The Secret History Of The Mongols

This fresh translation of one of the only surviving Mongol sources about the Mongol empire, brings out the excitement of this epic with its wide-ranging commentaries on military and social conditions, religion and philosophy, while remaining faithful to the original text.

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 C

There has long been a need for a scholarly English edition of the great 13th century historical epic, The Secret History of the Mongols, the only surviving Mongol source about the empire. The book is mainly about the life and the career of Chinggis Khan, his ancestors and his rise to power. Chinggis Khan was not only a military genius, but also a great statesman and diplomat. Through a combination of armed force and diplomacy, he managed to merge the complex system of alliances which existed between diverse tribes into a powerful confederacy that swept across most of Eurasia, starting in 1219. Urgunge Onon's fresh translation brings out the excitement of this epic with its wide-ranging commentaries on military and social conditions, religion and philosophy, while remaining faithful to the original text. This fully annotated edition is prefaced by a 36 page introduction setting the work in its cultural and historical context.

A new translation of a great historical epic, recounting the turbulent life and times of Chinggis Khan 'Bear the sword and Hew asunder high and haughty necks Slash apart all strong and self-willed shoulders' Born poor into a world of dangers and hardships, Chinggis (or Genghis) Khan would grow up to unify Mongolia and conquer a vast empire stretching from modern-day Beijing to Baghdad. The Secret History of the Mongols, written after Chinggis's death in the thirteenth century, is a great historical saga recounting not only his turbulent life and times, but that of his loved ones, ancestors and heirs. This remarkable new translation of the earliest surviving work written in Mongolian gives insight into a world of warlords, kinship, horses, yurts, shamans and vast landscapes, where bloody battles and violent family conflicts are impelled by Heaven's destiny. Translated with an introduction by Christopher P. Atwood

“A fascinating romp through the feminine side of the infamous Khan clan” (Booklist) by the author featured in Echoes of the Empire: Beyond Genghis Khan “Enticing . . . hard to put down.”—Associated Press The Mongol queens of the thirteenth century ruled the largest empire the world has ever known. The daughters of the Silk Route turned their father’s conquests into the first truly international empire, fostering trade, education, and religion throughout their territories and creating an economic system that stretched from the Pacific to the Mediterranean. 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. 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.

The 13th century "Secret History of the Mongols, covering the great ?inggis Qan's (1162-1227) ancestry and life, stands out as a literary monument of first magnitude. Written partly in prose and partly in epic poetry, it is the major native source on ?inggis Qan, also dealing with part of the reign of his son and successor Vgvdei (1229-41). This true handbook contains an historical introduction, a full translation of the chronicle in accessible English, "plus an extensive commentary. Indispensable for the historian, the Sino-Mongolist, the Altaic philologist, and anyone interested in comparative literature and Central Asian folklore.

First published in 1963. The Secret History (so called merely because it was meant for the Mongols and not for the Chinese,) has been chiefly studied from a learned point of view and its quality as literature and hence its value to the lay reader have been greatly overlooked. The Chinese version has been used, but with constant reference to the Mongol text. The parts selected (founded on story-tellers' tales) date from the middle of the thirteenth century.

No detailed description available for "Index to the Secret History of the Mongols".