The Mongol Storm: Making and Breaking Empires in the Medieval Near East

by Nicholas Morton

How the Mongol invasions of the Near East reshaped the balance of world power in the Middle Ages 
 
For centuries, the Crusades have been central to the story of the medieval Near East, but these religious wars are only part of the region’s complex history. As The Mongol Storm reveals, during the same era the Near East was utterly remade by another series of the Mongol invasions.  
 
In a single generation, the Mongols conquered vast swaths of the Near East and upended the region’s geopolitics. Amid the chaos of the Mongol onslaught, long-standing powers such as the Byzantines, the Seljuk Turks, and the crusaders struggled to survive, while new players such as the Ottomans arose to fight back. The Mongol conquests forever transformed the region, while forging closer ties among societies spread across Eurasia. 
 
This is the definitive history of the Mongol assault on the Near East and its enduring global consequences.  

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Medieval, Medieval History, Asia, Middle East, World History

432 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2022

Reviews

[K.J. Charles]

Excellent history of the Mongol expansion of the 1200s and its impact on the whole of Asia and the Near East, including Byzantine and the Crusader States even if they never fought directly. the broad geographical sweep lets us see geopolitics in action very effectively.

[Alexandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read courtesy of NetGalley.

As a Jill-of-all-trades when it comes to history, I feel like "the Mongols" is one of those topics that a lot of people have vague ideas about but don't really know what they're talking about, or any details at all. Genghis Khan, Kublai Khan, greatest land empire of all time... done.

Yeah. This book has made an enormous difference to the way I see the Mongols as a group, as an empire, as an historical force.

In his Introduction, Morton promises "a multi-perspective history of the Mongol invasions constructed from many different viewpoints". And that's definitely what the book delivers, as the way that the movement of Mongol troops - in and out of territory, sometimes staying, sometimes just installing new leadership after dismantling entire areas - impacts on a variety of pre-existing governments. The thing that surprised me is just WHERE that is happening... because it's the "Near/Middle East" (which is a stupid term for an Australian to use, but there we go). The book is focussed on how the Mongols impact on everything from Egypt, through the Frankish kingdom of Jerusalem, to Byzantium, and to Syria and Georgia and Armenia. I don't quite know where I thought the focus would be - I knew the Mongols had briefly penetrated Europe and made everyone crap their pants - but this was not it. And the thing is, the Mongols are a significant force for DECADES. There are events in this history - across the 13th and into the 14th centuries - that I already knew but that I had NO IDEA were at least partly as a result of the pressure coming from the east, via the Mongols: either directly because of the Mongols' actions, or because of the movement of people driven out by the Mongols (directly or through fear). How is it I had no idea of this?? I'm going to say it's at least partly racism, and also partly the occasionally narrow focus of some histories - in trying to narrow down the historical story, some things get chopped. (Rant could be inserted here about how choices are made, etc... but I'll spare my reader.)

One of the slightly odd parts of this book is that it is NOT as focussed as I had expected. There's entire sections about the politics of the Franks in Jerusalem and the Crusader States... with no apparently connection to the Mongols. Morton gets there eventually, but it does sometimes feel like there's a lot of extraneous detail that wasn't required to actually understand the point of the book - the Mongols. Not that I didn't enjoy the detail! It just wasn't necessary.

Obviously, I learned an enormous amount from this book. About the Mongols themselves - how they were organised, how they viewed themselves (as having a mandate from heaven to rule, and that all religions were fine because they were all subsumed within their own), and how they dealt with subject people. I also learned a huge amount about what was going on in Egypt around the period of the Mamluks coming to power, and to the east I finally learned something about Georgia and Armenia, which hadn't previously come across my radar in this period. Also more about the Crusader States, and generally how all of these states interacted with each other. Which is also something that I feel like has been missing from my knowledge here. Of course rulers were in contact, of course they were making deals and alliances, including across religious and ethnic lines... but I don't really kn0w about them.

The book itself is well-written. I found it engaging - perhaps because I was already invested in the general period and area. As with all such books, I did sometimes find the names hard to follow... if only everyone in the past had differentiated their names more (did there need to be more than one Bohemond?). Morton has structured the book well, largely chronologically and within that, geographically. There are also some useful maps that make locating the changing circumstances of the various polities easier. Overall, definitely a good addition to my understanding of the world.

[Hasan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Many people don't seem to like this book because it doesn't particularly focus on the Mongols as a subject matter like many traditional books do. It isn't a book about the Mongol Empire.

The reason I liked this book a lot was because it helped set the scene of the Near East, and Europe as the Mongol Empire approached, conquered, ruled and eventually was pushed out. The period of Mongol Empire rule was among the most consequential in the last millennium. Hence, it's not just important to know what they did or didn't do. But it's almost equally important how others perceived them, prepared for them and dealt with their threat. This book helps explain that.

[Terry Rudge · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read courtesy of NetGalley.
The Mongol Storm: Making and Breaking Empires in the Medieval Near East by Nicholas Morton

This type of book is actually outside of my normal choice of reading, but I have always been fascinated with the history surround “the Mongols”.
My understanding and knowledge mainly stemmed from a number of films and then the historical fiction tales from Conn Iggulden.

What this book gave me was a true insight to the histories of The Mongols, with a level of detail I hadn’t anticipated but truly appreciated.
I would say this book is closer to an educational book than anything else. It does read as a dissertation on Mongol affairs. This I guess can potentially mean it comes across as a bit dry in places
But I was truly fascinated and in awe of the knowledge shared and the entire Mongol Empire.

The history of the Mongols truly is incredible , and the impact they had on the world at the time and how that has fed into civilisation since, did blow my mind.
Would recommend for someone who really wishes to learn more about the Mongols and is not expecting a fast paced, delivery. The narration is slow and it needs to be as so many facts, places and people are thrown at you.

[Alexander Steyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great view of the area and how the Mongol arrival set the scene for the major changes that led to a closer version of the region we know today.

Moves at a good pace with a sufficient level of detail to cover main points but leaving enough that you want to read further (helps that it is well referenced)

[Flávio · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought I would learn more about the Mongols. That was not the case.
The focus of the book is really the various states in the near east and their change in response the Mongol threat.
If you are looking for a good book about the Mongols, this is not it.

[Zack Whitley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good book and an easy read. It is less about the Mongols than it is about the 13th century near East. As Morton’s wonderful conclusion points out: it’s a messy history. Religion was sometimes a motivating factor when forming alliances and fighting wars, but it often wasn’t. Morton is very knowledgeable about the crusader states and presents them and the Franks (Western Europeans) as just another player - sometimes a major player, sometimes a weak player - in the region. I like how Morton discusses the impact this region had on broadening western Europe’s horizons.

A few things stand out to me: the ubiquity of slavery in the near east most of all. Slaves taken mostly from northern areas seem to have been in great demand and were vital to running these states. They were slave states. The rise of the Mamluks, themselves slaves, is also a theme of the book. Byzantium is in decline as many of the other small states of the near east in 1200 are gone by 1300, subsumed by the Mongols or the Mamluks.

The mongol fires burned brightly and with intensity for a generation or two, then the they fell victim to the dynastic squabbles that trouble so many of these empires that spring up rapidly under a single great leader. Morton’s analysis of the importance of group solidarity seems accurate. I wonder if this is happening to America today: is there still a commitment to democracy? Do people identify as “American” or are other things more important like race or ethnic background? Religion? Or economic group?

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

My thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher Basic Books for an advanced copy of this history tome on Mongol invasion and their effect on history.

The Crusades are about as much as students learn about the history of the Middle and Near East, at least that is what I was taught way back when. Even in classes that were I guess honors or AP like Western Civilization and World History, narrator spoiler we didn't learn much World history, we would spend more time on the Crusades, nothing on the peoples who were there, except their role in the Crusades. Nor can I remember any discussion about the Mongols and their invasion, maybe something casual, but everything I learned was from my fascination with reading later on. The only Khan that might have come up was Kubla Khan in a poetry class. However this book fills in a lot of gaps my classes never even thought to teach. The Mongol Storm: Making and Breaking Empires in the Medieval Near East by Professor Nicholas Morton, is a look at not only the Mongols and their invasion, but the people who fought and died, and the empires that were made and lost.

The book begins with a city under siege by a large army of outsiders, at least to the people who lived there. The army was made up of strange men, strange animals, and stranger weapons. These were the Mongols who path to empire had brought them to the Near East, or as they would consider it fresh lands for conquest. As the Mongols began to move deeper into this territory cracks began to form as old pacts and peace alliances began to collapse, other rulers began to try and claim territory as once strong cities began to fall to the superior tactics and strength of the invaders. The book looks at both sides, with the chapter beginning with the Mongols actions, and the rest of the chapter being about how everyone else reacted. Or fled. The book covers the different religions, treaties and powers in the area, covering an area that seemed almost to be completely at war with everyone else.

The book is very well written and sourced. A lot of time and effort has been taken in researching and coming up with new ways to looks at historic events. There is quite a lot going on in this book. Sometimes the information might seem daunting and a little much, but everything seems to have a reason for being in the book, and what might seem like a diversion, is really setting a scene for something later. There are many maps which helps the reader realise how much territory was involved, how big the Mongol forces was, and how tactically efficient they were.

Recommended for fans of history, not just middle eastern history, or the Crusades, but for people who enjoy well written histories, especially on subjects that might be new to them. A very complete history on a time and place that might be new to a lot of people, or who like myself not received the full story.

[BJ Richardson · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Crusades have always been one of those areas of particular interest to me. This interest goes all the way back to my reading of Runciman's three volume History of the Crusades some twenty-five years back. Having the opportunity to live in Turkiye for eight years has only heightened that interest. Since that first read, I have read dozens of books with varying perspectives and outlooks.

This book is the first in a long time to present something genuinely new. The title would lead one to believe that this book is primarily about the Mongol invasion into this area. It is not. Rather, this book is a history of the Middle East in the thirteenth and early fourteenth centuries and how the introduction of a new player, the Mongols, "upset the apple cart."

For someone who is looking for a history of the Mongols in the generations after Genghis Khan, this book will be a disappointment. For someone looking for a history of the Middle East roughly spanning the time of the Fourth Crusade up almost up to the Black Death, this book is exactly what you are looking for.

[Vahid Askarpour · Rating 5 out of 5]

یورش مغول‌ها به شرق و غرب اوراسیا را می‌توان یکی از نقاط عطف تاریخ جهان دانست. سده‌های سیزده و چهارده میلادی همراه با کشورگشایی مغول‌ها به دو سده‌ی کلیدی تبدیل شد که می‌توان جهان پیش و پس از آن را به روشنی از هم تمایز بخشید. گویا این در تقدیر ساکنان اوراسیای میانی بود که دست‌کم در جهان قدیم، نظم کهن را با نظم نو عوض کنند؛ این دقیقاً همان کاری بود که در سده‌های آغازین هزاره‌ی نخست پیش‌ازمیلاد، سکاها با ورود به نواحی پیرامونی از چین تا بالکان صورت بستند. مغول‌ها مسیری را رفتند که دستکم یکبار جهتی بی‌سابقه به تاریخ جهان قدیم داده بود و از اتفاق، با ورود آنها به صحنه دوباره همان اتفاق به وقوع پیوست.
مغول‌ها ارزش بسیاری به جغد می‌دادند. این پرنده را بسیار عزیز می‌داشتند و باورشان آن بود که پیام‌آور ارواح است. سرکردگان آنها کلاه‌های خویش را با پر جغد می‌آراستند و وجود تکه‌ای از تن این پرنده را نیروبخش تن و جان خویش می‌دانستند. پس شاید بی‌راه نباشد که یورش جنگجویان جغد-پر-بر-سر و هوار شدن آنها روی سر شهرها و آبادی‌های جامعه‌های یکجانشین نواحی جنوبی‌تر اوراسیا، شومی جغد را در سینه‌ی ساکنان آنجا پدیدار کند. هر چه باشد باور داشتند که جغد پرنده‌ای «ویرانه‌نشین» است و کمتر جایی را می‌شد سراغ گرفت که با ورود جنگجویان جغد-پر-بر-سر روی به ویرانی نگذاشته و بر سر ساکنانش خراب نشده باشد.
درباره‌ی خشونت و ویرانگری مغول‌ها زیاد نوشته شده است؛ حتی پیرامون اثری که روی جریان جنگ‌های صلیبی گذاشتند و انگیزه‌ای که در دل مسیحیان ایجاد کردند؛ مسیحیانی که در باورشان چنین نقش شده بود که پادشاهی مسیحی به نام پرستر جان، جایی در شرق دور و اسرارآمیز، بر یک قلمرو مسیحی پر رونق و ثروتمند فرمان می‌راند و با شنیدن یورش ویرانگر جنگجویان از همان شرق دور، چنین پنداشتند که زمانِ آخرالزمانی رستگاری مسیحیان در اورشلیم فرارسیده است.
و بی‌گمان دوره‌ای آخرالزمانی آغاز شده بود و همه‌ی جهان قدیم شاهد پایان یک عصر و آغاز عصری دیگر بود. موجی از ادبیات معطوف به باورهای آخر زمانی نزد شارحان ادیان مختلف آن زمان، از خاورمیانه گرفته تا شرق اروپا و شمال افریقا، گواهی‌ست بر فراگیرشدن آگاهی از پایان تاریخ، دستکم چنانکه تا بدان زمان شناخته می‌شد. یأجوج و مأجوج زنجیرهای خویش را گسسته بودند و دیوارها را یکی از پس دیگری خراب می‌کردند و پیش می‌آمدند.
موضوعی که شاید در مورد مغول‌ها و توفانی که به راه انداختند کمتر مورد توجه قرار گرفته، باورها و سامانه‌ی اعتقادی آنها و اثر قطعی آن بر پایانِ تاریخِ کهنه و آغاز جهانی نوآیین بود. مغول‌ها همچون بیشینه‌ی کوچ‌روان اوراسیای میانی تا همین امروز، خدای بزرگ آسمان را می‌پرستیدند و خان بزرگ خویش را ستونِ خرگاهِ او روی زمین می‌دانستند. به باور آنها همه‌ی ادیان، باورها و اعتقادات دیگر، در هر نقطه از جهان و به هر شکلی که باشد، امتدادهای همان خرگاهِ بنیادین هستند؛ پس مغول‌ها به شکلی حیرت‌انگیز نه تنها رواداران ادیان و باورهای دیگر بودند، بلکه همه‌ی آنها را زیرمجموعه‌ای از خود و باورشان به شمار می‌آوردند. این نکته شاید هنگام روایت تاریخ آنها چندان به چشم نیاید، اما در شکل‌دهی به جهانِ نوآیین پسامغول نقشی محوری ایفا کرده است.
اما چرا باید چنین نگاهِ ارزنده‌ای از جانب مغول‌ها تا همین امروز در حاشیه باشد و از آن مهمتر، چرا نقش و جایگاه آنها در کوچکتر کردن جهان و دادن رنگ و لعابی تازه به آن چنین از نظرها دور بماند؟ شاید یک دلیلش این باشد که دستکم در این مورد خاص، تاریخ را برندگان ننگاشته‌اند! هر سرزمین مغلوبی را که بنگریم، چنین ادعا می‌کند که خان‌های پسین مغول در نهایت جامه‌ی فرهنگ آنها را پوشیده و با کنایه می‌خواهند بقبولانند که به عبارتی آنها اگرچه پیروز جنگ، مغلوبِ تمدن بودند! شاید این نگاه یکجانبه از آنجا باشد که به قول هربرت اسپنسر، جوامع جنگاور میل چندانی به نمایش‌های پرزرق‌وبرق فرهنگی، همچون نگارش تاریخ‌ها و فلسفه‌ها و گرفتاری در بازی‌های پرپیچ‌وخم فکری نداشته‌اند! دلایل دیگری هم البته می‌تواند به همین اندازه در میان باشد، اما هر چه باشد، با کنار گذاشتن این نگاه یکجانبه و آغاز کردن بازاندیشی خویش از کانون باورهای مغول‌ها، درخواهیم یافت که تا چه میزان نقشی ارزنده و مثبت در پایان جهان کهنه و آغاز جهان نو روی دوش آنها بود.
نخست اینکه، چنانکه از منابع و اقوال بازمانده برمی‌آید، در ورود مغول‌ها به سرزمین‌های متصرفه، به‌خصوص خاورمیانه و شمال افریقا، برای پیروان و امت‌های وابسته به ادیان غیر اسلامی گونه‌ای نوید رهایی و رستگاری وجود داشت. درست است که مسیحیان پرستر جان را هیچ‌وقت ندیدند، اما امکان رستگاری خویش را روی برق روشن شمشیرهای برّنده‌ی مغول به روشنی مشاهده کردند. جالب آنکه در این زمینه‌ی نو، آباء و سرکردگان و روحانیان هر کدام از ادیان موجود با یکدیگر سخت در رقابت بودند تا نمایندگان، سیاستمداران و مشاوران خود را برای اداره‌ی امور به دربارهای قلمرو بی‌حدومرز مغول‌ها بفرستند. هر کدام از ادیان امیدوار بودند حاکمان مغول را به دین خود برگردانند و از مزایا و حمایت‌های گسترده‌ای که با این کار به آنها می‌رسید بهره‌مند شود. هر چه باشد، همانطور که گفته شد، نوع نظام باور مغول‌ها به آنها اجازه می‌داد تا دیگر ادیان را صورت‌های پست‌تر یا در حاشیه‌تر باور خودشان و خود را سرور طبیعی پیروان آنها ببینند. برای همین این آمادگی نزد آنها بود که در هر نقطه‌ای از قلمرو خویش، به رنگ همان دین یا آیینی در آیند که بیشترین سود و عایدی را برایشان به بار می‌آورد!
دوم اینکه، مغول‌ها با چیرگی بر تقریباً تمامی بخش‌های شرق و غرب اوراسیا، برای نخستین بار پس از سده‌ها و شاید هزاره‌ها، گستره‌های قابل‌توجهی از شرق و غرب را به هم پیوند زدند و راه‌های تجاری و مبادلاتی حتی بی‌سابقه‌ای روی سطوح آن کشیدند. روی همین مسیرهای نوین بود که امثال مارکو پولو و ابن‌بطوطه پرورش یافتند؛ آگاهی‌های تازه از غرب نزد مردمان شرق و از شرق نزد مردمان غرب نمایان شد؛ امپراتوری عثمانی و بعد امپراتوری‌های قلمروی توتون‌های اروپایی یکی از پس دیگری پدیدار گشت. مغول‌ها در بستر دعواهای هزاره‌ای ادیان بزرگ نمایان شدند و با آن سامانه‌ی باور وحدت‌بخشی که به ودیعه آوردند، زمینه‌ای را فراهم ساختند تا به موجب آن، سیمای باورهای دینی به‌شکلی قابل‌توجه تغییر کنند. سرکردگان و روحانیان آن باورها رفته رفته دریافتند که عصری جدید در حال پیدایش است و خود را آماده‌ی گونه‌ای تغییر و پوست‌اندازی برای سازگاری بیشتر با احوالات جدید کردند؛ امری که تبعات آن را می‌توان در تاریخ جهان پس از سده‌ی پانزدهم میلادی به وضوح مشاهده کرد.

[Corpruga · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book that I feel really didn’t get the best of me—I’d like to tackle it again at a time when I’m not finishing up a stressful semester, buying a house, and moving.

It’s on a topic that I find fascinating: the reverberations of the Mongol invasions on the politics of the Near East and all its power players, including the Khwarazmian Empire, the Crusader States, the Ayyubid Empire, the Anatolian Seljuk Sultanate, and Cilician Armenia. Morton makes it clear that these reverberations really changed the shape of the region in a major way—the rise of the Mamluk Empire and the Turkmen group that would become the Ottomans are some pretty obvious examples of how the post-Mongol world was a completely different one than the pre-Mongol world, but there are some other really striking examples in here. Chapter 4 opens with this really fascinating anecdote about how the herring market in 1238 Yarmouth, England, suffered a massive price drop because of the fear of Mongol invasions among Baltic merchants. One thing Morton does really well is convey the complex interconnectedness of the world (or at least, Eurasia) at this point, with unexpected alliances and betrayals connecting both Muslim and Christian realms as different dynasties come to power.

He also draws a lot of attention to something I’m embarrassed to say I’d never given a lot of thought to—that is, the huge impact of people and whole populations displaced by the Mongols’ conquests, in terms of military strength, shifting alliances, and economic power. I’ll readily admit that I’m not particularly well-read in the history of this region, but one issue that certainly comes up in analyzing medieval western European literature and more general history is the role that religion played in the Mongol Empire (the discussions in recent years around the Middle English romance The King of Tars bring in really interesting ideas of the Mongols’ religious identities). Morton has, I think, a thoughtful take on the ways the Mongols pragmatically deployed what might be called religious tolerance (or might also be called religious domination--"keep your religion, as long as you're using it to support us, clearly the divinely favored conquerors of the world") and how both spiritual beliefs and practical considerations guided Muslims and Christians in reacting to the Mongol conquests, whether trying to convert the Mongols to their own faiths or mobilizing their religious identities for political or military aims.

I also like the balance in the book between this big-picture view, which is quite impressive in its scope, and deep and engaging focuses on individual people and events. Some of the most interesting events for my money included Morton’s explanation of the delays that caused the crusaders’ defeat in the Fifth Crusade; the 1244 alliance between Damascus under al-Salih Ismael and the Templars of the Kingdom of Jerusalem against Sultan Ayyub of Egypt and the Khwarazmians; the Mamluks’ 1260 defeat of the Mongols at Ayn Jalut, establishing the Mamluks as a power on the rise; and the War of St. Sabas, primarily fought between Venice and Genoa but also involving Pisa, the Crusader States, Byzantine Nicaea, the Pope, and Tunis.

In addition to interesting individual events, a sweeping history like this is also grounded in particular historical people. Here are some of my favorites from this book. First, there’s Jalal al-Din, a leader of the conquered Khwarazmians who just about brought the empire back into power but was ultimately conquered by the Mongols because he’d pissed his neighbors off too much. God, how badass a line was his statement that “if I am removed, you cannot resist them….I am to you as the Wall of Alexander”? Too bad for him that the Ayyyubids and Seljuks were like, “Sucks to be you, if you wanted our help you shouldn’t have kept attacking us.” I’m always, of course, a sucker for a fascinating and powerful historical woman, and Sultan Ayyub’s wife Shajar al-Durr offers an excellent example in this book: Morton gives a relatively thorough portrait of her career from enslaved captive to queen and sponsor of major construction projects to basically the only one standing between the Ayyubid Empire and total defeat by crusaders to key if controversial figure in the founding of the Mamluk dynasty (and assassin of its first ruler, her husband). And speaking of the Mamluks, Baybars has a wild rise to power as well—it’s really interesting to me that, much like Henry I of England, Baybars attained the throne in the aftermath of a “hunting accident” that killed the previous ruler. At one point this fall I was doing a lot of digging into articles on popular Arabic epic, including some on the depiction of Baybars in said epics, and this really made me want to return to those articles.

This is a really dense book, full of people and events, and it’s easy to lose track at them at times. (Especially if your whole mind isn’t on it—sorry, The Mongol Storm, it was a really busy semester!) But it’s also a useful book for diving beneath the surface when thinking about the impact of the Mongol Empire. As someone who’s struggled to get across even that surface understanding when teaching texts like The Secret History of the Mongols or The Book of Marco Polo, I really felt like I got a lot out of this book, and I hope to return to it in the future, both for a refresher on some of these broad historical developments and to dive into the sources it cites.

[Daniel Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating view into such an influential period of history, Nicholas Morton goes above and beyond by crafting a book on such a complex topic.

As a person fascinated with history, I'm consistently enthralled with the Medieval period and the geopolitical situations that encompass it - However the subject of the Mongol Empire was always daunting due to its sheer scale. The Mongol Storm: Making and Breaking Empires in the Medieval Near East was my answer.

While having to utilise such a myriad of subject matter (geopolitical situations, economic conditions, religious diversity etc.) which is made increasingly complex due to the wide range of sources available, Nicholas Morton is able to craft a cohesive narrative that is both interesting and informative.
Not only does it focus on the narrative in this time period/location but it elaborates on the impact this "storm" had on both other areas of the world and future events. While this extended impact is likely required in any sort of work with the Mongol Empire, the Mongol Storm does this extremely well.

Whether you're a history fan or more of a casual reader, reading how the "Mongol Storm" violently exploded onto the world stage is a tale worthy of an epic saga that will keep your attention right to the end.

[Graham Bear · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent book concerning a very murky and fascinating period of history.

[Terence · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Mongol Storm is a straightforward narrative of the first century of Mongol conquest (c. 1220-1320) with an especial focus on its impact in the Middle East, Egypt and Anatolia (including the Crusader States). As someone fascinated by this era, I found it interesting and would recommend it to the general reader.

[Andres Felipe Contreras Buitrago · Rating 5 out of 5]

El libro empieza con la narración de cómo los corasmios mataron a unos comerciantes mongoles y humillaron a una delegación enviada por parte del gran Khan, donde luego estos se vengaron dando fin al imperio Corasmio. El texto abarca desde 1218 hasta mediados del siglo 14, para ello nos muestra la caída de varios imperios a causa de los mongoles, así como los cambios que propiciaron estos como se puede ver en él florecimiento del comercio o el intercambio de ideas o productos. Antes de adentrarnos a todo el meollo del asunto el autor nos da un contexto en vísperas de las conquistas mongolas, lo que nos muestra un cercano oriente muy diverso donde interactúan cristianos y musulmanes, sumado a los grupos internos que había en estas dos religiones, los imperios de esta región se caracterizaban por expandirse cuando había prosperidad, cuando no la había se protegían a sí mismos. Había 5 ejes de poder, entre los que se pueden destacar lugares sagrados, tierras fértiles o ciudades con gran importancia geopolítica.
En el ámbito de los turcos tenemos diferentes dinastías poderosas que se consolidaron con las conquistas Selyúcida, creando así el sultanato Selyúcida, aunque este posteriormente se fragmentó, donde los turcos de Anatolia serían los más poderosos. Por otro lado, tenemos otro sucesor de los selyucidas, el imperio Ayubí, el cual prosperó gracias a el sultán Saladino, aunque con la muerte de éste se dividió también, en el Cáucaso también había civilizaciones importantes como los georgianos y armenios. Por su parte el imperio bizantino, se encontraba debilitado a causa de los turcos y de los venecianos, siendo estos últimos los que en la cuarta cruzada saquearon Constantinopla, en el ámbito de los estados cruzados, para la época que nos compete ya estaban muy pequeños y fracasa en sus intentos de tomar Jerusalén. El califato abasí, era el último remanente de las grandes conquistas árabes.
El primer capítulo empieza con Gengis Kan en Samarcanda, donde ya estaban llegando al cercano oriente los rumores de las batallas que estaban librando los mongoles, siendo estos los que estaban cazando al sultán Mahoma, cosa que nunca llegaron a lograr, en este camino es que hicieron un gran avance hacia el Cáucaso, estas escaramuzas ya generaban impacto en el califato abasí, y es que las victoria mongolas eran rápidas y aplastante, sus mejores soldados serán criados desde muy pequeños en el arte de la guerra, su Ejército no necesitaba tanto de la infantería por lo que los mongoles podían llevar rebaños para abastecerse y durar más tiempo en la guerra, también había que sumarle que dentro de las líneas mongolas habían expertos en máquinas de asedio efectivas para las sociedades sentarías con fortalezas, las tropas de los pueblos conquistados servían como elementos auxiliares, también había que sumarle la gran disciplina que había dentro del Ejército mongol donde cualquier intento de deserción con el precio de la vida.
En la época en que los mongoles se estaban expandiendo también en la fe cristiana había un deseo por la reconquista y la persecución a todo lo hereje, por ello se organizó la quinta cruzada con el objetivo de tomar Jerusalén, ya que los cruzados aún sentían el sabor de la derrota luego de las grandes victorias de Saladino, para eso está cruzada se centraría más en tomar Egipto para que así los musulmanes no tuvieran una línea de suministro hacia Jerusalén, el primer objetivo era conquistar las defensas de Damieta, la cual estaba muy fuertemente defendida, había una torre y hacia ellos que impedía el acceso al Nilo, los cruzados duraron 6 meses sin ningún éxito, pero una lucha interna entre los ayyubíes, logró que los ejércitos cristianos tuvieran algo de ventaja, pero el hambre en la ciudad de Damieta, hizo que los cruzados por fin tomaran una torre haciendo que el sultán huyera hacia El Cairo, el problema es que las fuerzas occidentales no aprovecharon esta ventaja, ya que estaban esperando los refuerzos alemanes, además que las noticias de los avances mongoles hacían creer a los cruzados que estos eran cristianos basándose en el mito de Preste Juan, pese a todo, los ayubíes, logran derrotar un gran barco de suministro que iba hacia los cruzados, haciendo que estos últimos se rindieran y fracasara así la quinta cruzada, pero esto no impidió que el próximo gran problema de los musulmanes fueran los mongoles.
en el segundo capítulo tenemos Gengis Khan centrándose en el norte de India para seguir al hijo de un sultán, con la muerte del gran kan pareciera que los mongoles se retiraron lentamente, pero no fue hasta 1229, que con Ogodei, las incursiones mongolas volvieron. en el cercano oriente encontramos ciudades de gran importancia como Alepo y Damasco siendo ciudades muy comerciales e importantes a nivel cultural, Egipto Por su parte, era un gran productor de azúcar y cereal, ya estaban llegando al Cairo los refugiados producto de las incursiones mongolas, los musulmanes de esta región ya no le temían a los estados cruzados ya que contaban con espías para controlarlos por lo que la yihad, había mermado. Pero los ayubíes, tenían otros enemigos como los turcomanos o la dinastía Zangid, pese a estas amenazas, los ayubíes, desde hacía 90 años que en su frontera del este no tenían una amenaza tan seria como la que presentaba a los mongoles, como siempre, la muerte de un sultán provoca conflictos internos, por lo que no había una clara alianza musulmana para frenar a este Ejército invasor, todos estos problemas se le habían que sumar que los ayubíes, tenían miedo de que los corasmios se volvieran más fuertes y los atacaran, Por otro lado Federico segundo había llegado a desembarcar en el cercano oriente, ante esta amenaza los sultanes decidieron entregar Jerusalén a los cruzados, esto a causa de que no tenía mucha importancia económica o comercial esta ciudad. El imperio corasmio, finalmente caería a mano de los mongoles, siendo así que el siguiente gran obstáculo de estos nómadas eran el imperio abasí.
en el tercer capítulo tenemos la conquista de China a manos de los mongoles, se funda así la nueva capital mongola, también nos encontramos con el ataque mongol en contra de Georgia y el control total de Persia, en otro eje en que llegan los mongoles hacia la península de anatolia atacando al imperio selyúcida, este pueblo no era tan diferente a los mongoles puesto que tenían aún algo de espiritualidad chamánica propio de los nómadas de las estepas, estos habían hecho grandes avances en anatolia, frente a eso los turcos selyúcidas estaban en un dilema sobre si someterse o no a los mongoles cosas que al final aceptar, aprovechando así para atacar a sus enemigos históricos los ayubíes. Con ello en 1242 empieza la conquista de anatolia por parte de los mongoles, en los que los selyucidas serían rápidamente derrotados a causa de que los turcos habían incumplido con su palabra de someterse a los mongoles.
En el cuarto capítulo tenemos que los estados bálticos ahora temían por los mongoles puesto que el siguiente objetivo de estos guerreros eran las tierras al norte del mar negro, cosa que lograron fácilmente con la conquista de Rusia y de la gran ciudad de Kiev, avanzaría más adentro en donde se harían con tierras de Hungría y Polonia, por lo que los siguientes en tener miedo sería la península balcánica. por ello ahora es importante tener un poco de contexto de cómo Constantinopla temía los mongoles por está rodeado de estos en sus fronteras, y es que este gran imperio ahora se encontraba fragmentado en varios estados a causa de la cuarta cruzada, ninguno de estos pequeños estados tenía el suficiente poder para imponerse al otro. Otro reino importante que se encontraba en anatolia era el Reino de Armenia de Cilicia, la cual también temía por los mongoles, aunque estaba fuertemente defendida y poseía una gran riqueza gracias a la exportación de hierro y madera, antes de que los mongoles tocaran sus fronteras los armenios se sometieron a estos puesto que veían a este pueblo como sus protectores.
En el quinto capítulo tenemos que en la década de 1240 es la época de mayores conquistas mongolas, encontramos que en este tiempo empieza la reconstrucción del reino de Jerusalén, esto a causa de que los ayubíes no están interesados en perturbar este reino, aunque eso no impidió que se realizará sexta cruzada la cual fracasó en el campo de batalla, aunque fue un éxito en el campo diplomático ya que lentamente el Reino de Jerusalén se va recuperando militarmente, los que estaban en serio peligro eran los estados cruzados más al norte o sea el de Trípoli y Antioquía, esta última era la que estaba más aislada y con mayor peligro de ser conquistada por los mongoles, sin embargo, fueron los corasmios los que terminarían saqueando Jerusalén, donde lentamente se empezaría a repartir este gran reino Cristiano, aunque con el tiempo este se lograría estabilizar, con el constante miedo que generan los mongoles había un interés por parte de musulmanes y cristianos por saber quiénes eran estos pueblos venidos de la nada.
Esto nos lleva al sexto capítulo donde la muerte de Ogodei causa luchas por el control del imperio mongol, por aquella época también se realizaría la séptima cruzada que inició con la llegada del Ejército cruzado al reino de Chipre, con esta llegada una delegación de los mongoles llegaría a donde estaban los cruzados siendo los mongoles muy astutos al enviar un Cristiano, cosa que causó interés entre los europeos los cuales mandaron embajadas para conocer más de cerca a los mongoles, existía un halo de misterio en torno a este pueblo estepario ya que nadie sabía derrotarlos, una de las tácticas más utilizadas será volver inhóspito el territorio para la caballería mongola, otra técnica era usar las mismas estrategias militares que usaban los mongoles cosa que le sirvió mucho a los ayyubíes, las cosas que se aprendieron del imperio mongol es que su alimentación estaba basada en kumis y carne, además que respetaban mucho otra religiones, aunque no debían contrariar las costumbres mongolas, muchos líderes religiosos inclusive obtuvieron beneficios como pasó con la iglesia ortodoxa o con los musulmanes, muchas comunidades religiosas vieron a los mongoles como libertadores puesto que se sacia de antiguas leyes que los sometía, los mongoles también fueron arbitro entre las diferentes religiones que habían en Oriente, la religión también fue usada para los intereses mongoles y aunque se intentaron convertir a muchos líderes de este imperio no siempre resultó en éxito.
En el séptimo capítulo tenemos el contraataque de los mongoles contra la dinastía Song, el Ejército mongol se estaba modernizando cada vez más pareciéndose a uno más sedentario, ya que empezarían a contar con líneas de suministros. En 1258 se conquistaría la gran ciudad de Bagdad, donde los mongoles llevarían a cabo una gran masacre dando fin a la dinastía abasí. Por otra parte en Egipto se estaba preparando para la próxima cruzada que venía desde Chipre, donde los cristianos llegaron fácilmente a Damieta, para suerte de los cruzados el sultán había muerto por lo que los caballeros cristianos asaltaron por sorpresa a las tropas egipcias, pese a esta victoria los ayubíes, lograrían cortar con éxito las líneas de suministro. con el gran poder que habían demostrado los mamelucos a la hora de contrarrestar a los cruzados harían un golpe de Estado dando inicio así al imperio mameluco, aunque éste tendría que enfrentarse todavía a remanentes del imperio Ayubí, cosa que aprovecharon los francos para hacer un tratado de paz con los mamelucos,
ahora la nueva amenaza para los estados cruzados serán los turcomanos, respecto a los mongoles estos empezarían a hacer avances hacia Alepo y lograrían la sumisión total del reino y Antioquia, con el rápido avance de los mongoles en el cercano oriente el próximo objetivo era claro la ciudad del Cairo, con ello los mamelucos forman un gran Ejército para detener a los mongoles, respecto a los francos estos eran muy ambiguos y no tuvieron una posición clara de ayuda entre los mamelucos y mongoles, solo estaban esperando quien iba a ser el victorioso, contra todo pronóstico los mamelucos lograrían ganarle a los mongoles deteniendo así su rápido avance y demostrando que este Ejército era posible derrotarlo, aunque quedó entre los egipcios un miedo de una pronta venganza mongola.
En el octavo capítulo tenemos la creación de la horda dorada y el ilkanato, siendo estos dos grandes rivales, y es que para 1264 el imperio mongol ya se encontraba muy fragmentado entre estados muy pequeños, por lo que cada facción mongola buscaba aliados para luchar contra sus otros rivales. Retomando a los bizantinos de Nicea, se nos explica su creación luego de la repartición del imperio bizantino tras la cuarta cruzada en la que los griegos bizantinos huirían de Constantinopla para crear el Reino ya antes mencionado, estos contra todo pronóstico llegaron a aliarse conveniencia a causa de su comercio lucrativo, los bizantinos de este lugar se aliaron con los mongoles como una forma de volver a tomar Constantinopla cosa que lograron en 1261, los bizantinos así aprovecharon el próspero comercio de la horda dorada puesto que necesitaban el estrecho del Bósforo para su comercio, es así que nos encontramos que el nuevo imperio bizantino se encontraba entre 2 kanes, los cuales tenían intereses muy diferentes.
En el noveno capítulo tenemos la consolidación del ilkanato, el cual se encontraba rodeado de enemigos como otros estados mongoles o los mamelucos, estos siempre mostraron interés por la ciencia y el conocimiento, cosa que se vio reflejada en la creación de observatorios y la atracción de intelectuales. Los mamelucos sabían que los mongoles tarde o temprano iban a vengarse por lo que debían prepararse para esta situación, por lo que llevó a estos a controlar Alepo, Damasco y El Cairo, el kanato Por su parte enfrentaba rebeliones internas, qué es sumado a los enfrentamientos con la horda dorada hacía difícil la estabilidad de este imperio, cosa que no se vio facilitada por la alianza mameluca y de la horda dorada, la yihad ahora se había reactivado y era en contra de los mongoles, los mamelucos lograrían gran reconocimiento por parte de los italianos, bizantinos y de la propia bordadora, aunque durante mucho tiempo este pueblo egipcio y el ilkanato coexistieron con escaramuzas esporádicas, con toda la preparación que tenían los mamelucos ante una posible invasión mongola usaron esos recursos para atacar a los estados cruzados los cuales cayeron fácilmente a causa de su debilidad.
En el décimo capítulo tenemos el apoyo que dieron los mongoles al comercio, se crearon así muchas zonas de libre comercio en aunque en algunas partes eran muy conflictivas, los mongoles no escatimaban en lujos para sus tiendas de campaña, era tal el interés por los objetos de lujo que se llegó a un acuerdo entre Venecia y la horda dorada, y es que las ciudades estados italianas estaba prosperando gracias al próspero comercio de Oriente próximo, los italianos exportaban más que todo armaduras y armas y a cambio recibían productos provenientes de la famosa ruta de la seda, donde se concentró mayormente el comercio fue en el mar negro principalmente en los puertos de Crimea, donde se satisfacía las demandas mongolas de textiles, este negocio lucrativo generó luchas entre las diferentes ciudades estados italianas como Venecia y Génova, en este contexto de guerras habría que mencionar que no había muchos secretos militares puesto que muchas ideas y personas cruzaban fronteras por lo que solo habían ciertas cosas especializadas como los caballos y arcos turcos por ejemplo.
En el onceavo capítulo tenemos el avance mongol hacia el sur de China, donde no pudieron invadir Vietnam, ni mucho menos Japón, el ilkanato Por su parte seguía rodeado de enemigos, donde los problemas económicos se agudizaron a causa de que ya no habían más conquistas, frente a esto el imperio mameluco se hacía cada vez más fuerte donde una última cruzada fracasó, es así que los mongoles estaban tan centrados en sus problemas que no se preocuparon en atacar a Egipto, los turcos selyúcidas se encontraban en decaimiento, por lo que los mamelucos aprovecharon para atacar a anatolia, esto sumado a una rebelión turca y son necesario que los mongoles restablecieron su dominio en la península de anatolia, HP por lo que los mongoles ahora sí prepararon su venganza contra los mamelucos una en la que se reunió uno de los ejércitos más grandes de la época, pese a la inferioridad de los mamelucos lograron por fin derrotar a un gran Ejército mongol. En esta batalla participaron armenios de cilicia, los cuales fracasaron, por ello dudaría de la protección mongola, además que los nuevos canes no se vengarán nuevamente contra los mamelucos, Es por ello por lo que los armenios buscarían la paz con estos últimos, aunque para hacerlo las cláusulas eran muy onerosas, y es que la nueva potencia dominante claramente eran los mamelucos, lo bueno para Armenia es que tenía buenos réditos comerciales.
En el último capítulo tenemos el estancamiento del ilkanato, dónde se nos explica la adopción del islam por varios mongoles, cosa que llegaron a ser debido a que seguían a los turcos, pues estos pueblos eran muy similares, aunque en la adopción de esta religión fue gradualmente y no de un momento para otro, Es por ello que cada vez más las élites mongolas eran musulmanes, por ello también el islam se convirtió en la nueva religión del ilkanato produciendo la destrucción de diferentes templos no musulmanes, ello creó que los mamelucos fueran visto por parte de los mongoles como musulmanes indignos, pese a algunas victorias mongolas no lograron debilitar mucho a los mamelucos, en 1291 caería a CC con lo que daría fin definitivamente a los estados cruzados, por lo que la islamización De Oriente próximo se reafirmaría cosa que también está pasando en anatolia, los bizantinos ahora encontraban un mayor enemigo y eran los turcos, frente a esto buscarían el apoyo de la Iglesia cristiana, aunque estos acuerdos no duraron mucho, el problema de los turcomanos es que eran muchos grupos por lo que era difícil usar la diplomacia para cada uno, para solucionar estos problemas se reclutaban turco s aunque esta situación podría ser muchas veces problemática trae las ilusiones era plantar árboles para dificultar el paso de los turcos esteparios, frente a esto es que llegan los salvadores de Bizancio la compañía catalana de flor de Roger, los catalanes lograrían grandes avances derrotando a su paso los turcos aunque estos luego atacarían a los bizantinos, los turcos pese a todo pronóstico, se seguirían haciendo cada vez más fuerte a manos del creador del imperio otomano.

[Younus · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good for knowing how the mongols affected others but not great for knowing about the mongols themselves.

[Liviu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Covering the impact of the Mongol Empire in the Middle East from the early 1200's to the mid 1300's the book is a pleasure to read and very informative. Empires and kingdoms fell and others rose in their stead while the Mongols came like a storm and were seen as invincible until the usual dynastic in-fighting stopped them, so by the end of our period the Mamluk empire and the rising Ottoman state were the inheritors, the Crusaders a memory and Byzantium while it recovered from the Crusader sack and almost 60 year of occupation partly due to the Mongol Storm, was a shell of itself and destined to last only another century or so

By the end of our period and seemingly the big winners of all, the Italian maritime powers Venice and Genoa were in what they thought to be secure and remunerative positions as enablers of the East-West commerce the Mongols facilitated, but the untold riches of the East and the vast territories revealed by enterprising Europeans, whether merchants like Marco Polo or missionaries only whetted the appetite of the West for them and the technology that made its way from China to Europe during this time, most notably the guns which will be developed in the endless wars between European powers of the 14th and 15th centuries will lead, well we know how it went...

Highly recommended

[Sumit RK · Rating 4 out of 5]

For centuries, the Crusades have always been the key event that influenced the history of the medieval Near East but these religious wars are only part of the region’s complex history. It can be argued that not the Crusades, but the Mongol invasions which reshaped the entire Near East, altering the geopolitics of an entire region.

This is the definitive history of the Mongol assault on the Near East as well as Europe. In a single generation, the Mongols conquered vast swaths of the Near East and Empires such as the Byzantines, the Abbuyid Empire, Khwarazmian Empire, the Seljuk Turks, and the crusaders struggled to survive, while new players such as the Ottomans arose to fight back. The Mongol conquests forever transformed the region from Egypt to Jerusalem, to Byzantium, and to Syria and Georgia and Armenia. The book goes in great detail about how the Mongols organized themselves, how they viewed themselves as having a mandate from heaven to rule, and their invasions. It also talks about the crusades, and the power shift in Egypt with Mamluks coming to power. This is an astonishingly all-inclusive book on the impact of the Mongols. With an amazing level of research, helpful maps, and detailed accounts of empires in the Medieval Near East, this book tries to depict the truly complicated affairs of the medieval Near East.

The book focuses on Near East Asia (from the Caspian and Aral Seas to Constantinople and Hungary) It starts with the reign of Genghis Khan in 1218 and ends half a century after the death of Kublai Khan in 1353, with the breakup of the Mongol Empire into four fragments fighting among themselves. The book discusses how Mongols opened up new trade routes to China, allowing multiple religions to coexist within their empire, and incorporating innovative military technologies from the forces they conquered. How political infighting and dynastic upheavals led to the collapse of the Khwarazmian Empire of Central Asia, the Anatolian Seljuk Sultanate, and the smaller crusader kingdoms and led to the rise of aggressive new empires including the Mamluks and the Ottomans, who would ultimately challenge the Mongol Empire and dominate the Middle East for centuries.

Overall, The book is very well written and researched. Sometimes the flurry of facts might seem daunting but every effort is made to simplify the complex history of that time. There are many maps that helps the reader understand the political landscape of the region. The book itself is well-written, well-structured the book well, largely chronological and easy to understand even for casual readers. A must-read for all history fans especially those interested in Mongol history.

Many thanks to Basic Books and NetGalley for the ARC.

[N · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Mongol Strom

The title of the book might mislead some readers. The book is less about the Mongols themselves and more about the empires at the receiving end of the Mongol ruthless onslaught. The book is an highly readable history of the Near East with myriad of empires, principalities and people caught up in the midst of the Mongol onslaught.

As someone who is somewhat familiar with the Mongol invasion – seize of Baghdad, destruction of Alamut, defeat at Ayn Jalut, I found this book really interesting and helped me understand the region during the tumultuous period.

The writer doesn’t try the common trick by historians to get attention to their work by controversially asserting the opposite of commonly held historical view. At the same time the writer explains the Mongol’s worldview and beliefs which led them to see themselves as world-conquerors and did what they did to the conquered people. The Mongols practiced brutal collective extermination of the population to instilled fear on the rest of the empire in the region and to encourage voluntarily submission. Conquered population were recruited in the Mongol forces to be part of the frontline and if any recruits flee battle, the remaining members of the squad of 10 will be executed and if the squad deserted then entire company of 100 will be executed.

With the exception of the Mamluks, almost all the empire, principalities- Seljuks, Empire of Nicea, Zangids, Armenians submitted to Mongols. I was surprised to learn that Mongols initially suffered defeat at the hands of Abbasids before decimating the Baghdad and its population in 1258.
The book explains the intricate political understanding between the Ayyubids dynasty and Crusade states. Due to Ayyubid’s internal bickering, they felt fighting the crusader state was a distraction. And rivals within the Ayyubid family preferred to cement an alliance with the Crusade states against each other.

The real badass, for the lack of a better term, was Baybars. An Qipchak Turkic slave boy who became the Sultan of Egypt and successfully defeated the Mongols and Crusade states. Following the defeat in Ayn Jalut and internal power struggle, the Mongol empire broke down into IlKhanate, Golden Horde, Blue Horde, The Great Khan and Chaghadayids. The Ilkhanate suffered from internal power struggle within the noble family before its inevitable demise.
Overall, a good read on tumultuous period of the Near East. Highly recommend it.

[Socraticgadfly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I first thought, probably 4.25 within quarter-star ratings. But, one tiny issue at the end leads me to 3.75.

First, this isn't just about the Mongols. About 2/3 of the book is about the "cresting" of the Mongol tide in SW Asia and negotiations with it, and pushback against it, by various peoples. The biggest of these peoples were the Turkic Mamluks, rulers of Egypt after ending the Ayyubid dynasty. The biggest leader of them, and the biggest non-Mongol, is Baybars.

That said, it's largely good history. The Seljuq Turks are shown as being only thinly Islamicized, and having marital and other relations with both the Byzantines, and the Cilician Armenians of SE Anatolia. The Byzantines, after reuniting their empire, also intermarried with the Golden Horde.

The Crusaders, either new crusades or the Franks in the crusader city-states, were players at the edges. Turkmen tribalists, part of the big Turkic/-ish wave into SW Asia of a couple centuries earlier, were a big wild card.

A few minor quibbles, other than this being a bit dry?

First, while the number of maps were decent, none of them show borders for any polities. I understand the Turkmen were still pretty fully nomadic, and so you can't do that for them. I also understand some borders in this case taper out into the desert. But, that's not always the case, and most good histories of late Byzantine times, etc., will show such borders.

Second, the implication is left that all Mamluks were Turkic. A decent-sized minority were not.

Third, the end of the book just kind of tapers out. The Ilkhanate's demise is noted, but not its successors. Timur gets mentioned, but it comes off as a kind of throwaway, since he lived into the 1400s.

Fourth and speaking of? I'd call Timur "Turco-Mongol" or something like that rather than "Mongol." He had both Turkic and Mongol ancestry, and both the tribe into which he had been born, and all the lands he ruled, had been Turkicized, or even Perso-Turkicized.

Fifth, back to the "throwaway"? If you consider him to be at least "hyphenated Mongol," then why isn't he part of the "Mongol Storm"? Again, just a "floating" ending. And, yes, it's this that led my to move my quarter-stars rating down half a star.

[Troy Goodfellow · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Mongol Storm is not as much about storm as it is about the flood. Though there is certainly a lot of text about who the Mongols were, broad sketches of their campaigns, and some in-depth discussion of the Ilkhanate, Morton's book is about the consequences of the Mongol invasions for other powers in the Near East.

Morton casts a wide net, from the Christian Crusader States hoping that the Mongols were the forces of the legendary Prester John, giving new energy to poorly planned campaigns, to the effects of the Mongol slave trade creating an elite slave army in Egypt that would rise to become the Mamluks, a great rival to Mongol power in the region. The collapse of the Kwarizim empire led to a refugee crisis across the Near East, some nations would try to unite to oppose the unstoppable storm while others would collaborate with the invaders to further their own local goals.

Though the book ends with a bit of Ibn Khaldun-ism about the natural strength of hybrid nomadic/settled states vs "civilized" nations, the general theme of the book is adapation in the face of crisis. Some supremely talented leaders can dance on the head of a pin, but feudal and monarchical systems are not really calibrated to deal with a long-term threat on the scale of the Mongols, at least until the Mongols themselves were consumed by internecine warfare and competing claims.

Morton writes very well and draws clear and clever portraits of many of the key personalities of the 13th and 14th centuries. It strongly argues against any effort to make the disputes of the region inherently religious, and usually hits his mark in his arguments. He makes a very strong case that one of the key effects of the Mongol invasions is that they made the world smaller. Genoa planned to build a fleet on the Euphrates to compete in India. It was not just the Polos who traveled the route from Christendom to Cathay. The politics of the Golden Horde had ramifications for Egypt.

[Norman Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read several (not very many, really) histories of the Mongols and the Seljuk Turks and other such groups in Central Asia during the period from the 11th to the 15th century, so I had some understanding of what was going on in that time and place.

This book flipped the viewpoint around to show the effect of the Mongols on the societies they encountered. It is focused on Anatolia, the Levant, and to a lesser extent, the territories around them.

It is not a detailed history of the period, but rather uses episodes from the various societies to illustrate what was happening. So, for example, the author tells us about the internecine struggles in the Ayubbid territories but not in great detail. Similarly, the final collapse of the Crusader States, which is often treated as if it was the most important event in that part of the world at the time, eventually boils down to a mention that they were finished in 1291.

Readers who are looking for the big broad sweep of history of the Mongols should look elsewhere. This book is more about how the world of the 14th century and later was created from the world of the 12th century by the Mongol invasions in the 13th.

Topics for further reading are many: the Cilician Armenians, Georgians, and others are almost invisible in most histories. They are not really very visible here, either, but they do appear and pique my interest.

This is a great book for generalists like me.

[W. Derek Atkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

This review is of a book I borrowed from my local public library.

I found this book to be very accessible. While the narrative in this book is extremely detailed, Morton nevertheless does an excellent job of making everything understandable and keeping the reader engaged. I learned a great deal about this period of history in the Middle East (which Morton identifies as the Near East). Morton does an excellent job of presenting historical events from the perspectives of the many different players, including the Ayyubids, the Abbasids, the Kwarazmans, the Turks, the Byzantines, the Mamluks, the Crusader States, the Cicilian Armenians, and, of course, the Mongols themselves.

In short, this book focuses on the events of the 13th century in the Middle East, and seeks to explore how the Mongol invasions of that period affected the Middle East. Morton does a very good job of achieving this goal, and demonstrates how messy everything was during this era. And yet, even as messy as things got, Morton writes in such a way that the reader is still able to easily follow the flow of events and maintain awareness of how each turn of events affected each of the many different players in the Middle East.

Whether you have very little knowledge about this period of Middle Eastern history or you already know a good deal about this part of history, if you're interested in learning about how the Mongol invasions impacted the Medieval Middle East, this book won't disappoint you.

[Ulysse Colonna · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a well-written, easy to understand summary of the (mainly political) consequences of the sudden appearance of the Mongols on the Middle Eastern scene. The main quality of the book is its amazing clarity which is no mean feat considering the almost comical complexity of the period. Almost miraculously, the author weaves sources from a dozen languages and from the Gargantuan historiography on the subject. I was quite a few times impressed by the ability of the author to synthesise in a couple of sentences a whole book that I had read before and I could judge how perfectly that was done. Better, while I’m rather well-read on the matter I did learn a ton of stuff.

The main issue with the book is its rather academic nature. Probably voluntarily, some epic scenes are left on the editing floor. We don’t follow either a cast in particular, we don’t return to known places and institutions, we don’t even explore recurring themes. What’s more is that there is no focus on a particular society, we constantly shift from the Mongols to Cairo, from Buzantium to Jerusalem etc. At times, entire chapters are devoted to combats that conspicuously do not involve any Mongol. As a result, one closes the book with a general impression of the Storm itself.

So a great classical history of the region from 1200 to 1330 but the pop history book on the Mongols’ impact on the region remains to be written.

[Johns · Rating 4 out of 5]

An engrossing read throughout. The author has the knack of placing the reader into "the thick of things."

Reared in the West we tend to have only a very shallow reservoir of acquired knowledge about Eastern events like the mighty Mongol phenomenon displayed with such clarity in this book.

In the early thirteenth century, the Mongols aggressively injected themselves into the stew of empires that formerly existed in geographies we now call Syria, Turkey, Iraq, Iran, Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Georgia, Ukraine, Armenia and Russia (called, "the Rus" back then). The Mongols were an inventive, highly mobile force, completely ruthless and not to be trifled with. And yes, their reach was extensive.

Of particular interest to me personally was to read for the first time about the centuries-long legend of Prester John. PJ was imagined to be a Christian ruler imbued with mythical powers -- perhaps the offspring of the Three Magi -- whose kingdom was located somewhere far away in India or perhaps, Ethiopia. He was routinely conjured up by the Crusader mini-kingdoms that clung with eagle-like tenacity to Mediterranean shores at the edge of the Levant whenever they were threatened with extinction by superior Muslim forces. This legend demonstrated how slowly information traveled in medieval times but also how lasting a good story could be.

Get the book, read it and learn some fascinating world history.

[Rick Davis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Morton's book is a scholarly work that provided information I had not previously known about the Mongols or other empires in the Near East. This is a well-researched book and I have several notes written in the margins.

I recently heard Morton interviewed on a podcast and that is what spurred me to ask for this book as a Christmas gift. At times it was difficult to keep up with who was who and what was happening, but that is attributed to the number of players involved.

Previous to reading Morton's book, my opinion of the Mongol's based on what little history I knew of them, was that they were a murderous horde of blood thirsty people killing men, women, and children. That opinion did not change by reading the book, but I did learn that if the people they were conquering submitted themselves to the Mongol's, then it went much better for them.

This is certainly an interesting work and for the people who believe the current issues in the Near and Middle East are easily fixed, they should read Morton's book to learn what has happened in the past. The discerning and wise reader will quickly learn that wars and fighting have been a part of that region of the world as much as the rising and setting of the sun.

[Salvador Ramírez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Este es un gran libro de historia que trata no sobre el imperio mongol, sino sobre las reacciones que otras civilizaciones tuvieron ante su avance, específicamente en el llamado “cercano oriente”. El imperio bizantino, los mamelucos, armenio, búlgaros, los Estados Cruzados, el sultanato de selyúcida, el imperio ayubí, el imperio jorezmita, los comerciantes venecianos, genoveses, el papado, entre otros tantos fueron impactados de manera directa e indirecta por la expansión del imperio mongol. Durante los 14 capítulos que abarca el libro, muestra como todos los pueblos reaccionaron ante la aparición de los mongoles, desde Persia hasta Egipto e incluso las reacciones de los reinos europeos. La llegada de los mongoles implico caída de reinos e imperios, el surgimiento de nuevos, diplomacia, guerras, tratos comerciales. Todo lo que formo en buena parte la historia de la región e incluso la misma historia de la humanidad, pues el imperio mongol y sus incursiones permitieron la difusión del comercio, técnicas y conocimientos a distancias como nunca había existido. Un libro altamente recomendable para conocer de la historia universal de la humanidad.

[Beyond the Pages with Eva K · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick Summary: Educational Resource

My Review: The Mongol Storm: Making and Breaking Empires in the Medieval Near East by Nicholas Morton was an extraordinarily comprehensive book on the presence and impact of the Mongols. With a vast amount of scholarly input, helpful cartographic illustrations, and detailed accounts on empires and peoples in the Medieval Near East, Morton has done a masterful job communicating history.

My Final Say: This is a book that will require time to read. It is not for the faint at heart. Rather, it is for those who are interested in Mongol history, events associated with the Medieval Era, peoples of the Middle Ages, and geographical and regional studies.

Rating: 4/5
Recommend: Yes
Audience: A

Appreciation is extended to the author, to the publisher, and to NetGalley, who provided access to this title in exchange for an honest review. I have voluntarily provided my personal input without any undue influence from any of the aforementioned parties.

[Koeneman · Rating 3 out of 5]

After reading more than 110 books, I had my fair share regarding historical reads. I have read dozens of books about the crusades and medieval Europe (and Middle East) and I had high hopes for “The Mongol Horde”.

But it didn’t deliver like I thought it would. I expected a book about the Mongols and obviously it somehow did. I also get why the writer wants to outline all the other regional powers that the Mongols faced. Nonetheless half of the books didn’t even told about the Mongols but either about multiple crusades and other regional conflicts. I get that those are somewhat important and are intertwined with the Mongol story but all these crusading and conflict stories I already knew in great detail which bored me sometimes.

Overall I just excepted a lot more of this book and a lot more details about the Mongol struggle in the 13th and 14th century. Because I am somewhat bummed out I give this book 3 stars. If possible I would have given it 3.5 stars.

[Alvin Narsey · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am a big fan of Chenggis & all his progeny.

Let's take all the dark stuff that we know about him and them and move that to one side.

I marvel at the way and extent the Mongols were able to influence the world ....
...from the spread of gunpowder to the black plague....!!

Nicholas concentrates his dissertation on the East and the latter Mongol affairs.

This was almost a DNF. Sometimes a bit dry, being squeezed with facts after facts was a little too much for me.

But, this is a history book. I persisted, and things got a little better!

If you are a fan of the Mongols, it is essential Reading covering subject matter that the others have not often talked about.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Basic Books for this ARC of this book.

Best read with a glass of chilled kumis outside your yurt (with your horse close by)