Glimpses of World History is a book published by Jawaharlal Nehru in 1934. The book is subtitled Being further letters to his daughter, written in prison, and containing a rambling account of history for young people.
The Mongol Empire of the 13th and 14th centuries was the largest contiguous empire in history. Originating in present-day Mongolia in East Asia, the Mongol Empire at its height stretched from the Sea of Japan to parts of Eastern Europe, extending northward into parts of the Arctic; eastward and southward into parts of the Indian subcontinent, attempted invasions of Southeast Asia, and conquered the Iranian Plateau; and westward as far as the Levant and the Carpathian Mountains.
The Pax Mongolica, less often known as Pax Tatarica, is a historiographical term modeled after the original phrase Pax Romana which describes the stabilizing effects of the conquests of the Mongol Empire on the social, cultural and economic life of the inhabitants of the vast Eurasian territory that the Mongols conquered in the 13th and 14th centuries. The term is used to describe the eased communication and commerce the unified administration helped to create and the period of relative peace that followed the Mongols' vast conquests.
Ögedei Khan was second khagan of the Mongol Empire. The third son of Genghis Khan, he continued the expansion of the empire that his father had begun.
Güyük Khan was the third Khagan of the Mongol Empire, the eldest son of Ögedei Khan and a grandson of Genghis Khan. He reigned from 1246 to 1248. He started his military career by participating in the conquest of Eastern Xia and then later in the invasion of Europe. He was known to quarrel with his family members and mistreat his soldiers. When his father died, he was enthroned as Khagan in 1246. During his almost two year reign, he reversed some of his mother's unpopular edicts and ordered an empire-wide census; he also held some authority in Eastern Europe, appointing Andrey II as the grand prince of Vladimir and giving the princely title of Kiev to Alexander Nevsky.
Tolui was the youngest son of Genghis Khan and Börte. A prominent general during the early Mongol conquests, Tolui was a leading candidate to succeed his father after his death in 1227 and ultimately served as regent of the Mongol Empire until the accession of his brother Ögedei two years later. Tolui's wife was Sorghaghtani Beki; their sons included Möngke and Kublai, the fourth and fifth khagans of the empire, and Hulagu, the founder of the Ilkhanate.
Hö'elün was a Mongolian noblewoman and the mother of Temüjin, better known as Genghis Khan. She played a major role in his rise to power, as described in The Secret History of the Mongols.
Yelü Chucai, courtesy name Jinqing, was a Khitan statesman from the imperial clan of the Liao dynasty, who became a vigorous adviser and administrator of the early Mongol Empire in the Confucian tradition. He was the first of Genghis Khan's retainers to formulate policy during the Mongol invasions and conquests, and he also introduced many administrative reforms in North China during the reign of Genghis Khan and his successor Ögedei.
The location of the burial place of Genghis Khan has been the subject of much speculation and research. The site remains undiscovered, although it is generally believed that it is near the Mongol sacred mountain of Burkhan Khaldun in the Khentii Mountains.
Jack McIver Weatherford is the former DeWitt Wallace Professor of anthropology at Macalester College in Minnesota. He is best known for his 2004 book, Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World. In 2006, he was awarded the Order of the Polar Star, and the Order of Chinggis Khan in 2022, Mongolia’s two highest national honors. Moreover, he was honoured with the Order of the Gran Mariscal de Ayacucho by the Government of Bolivia in 2014.
In modern times the Mongols are primarily Tibetan Buddhists, but in previous eras, especially during the time of the Mongol empire, they were primarily shamanist, and had a substantial minority of Christians, many of whom were in positions of considerable power. Overall, Mongols were highly tolerant of most religions, and typically sponsored several at the same time. Many Mongols had been proselytized by the Church of the East since about the seventh century, and some tribes' primary religion was Christian. In the time of Genghis Khan, his sons took Christian wives of the Keraites, and under the rule of Genghis Khan's grandson, Möngke Khan, the primary religious influence was Christian.
The Mongol conquests of the 13th century resulted in widespread and well-documented destruction. The Mongol army conquered hundreds of cities and villages and killed millions of people. One estimate is that about 11 percent of the world's population was killed either during or immediately after the Mongol invasions, around 37.75–60 million people in Eurasia. These events are regarded as some of the deadliest acts of mass killing in human history.
Genghis Khan, also known as Chinggis Khan, was the founder and first khan of the Mongol Empire, which he ruled from 1206 until his death in 1227; it later became the largest contiguous empire in history. Having spent most of his life uniting the Mongol tribes, he launched a series of military campaigns, conquering large parts of China and Central Asia.
Shigi Qutuqu was a high-ranking official during the first decades of the Mongol Empire. The adopted son of the empire's founder Temüjin and his wife Börte, Shigi Qutuqu played an important role in the codification of Mongol law, serving with distinction as an administrator in North China. He may also have been the author of the Secret History of the Mongols, which alters and augments his position in early Mongol society.
The Mongol invasion of Central Asia occurred after the unification of the Mongol and Turkic tribes on the Mongolian plateau in 1206. Smaller military operations of the Mongol Empire in Central Asia included the destruction of surviving Merkit and Naimans and the conquest of Qara Khitai. These were followed by a major campaign against Khwarazm. Expansion into Central Asia began in 1209 as Genghis Khan sent an expedition to pursue rivals who had fled to the region and threatened his new empire. The Uyghur kingdom Qocho and leaders of the Karluks submitted voluntarily to the Mongol Empire and married into the imperial family. By 1218 the Mongols controlled all of Xinjiang and by 1221 all the territories of the former Khwarazmian Empire. In 1236, the Mongols defeated the eastern portions of Cumania and swept into Eastern Europe.
The Secret History of the Mongol Queens: How the Daughters of Genghis Khan Rescued His Empire is a 2010 book by Jack Weatherford, about the impact and legacy of Genghis Khan's daughters and Mongol queens such as Mandukhai the Wise and Khutulun. The book references Mongolian, Central Asian, Persian, European and Chinese sources such as Altan Tobchi, Erdeni Tobchi, Erdenyin Tunamal Sudar, Tarikh-i-Rashidi, Tarikh-i Jahangushay-i Juvaini, and Ming shi in addition to various secondary sources in English, Mongolian, and German.
Korguz was a Uyghur governor of Khurasan during the reign of the Mongol ruler Ögedei Khan. He began his career teaching Mongol children and thereafter assumed governorship of Khorasan. Originally a Buddhist, he converted to Islam later in his life. Korguz defied the family of the recently deceased Chagatai Khan. For this reason, he was ordered to death by Töregene Khatun who directed that stones be stuffed into his mouth in public until Korguz fatally choked.
The Mongols were highly tolerant of most religions during the early Mongol Empire, and typically sponsored several at the same time. At the time of Genghis Khan in the 13th century, virtually every religion had found converts, from Buddhism to Eastern Christianity and Manichaeanism to Islam. To avoid strife, Genghis Khan set up an institution that ensured complete religious freedom, though he himself was a Tengrist. Under his administration, all religious leaders were exempt from taxation, and from public service. Mongol emperors were known for organizing competitions of religious debates among clerics, and these would draw large audiences.
The Mongol conquest of Western Xia was a series of conflicts between the Mongol Empire and the Tangut-led Western Xia dynasty in northwestern China. Hoping to gain both plunder and a vassal state, the Mongol leader Genghis Khan commanded some initial raids against Western Xia before launching a full-scale invasion in 1209. This marked both the first major invasion conducted by Genghis and the first major Mongol invasion of China.
The Baljuna Covenant was an oath sworn in mid-1203 AD by Temüjin—the khan of the Mongol tribe and the future Genghis Khan—and a small group of companions, subsequently known as the Baljunatu. Temüjin had risen in power in the service of the Kereit khan Toghrul during the late 12th century. In early 1203, Toghrul was convinced by his son Senggum that Temüjin's proposal of a marriage alliance between his and their families was an attempt to usurp their power. After escaping two successive Kereit ambushes, Temüjin was cornered and comprehensively defeated at the Battle of Qalaqaljid Sands.
