Book Reivew: The Mongol Empire, by John Man

Being the second largest empire in history, topped only by the British Empire, The Mongol Empire boasts a lot of events in what is arguably a rather short time-span. Key figures would become immortalized throughout the centuries, as the Khans would cover nearly a sixth of the Earth's land, giving way to Dynasties, wars, and borders that would influence today's geography. John Man steps forward to touch on some of the pinnacle events that took place during its run, as well as some legacy, points of interest on the map, and the early pre-Empire days. As the title of his work would suggest, The Mongol Empire: Genghis Khan, His Heirs, And The Founding Of Modern China focuses a majority of its depth on the leadership of Genghis, as well as his grandson Kublai, without failing to connect the dots between eras. Early on, he mentions that much of the information in the book came from The Secret History, a chronical written in the 13th century AD that has been researched by modern historians to uncover the information. 

Working fairly chronologically, there are several key points that are drilled in throughout every era of the empire. The protection of Blue Heaven (and later Eternal Heaven) derived from from Shamanism early in Genghis's life, mostly a belief heheld from his ability to survive capture and conflict, as well as escaping these traps at such a young age. Generations prior to the empire's days touch on his family's idea to unite Mongol tribes, and how he was the first to do it. Luckily for the Christian, Islamic, and other ideologies that would fall into empire expansion, Shamanism didn't seek to suppress other forms of religion. This made it easier for The Great Kahn, to win people to his side, protecting Mongol sovereignty after causing others to surrender.

This of course, doesn't mean that there was no violence. Quite the opposite, the bloodshed that ensued in many of these wars is also touched on by Man, including the military tactics as well as the weaponry that was used. The sequence of when to move forward and where was imperative. For example, taking West Xia prior to the mighty Jin would be necessary due to needing allies and not wanting to take on a heavier guarded region before prepared, and it's all detailed out. Showing how brutal it could get at some points, this work outlines an example of Hulagu committing what's known as the Fall Of Baghdad, a horrific attack in modern day Iraq that devastated the entire Muslim population.

Context of Genghis's grandson Kublai coming to power is needed, getting to the "heirs" part that the title mentions. The transition is shown wonderfully. Family would play a key role, and each of Genghis's sons are mentioned, touching on why power was taken over by his daughter-in-law Sorkaktani first. Another key figure, one of his sons Ögedei was the one who sought out to secure his father's dream of taking Karakorum, which is now in central Mongolia with ruins that can still be seen. This type of unity proved to be one of the biggest reasons many of the conquests were successful. Occasionally, infighting is mentioned, but that never appeared to have a significant enough impact until far later.

By the time we get to the Kublai era, things took on different meaning. The Yuan Dynasty's establishment is embraced, seeing that it took fruition under his rule. The "founding of modern China" section of the book is emphasized most here, as many of the borders established still exist today, as well as different Chinese provinces. Today's Yunnan, Shaanxi, Sichuan, and Gansu all owe their thanks to the Yuan era.

Right around here is also where the crossovers between Mongol and Chinese culture are laid on far heavier. Detailing the venture of the Song territories in the south, as well as Tibet, shows where lines were drawn between east and central Asian territories, and the struggle that went into this just as it had for taking on the Jin. Sure, plenty of European land even made its way into the empire at this time, but there was less presence the further west you went. Kublai's fascination with the looks of Mongol Gers but skills in Chinese building would see much of the merging of two nations. A big area that Man touches on in this regard is Kublai's capital of Xanadu, and spending time between it and Beijing. Doing this meant Karakorum, which some Mongols see as traitorous to this day. His adaption of Buddhism, inspired by his mentor Phags-Pha gets its own passage to highlight where the older Mongol traditions met Tibetan ones as time went on.

Mongolian Ger

For the Majority of The Mongol Empire, continual successes are what's shown in its expansion, leaving little room for drawbacks. This would change as we enter the last quarter or so, particularly when reaching the sections on Japan. Several attempts were made to take on Japan, and why they failed miserably. This is tied into certain Japanese beliefs and where certain Japanese terms come from (such as kamikaze) to give a broader historical perspective. Very little beyond this is mentioned, besides some theories on why the Yuan Dynasty slowly began to fall, and with it the Mongol Empire itself. Ming Dynasty would effectively see the end, and John Man closes things off with the legacies, and how the modern world and ages since have been effected.

Mongol Empire With Modern Borders

From an educational standpoint, this is a great book to get an idea of many of the largest events that took place during the empire's reign. Specific years, names, locations, and relationships between them are given, and a general look into why certain things worked and why others didn't are shown. Reasons for what was carried out, and the beliefs of different figures can certainly be a lot to juggle, especially if you're shaky on east Asian names and pronunciations. But objectively, it became easy enough. The maps showing the progression of the borders as the book goes on were very helpful, especially at the end when modern borders were used for comparison.

On the other hand, no specific event is covered to in a deep dive fashion. As the book aims to cover the entire empire in roughly 400 pages, little room is left for anything beyond a chapter-by-chapter summary of each larger event. John Man's ability to relate his own travels to much of the discussed information proves to be helpful, and the footnotes are a nice touch for extra context on certain words that aren't going to be familiar to your casual reader.

Ultimately, the goal here was to touch on exactly what the title states: Genghis, his heirs, and how the China and the cultures were affected. For this narrative alone, everything you could need for a basic understanding is included. His closing statement on how Genghis and Kublai are still important figures to both modern day Mongolia and China summed it up wonderfully. “If the Chinese take over Mongolia, they will do so in the names of Genghis and Kublai, who made Mongolia part of China. And if Mongols resist, they will do so in the name of Genghis and Kublai, who made China part of Mongolia.”