Publisher's Synopsis
Genghis Khan and the Mongol Empirepresents the untold story of Mongolia and its people, utilizing the latest results of research in archaeology, forensics, history, art, and literature. The bookÆs clear prose, beautiful design, and wide-ranging illustrations will fascinate general readers as well as scholars. The historical record of the far-flung Mongol dynasty is analyzed by distinguished scholars, including Morris Rossabi, who presents a portrait of Genghis that goes far beyond the stereotype of the barbarian conqueror to reveal the sophisticated administrative structure, religious and economic freedom, and social precepts that were his more lasting legacy. Historians David Morgan and Dan Waugh describe the western expansion of the Mongol empire, which reached the banks of the Danube at about the same time that Khara Khorum, the empireÆs capital city, was built in 1240. New information revealed by recent archaeological discoveries is discussed by Hermitage curator Mark Kramarovsky, who describes the Mongol cities and Genghissid burials of the Golden Horde in Russia and Ukraine. Underwater excavations document the remains of KublaiÆs ill-fated Japanese invasion fleet, which sank in a storm. Excavations at Khara Khorum have uncovered temples and workshops that were lost to history for 500 years. William Fitzhugh is director of the Arctic Studies Center at the Smithsonian Institution. Morris Rossabi is Distinguished Professor of history at the City University of New York and Columbia University. William Honeychurch is an assistant professor of anthropology at Yale University.
