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Very Short Introductions #314
The Mongols: A Very Short Introduction
In the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, the Mongols carved out the largest land-based empire in world history, stretching from Korea to Russia in the north and from China to Syria in the south, and unleashing an unprecedented level of violence. But as Morris Rossabi reveals in this Very Short Introduction , within two generations of their bloody conquests, the Mongols evolved from conquerors and predators to wise rulers who devised policies to foster the economies of the lands they had subjugated. By adopting political and economic institutions familiar to the local populations and recruiting native officials, they won over many of their non-Mongol subjects. In addition, Mongol nobles were ardent patrons of art and culture, supporting the production of Chinese porcelains and textiles, Iranian tiles and illustrated manuscripts, and Russian metalwork. Perhaps most important, the peace imposed by the Mongols on much of Asia and their promotion of trade resulted in considerable
interaction among merchants, scientists, artists, and missionaries of different ethnic groups--including Europeans. Modern Eurasian and perhaps global history starts with the Mongol empire.
interaction among merchants, scientists, artists, and missionaries of different ethnic groups--including Europeans. Modern Eurasian and perhaps global history starts with the Mongol empire.
136 pages, Paperback
First published April 6, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews
May 21, 2025
This is up to the usual standard of the books in this wonderful series.
The Mongols did kill millions of people and they did raze major cities across half of the known world. However, there's more to their story than this.
The Mongols trajectory was truly astonishing. Within two generations they transformed themselves from pastoral nomads who occasionally raided neighbouring peoples' land to obtain necessities, into rulers of the largest contiguous land empire the world has ever seen.
What brought their empire to an end was both internal bickering that made them fight amongst themselves and their failed attempts to conquer Japan and the area of the world now known as Burma. These failures dented their aura of invincibility.
With their nomadic lifestyle, the Mongols never had much time for artisans of their own, however they did appreciate the artistic merits of all the people they conquered and supported the artistic efforts of their artisans.
Mongols always emphasized service to the state in the form of taxes, tribute, forced labour, and recruitment into the armed forces. In Russia, trade with places like China increased under Mongol rule and the tax-exempt status awarded to the Orthodox church allowed it to accumulate resources to construct churches and produce those religious icons we all admire.
One irritation in this book is that the American author always refers to 'Iran' when referring to the Persian empire and the country of Persia. This is silly and should have been corrected by OUP.
The Mongols did kill millions of people and they did raze major cities across half of the known world. However, there's more to their story than this.
The Mongols trajectory was truly astonishing. Within two generations they transformed themselves from pastoral nomads who occasionally raided neighbouring peoples' land to obtain necessities, into rulers of the largest contiguous land empire the world has ever seen.
What brought their empire to an end was both internal bickering that made them fight amongst themselves and their failed attempts to conquer Japan and the area of the world now known as Burma. These failures dented their aura of invincibility.
With their nomadic lifestyle, the Mongols never had much time for artisans of their own, however they did appreciate the artistic merits of all the people they conquered and supported the artistic efforts of their artisans.
Mongols always emphasized service to the state in the form of taxes, tribute, forced labour, and recruitment into the armed forces. In Russia, trade with places like China increased under Mongol rule and the tax-exempt status awarded to the Orthodox church allowed it to accumulate resources to construct churches and produce those religious icons we all admire.
One irritation in this book is that the American author always refers to 'Iran' when referring to the Persian empire and the country of Persia. This is silly and should have been corrected by OUP.
February 24, 2020
Ottima introduzione (perché questo è, nel titolo originale) alla società, storia e cultura (dell'epoca, nb) dei mongoli e dei suoi Qa'anati. Interessante anche la parte sulla eredità che hanno lasciato i Mongoli in ben 3 continenti. Per creare un primo assetto di conoscenze è una lettura più che consigliata!
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February 6, 2022it was not the desire to do well in the class that i'm taking this semester that pushed me to read this entire textbook cover to cover but the satisfaction that i knew it would bring me to finally be able to mark it as read
November 18, 2016
I mongoli di Morris Rossabi è un ottimo testo introduttivo sull’impero mongolo, forse il migliore a disposizione in italiano; in poco più di cento pagine ci viene offerta una panoramica generale di quella stagione di conquiste che porteranno un popolo fino ad allora ai margini della storia a creare uno degli imperi più vasti di sempre.
Il libro si sviluppa in sette agili capitoli, in un arco di tempo compreso tra la fine del XII secolo e fine del XIV secolo. Il primo capitolo espone il contesto geografico, politico e culturale in cui vivevano i mongoli, senza il quale ci riesce difficile capire cosa rendesse questo popolo così diverso culturalmente e militarmente dai propri vicini sedentari. Nel secondo capitolo veniamo a conoscenza di Chinggis Qa’an (al secolo Temujin), il quale riuscì nella difficile impresa di riunire le varie tribù mongole sotto un unico capo, per poi dare il via ad una serie di campagne militari strabilianti. Il lascito più importante di Chinggis Qa’an non fu però territoriale, ma politico-organizzativo: la tolleranza religiosa, il grande supporto dato a mercanti ed artigiani e soprattutto la pratica di affidare a degli “stranieri” saggi e capaci (in particolare cinesi e persiani) l’amministrazione dello stato, caratterizzeranno il governo dei mongoli in tutte le aree dell’impero. Il terzo capitolo si concentra sull’espansione territoriale verso occidente successiva alla morte di Chinggis Qa’an, e ai contrasti che porteranno i suoi successori a spartirsi i territori conquistati. Il quarto e il quinto capitolo analizzano nel dettaglio i quattro regni sorti dalla divisione dell’impero chinggiskhanide: la Cina di Quibilai Qa’an, in cui i mongoli dimostrarono tutte le loro inaspettate capacità politiche; l’Ilkhanato nella Persia e nella penisola anatolica, altrettanto fiorente ma meno stabile politicamente; l’impero chagatico in Asia Centrale, ancora molto legato al retaggio mongolo e alle antiche tradizioni nomadi; e l’Orda d’Oro in Russia, la cui importanza all’interno della storia russa sta venendo riscoperta, a discapito del mito del “giogo tataro”. Il sesto capitolo è dedicato al contributo dei mongoli all’arte e alla cultura euroasiatica, discorso poi ampliato nel settimo e ultimo capitolo, in cui l’autore tenta un bilancio equilibrato e non liquidatorio dell’era mongola.
Il pregio più grande di questo libro infatti è l’approccio moderno nell’analizzare e giudicare l’apporto dei mongoli alla storia mondiale: senza negare la brutalità delle conquiste mongole (invero spesso esagerata da storici sensazionalisti e/o avversari dei mongoli), Rossabi sottolinea come:
In ogni territorio conquistato i mongoli influenzarono gli armamenti, la strategia, le tattiche e l’organizzazione militare. La cosiddetta Pax mongolica comportò i primi rapporti diretti tra Europa e Asia orientale, determinando un’accelerazione nella diffusione dei viaggi nelle zone euroasiatiche oltre che della tecnica, dell’arte e delle confessioni religiose. […] Probabilmente l’eredità più duratura dei mongoli furono le relazioni e gli scambi tra Oriente e Occidente. Dall’epoca mongola in poi gli avvenimenti europei ebbero ripercussioni nell’Asia mediorientale e orientale, mentre tendenze asiatiche nel campo dell’arte, dell’abbigliamento e della religione influenzarono l’Occidente. Le invasioni mongole inaugurarono le relazioni e la storia a livello globale. Il fatto che i mongoli siano citati in fonti contemporanee cinesi, giapponesi, uigure, tibetane, russe, georgiane, armene, persiane, arabe, siriache e latine testimonia il loro influsso su gran parte del mondo euroasiatico.
Il libro si sviluppa in sette agili capitoli, in un arco di tempo compreso tra la fine del XII secolo e fine del XIV secolo. Il primo capitolo espone il contesto geografico, politico e culturale in cui vivevano i mongoli, senza il quale ci riesce difficile capire cosa rendesse questo popolo così diverso culturalmente e militarmente dai propri vicini sedentari. Nel secondo capitolo veniamo a conoscenza di Chinggis Qa’an (al secolo Temujin), il quale riuscì nella difficile impresa di riunire le varie tribù mongole sotto un unico capo, per poi dare il via ad una serie di campagne militari strabilianti. Il lascito più importante di Chinggis Qa’an non fu però territoriale, ma politico-organizzativo: la tolleranza religiosa, il grande supporto dato a mercanti ed artigiani e soprattutto la pratica di affidare a degli “stranieri” saggi e capaci (in particolare cinesi e persiani) l’amministrazione dello stato, caratterizzeranno il governo dei mongoli in tutte le aree dell’impero. Il terzo capitolo si concentra sull’espansione territoriale verso occidente successiva alla morte di Chinggis Qa’an, e ai contrasti che porteranno i suoi successori a spartirsi i territori conquistati. Il quarto e il quinto capitolo analizzano nel dettaglio i quattro regni sorti dalla divisione dell’impero chinggiskhanide: la Cina di Quibilai Qa’an, in cui i mongoli dimostrarono tutte le loro inaspettate capacità politiche; l’Ilkhanato nella Persia e nella penisola anatolica, altrettanto fiorente ma meno stabile politicamente; l’impero chagatico in Asia Centrale, ancora molto legato al retaggio mongolo e alle antiche tradizioni nomadi; e l’Orda d’Oro in Russia, la cui importanza all’interno della storia russa sta venendo riscoperta, a discapito del mito del “giogo tataro”. Il sesto capitolo è dedicato al contributo dei mongoli all’arte e alla cultura euroasiatica, discorso poi ampliato nel settimo e ultimo capitolo, in cui l’autore tenta un bilancio equilibrato e non liquidatorio dell’era mongola.
Il pregio più grande di questo libro infatti è l’approccio moderno nell’analizzare e giudicare l’apporto dei mongoli alla storia mondiale: senza negare la brutalità delle conquiste mongole (invero spesso esagerata da storici sensazionalisti e/o avversari dei mongoli), Rossabi sottolinea come:
In ogni territorio conquistato i mongoli influenzarono gli armamenti, la strategia, le tattiche e l’organizzazione militare. La cosiddetta Pax mongolica comportò i primi rapporti diretti tra Europa e Asia orientale, determinando un’accelerazione nella diffusione dei viaggi nelle zone euroasiatiche oltre che della tecnica, dell’arte e delle confessioni religiose. […] Probabilmente l’eredità più duratura dei mongoli furono le relazioni e gli scambi tra Oriente e Occidente. Dall’epoca mongola in poi gli avvenimenti europei ebbero ripercussioni nell’Asia mediorientale e orientale, mentre tendenze asiatiche nel campo dell’arte, dell’abbigliamento e della religione influenzarono l’Occidente. Le invasioni mongole inaugurarono le relazioni e la storia a livello globale. Il fatto che i mongoli siano citati in fonti contemporanee cinesi, giapponesi, uigure, tibetane, russe, georgiane, armene, persiane, arabe, siriache e latine testimonia il loro influsso su gran parte del mondo euroasiatico.
December 12, 2021
12/12/2021 (***)
Questo libretto stava nella libreria (di mio fratello), intonso, da tempo; l'ho letto ora, a ruota di Le porte del mondo: L'Europa e la globalizzazione medievale, che è proprio incentrato sul ruolo fondamentale che ebbe l'espansione mongola del XIII secolo sotto la guida di Gengis Khan e dei suoi successori nel promuovere la globalizzazione dei commerci nella sua fase prodromica, poi interrotta proprio dal collasso dell'impero dei pronipoti di Gengis e dalla peste nera.
Panoramica generale, incentrata soprattutto sui fatti storici e sulle conseguenze culturali e economiche dei secoli mongoli, e che mi ha soddisfatto, viste le mie necessità.
Come sempre gli Universali Paperbacks del Mulino non brillano poi per esaustività e piglio narrativo.
Dipende da quello che ognuno cerca.
Stupisce in ogni caso il neofita l'impatto enorme che ebbe l'avventura di questi pastori nomadi delle steppe asiatiche sulle immense aree conquistate e in generale sulla storia dell'umanità, poiché questi improbabili conquistatori, dopo aver annichilito in brevissimo tempo mezzo mondo (e già questo è incredibile), riuscirono a trasformarsi un pò ovunque - più in Cina e in Persia, meno in Russia e Asia Centrale - in raffinati politici, amanti del bello, protettori delle arti e dei commerci, fautori una politica di tolleranza verso le diverse fedi religiose che l'Europa di quell'epoca si sarebbe sognata.
Certo, furono anche i devastatori di Baghdad, della Cina meridionale e dell'Europa orientale, lasciando piramidi di teste umane opportunamente ammonticchiate fuori le porte di diverse città nemiche, e governarono ovunque con nerbo di ferro e secondo gerarchie classiste che regolarmente penalizzano gli autoctoni.
Furono un insieme di molte cose, ma soprattutto il motore di quella breve stagione che mise in collegamento gli antipodi dell'Eurasia, Europa e Cina, e tutti i nodi intermedi, arricchendoli tutti e permettendo quel travaso di conoscenze e beni che poi raggiunse il suo compimento nell'Europa dell'umanesimo e del rinascimento.
Non poco, insomma.
Questo libretto stava nella libreria (di mio fratello), intonso, da tempo; l'ho letto ora, a ruota di Le porte del mondo: L'Europa e la globalizzazione medievale, che è proprio incentrato sul ruolo fondamentale che ebbe l'espansione mongola del XIII secolo sotto la guida di Gengis Khan e dei suoi successori nel promuovere la globalizzazione dei commerci nella sua fase prodromica, poi interrotta proprio dal collasso dell'impero dei pronipoti di Gengis e dalla peste nera.
Panoramica generale, incentrata soprattutto sui fatti storici e sulle conseguenze culturali e economiche dei secoli mongoli, e che mi ha soddisfatto, viste le mie necessità.
Come sempre gli Universali Paperbacks del Mulino non brillano poi per esaustività e piglio narrativo.
Dipende da quello che ognuno cerca.
Stupisce in ogni caso il neofita l'impatto enorme che ebbe l'avventura di questi pastori nomadi delle steppe asiatiche sulle immense aree conquistate e in generale sulla storia dell'umanità, poiché questi improbabili conquistatori, dopo aver annichilito in brevissimo tempo mezzo mondo (e già questo è incredibile), riuscirono a trasformarsi un pò ovunque - più in Cina e in Persia, meno in Russia e Asia Centrale - in raffinati politici, amanti del bello, protettori delle arti e dei commerci, fautori una politica di tolleranza verso le diverse fedi religiose che l'Europa di quell'epoca si sarebbe sognata.
Certo, furono anche i devastatori di Baghdad, della Cina meridionale e dell'Europa orientale, lasciando piramidi di teste umane opportunamente ammonticchiate fuori le porte di diverse città nemiche, e governarono ovunque con nerbo di ferro e secondo gerarchie classiste che regolarmente penalizzano gli autoctoni.
Furono un insieme di molte cose, ma soprattutto il motore di quella breve stagione che mise in collegamento gli antipodi dell'Eurasia, Europa e Cina, e tutti i nodi intermedi, arricchendoli tutti e permettendo quel travaso di conoscenze e beni che poi raggiunse il suo compimento nell'Europa dell'umanesimo e del rinascimento.
Non poco, insomma.
September 15, 2017
Un buon saggio introduttivo sulla nascita, sviluppo e fine di un impero. Come l'autore specifica, questo saggio può essere solo una introduzione ad un argomento, ossia la storia dell'Asia centrale e intermedia tra l'ascesa di Temujin a Gengis Khan e la fine delle dinastie gengiskanidi. Sono quasi tre secoli di storia, non bastano cento pagine a trattarli. Il modo in cui sono scritte e le domande che pone spingono però a volerne sapere di più.
Tre stelle e mezza.
Tre stelle e mezza.
January 6, 2019
Short read, compacted information, very worthwhile read.
February 16, 2016
This Very Short Introduction offers a serviceable overview of the Mongols, from a little before Genghis through a couple generations after Kubilai Khan. The book notes the key personalities, the rise of the Mongols, their conquests, fights with one another, and interactions with the peoples they dominated. A few of the European accounts of various Mongol rulers sound worth pursuing separately from this book.
October 9, 2020
Worthwhile short review of the 13th and 14th century Mongols. I have been looking for a good single volume history of the Mongols, who I find fascinating, but this is too short and introductory to be that. But, it did give me a better foundation of knowledge. This is a very small book with very small print, which was annoying.
Chinngis (Genghis) Khan was the first to unify his people and start conquering neighbors, first in modern Mongolia and northwest China. Interestingly, the Mongols often use ultimogeniture, which is the youngest child is heir. They were and continued to be somewhat nomadic, not choosing to build big cities, but rather moving a lot looking for good pasture for their horses and livestock around the steppe. Ogedei was the main successor of his children, though each child's lineage ended up taking a part of Asia. Asia was broken up into four main khanates, the Yuan Dynasty led by Kublai Khan in China, the Il Khanate in Iran and Turkey, the Golden Horde in Russia, and the Chagatai Khanate in Central Asia. The four sooner or later did not get along, fought, and eventually disintegrated from the inside out.
I have always understood the Mongols to be vicious and heartless conquerors, which is partly true, but the full truth is more nuanced. They connected east and west Asia and supported trade along the Silk Roads. They were generally tolerant of religions and cultures. A Mongol culture didn't take over the world, rather they adopted the culture and religions of those they conquered, perhaps influencing them, but the cultures of the conquered survived.
The Mongols ultimately retracted back into modern Mongolia. It is amazing to think about how a nomadic people grew to take over most of the world and then lost their domains all within a couple hundred years.
Chinngis (Genghis) Khan was the first to unify his people and start conquering neighbors, first in modern Mongolia and northwest China. Interestingly, the Mongols often use ultimogeniture, which is the youngest child is heir. They were and continued to be somewhat nomadic, not choosing to build big cities, but rather moving a lot looking for good pasture for their horses and livestock around the steppe. Ogedei was the main successor of his children, though each child's lineage ended up taking a part of Asia. Asia was broken up into four main khanates, the Yuan Dynasty led by Kublai Khan in China, the Il Khanate in Iran and Turkey, the Golden Horde in Russia, and the Chagatai Khanate in Central Asia. The four sooner or later did not get along, fought, and eventually disintegrated from the inside out.
I have always understood the Mongols to be vicious and heartless conquerors, which is partly true, but the full truth is more nuanced. They connected east and west Asia and supported trade along the Silk Roads. They were generally tolerant of religions and cultures. A Mongol culture didn't take over the world, rather they adopted the culture and religions of those they conquered, perhaps influencing them, but the cultures of the conquered survived.
The Mongols ultimately retracted back into modern Mongolia. It is amazing to think about how a nomadic people grew to take over most of the world and then lost their domains all within a couple hundred years.
July 24, 2021
Another concise but thorough introduction. This series really is very handy, though each book tends to leave me with an ever-increasing list of elements I want to dive more deeply into. (In this case, particularly the early history of Russia, and more about Temur/Tamerlane.) I found the reflections on Mongol culture and priorities - particularly to do with trade, arts and crafts, and envoys - to be absolutely fascinating, and a nice counterpoint to the usual basic "totally ravaged / brought the plague" dotpoint.
I'm enjoying how my patchwork reading is starting to overlap and complement. This one obviously covers a significant amount of my previous Silk Road reading (The Silk Road: A Very Short Introduction) and meets up with the edges of my reading about the Venetian empire (City of Fortune: How Venice Won and Lost a Naval Empire). It's interesting to see things from different angles.
I'm enjoying how my patchwork reading is starting to overlap and complement. This one obviously covers a significant amount of my previous Silk Road reading (The Silk Road: A Very Short Introduction) and meets up with the edges of my reading about the Venetian empire (City of Fortune: How Venice Won and Lost a Naval Empire). It's interesting to see things from different angles.
August 30, 2019
very short and easy to understand history of the Mongol empire. I read this before my trip to Mongolia because I tried to understand its people. This book failed to provide what I was looking for, as it only spared 1 or 2 pages on Mongolian traditions and customs. However, it surprised me on other aspects. When I grew up learning China's history, Yuan Dynasty was counted as a Chinese empire that covered vast land across continents. But history was not actually like that. Yuan Dynasty was only one of the four khanates under the Mongol empire, and directly ruled by the great Khan. This book provided very logical and summarised introduction to that period of time. I think I will read other books listed as reference, with more stories and anecdotes.
January 18, 2018
This book does exactly what you expect from any volume in the Very Short Introduction series: It explains the origins of the Mongols and their empire, explores the reason for their rise, their apogy and decline, and ends with a word on their legacy. In short "The Mongols" does the job, doing justice to legendary rulers like Genghis and Kublai Khan without turning itself into a chronicle of succeeding reigns and palace intrigues.
February 23, 2019
This was an excellent introduction to the Mongols. I especially liked the intro that focused on how environmental factors shaped the faith of the Mongols. Even though I have read Thomas Barfield excellent "Perilous Frontier" it was new material in this one. If you like reading about the Mongols and you like Oxford's "A very short introduction" series, this is an excellent read.
January 9, 2020
Rossabi packs an awful lot of information into a short book, yet it's a remarkably clear and compelling read (to be fair this stands for most of the Oxford VSIs I've read). A great introduction to a fascinating subject: 'The Mongols' trajectory was truly remarkable. Within two generations, they transformed themselves from pastoral nomads [...] into rulers of a far-flung and multiethnic domain.'
December 3, 2018
A very well written book that introduces the reader to the Mongols.
November 8, 2019
Rossabi copes well with the limited space in the VSI format, providing a solid overview of the most important features of the Mongols and their empire.
May 10, 2020
A good introduction to the subject.
July 30, 2020
Solid for introduction or review.
June 3, 2021
Does exactly what it says on the tin
November 24, 2021
Erg goede samenvatting van de belangrijkste gebeurtenissen, context en nalatenschap van 100 jaar Mongoolse overheersing in Azië
January 19, 2022
Just read this super quickly to help me write my lecture. I’ve started too many fat difficult books that I now can’t finish 😫 — trying to pick up something lighter later
March 18, 2023
Very Short
I like the Very Short Introduction book. They're like little bits of Wikipedia that you can put in your pocket.
I like the Very Short Introduction book. They're like little bits of Wikipedia that you can put in your pocket.
November 30, 2023
It is always nice to see history books with concepts behind facts
May 18, 2024
Oxford VSIs can be hits or misses. This one is undoubtedly a hit!
July 9, 2025
Very informative and the research was super thorough feeling. It was a bit hard to read due to the setup, however it wasn’t bad at all.
July 26, 2015
I've long been interested in the Mongols and this seemed like a good place to start. From the books I've seen in this series and the decent depth they get to I'm not sure if they really are "very short"; more they are very compact, with small books and even smaller type. This is not a complaint as I still have decent eyesight, but an observation that the physical weight of the book belied the depth of the material it covered, and especially in comparison with the other books that are waiting for me to read.
A few issues I had:
- not enough maps, and not enough detail in the maps it includes; I like maps and find them useful aids for understanding events so I always want more; and given that most of the action occurs in parts of central and western Asia that are relatively unfamiliar, maps would have been especially useful in this work; and all too often features mentioned in the text (cities, mountains, rivers) were not included in the maps
- overall the book is roughly chronological, but it also includes thematic sections that focus on a region or a topic, then jump to another region or topic and this makes it hard in places to follow when things happen in relation to one another; a strict chronological presentation would not have worked, but I wouldn't have minded a supplementary time-line with major events
- there was some repetition of material when transitioning from the broad overall chronological presentation of the start of the book, and the more focused sections on Mongol impact on different subjects nearer the end
- some things are left underdeveloped: there is mention of the Jasagh, a Mongol law code that was oriented to the needs of a pastoral nomadic society, but it is not described in any detail, even though it would be interesting to see how the needs differed from the more familiar law codes of settled agricultural societies; there is mention of books or other writings from contemporaries of the Mongols, but they are not mentioned in the bibliography; at one point Tamerlane is mentioned in a sort of off-hand way, as though more will be said later, but he never is substantially, which is especially odd since he apparently plays an important part in the history of the Golden Horde
Some things I found interesting:
- overall it was a very useful overview of a section of history that is not very familiar, and was also a nice complement to From Yao to Mao: 5000 Years of Chinese History which I listened to recently, and which mentions the Yuan dynasty but gives the Chinese perspective
- also a nice complement to the chapter "The Wonders of the East, From Alexander to Prester John" that I had just read in The Book of Legendary Lands, providing the actual historical situation to contrast with the wild speculations of medieval Europe
- the amusing way that travelers from backwards, war-torn, divisive Europe wrote about
- the 'Phags-pa script
- alternate endings to the crusades
- promotion of artisanship
A few issues I had:
- not enough maps, and not enough detail in the maps it includes; I like maps and find them useful aids for understanding events so I always want more; and given that most of the action occurs in parts of central and western Asia that are relatively unfamiliar, maps would have been especially useful in this work; and all too often features mentioned in the text (cities, mountains, rivers) were not included in the maps
- overall the book is roughly chronological, but it also includes thematic sections that focus on a region or a topic, then jump to another region or topic and this makes it hard in places to follow when things happen in relation to one another; a strict chronological presentation would not have worked, but I wouldn't have minded a supplementary time-line with major events
- there was some repetition of material when transitioning from the broad overall chronological presentation of the start of the book, and the more focused sections on Mongol impact on different subjects nearer the end
- some things are left underdeveloped: there is mention of the Jasagh, a Mongol law code that was oriented to the needs of a pastoral nomadic society, but it is not described in any detail, even though it would be interesting to see how the needs differed from the more familiar law codes of settled agricultural societies; there is mention of books or other writings from contemporaries of the Mongols, but they are not mentioned in the bibliography; at one point Tamerlane is mentioned in a sort of off-hand way, as though more will be said later, but he never is substantially, which is especially odd since he apparently plays an important part in the history of the Golden Horde
Some things I found interesting:
- overall it was a very useful overview of a section of history that is not very familiar, and was also a nice complement to From Yao to Mao: 5000 Years of Chinese History which I listened to recently, and which mentions the Yuan dynasty but gives the Chinese perspective
- also a nice complement to the chapter "The Wonders of the East, From Alexander to Prester John" that I had just read in The Book of Legendary Lands, providing the actual historical situation to contrast with the wild speculations of medieval Europe
- the amusing way that travelers from backwards, war-torn, divisive Europe wrote about
- the 'Phags-pa script
- alternate endings to the crusades
- promotion of artisanship
January 3, 2016
Fascinating subject, but the writing is not as engaging as it could and should be.
Covering what has to be one of the craziest stories in history, the book starts strong. The two first chapters on the rise of Mongols and Chinggis Khaan are very well written and present both a gripping narrative and a good backdrop for what is about to come.
Unfortunately the author's steam runs out and the writing turns dry and dull when the book covers the shattering of the empire and the downfall of the four Khanates. It seems very weird to me that some individual facts are repeated time and time again in different chapters in a book as short as this, as if to pad it.
It gives more background than Dan Carlin's excellent Hardcore History podcast series on the subject, but I'd recommend Dan's podcast over this if you haven't heard it yet. Maybe read this afterwards if your appetite was not satiated.
Covering what has to be one of the craziest stories in history, the book starts strong. The two first chapters on the rise of Mongols and Chinggis Khaan are very well written and present both a gripping narrative and a good backdrop for what is about to come.
Unfortunately the author's steam runs out and the writing turns dry and dull when the book covers the shattering of the empire and the downfall of the four Khanates. It seems very weird to me that some individual facts are repeated time and time again in different chapters in a book as short as this, as if to pad it.
It gives more background than Dan Carlin's excellent Hardcore History podcast series on the subject, but I'd recommend Dan's podcast over this if you haven't heard it yet. Maybe read this afterwards if your appetite was not satiated.
December 20, 2012
Admit it--you know nothing about the Mongols. I'm pretty sure almost nobody does, which makes this a great edition in the VSI series. You can tell it's written by an academic in a tiny, almost ignored sub-field (i.e., the prose is occasionally awful, because you can get away with that when only 15 people read what you write); on the other hand, it's never too bad and often quite readable. There's some repetition, but nothing too annoying. And the concluding chapter on the Mongols' 'cultural' legacy is (I'm sure unintentionally) hilarious.
But for a great, short, informative read about history's largest contiguous empire, and a convincing argument that we should pay more attention to that empire and its splinters than we do, you can't beat this book. It's incredible to think about how much territory the empire covered, and how it mediated between Europe, the middle east and Asia.
But for a great, short, informative read about history's largest contiguous empire, and a convincing argument that we should pay more attention to that empire and its splinters than we do, you can't beat this book. It's incredible to think about how much territory the empire covered, and how it mediated between Europe, the middle east and Asia.
November 19, 2015
WHAT IT SAYS IN THE TITLE.
Good job, helping me to not get all them names confused. A+ on the family tree.
I really can 100% see the problem the poor Mongols had. They go all that work building up a reputation as the baddest mofos on the block and then suddenly they find they can just, like, build a city and have bureaucrats bring them crap and they so the dudes that are into the heritage of horse-blood for snack find themselves going toe-to-to with the dudes who are holding s solid gold glass of wine, looking at that blood, and saying, "naw, I'm good."
Never once, though, did he mention that so so many people in Asia are descendants of Genghis Khan. It was a very short introduction, though.
Good job, helping me to not get all them names confused. A+ on the family tree.
I really can 100% see the problem the poor Mongols had. They go all that work building up a reputation as the baddest mofos on the block and then suddenly they find they can just, like, build a city and have bureaucrats bring them crap and they so the dudes that are into the heritage of horse-blood for snack find themselves going toe-to-to with the dudes who are holding s solid gold glass of wine, looking at that blood, and saying, "naw, I'm good."
Never once, though, did he mention that so so many people in Asia are descendants of Genghis Khan. It was a very short introduction, though.
July 15, 2014
Probably the best way to learn about the Mongol empire in less than 130 pages. Although it drags a bit in the end, the story of how this little group of nomads took over the Asian, Middle Eastern, and parts of the European world is simply amazing. It's a shame this era of history isn't well covered in the popular literature.
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