens with a chapter on Eurasian nomadism and an account of the Turkish conquests, seven centuries before those of the Mongols. The author deals fully with Chingis Khan and his achievements both as a soldier and as an administrator and goes on to describe the Mongol drive into the Europe and the Christian response to it. Mongol rule in China and Persia and their dominance in Russia are also covered. Rich in archival sources, this book is a must read for scholars and researchers of Asian and Central Asian history.

The History of the Mongol Conquests

The Mongolia you never knew existed. Mongolia beyond Genghis Khan. In the shadows of the Altai Mountains live the Kazakh nomads of western Mongolia. These hard-living nomads survive on windswept steppes, grazing their herds and keeping an ancient practice alive: hunting not with traps or guns, but on horseback with golden eagles. The Mongolian Chroniclesrecounts a story of this untamed world, seen through the eyes of artist, writer, and traveller Allen Smutylo. Smutylo lived with seven eagle hunters and their families for several weeks over two years, affording him rare insight into a disappearing culture. His extraordinary narrative is set within the context of Mongolia's turbulent past -- the long shadow cast by the empire of Genghis Khan, the deprivations of early twentieth century warlords-cum-mystics -- and its protean present, where ancient customs and shamanistic beliefs exist among an increasingly urbanized people. Smutylo's vivid prose and powerful artwork portray a Mongolia of contradictions and extremes. Readers will encounter a country with a vast wilderness that nonetheless has one of the most polluted capitals on earth; a modern economy in which tent-dwelling nomads still rely on their animals for survival; a people unchanged for millennia, yet recognizing that their way of life may disappear with their generation.

The Mongolian Chronicles

Spawning an empire ranging from Persia to China, Genghis Khan united a nomadic warrior culture that had lived with their agrarian neighbors through controlled and limited extortion. This accessible book provides an introduction to the history and culture of the Steppe people from which Genghis Khan emerged, and chronicles the events that led to his being named the Great Khan. Also included are sixteen biographical sketches, a wealth of annotated primary documents, five maps, an annotated timeline, a glossary, an annotated bibliography and several illustrations.

Genghis Khan and Mongol Rule

The Mongol Empire was the mightiest land empire the world has ever seen. At its height it was twice the size of its Roman equivalent. For a remarkable century and a half it commanded a population of 100 million people, while the rule of Chinggis (Genghis) Khan marched undefeated from the Pacific Ocean to the Caspian Sea. George Lane argues that the Mongols were not only subjugators who swept all before them but one of the great organising forces of world history. His book traces the rise of the Great Khan in 1206 to the dissolution of the empire in 1368 by the Ming Dynasty. He discusses the unification of the Turko-Mongol tribes under Chinggis' leadership; the establishment of a vigorous imperium whose Pax Mongolica held mastery over the Central Asian steppes; imaginative policies of religious pluralism; and the rich legacy of the Toluid Empire of Yuan China and Ilkhanate Iran. Offering a bold and sympathetic understanding of Mongol history, the author shows that commercial expansion, cultural assimilation and dynamic political growth were as crucial to Mongol success as desire for conquest.

A Short History of the Mongols

Cundill Prize Finalist A Financial Times Book of the Year A Spectator Book of the Year A Five Books Book of the Year The Mongols are known for one thing: conquest. But in this first comprehensive history of the Horde, the western portion of the Mongol empire that arose after the death of Chinggis Khan, Marie Favereau takes us inside one of the most powerful engines of economic integration in world history to show that their accomplishments extended far beyond the battlefield. Central to the extraordinary commercial boom that brought distant civilizations in contact for the first time, the Horde had a unique political regime—a complex power-sharing arrangement between the khan and nobility—that rewarded skillful administrators and fostered a mobile, innovative economic order. From their capital on the lower Volga River, the Mongols influenced state structures in Russia and across the Islamic world, disseminated sophisticated theories about the natural world, and introduced new ideas of religious tolerance. An eloquent, ambitious, and definitive portrait of an empire that has long been too little understood, The Horde challenges our assumptions that nomads are peripheral to history and makes it clear that we live in a world shaped by Mongols. “The Mongols have been ill-served by history, the victims of an unfortunate mixture of prejudice and perplexity...The Horde flourished, in Favereau’s fresh, persuasive telling, precisely because it was not the one-trick homicidal rabble of legend.” —Wall Street Journal “Fascinating...The Mongols were a sophisticated people with an impressive talent for government and a sensitive relationship with the natural world...An impressively researched and intelligently reasoned book.” —The Times

The Horde

"By far the best modern narrative account of the most extensive land empire in the history of the world."—David Morgan, author of The Mongols

Mongolia's history is defined by its nomadic heritage and the rise and fall of empires. In the 13th century, Genghis Khan united the Mongol tribes, creating the vast Mongol Empire, which became the largest contiguous land empire in history. After its fragmentation, Mongolia fell under Chinese rule during the Qing dynasty until the early 20th century. Following the collapse of the Qing in 1911, Mongolia declared independence but became a Soviet satellite state in 1924 as the Mongolian People's Republic. With the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, Mongolia transitioned to democracy and a market economy, maintaining its nomadic traditions alongside modern development.