The name Genghis Khan often conjures the image of a relentless, bloodthirsty barbarian on horseback leading a ruthless band of nomadic warriors in the looting of the civilized world. But the surprising truth is that Genghis Khan was a visionary leader whose conquests joined backward Europe with the flourishing cultures of Asia to trigger a global awakening, an unprecedented explosion of … technologies, trade, and ideas. In Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World, Jack Weatherford, the only Western scholar ever to be allowed into the Mongols’ “Great Taboo” — Genghis Khan’s homeland and forbidden burial site — tracks the astonishing story of Genghis Khan and his descendants, and their conquest and transformation of the world.
Fighting his way to power on the remote steppes of Mongolia, Genghis Khan developed revolutionary military strategies and weaponry that emphasized rapid attack and siege warfare, which he then brilliantly used to overwhelm opposing armies in Asia, break the back of the Islamic world, and render the armored knights of Europe obsolete. Under Genghis Khan, the Mongol army never numbered more than 100,000 warriors, yet it subjugated more lands and people in twenty-five years than the Romans conquered in four hundred. With an empire that stretched from Siberia to India, from Vietnam to Hungary, and from Korea to the Balkans, the Mongols dramatically redrew the map of the globe, connecting disparate kingdoms into a new world order.
But contrary to popular wisdom, Weatherford reveals that the Mongols were not just masters of conquest, but possessed a genius for progressive and benevolent rule. On every level and from any perspective, the scale and scope of Genghis Khan’s accomplishments challenge the limits of imagination. Genghis Khan was an innovative leader, the first ruler in many conquered countries to put the power of law above his own power, encourage religious freedom, create public schools, grant diplomatic immunity, abolish torture, and institute free trade. The trade routes he created became lucrative pathways for commerce, but also for ideas, technologies, and expertise that transformed the way people lived. The Mongols introduced the first international paper currency and postal system and developed and spread revolutionary technologies like printing, the cannon, compass, and abacus. They took local foods and products like lemons, carrots, noodles, tea, rugs, playing cards, and pants and turned them into staples of life around the world. The Mongols were the architects of a new way of life at a pivotal time in history.
In Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World, Jack Weatherford resurrects the true history of Genghis Khan, from the story of his relentless rise through Mongol tribal culture to the waging of his devastatingly successful wars and the explosion of civilization that the Mongol Empire unleashed. This dazzling work of revisionist history doesn’t just paint an unprecedented portrait of a great leader and his legacy, but challenges us to reconsider how the modern world was made.
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I loved this look at Genghis Khan and the aftermath of “the great Khan.” Normally, he’s presented in such a bloodthirsty, destructive way (such as in Dan Carlin’s Hardcore History episodes about him). Granted, he did a lot of rather dark stuff, but why does history penalize Genghis Khan but lionize a Caesar or an Alexander or even a Truman? I …
If you like history this is an interesting background on Ghengis Kahn. We are accustomed to believing he was a barbarian terrorist But in this book we can see the culture of the times and how he developed a civilizing code for the tribes. It provides a link in history not seen before.
Fascinating history of the greatest conquerors ever.
Fascinating
The very best of non-fiction!
a history of the mongol empire including the life of Genghis Khan. a good review of history of the whole mongol empire, built and managed brilliantly by Genghis Khan. And how it continued to expand to the size of Africa, the largest empire ever, after Genghis’ death. And responsible for uniting greater China into a country. A fascinating aspect is …
Well researched but to much detail for my taste
Understanding the real Genghis Khan is important to understanding the history of Asia leading to the modern world. More than a warrior, he was a masterful leader who promoted other fundamental aspects of development for many of the countries that are located across Eurasia and the Indian sub-contenient today. He was the leader of the largest …
This has to be the most unread, but important, historical depiction of an early, almost unacknowledged, racial contribution to the shaping of our “post Greek, Roman, Persian, Islamic, Crusades” world. If you have not read it, you have missed one of the most important history lessons. I can’t understand why we have not seen a lot more on the …
Good read
A thought provoking book on Genghis Khan’s impact on world history. I enjoyed it.
Interesting perspective on a heretofore mysterious figure
This is an indispensable history of Mongolia. I learned so much reading this book!
“Fate did not hand Chinnguis Khan [aka Gengis Khan]his destiny. He made it himself. It seemed highly unlikely that he would have ever had enough horses to create a Spirit Banner, much less that he would follow it all over the world.”
This fascinating overview of the life and times of Gengis Khan is well worth the time to track down and read. Jack …
A lot of information but was a little dry. Still, I learned a lot.