The Mongols and the West: 1221-1410 1st Edition

Primary sources by the Mongols are few, although there are volumes of anecdotal stories from across the width and breadth of Eurasia. Peter Jackson has done a marvelous job of pulling together these scant materials and writing a first-rate history of the Mongols after Chingiss (d. 1227). As the title indicates, Jackson is primarily concerned with the political relations between the "west" (this includes not only the Christendom of the Byzantine Empire and western Europe, but also the Mamelukes and Abbasids in the Near East), although some attention is paid to the commerical relations that emerged under the Mongols.The foundation of the book rests on Mongol society, and the perception and misconceptions of the "west" around exactly what this was, and how those in power sought to initally resist and (failing that) manipulate the horsemen from the steppe. Essentially the Mongols sought to make the world theirs, eventually failing because of a lack of pasture and from internal strife and conflict among the ruling khans. That said, the Mongols demonstrated a remarkable ability to manipulate and play on the perceptions of Christians and Muslims. To the Christians, the Mongols were at first the wrath of God (mind you, this was the high middle ages), later, when news of Mongol tolerance towards Christianity (and of all other religions, per their policy) reached Rome, efforts were made to enlist them as allies against the Muslims, likewise the Mamelukes (and others) against competing caliphs in the Near East.I had anticipated a closer study of the Mongols themselves rather than the political relations between the Yuan dynasty, the Il-Khanids, and the White and Golden Hordes relative to the "civilized" west - instead, Jackson only whetted my appetite for more. Still, it is a remarkable treatise on medieval politics and a keen lesson on how one's weltanschauung shapes one's understanding of others. Recommended for the specialist in medieval history.

As expected

Exactly what I Expected.

This book is one of its kind. One can see that Jackson is certainly a Mongol expert and one more concerned about getting across what the primary source material says more than coming up with his own fanciful ideas of what happened. The amount of footnotes is striking, and though it must have been an incredible task for the author, it makes this book extremely trustworthy. If you wonder where he got something he is writing down, you can always check it.It helps to remember that all history written in our time should have a source, and it's better if that source is from someone who was actually there at the time. Jackson subscribes that idea, while still sharing the ideas of eminent scholars in the field. His linguistic skills seem to have made it possible for him to examine a wide range of sources not available to the typical Mongol enthusiast.This book is a true scholarly achievement.

A true expert on Mongol history, Jackson must have spent enormous amounts of time studying primary sources and putting them into the footnotes of this truely amazing book. He manages to live up to the expectations of both, recreational history buffs and "real" researchers.The only downside of this book, if any, is the comparatively short coverage of the Golden Horde. The respective chapters could use a few more pages on this topic.