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Chinggis Khan: The Golden History of The Mongols
- GenresHistoryCollections
188 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1993
9 people want to read
About the author
Urgunge Onon
13 books5 followersThe author of many books and articles on Mongolia, including a well known translation of the Secret History of the Mongols, Professor Onon was also the documenter of the way of life and shamanism of his own people, the Daur Mongols. Professor Onon was an ardent upholder of Mongolian culture. He gave enormously generously of his time and resources to initiate the MIASU in Cambridge together with Caroline Humphrey in 1986. His vision, which we have tried our best to continue, was to found a vibrant institution that would be ongoing in time: ‘Do not forgot the next generations,’ he used to say. We aim to honour his memory at an event later this year.
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April 16, 2026
Chinggis (Genghis) Khan is one of the most well known military leaders from history, having controlled the largest empire in human history. This book is a translation of the 13th century chronicle by an unknown author of Chinggis’ rise to leadership, and consolidation of his empire.
Overall, the book is hard to follow, with a lot of unfamiliar names appearing in each chapter with no editorial from the translator or editor to give an idea of who these people are, or what their importance is. Some tribes will be allied with Chinggis in one section and fighting him the next, with no explanation. Lots of sections seem to be written as poetry or proverbs, often repeated multiple times which would be interesting if there was a noted reason for this but without context is meaningless. Furthermore, several chapters largely consist of favours being doled out in a repetitious manner for deeds in the previous chapters, often with Chinggis reminding the congregation of the deed. I would have loved a translation with a bit more historical context added in to make the story more compelling. If you intend to read this for historical insight, I recommend reading it alongside a reference book because it’s often almost completely incomprehensible on its own.
Overall, the book is hard to follow, with a lot of unfamiliar names appearing in each chapter with no editorial from the translator or editor to give an idea of who these people are, or what their importance is. Some tribes will be allied with Chinggis in one section and fighting him the next, with no explanation. Lots of sections seem to be written as poetry or proverbs, often repeated multiple times which would be interesting if there was a noted reason for this but without context is meaningless. Furthermore, several chapters largely consist of favours being doled out in a repetitious manner for deeds in the previous chapters, often with Chinggis reminding the congregation of the deed. I would have loved a translation with a bit more historical context added in to make the story more compelling. If you intend to read this for historical insight, I recommend reading it alongside a reference book because it’s often almost completely incomprehensible on its own.
Displaying 1 of 1 review