Secret History of the Mongols - The Origin of Chingis Khan

Paul Khan

Cheng & Tsui

2005

240 páginas

8h 0m

ISBN-10: 0887272991

This adaptation of what is recognized today as the oldest Mongolian text (written two decades after Chingis Khan's death) tells the Mongols' own version of the origin of their nation, the life of Chingis Khan, and the creation of an empire that stretched across Eurasia in the Thirteenth century. Kahn has adapted the scholarly English of Francis Woodman Cleaves' erudite translation in colloquial English, making this exciting narrative accessible to all readers. It is written "as an act of research and imagination," an example of story-telling as history which offers not only an accurate and dramatic description of Mongolian culture and heritage, but wisdom and insight into the humanity of this small group that ruled much of Asia, Russia, and the Middle East for nearly two hundred years.
Although it opens in a mythical past, The Secret History of the Mongols quickly becomes a treasure-trove of factual information, not only about the life and career of Chingis Khan, but also about the Mongolian people. It describes in fascinating detail the daily life, social structures, and customs of the tribes of Central Asia, and in terms of accuracy and immediacy eclipses the more familiar Travels of Marco Polo. An overview of medieval Asia, maps, lineage charts, a glossary of proper names, and a bibliography are included. This expanded edition includes a Seventeenth century account of Chingis Khan's death and a recent essay by the author.