History

In The Mongol Empire between Myth and Reality, Denise Aigle presents the Mongol empire as a moment of contact between political ideologies, religions, cultures and languages, and, in terms of reciprocal representations, between the Far East, the Muslim East, and the Latin West.

The Mongol Empire was founded by Chinggis Khan in the early thirteenth century. Within the span of two generations it embraced most of Asia, thus becoming the largest land-based state in history. The united empire lasted only until around 1260, but the major successor states continued for many generations, in the Middle East, present-day Russia, Central Asia and China. It left a lasting impact on these areas and their peoples, which was often far from negative! The papers in this volume offer fresh perspectives on the Mongol Empire, its rule in the eastern Islamic world, Central Asia and China, and the legacy of this rule. Various authors approach the matter from a variety of views, including political, military, social, cultural and intellectual. In doing so, they shed a new light on the Mongol Empire.This publication has also been published in hardback, please click here for details."

For nearly a millennium, a large part of Asia was ruled by Turkic or Mongol dynasties of nomadic origin. What was the attitude of these dynasties towards the many cities they controlled, some of which were of considerable size? To what extent did they live like their subjects? How did they evolve? Turko-Mongol Rulers, Cities and City-life aims to broaden the perspective on the issue of location of rule in this particular context by bringing together specialists in various periods, from pre-Chingissid Eurasia to nineteenth-century Iran, and of various disciplines (history, archaeology, history of art). Contributors include: Michal Biran, David Durand-Gu dy, Kurt Franz, Peter Golden, Minoru Inaba, Nobuaki Kondo, Yuri Karev, Tomoko Masuya, Charles Melville, J rgen Paul and Andrew Peacock

This volume offers a wide-ranging account of the Mongols in western and eastern Asia in the aftermath of Genghis Khan's disruptive invasions of the early thirteenth century, focusing on the significant cultural, social, religious and political changes that followed in their wake.

It was through bitter experience growing up on the harsh and unforgiving steppes of Mongolia that Genghis Khan learned to trust few people and to be vigilant of the personalities and events around him. As a result of an early life filled with hardship, betrayals, and constant struggle, Genghis Khan developed into a cunning and effective leader of men in battle. He became an innovative commander who disdained customary tactics when those strategies failed to bring victory. Genghis Khan united the tribes of Mongolia in a way never before seen, leading them to the settled lands of Eurasia and achieving almost super-human victories over vastly larger forces. By the time of his death he had created an empire of immense proportions, larger than anything before in history. Genghis Khan addresses how the teenaged son of a minor Mongol chieftain created a military machine of extraordinary striking power and wielded it to conquer such lands as China, Central Asia, and Persia. Potomac's Military Profiles series features essential treatments of the lives of significant military figures from ancient times through the present. Both the general audience and readers with a professional interest will appreciate each volume's concise blend of analysis and well-crafted writing. These books also serve as a starting point for those who wish to pursue a more advanced study of the subject.

The Mongols had a profound effect on the regions that they ruled in the eastern Muslim world, from the first Mongol invasion in 1219 through the breakup of the Ilkhanate in 1335 and the various, short-lived successor states. The influence of their rule - positive as well as negative - on the peoples of Iran and the neighboring countries can be seen in such diverse areas as demography, economics, art and other types of material culture, intellectual and religious life, military affairs, government, etc. This book brings together a series of studies that deal with some of these aspects in the state established around 1260 by Hülegü, grandson of Chinggis Khan: the development of the land-tenure system; the title ilkhan; the use of Arabic sources for the history of the Ilkhanate; the eventual conversion of the Mongols to Islam; and - most prominently - the ongoing war with the Mamluk Sultanate to the west.

The exhibition, jointly organized by the Kunst und Ausstellungshalle der Bundesrepublik Deutschland-Bonn, the Staatliches Museum für Völkerkunde-Munich, the Kunsthistorisches Museum-Vienna, the federal state of lower Austria, the BMBWK and Sabancı University's Sakıp Sabancı Museum and sponsored by Garanti Bank, brought together 600 pieces, some of which were seen by the public for the first time, from major museums in Europe, Mongolia and Turkey. In conjunction with the exhibition a programme of lectures, gallery talks, and workshops for children and adults was conducted.

The Mongols had a huge impact on medieval Europe and the Islamic world. This major new study from the leading historian in the field reassesses relations between the Catholic West and the Mongols from the thirteenth to the fifteenth centuries. Huge popular interest due to the success and violence of the Mongol empire and the resonance of the like of Genghis Khan The first major study of the Mongols in two decades: will become the definitive book Major appeal to academics and readers interested in relations between medieval Christian Europe and non-Christian world, the history of the crusades, and in medieval European history in general Assesses the impact of Mongol-Western contact on the West's knowledge of the world down to the voyages of  Columbus and Cabot Unlike previous literature on these contacts, it provides a close study of relations with the Golden Horde in Eastern Europe down to the early 15th century Investigates Western dealings with Temur (Tamerlane), the last 'Mongol' or 'Tartar' conqueror to figure as a potential ally against the Muslims Surveys Western European Commercial operations in the Mongol world

The interaction between Eurasian pastoral nomads and the surrounding sedentary societies is a major theme in world history. This volume explores the mulitfarious nature of nomadic society and its relations with China, Russia and the Middle East from antiquity into the contemporary world with emphasis on the Mongol and Turkish peoples.

There has long been a need for a scholarly English edition of the great 13th century historical epic, The Secret History of the Mongols, the only surviving Mongol source about the empire. The book is mainly about the life and the career of Chinggis Khan, his ancestors and his rise to power. Chinggis Khan was not only a military genius, but also a great statesman and diplomat. Through a combination of armed force and diplomacy, he managed to merge the complex system of alliances which existed between diverse tribes into a powerful confederacy that swept across most of Eurasia, starting in 1219. Urgunge Onon's fresh translation 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. This fully annotated edition is prefaced by a 36 page introduction setting the work in its cultural and historical context.

Covering more than one century, this book describes the complex issues of Mongol-Armenian political relations that involved many different ethnic groups in a vast geographical area stretching from China to the Mediterranean coast in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries.

This book explores the administration of Iran under Mongol rule through taxation and monetary policy. A consistent development is evident only from abundant numismatic material, from the conquest of Samarqand by Chingiz Khan to the reign of the penultimate ruler, Uljaytu. In many cases, the individuals responsible for initiating and conducting the policies can be identified from the histories or remarks of the mint master. The structure of the empire is clearly demarcated by mint production, coin styles and type of metal. This illuminates many controversial historical points such as the meaning and function of an Il-khan and the establishment of the Toluid dynasty under Hulagu. The Mongols broke the crust of an inflexible and archaic Islamic monetary tradition that had hampered economic development by encouraging extensive trade and the sciences (especially astronomy and higher mathematics) through determined and always pragmatic programmes.

In this innovative and challenging study, Donald Ostrowski adds fresh and important insights to a pivotally important yet poorly understood subject--Mongol influence on Muscovy. Ostrowski considers here the outside origins and influences, as well as the indigenous origins and development, and shows that during the early period of Muscovy the dominant outside influences came through both Byzantium and the Qipchaq Khanate with its capital at Sarai. In considering these outside influences, Ostrowski has set out to study Muscovy as an integral and important part of world history.