The Secret History of the Mongol Queens: How the Daughters of Genghis Khan Rescued His Empire

by Jack Weatherford, Robertson Dean (Narrator)

The Mongol queens of the thirteenth century ruled the greatest empire the world has ever known. Yet sometime near the end of the century, censors cut a section from The Secret History of the Mongols, leaving a single tantalizing quote from Genghis Khan: “Let us reward our female offspring.” Only this hint of a father’s legacy for his daughters remained of a much larger story.


The queens of the Silk Route turned their father’s conquests into the world’s first truly international empire, fostering trade, education, and religion throughout their territories and
creating an economic system that stretched from the Pacific to the Mediterranean. Outlandish stories of these powerful queens trickled out of the empire, shocking the citizens of Europe and the Islamic world.


At the conclusion of his magnificently researched and groundbreaking narrative, Jack Weatherford notes that the deeds of these Mongol queens inspired great artists from Chaucer and Milton to Goethe and Puccini, and so their stories live on today. With The Secret History of the Mongol Queens, Weatherford restores the queens’ missing chapter to the annals of history.


From the Compact Disc edition.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Asia, Biography, Historical, Audiobook, Womens

9 pages, Audio CD

First published February 16, 2010

About the author

Jack McIver Weatherford is the DeWitt Wallace Professor of anthropology at Macalester College in Minnesota. He is best known for his 2004 book, Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World. In 2006, he was awarded the Order of the Polar Star, and the Order of Genghis Khan in 2022, Mongolia’s two highest national honors. Moreover, he was honoured with the Order of the Gran Mariscal de Ayacucho by the Government of Bolivia in 2014.
His books in the late 20th century on the influence of Native American cultures have been translated into numerous languages. In addition to publishing chapters and reviews in academic books and journals, Weatherford has published numerous articles in national newspapers to popularize his historic and anthropological coverage of Native American cultures, as well as the American political culture in Congress in the 20th century. In recent years, he has concentrated on the Mongols by looking at their impact since the time that Genghis Khan united the Mongol tribes in 1206.

Reviews

[Zana · Rating 1 out of 5]

Okay, it's not that this was a bad book. In fact, it was a four-star book (well, a three-and-a-half, but let's call it four). Except.

Except that Jack Weatherford wrote a brilliant book called Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World, which precedes this book. It was the story of how Genghis Kahn and his four sons shaped the modern world in the 1200s. It is everything you want in a history book: well-researched, aware of and respectful of and inclusive of a drastically different culture from that of the author, very readable... I recommend that book to everyone.

But having read this one, I now recommend the first book with a caveat. This book is about how Genghis Khan and his eight daughters shaped the modern world in the 1200s. Of which we do not hear a word in the first book.

To be honest, the history really doesn't make sense until you realize that Genghis Khan had highly competent daughters that he installed as rulers of the various places he conquered. His sons were a miserable lot and you really have to wonder what Genghis was thinking, leaving the empire to them. It turns out that what he was thinking was, "Yeah they're stupid and incompetent, but at least their sisters will keep the empire together."

So, that brilliant first book? Turns out to be only half the story, and NOT A WORD of the rest of that story is mentioned. This kind of "we'll honor the accomplishments of women and minorities by leaving them out of the main text and giving them their own text -- separate but equal" treatment is pretty infuriating, especially when it comes out that the Mongol queens were so essential to the story. The story would not be there without them. Time and time again, it was the queens who saved the empire and led armies into the field, breaking taboos and pissing off the men around them as they held the invading Chinese and Turks at bay.

For shame, Jack Weatherford. Historians throughout history tried to erase the story of the Mongol queens, going so far as to cut out all mention of them from the official records -- and you did it too.

[Alice Poon · Rating 5 out of 5]

In my opinion, the author deserves even more credit for this book than "Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World", simply because historians tend to play down women's contribution to shaping the world in official records. His mere efforts to glue together a chunk of Mongolian history related to women from bits and pieces he uncovered during research deserve commendation. By presenting such important historical facts, he gives readers better insight into Genghis Khan's philosophy about maintaining the correct balance between male and female in the organization of life based on the religion of Mother Earth and the Eternal Blue Sky.

The accounts of life events and political marriages of Genghis Khan's daughters like Alaqai, Al-Altun, Tolai and Tumelun are fascinating, as is the story related to Khutulun (the great great granddaughter of Genghis Khan), the All White Princess who fought like a man alongside her father and who never lost a single wrestling match. Even more gripping is the drama of the gritty circumstances that Queen Manduhai the Wise (a descendant from Genghis Khan's lineage) had to face when she tried to keep a Borijin male heir alive and healthy in order to put him on the throne in a desperate attempt to hold the crumbling Mongol Empire together, and of how she succeeded.

I was amazed to learn in the Epilogue that the Moghul emperor Shah Jahan who built the Taj Mahal was a distant heir of Genghis Khan and Borte, and that the Taj Mahal was designed to resemble a Mongolian "ger" (tent). Another surprise is that the story of the Mongolian princess Khutulun had inspired Francois Petis de la Croix to write a fable with the character "Turandot", which in turn inspired Giacomo Puccini's opera "Turandot" and Friedrich von Schiller's German play "Turandot, Prinzessin von China"!

Weatherford's dramatic narrative makes this book another engrossing read after "Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World".

[A.E. Chandler]

It is important to note that the author is an anthropologist, not a historian, attempting to piece together historical sources with large gaps. He does not try to be objective, but states his biases outright, which prompt doubts about his interpretations.

I can’t speak to the book’s accuracy on Mongolian or Chinese history, as I largely studied western history. It was disconcerting, though, that most of the information the book presented on European and West Asian history was inaccurate and sometimes contradictory. (Possibly the most baffling was the claim that Chaucer’s fourteenth-century The Canterbury Tales was the first book written in English, when so many well-known books are extant from previous centuries, including The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle completed in the twelfth century, and Beowulf composed in the eighth or so.) It was disheartening to see misinformation used to argue that some cultures were superior to or more “advanced” than others, as though it were a competition, rather than simply presenting Mongolian history for readers to appreciate and learn more about.

[Bryn Hammond · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is, or has, both speculative history and history told as story--as per his first on the Mongols, Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World. Perhaps I found more quibbles with this one. For instance, his dissolute Ogodei doesn't square with the kindly drunk portrayed in Juvaini Genghis Khan: The History Of The World Conqueror--on which grounds and similar, I thought the good/evil contrast between Genghis' daughters and his sons too strongly put. Nor did I believe the 'war on women' concept. It's true that Mongols' foreign wives, from tribes and peoples who had once been conquests, were soon left with the government to themselves. Did they believe in Mongol values, Genghis' values? It seems they contributed to what quickly became a brawl for family power, Genghis' innovations forgotten. This gist of the story I go along with, but again and again I felt 'too strongly put' or I scrawled a question mark next to the text.

I thought the book too much about queens... true, 'Queens' is the title. But had we seen them against a background of ordinary Mongol women, had women's status been examined, then they wouldn't have stood out as so exceptional, and I think the 'war on women' idea might fall apart. Why? The 13th century was an age of queens, not just at Kara Korum but in Mongol-occupied or Mongol-allied territories--because steppe values spilt over, more so than they ever had. Before the 13th century, Liao and Western Liao had a history of queens in charge, upon which the Mongols drew, and even women in politics in settled states, Tangut and traditional Song China, seemed to say, 'If she can in Liao, I can.' Given this, I don't understand where an anti-woman attitude came from. I need that explained. It isn't like it was there before--before the innovations of Genghis--to rear its ugly head again when he was gone. If there was a mother-son tug of power, I've read about a pattern in Tangut and in Liao, where widows, left in charge, do not want to hand on to sons once they come of age and the battle's on, that mothers often won (these were part-steppe societies in the couple of centuries before the Mongols).

Still, this is a massively valuable book, just like his other, since Mongol queens weren't talked about in the streets before Jack Weatherford.

For a book that looks at women in steppe societies, and has more on the lives of ordinary women (as much evidence as can be scraped together) and women of power in the lead-up to the Mongols, see: Women of the Conquest Dynasties: Gender and Identity in Liao and Jin China. A book on Western Liao, The Empire of the Qara Khitai in Eurasian History: Between China and the Islamic World, tells of further innovations, indeed the first women khans. If Genghis tried to institute power for his daughters, these were the examples he had to follow.

I'd better footnote what I say on the spillover of steppe attitudes to women into settled territories: Early Mongol Rule in Thirteenth-Century Iran: A Persian Renaissance displays this in the west.

[Emma Deplores Goodreads Censorship · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting mostly because I knew almost nothing about Mongol culture or history (and reading history focused on women is a good way to get balanced history about everybody, vs. “neutral” history that’s 95% about men). I did get tired of the author though, who basically just regurgitates the chronicles with no analysis of his own beyond the most basic “winning battles good, decadence bad” type of stuff.

Note that the subtitle is misleading: only the first third of the book is about Genghis Khan and his daughters, whom he essentially made his viceroys in all the countries bordering Mongolia to keep the borders secure. (They were a lot more competent than his sons.) The middle third is about the couple of centuries after Genghis Khan’s death, and covers a lot of people very briefly. (Heads up: there’s some pretty nasty rape and torture depictions in this bit.) The final third focuses on a 15th century figure, Queen Manduhai the Wise, and her reunification of Mongolia.

Despite their power during their lifetimes, Weatherford seems to have had to dig pretty deep into the archives of the Mongols and their neighbors to find much on the queens, who were often (sometimes deliberately) erased from history. Nonetheless, given the time period, there’s still a limited amount known about any of them, and he has a tendency to spill a lot of ink on military and political details (this is especially true in Queen Manduhai’s section, which is often more about strategy than about her). I was most interested in the social history, and how the actual Mongols compare to depictions of steppe nomads in media. Some things I learned:

- The Mongols resisted a long-term strategy by the Chinese to corrupt and civilize them through goods and sedentary Chinese culture. Mongols weren’t very interested in foreign spices (they liked the taste of meat) or perfumes (they also liked the smell of people), but they were interested in fine textiles and jewels, which is one reason they decided to conquer the Silk Road.

- From them, the Chinese mostly wanted horses (livestock being the only thing the Mongolian Plateau produced in abundance) and only for their army. Cutting off trade tended to result in soldiers stationed at the border trading with the Mongols under the table, and one reason for the Great Wall was to keep the Chinese out of the black market.

- The Mongols had a complex kinship system that isn’t fully explored here (younger siblings or niblings could be referred to as one’s sons and daughters), but the hierarchy of marriages is fascinating. Senior women (meaning those married to senior men, as the society was patrilineal) could have familiar and even sexual relations with the junior men of their husbands’ families, and this was not considered a problem. After all, any children were legally the husband’s, and when he died, the expectation was that his most important wife would remarry whoever was taking his place—or that whoever she remarried, being of course a man of his family, would thereby become his successor—leading to lots of stepmother/stepson marriages. However, senior men were not to have anything to do with junior women, even see their faces (how this worked in nomadic encampments is unclear).

- While marriage was political, though, sex was personal, and there was no requirement of wedding night sex as seen as in European cultures. The couple could get to that on their own time, and there seems to have been some notion of men as sexually reticent (especially if focused on other physical pursuits) and needing encouragement from women. Meanwhile, it was common for husbands-to-be (often while still boys) to provide “bride service” by living and working in the households of their brides-to-be.

- Genghis Khan used his daughters’ marriages in a particularly interesting way: marrying them off to allied leaders but with the daughters ruling the lands in question, while he conscripted the sons-in-law into his army. They tended to be given especially dangerous missions and dropped like flies, at which point the daughters simply remarried younger men of their husbands’ families. Despite this disregard for the son-in-laws’ safety, the Mongols still massacred at least one city for killing one.

- Upon massacring cities, the Mongols tended to spare and conscript artisans, who had skills they valued, but not the rich, who had none. Genghis Khan, like many modern media consumers, apparently thought mass murder was fine but rape, torture and bride kidnapping should be outlawed (his descendants had a different view on the latter part).

- Mongol religion focused on the duality of Father Sky and Mother Earth, and the approval of the Eternal Blue Sky seems to have been akin to the Chinese Mandate of Heaven. However, they were extremely chill about other people’s religions, and Mongol queens were known to promote Buddhism, Islam and Christianity, sometimes all at once.

- Caring for young children on the steppe was intense, due to low temperatures. Blankets and their own body heat were not enough for them to survive the nights, so they needed to snuggle up to an adult or a handful of other children. Exposed skin also had to be rubbed throughout the day, and sitting around with a wet diaper could lead to death.

- Warrior women pop up not infrequently in Mongol accounts, and Weatherford theorizes that this is because of the primacy of archery rather than hand-to-hand combat. While firing a bow from horseback does take upper body strength, it’s a level of strength women are perfectly capable of developing with discipline—particularly when trained in archery from a young age, as Mongol girls were, to protect their herds.

- Also, the legend of the princess who pledged to marry any man who could defeat her in a wrestling match (but none could) is true. They had to pledge horses to wrestle her and she accumulated a herd of 10,000 this way. She is most commonly known as Khutulun and fought in many battles as well.

So definitely some fascinating stuff here, but also some that’s horrific and plenty more that was just rather dull to read. Also Weatherford’s own analysis tends to be more evocative than well-reasoned, see for instance:

“The Mongol nation and the once glorious Golden Family sank so low and suffered so much abuse that it would possibly have been a blessing for the whole family to have died and the name of the nation to have disappeared into the wind like the cold ashes of an abandoned camp. So many nomadic nations had risen, fallen, and disappeared in the thousands of years since humans first learn to herd animals and turn the sea of grass into sustenance. The torn and neglected banner of the nation was tattered and scattered like clumps of wool stuck in brown grass. Even the horses seemed too exhausted to raise a cloud of dust. In the pages of history, the passing of yet one more such nation, even one once as powerful and important as the Mongols, hardly seemed surprising.”

Overall, I learned enough from this book to be worth my time. But, due to the writing, it’s not the easiest to recommend.

[Dori Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay, I'm obsessed with the Mongol Empire. Otherwise, why would I write a novel about a princess who lived in that era? But this book really captured my imagination.

Most of us think of "barbarians" and "plunder" when we hear the words "Mongol" or "Genghis Khan." But did you know that Genghis Khan gave power to his daughters? While he and his sons were off with the army, conquering lands far more advanced than Mongolia, he left the already-conquered lands under the control of his wives and daughters. Yes, he married off his daughters to allied kings and princes; but once he did, he stripped the husbands of their titles and gave the real authority to his daughters. He gave them the title of "Princess Who Runs the State." One of these daughters, says Jack Weatherford, a Macalaster College anthropology professor, governed so well that she even "invented the cultural and organization model that grew into the Mongol Empire."

Wow! After all the research I did for my novel, Daughter of Xanadu, I knew that Mongolian women were strong, learned archery from a young age, and sometimes rode off to battle with their husbands. The Secret History of the Mongols tells of many female ancestors who showed great fortitude. But governing? I never knew that.

This book of history - not fiction! - tells some fascinating tales.

[Caroline · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is how you write historical non-fiction. This is definitely how you write about badass women in history.

I honestly feel kind of bad as a feminist for not knowing about Mongol women earlier. Not that the early Mongols were feminists, per se, but the treatment and history of women is so vastly different from almost any historical culture that I've read about--it should be a huge point in women's history. We all know about Genghis Khan (or at least we all should). But what of his wives, his daughters, his female descendants?

The book reads like a novel; and part of that is because Mongolian history is so fascinating. I'm not just saying that. There is a literal "Moses in the basket"-type story going on at one point except, oh, wait, it happened thousands of years later and is on historical record. Some of it reads like a fairy tale, though Weatherford is always up front about where the history is lacking and where he has to make assumptions.

The thing about this society is that it wasn't equal, but women were still remarkable political players. (And sexual politics were vastly different from those of their European counterparts. One happy marriage was between a woman who had basically raised her husband since he was seven, with the union being consummated when he was seventeen and she thirty-three. They went on to have eight children, including three sets of twins.) Genghis Khan fully expected his daughters to be his representatives in the courts he sent them off to, and they thus exhibited notable power.

Of course, men still ultimately became khans and Genghis happened to be a somewhat shitty dad. So inevitably, upon his death, his kingdom fell apart. And that's where the story gets really interesting. It stretches across centuries, with one fascinating woman after the next. (Like, dude. There are at least five historical fiction novels that could be made out of these stories.)

Just read it. You'll be happy you did.

[Beka · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have probably recommended this book to more people than any other book I have read in the past year. In part, this is because it is extremely readable and easily accessible even to people who have no knowledge of Central Asia or its history, but mostly it is because its subject matter is so fascinating. Before reading this book, I had no idea of the role that the daughters, daughters-in-law, and granddaughters of Genghis Khan played in ruling, destroying and preserving his empire. It's not a book that reveres the contributions of women while glossing over the difficulties they suffered, as attempts to give the female perspective of historical events often do. It presents the female descendants of Genghis Khan as fully realized players on the international stage of their time, and portrays the great khan and his empire as something more complex and interesting than the barbarian horde to which it is so often reduced in Western histories. I can honestly say that I learned something new on every page of this book, and more than once I looked up from a chapter to find that I had completely blown through my lunch hour, which is not something that happens often with me and non-fiction.

[Missy J · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mongolian ger (yurt) transported on a cart.


Inside a Mongolian ger.


The Mongolian practice of tsatsal, which consists of tossing fermented mare's milk into the air as an offering to the spirits (usually after the departure of loved ones to war or to join another family upon marriage).

Fascinating! Mongolian people are fascinating. A nomadic people that have influenced the world beyond the national borders of today's Mongolia. I couldn't help but agree with the author Jack Weatherford that "the Mongolian people have preserved their history through song, despite the historical censorship of documents." Memories stored in songs, dance, tales and every other type of art form and lifestyle is ultimately more powerful than written history, in my view, because history is and was always written by the victor. Before reading this book, I was only vaguely aware of who the Mongols were. Now I'm just fascinated. In this book, Weatherford was able to tie in together the history of Genghis Khan and his descendants, the story of Queen Mandukhai the Wise and Mongolian culture. I learned about how Mongols used to sniff their cheeks as a way to say goodbye and that two sniffs means goodbye, whereas one sniff means "see you later ('til I can sniff the other cheek again).” The Mongol ideal of beauty is found in the face, pale with extremely red cheeks. The social structure of the Mongols was quite peculiar. If a man died, it wasn't uncommon for the son to marry the widow/his mother or stepmom. Yet, it was forbidden for a father to even look at his son's wife. All children regardless if they had different fathers or mothers, would be considered and treated equal to anyone who declared them part of his/her family. If a girl and a boy were married at a young age, sexual relations needn't follow immediately and was left up to the couple's own choice. According to Genghis Khan, women shouldn't be treated as property or animals, unfortunately his sons and latter generations didn't respect this belief. The last story of Mandukhai was especially inspiring. All she ever sought was unity among the different Mongol tribes and peace, but peace is a difficult goal to attain, if even possible. And yet the Mongol empire was able to rule over a variety of people in terms of ethnicity, religion and language, while relying to a certain degree on a state cult in the form of Genghis Khan. I also didn't know that the Mughal Empire in South Asia are descendants of Mongols. That the word "dalai" from Dalai Lama is actually a Mongol word meaning "ocean" (Tibetan "gyatso"). My only complaint is that I read this using a Kindle. And it was quite difficult to navigate between the map, family tree and whatever passage I was reading. This type of book is definitely more appropriate to read in "book" form, not electronically.

"In the Mongol perspective, challenges choose us, but we choose how to respond. Destiny brings the opportunities and the misfortunes, and the merit of our lives derives from those unplanned moments."

"Genghis Khan always sought out the service of baatar, the hero who acts immediately and decisively without concern for personal benefit or even survival. [...] The aristocracy of birth had been his eternal enemy, and he sought to defeat it through his assembly of heroes: the aristocracy of brave spirits, the baatuud. [...] Service always outranked wealth; loyalty always outranked payments."

"No friend is better than your own wise heart!" - Genghis Khan.

[Tumeeb13 Bold · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well, not exactly this version, but a Mongolian translation I read. Just too lazy to add a new book. It was really interesting to read it. How some historical facts were buried. At some point, it felt like a story being made up. But as the author is fairly accurate about historical facts, it's convincing. As I'm a Mongolian, and a woman, I've always felt like women in Mongolian society and families have more value than anything. Even they marry someone, and leave their home, even they are said, Women and Gazelle have no territory, they always stay as Mongolian. Well, guys, read it yourselves. It's interesting. Also, Mongolian translation is very good.

[Lauren Albert · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was one of those books where I wished the author would allow a good story to speak for itself. There was way too much melodramatic language:

"The Mongol nation and the once glorious Golden Family sank so low and suffered so much abuse that it would possibly have been a blessing for the whole family to have died and the name of the nation to have disappeared into the wind like the cold ashes of an abandoned camp."

It was a constant irritant through an otherwise interesting book.

[K. · Rating 3 out of 5]

So here's the thing: basically everything I knew about Genghis Khan and the Mongol Empire comes from playing Civilisation II as a kid. Which is to say that I knew Karakorum was the capital and Genghis Khan developed one hell of an empire (except in Civ II because I was a BIG fan of the cheat menu and would just obliterate anyone who came near me), but almost nothing but that.

I've also been trying to read more non-fiction this year that tells women's stories. So this seemed like a prime opportunity to read about women in history while also expanding on my vast Civ-acquired knowledge.

And I *DID* achieve both of those things. But as you might expect, there's very limited historical evidence for a lot of these women, so there seemed to be a fair bit of speculation involved in a lot of the stories that are conveyed. Except where the Mongol Army came in and raped everyone. THAT was discussed in far too much detail, presumably because there's plenty of historical evidence for that. NO THANK YOU PLEASE.

So I enjoyed reading about these badass women, particularly the daughters of Genghis Khan. But as the book moved on through history and there was less evidence for his female descendants and more evidence for the rape of entire female populations, I hopped on the nope train. I still finished it. And I still learnt stuff. I just kind of wish I could UNLEARN some of it...

[Irene · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was fascinated by this history of Mongolia in the 13th-15th centuries, a subject I had no prior knowledge of. At times, the power struggles and family intrigues had me a bit lost with the sheer number of unfamiliar names and places. But, that did not prevent me from thoroughly enjoying this book. I learned so much about the way of life of this people. The role given to women by Genghis Khan and the power women were permitted to wield in this nomadic culture was so far ahead of European culture of that time.

[Max]

Fun, informative, at times harrowing, and well-written throughout. This isn't quite so cohesive a project as Weatherford's prior book, which focused on the character of Genghis Khan and the fate of the empire after his death—but that's to be expected considering this project's broader focus, on reassembling a largely overlooked history of the role of Borjigin women in war and government. I'd love to read more projects along this line, focusing on the role of women in politics and government, despite efforts made to erase them from the historical record.

[Cindy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Did you know that Genghis Khan was noted as a fair and enlightened ruler? Well, in part. He believed in a fair trial, a code of rules, and women's rights. In fact, his sons were all mostly washouts. But his daughters were pretty darn talented. So he made them administrators and generals and sent them out to maintain order along the borders of his empire. But then he died, and his heirs starting squabbling.

I really enjoyed this. Every once in a while, I got a little bogged down in details. But overall, it was a very interesting read.

Oh, some parts are not for the squeamish. Some super nasty torture descriptions that I would have been happy to skip, if I had known they were coming. Ew. But I loved the story of Queen Mandhuhai the Wise who united the Mongols against the Chinese

Great story and recommended. 4 stars

[Karolinde (Kari) · Rating 5 out of 5]

A truly good history book is one that opens your mind and awakens your curiousity. This book definitely fits those requirements. Weatherford writes about the female descendents of Genghis Khan and their legacy. It all starts with a missing chapter in the "official history" of the ruling family and Weatherford's own relucantance to believe in the folk tales of powerful warrior queens. Forget Mulan, this is the real deal, women who ruled and fought and did so well.

Perhaps the most surprising part of the whole narrative is the firm belief Genghis Khan had in the necessity of honoring both male and female aspects and the fact that this warrior, who is viewed as THE he-man, put more faith and trust in his daughters and truly believed them capable of greatness.

[Uyangategsh Altansukh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Being that I am a Mongolian woman myself and fight for equality between genders I so wanted to make this my favorite book of all time. I wanted to reply ‘oh yes, the secret history of the mongol queens is the best book ever’ to people who asked me for recommendations. However, that just didn’t happen.

I enjoyed that it wasn’t written in a historic way that would bore the freaking snot out of someone but written in more of a novella type. I liked how the author Jack Weatherford has such vast information and knowledge on Mongolia and its history. It didn’t have much grit and it didn’t have any wow factor that I was expecting. I know my review won’t be that pleasing for my fellow Mongolians to hear but this is a review purely based on the actual book itself and not the history.

[Literary Lusts · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this as the topic sounds fascinating to me. However the writer's dry style and the lack of actual discussion of Genghis Khan's daughters made it difficult to wade through.

[Louise · Rating 4 out of 5]

Five years ago, when I read Weatherford's "Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World" I was struck by the role of women in Genghis Khan's Mongol Empire. I thought it worthy of a book, and, voila! It is!

Weatherford is uniquely qualified to write this book and his knowledge shines through. He writes of tribes, customs, places and events giving enough description to enable westerners to understand the unfamiliar. There is a useful map and several genealogy charts.

Weatherford tells how Genghis Kahn's empowered his four daughters. When he married them into important tribes he gave them governance authority over their respective tribe. In word and deed, Weatherford shows that GK supported these women in these roles while men served in the military. It was a workable and practical division of labor. With this system the largest empire the world has known was built.

This golden age for Mongols, both women and men, ended with GK's death in 1227, and one of his alcoholic sons, Ogodei, inherited the leadership. He effectively began a "War on Women" (the title of Chapter 5) which included acts of mass rape and the effective removal of his sisters from power. The 250 years after GK's death are characterized by internal power struggles and land disputes. Weatherford notes some interesting women in the interim period such as Khutulun who rejected suitors (many) who could not beat her in battle; however, in this period, almost everyone loses from the Mongols' disunity. Finally, Queen Manduhai accepts the hand of a 7 year old whom she marries and grooms. She works with and through him to unite the Mongols and secure borders for grazing lands.

I would like to give this book 5 stars for Weatherford's work in assembling this, but have to hold back this highest honor. I believe that Weatherford's respect for the Mongols and their accomplishments results in his presenting some people and events in a better light than warranted. Some of the brutal acts of both men and women are described in rather mild language. Since I don't know enough about the Mongols to really evaluate how euphemistic this actually is, I would not have held back the fifth star for this alone, but a 5 star book needs a 5 star book design. There is nothing about the cover, the title, the choice of type face or the paper that suggests this is the serious work that it is. It has the look and feel of a work of pop fiction. The only design elements that reflect the quality of the research are the elegant brush paintings (almost like calligraphy) that introduce each part.

I recommend this book for those interested in the history of this period and those interested in women's roles in history. I hope material like this finds a wider audience and a place in world history/civilization curricula.

[Cynda · Rating 4 out of 5]

GR Non Fiction Book Club has already read Genghis Kahn and the Making of the Modern World by Jack Weatherford and now this month reads The Secret History of the Mongol Queens: How the Daughters of Genghis Khan Rescued His Empire also by Jack Weatherford. Here is my review of the Genghis Khan book: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

This book can be read as a standalone. Reading the Genghis Khan book will better help the reader know of the might and width of the the sphere of the Huns. Reading the Mongol Queens book alone will impress the reader with how much women are left out and cut of the record--and then grateful for the careful research and listening of Jack Weatherall.

[Undrakh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Түүх гэдэг миний хувьд хэзээд бүдэг бадаг ,тодорхой барьцтай мэдлэг гэхээр юмгүй зүйл байсаар ирсэн. Нууц товчоо уншиж байхдаа ч түүхт ингэж дурлаагүй юм , ерөнхийдөө хаа сайгүй л эзэн Чингис Хаан гэж ярьдаг боловч тэр хүний сүр хүчийг , байгуулсан гавьяаг өөрийн зүгээс мэдрээгүй байсан билээ . Харин Жак Уэторфордын “Монголын Их Хатдын нууц товчоо ”ном түүхийн тэр бүдэгхэн ойлголтыг тодруулахад их тус боллоо . Бичсэн бүхэнд нь шуудхан итгэчихэд мэдээж тийм ч амар биш байна л даа, өнгөрсөн юм гэдэг өөрөө тийм гээд яг хэлчихийн аргагүй хойно , хэн нэгэн түүхчийн үзгээр өөрчлөгдсөн байж ч болно шүү дээ,эдгээр баримтууд . Манайд ургийн бичиг яагаад байдаггүй юм бол доо гэж өөрийн эрхгүй харамсдаг юм байна лээ . Болж өнгөрсөн үйл явдал гэдэг тухайн үедээ сүр дуулиан бага тарьж эсвэл хүмүүст тэрхэн зуураа яригдаад мартагдан өнгөрсөн бол цаг хугацаа тэдгээрийг энгийнээс эгэл бус болгон хувиргаж хэдэн зуун жилийн дараа хүмүүсийг яг л одоо миний биширсэн байгаа шиг гайхуулдаг юм байна. Ер нь Монголын түүхийн тухай бичигдсэн ном өчнөөн байдаг юм байна лээ.

Номын зарим хэсгүүдээс :
-82 -Чингис Хаан насан эцэслэхдээ хүүхдүүддээ хандан “Би та нарт дэлхийн хамгийн том гүрнийг үлдээв . Та нар энэ амар тайван гүрний эзэд. Тиймээс нэгэн хэлтэй ,нэгэн сэтгэлтэй байгтун”

-98- Хүний нэр хувь заяаг нь залдаг сонин увидастай бөгөөд түүний амьдрал ч нэрийхээ зөгнөсөн утгатай яг тохирсон билээ /Гүюг Хааны эхнэр Огул Хаймишийн тухай /

-106- Чингис Хаанаас хойш түүний үр ач нарын үед олон олон ухаалаг ,зоригтой эмэгтэй гарч ирж Монголын түүхнээ өөрийн хувь нэмрээ оруулсан боловч энд өгүүлсэн үйл явдалд оролцсон эмэгтэйчүүдийн адил өөр хоорондоо өрсөлдөн тэмцэлдсэн байдаг . Монгол хатад дээрх хотын бүсгүйчүүл лугаа адил бие биенээ хөнөөгөөд ,эцэст нь өөрсдөө ч мөн бусдын гарт амь насаа алдсан бөлгөө.

-118- Хоорондоо эв түнжингүй , өчүүхэн жижиг асуудлаас ч хамаагүй үхэлдэн байлдахаас буцдаггүй догшин авиртай тэргүүн жанжин нар баян бүрд, худалдаа арилжааны боомт газруудыг өөрийн эрхшээлд авахын төлөө яс булаалдах ноход адил өрсөлдөн тэмцэлдэх болсноор Торгоны Замаар явагддаг байсан худалдаа наймаа, харилцаа холбоо тасалдах болов .

-129- Чингис хаан нэгэнтээ “Хэрэв хаан хүн энгийн хүн шиг аашилбал харьяат ардаа сүйрүүлэх буюу” гэж хэлсэн байдаг .

-151- Малчин хүнд тал нутаг гэдэг мөнхийн оршихуй юм. Малчны энэ ертөнцөд Мандухай, Батмөнх нар шиг хүүхдүүд амьдралын төлөө тэмцэж сурдаг. Хүүхэд эцэг , эхээсээ ихийг сурдаг ч үүнийгээ өөрөө бие даан хийж чаддаг болох ёстой байдаг.

[Perri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Positives: 1. Knowing next to nothing about Genghis Khan, I now know a little more than next to nothing
2. An interesting assessment of Khan's ability to conquer vast territories, and especially his reliance on installing his daughters in places of power. Not just a fierce warrior but with farsighted and innovative ideas.
Negatives: 1. The first part was Mongolia's rise to power. Half of the second part was the downfall. Then a long stretch until we got to the last warrior Queen who pulls Mongolia back together. Uneven
2. I can't unread those segments of pillage, rape and torture. gah!
Overall: I'm glad I read it, I liked it, so three stars.

[Teryla · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing book! Before this I had no idea that Genghis Khan even cared about his daughters let alone give them free reign to do anything important. Manduhai's story is especially salient not only because she was the last major queen in the book, but because she literally did the same thing that GK did generations before her. More people need to read this :)

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Both fascinating and informative. My knowledge of the Mongols was warlords, raping and pillaging alongside no understanding of the history of Asia and empire. From cover to cover it's a pleasure to read.

[Stacia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating pieces of lost &/or censored history. There are still plenty of gaps in the information, but Weatherford has done a good job of tracking down various sources of info in an attempt to uncover & save the history. (FYI, there are some harrowing sections in there re: violence toward girls & women.) Be sure to also read the epilogue, note on transliteration, & notes at the end of the book. It does get a little confusing to read at times, mostly owing to the previously mentioned gaps &/or the unusual names that appear throughout the book. It's not as smooth or as satisfying as his book on Genghis Khan, but it still uncovers glimpses of unique history that might otherwise be languishing or lost. Worth reading, especially in conjunction with Weatherford's book Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World.

[Caroline · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm glad that I read this -- it opened my eyes to a piece of history that I knew very little about -- though I found the book itself frustrating. This doesn't quite work as a narrative (too many disconnected stories, and, for instance, the subtitle is actually not an accurate description of the book's thesis -- Weatherford distinguishes between the empire, which was lost, and the nation, which was saved, a distinction that the subtitle eliminates), nor does it hold up as a presentation of historical scholarship (the lines between history and myth, and between recounting of contemporary chronicles and the author's flights of imagination are frequently blurred.) Even so, this would be worth reading if only for the account of Queen Manduhai the Wise that takes up most of the latter part of the book.

[Alismcg · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Never before or since have women exercised so much power over so many people and ruled so much territory for as long as these women did."

An awful lot to appreciate here. And I'll attempt to do the best I can with my 'squat' mobile-screen keyboard, and a rather demanding matronly cat on my lap who keeps weaseling her fat little head up under my hands for attention. Yes, yes ..."I see you."

1. I knew so very little of any spiritual element behind Genghis Khan's reign. And the spiritual... this very much intrigues me. Not just the sky and the rivers thing either but the idea of the unplanned and the heroic. And more. Much more.

"In the Mongol perspective, challenges choose us, but we choose how to respond. Destiny brings the opportunities and the misfortunes, and the merit of our lives derives from those unplanned moments."

"Genghis Khan always sought out the service of the baatar, the hero who acts immediately and decisively without concern for personal benefit or even survival. He placed such importance on the spirit of the baatuud that he built his military and political system around them... The ideal government for him was rule by these heroic elites, by a true aristocracy of the spirit."

2.Women's History Month and who knew Mongol Queens ? You see, I knew absolutely nada about Mongol Queens. And it's NO secret. And I had already added "A Thousand Ships" under my 'classics' and "The Walnut Mansion" for HF, but I needed a NF for 'Women's History Month'. So these stories suited me just fine.

And there was a whole lot to appreciate with these Queens : Alaqai Beki's just dealings, restraining the hand of Genghis Khan against her husband's death and her caring protective rule of her people vs Tokuchar's own widow's vengeful brutality in Nishapur. Khutulun whom no man could beat at wrestling and refused to marry unless the man could be the victor in a match; and today how Mongol wrestlers wear an open vest garment to show they are not women. And, Manduhai 'The Wise' , the quick respect and protection given her in battle by her warriors when her helmet fell off and again when she slipped out of her saddle and fell to the ground - heavy with pregnancy - during battle.

3. That there's even something a bit deeper than barbaric savagery in Genghis, the man. In fact, something I might admire. Something as beautiful as a REAL desire to search out a balance between the male and the female aspects of sexuality. Wow ! Balance , what an idea.

4. But how do barbarians , marauding illiterate nomads manage to make so much happen in their favor on the Silk Road ?

"During the lifetime of Genghis Khan and his daughters, the Mongol enterprise was not so much an empire as a vast global corporation in which each son and daughter had the assignment to manage one part that provided a particular set of goods."

And when Genghis Khan died...

The savage sexual terrorism by Genghis' own choice as Khan - Ogodei and his soldiers - against the young Oirat girls (8 years after Genghis Khan's death).

"Everyone knew that this barbarous act violated in spirit and in detail the long list of laws Genghis Khan had made regarding women."

The unravelling had begun.

And the words spoken to him before he died proved prophetic - “The jade crystal that is your realm will shatter..."

Do we have any certainty historically of all that's told here or somewhere along the way... has someone filled in the blanks from the stories passed on within an oral tradition? ⭐⭐⭐

[Doris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Informative and entertaining. I particularly liked the first part, which detailed how Genghis Khan established his empire and set his wives and daughters in charge.

[Mandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A real eye-opener. I've always thought of women, in those times, as totally repressed. I enjoyed treading this.

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a fascinating look at a period of history I knew very little about - and then goes even deeper.

Many people know the basics of the story of Genghis Khan, but what I hadn't realised is what happened after he died. The short answer is: his daughters were a lot more competent than his sons, and more than that, it was the female descendents of his line who kept coming back to try and restore stability to the empire.

However, the name of the book comes from the fact that while most Mongol history was passed by oral tradition, there were written documents, including a work titled "The Secret History". Yet, while examining that for his previous book, Weatherford discovered that a number of references to the queens of the Mongol empire were cut out or otherwise removed. This book is the result of his research into what we know about them - fortunately, the surrrounding countries often had relevant records.

Weatherford works more or less chronologically, focusing on major figures, and explaining how they relate to each other (a very complicated topic.) I deeply appreciated the genealogical charts and maps, though I wish there'd been an index of where they were in the front of the book.

One other thing I really liked about this is that Weatherford is an anthropologist by discipline rather than a historian. That gave many aspects of the book an interesting perspective: he's detailed, thoughtful, and respectful of Mongol cultural and religious traditions, taking time to explain how they fit into the larger beliefs and practices of the community. (Especially around things like how family ties and interactions: for example, younger sons could speak to more senior wives, but not to the wives of the sons/nephews/etc. younger than them.)