Weatherfords scholarly bona fides are firstrate, but he has written a book that reads like an engrossing historical novel. How the indians of the americas transformed the world. The secret history of the mongols, translation, study, and scholarly notes by francis woodman cleaves cambridge, mass, 1982, in 342 pdf pages. The secret history of the mongols is the oldest surviving literary work in the mongolian language. Jack weatherford is the new york times bestselling author of genghis khan and the making of the modern world. This document sets forth the patriarchs intentions for his family and nation, but it is curiously.
But the most compelling is the secret history of the mongols, consisting of long extracts from a. This work is mainly a history of the establishment of the mongol empire from the end of the 12th century to the beginning of the th century. How the daughters of genghis khan rescued his empire ebook written by jack weatherford. John emerson, the secret history of the mongols and western literature, sinoplatonic papers 5, may 2004 the rainstone a. He beings with the six daughters of genghis kahn and the traces their royal families through 250 years of upheaval as the empire tore itself apart, pitting brother against sister and son against mother. The core of the history is believed to date from the midth century. Other articles where secret history of the mongols is discussed. The secret history is regarded as the single most significant native mongolian account of genghis khan. The story of queen munduhai, born in the 1448, who led armies into battle and fought to preserve the mongol nationand found time for quite an interesting marriageis especially moving and inspiring. Tartars have this custom of waiting for the warlords drum. Only this hint of a fathers legacy for his daughters remained of a much larger story. How one appreciates the enormous amount of work that jack weatherford has put into his two books on the mongols ghengis khan and the making of the modern world and now the secret history of the mongol queens. Almost all writers, even those who were in the mongol service, have dwelt on the enormous destruction.
It was probably composed in 122829, and presented at a great assembly in northeastern mongolia that had been convened to elect a successor to. It is believed to have been written in the year 1240 a. 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. The secret history of the mongols by bira, shagdaryn. But the storm turned and came down on top of themselves. With the secret history of the mongol queens, a groundbreaking and magnificently researched narrative, jack weatherford restores the queens missing chapter to the annals of history. Saunders sets the historical stage with a discussion of nomad groups and cultures at the dawn of the second millennium, and then traces the rise of the mongol conquests through the earlier. After uniting the nomadic tribes of the mongolian plateau, he conquered huge chunks of central asia and china. The secret history of the mongol queens how the daughters of genghis khan rescued his empire by jack weatherford. In 1206, genghis khan was able to unite the mongols, forging them into a fighting force which went on to establish the largest contiguous empire in world history, the mongol empire 120668. According to the official version of history, russia remained under the political and. How the daughters of genghis khan rescued his empire jack weatherford tells a gripping story of lost history and the role the female heirs of genghis khan played in his empire. The book references mongolian, central asian, persian, european and chinese sources such as altan tobchi, erdeni.
Unfortunately, as far as i am aware, there is no original mongolian version extant and we have had to rely on reconstructions from chinese versions. The secret history is regarded as a piece of classic literature in both mongolia and the rest of the world. Mar 27, 2012 this is an interesting book, but the little bit of information about the mongol queens just isnt enough to make an entire book. Genghis khan is the national darling, and has been since long before the secret history s arrival. In this unforgettable book, arthur waley brings together a number of his articles, poems and translations. My rating for the secret history of the mongol queens 5 about.
Lewiston, queenston, lampeter, the edwin mellen press. After the fragmentation of the mongol empire, mongolia came to be ruled by the yuan dynasty 127168 based in khanbaliq modern beijing. Feb 16, 2010 the secret history of the mongol queens. Saunderss landmark book, first published in 1972, is a carefully documented introductory history of the rise and fall of the great mongol empire. Only this hint of a father s legacy for his daughters remained of a much larger story. A critical analysis of the secret history of the mongols this piece of literary work is one of the few surviving historical literature detailing about the mongolians existence.
Secret history of the mongols project gutenberg self. If you want more details, read the secret history of the mongols. The secret history of mongols the history is the one surviving literary source of information about the mongols, dated around 1240. Almost all writers, even those who were in the mongol service, have dwelt on the enormous destruction wrought by the mongol. Chinggis khan was not only a military genius, but also a great statesman and diplomat. Secret history of the mongols, with lengthy introduction explain ing the nature. The secret history of the mongols, is the first literary historical work of the mongols ever written. Cliffnotes of the secret history of the mongols youtube.
A mongolian epic chronicle of the thirteenth century 2015. The secret history of the mongols and western literature. The secret history of the mongol queens book by jack. The mongols were a small nomadic tribe in the area of ergon2 and kolen naur.
How the daughters of genghis khan rescued his empire is a 2010 book by jack weatherford, about the impact and legacy of genghis khans daughters and mongol queens such as mandukhai the wise and khutulun. Linguistically, it provides the richest source of preclassical mongolian and middle mongolian. The secret history of the mongol queens historical novel. A specialist in tribal peoples, he was for many years a professor of anthropology at macalaster. It was written for the mongol royal family some time after the 1227 death of genghis khan also known as temujin. There has long been a need for a scholarly english edition of the great th century historical epic, the secret history of the mongols, the only surviving mongol source about the empire. These nomadic peoples from central asia briefly held sway over an empire that stretched across asia to the frontiers of germany and the shores of the adriatic. This book is brought to you for free and open access by the books and monographs at western cedar. Work that it would be impossible for an amateur to undertake. The secret history of the mongols ancient history encyclopedia.
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. How the daughters of genghis khan rescued his empire. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read the secret history of the mongol queens. This book, known to mongols as the tobchian tobchaan. Those mongol queens were too unusual, too difficult to understand or explain. The censored portion recorded words spoken by genghis khan in the summer of 1206 at the moment he created the mongol. The secret history of the mongols traditional mongolian. Mongol queens were too unusual, too difficult to understand or explain. The secret history of the mongols the origin of chinghis khan an adaptation of the yuan chao pi shih, based primarily on the english translation by francis woodman cleaves by paul kahn north point press san francisco 1984. A mongolian epic chronicle of the thirteenth century 2 vol. Jack weatherford tells the gripping story, lost ot history until now, of the female heirs of the mongol empire.
Publication of this work was delayed until 1982, although the translation was completed in 1956. The mongol conquests, culminating with the invasion of europe in the middle of the thirteenth century, were of a scope and range never equaled. The secret history of the mongols the secret history of the mongols mongyolun niuca tobcaan is the earliest surviving literary monument of the mongolian people. Secret history of the mongols kindle edition by waley. It might have been more interesting to focus solely on mundahai, the female descendant of genghis khan who rose to power and united the mongol tribes, since the history of her rule has survived through the ages. What are the best books on the history of mongolia. Included in this collection are pieces on the eighthcentury chinese poet tsen shen and the great chinese prose writer, han yu, as well as some of waleys original poems and stories. The first assignment will begin with an analysis of the author. The secret history of the mongols mongyolun niuca tobcaan is the earliest surviving literary monument of the mongolian people. The mongol queens of the thirteenth century ruled the greatest empire the world has ever known. While the great kahn was out conquering the world, his wives and.
The secret history of the mongol queens by jack weatherford. The author is not known and even if people date it back to the year 1240, the real date when it was written and the literatures original title is still a debatable matter. The book is mainly about the life and the career of. The book known as the secret history of the mongols mongqolun niuca tobcaan. The secret history of the mongols is a primary account covering the history of the mongols under genghis khan and his son ogadai.
No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system. Mongol leader genghis khan 11621227 rose from humble beginnings to establish the largest land empire in history. The secret history of the mongols mongolia collection. Enter your mobile number or email address below and well send you. Jack weatherford restores the queens missing chapter to the annals of history. Its author is unknown, and although it is widely thought to have been written in 1240, both its original title and the exact date of its composition are still matters for debate. This is an interesting book, but the little bit of information about the mongol queens just isnt enough to make an entire book. The origin of chingis khan, north point press, san francisco, 1984. The secret history is regarded as the single significant native mongolian account of genghis khan. In the first part of the book, weatherford traces the life of genghis khan and his relationship with his children, probably four sons and seven or eight daughters, as later recorded in the secret history of the mongols in the th century.
The secret history of the mongols mongolian culture. In that almostcentury, the secret history has gone from an unheardof academic text to the most ubiquitous and influential book in mongolia. It was probably composed in 122829, and presented at a great assembly in northeastern mongolia that had been convened to elect. Nov 29, 2010 the secret history of the mongol queens ends with the astonishing tale of queen mandhuhai the wise who reunited the mongols while fighting the chinese ming dynasty and the muslim warlords.
A critical analysis of the secret history of the mongols. Her successful campaigns, which she waged even when pregnant, promoted china to erect the great wall and preserved peace for her children and the nation. An adaptation of the yuan chao pi shih, based primarily on the english translation by francis woodman cleaves. The mongol queens of the thirteenth century ruled the largest empire the world has ever known.
The secret history of the mongols is above all a source of the first magnitude for the social history of the mongols before the establishment of their world empire. The book is mainly about the life and the career of chinggis khan, his ancestors and his rise to power. The mongol queens of the th century ruled the largest empire the world has ever known. The same buyiruqqan and quduqa, who knew how to use the n. The author is unknown, and he gives unique accounts of genghis khans life and rule as well as describes the life in medieval mongolia. Yet sometime near the end of the century, censors cut their story from the secret history of the mongols, leaving only a hint of a fathers legacy for his daughters. The people of the felt walled tents were the tatars, the onggirads, the. Surprisingly little has been written on this vast and. Secret history of the mongols mongol chronicle britannica. It was written for the mongol royal family some time after the. Yet sometime near the end of the century, censors cut a section about the queens from the secret history of the mongols, and, with that one act, the dynasty of these royals had seemingly been extinguished forever, as even their names were erased from the historical record. The book covers the origins of the mongol people, the rise to power and reign of genghis khan r. A specialist in tribal peoples, he was for many years a professor of.
125 1247 1622 790 1112 1551 592 496 288 445 1363 1281 673 37 90 1507 557 687 597 196 672 1474 225 1082 1348 12 1116 1333 312 1549 149 844 780 469 740 1650 83 1247 446 260 373 433 1093 1190 1075 524