Tlie legacy of Genghis Khan and the Mongol hordes has been shrouded and obscured by the myth makersof history and indeed by the propaganda of the Mongols themselves. Those who suffered humiliation and defeat needed to justify and explain their shame through hyperbole, whereas the Mongols, eager to deter any who would challenge their rise, were content that the terror inspired by these tales provoked inaction rather than reaction. The result is that today for many the name of Genghis Khan is synonymous with evil and the Mongols with barbarian rule and destruction. Their defenders are few and, until recently, their apologists rare. In Europe the echo of their horses' hooves resonated with dread on the pages of the chronicles of Matthew Paris, whereas in Japan it was believed that only the divine intervention of the kamikaze winds prevented the collapse of that island empire into a sea of barbarism. In Russia the Clmniicle of Novgorod still inspires horror at the memory of the events of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, and the Islamic world continues to c|uote less than objective sources such as the doom-laden words of Ibn al-Athir rather than those historians who wrote from firsthand knowiedge.
Such sentiments are not universal, however, and among not only Mongolian people but also among the Turkish people both in Turkey and
Early copy of the Secret History in Hohluit Museum. Courtesy of Xinjiang Qinshan Culture Publishing
Turkish Central Asia, the appellations Genghis, Hiilegii, Mongke, Arghun, and other such names from the Mongol golden age can still be found and are worn with honor. In the Turkish-speaking world and within the countries straddling the Eurasian steppes, Genghis Khan and his Mongol hordes are becoming a source of pride, and the tales told of his deeds and progeny are a source of inspiration.
Recent academic thinking has also begun to look again at the legacy of the Mongols and at the period of Mongol rule itself. Beneath the rhetoric and propaganda, behind the battles and massacres, hidden by the often selfgenerated myths and legends, the reality of the two centuries of Mongol ascendancy was often one of regeneration, creativity, and growth. Two recent exhibitions, one in the United States and the other in London have celebrated the glorious legacy of the peoples from the Eurasian steppe. In New York and Los Angeles in 2002 an exhibition entitled The Legacy of Genghis Khan paid tribute to the cultural achievements of the Mongols who ruled in Iran and quieted the myth that the period of Il-Khanid rule in Iran (1256-1335) was barbaric. Likewise in London in 2005, a major exhibition celebrated the Turks' more than 1,000 years of glorious history, covering their rule and influence in a swath of countries from China to Europe. The aim of this book is to explore this more objective portrait of Genghis Khan and the period of Mongol rule following his death in 1227 c. e. and seek a more dispassionate view of life under Mongol rule.
World History
