Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World

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There’s also a third translation I want to mention by Urgunge Onan, who was a Mongolian who came over to the West in the mid-twentieth century. He ended up at the University of Leeds and then, eventually, at Cambridge. His translation is also very good and very accessible, although a little bit skimpier on the notes. It’s a bit less expensive that Rachewiltz’s. There are some differences of interpretation between the translations but, if you read any of them, you’ll get the same basic understanding. Portrayal of Genghis Khan in a 14th-century Yuan-era album, originally painted in 1278 ( National Palace Museum, Taipei) Now sole ruler in the steppe, Temüjin held a kurultai at the source of the Onon River in 1206. [69] Here, he formally adopted the title Genghis Khan, the etymology and meaning of which has been much debated. Some commentators hold that the title had no meaning, simply representing Temüjin's eschewment of the traditional "gurkhan" title, which had been accorded to Jamukha and was thus of lesser worth. [70] Another theory suggests that the word "Genghis" bears connotations of strength, firmness, hardness, or righteousness. [71] A third hypothesis proposes that the title is related to the Turkic "tängiz", meaning " sea" or " ocean"; the title "Genghis Khan" would mean "master of the ocean", and as the ocean was believed to surround the earth, the title ultimately implied "Universal Ruler". [72]

Chaucer, Geoffrey. "The Squieres Tale". In Skeat, Walter William (ed.). The Canterbury Tales (in Middle English) . Retrieved 13 June 2021. de Hartog, Leo (1999) [1979]. Genghis Khan: Conqueror of the World. London: I.B. Tauris. ISBN 9781860649721. Man 2004, pp.132–133; Atwood 2004, p.591; May 2018, p.48; Ratchnevsky 1991, pp.104–105; Waterson 2013, p.38.

I am fascinated by how societies conduct war. Who is expected to fight, and how are they organized? How is technology developed, implemented, and improvised in the heat of battle? And, most importantly, how do its participants make sense of the carnage around them? History is replete with tales of savagery and courage, of honor and depravity. Perilously few of these have been formed into novels, leaving an incomplete and disjointed understanding of thousands of years of struggle. Many authors, including those listed here, paved the path for holistic depictions of historical battle fiction – my hope is to contribute tales from oft-neglected societies, beginning with Belisarius and the 6th-Century Roman Empire.

Montefiore tells the story of human society through a number of carefully selected families and their relationships, thereby connecting the intimate with the geopolitical, trivia with statesman craft, family with empire.

This book explores Genghis Khan’s ethical code. He was barbaric, but he had his limits. Media talks about Genghis Khan’s fearlessness, and his power over his people. He shared his wealth, he let his subjects have religious freedom, and he was constantly learning from his mistakes. But, he was a murderer. He killed many people. He is nuanced. This book dives deep into just how Genghis Khan was. There are many other contemporary histories which include more information on the Mongols, although their neutrality and reliability are often suspect. Additional Chinese sources include the Jin Shi and the Song shi, chronicles of the two major Chinese dynasties conquered by the Mongols. Persian sources include Ibn al-Athir's Al-Kamil fi al-Tarikh, and a biography of Jalal al-Din by his companion al-Nasawi. There are also several Christian chronicles, including the Georgian Chronicles, the Nikon Chronicle, and works by Europeans such as Carpini. [17] Birth and early life The Onon River (here pictured in Khentii Province, Mongolia), near which Temüjin was born