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John Man | |
|---|---|
| Born | 15 May 1941 |
| Occupation | Historian, travel writer |
| Nationality | British |
| Period | 1999–present |
| Genre | Historical, travel writing |
John Anthony Garnet Man (born 15 May 1941) is a British historian and travel writer. His special interests are China, Mongolia and the history of written communication. [1]
Man studied German and French at Keble College, Oxford, before completing two postgraduate courses, a diploma in the History and Philosophy of Science at Oxford and Mongolian at the School of Oriental and African Studies, finishing the latter in 1968. [2]
After working in journalism with Reuters and in publishing with Time Life Books, Man turned to writing, with occasional forays into film, TV, and radio.
In the 1990s, he began a series on the revolutions in writing: writing itself, the alphabet, and printing with movable type. This resulted in two books, Alpha Beta and The Gutenberg Revolution, both republished in 2009.
He returned to the subject of Mongolia with Gobi: Tracking the Desert, the first book on the region since the 1920s. Work in Mongolia led to Genghis Khan: Life, Death and Resurrection, published in 2004, which has so far appeared in 21 languages. Attila the Hun and Kublai Khan: The Mongol King Who Remade China, published in 2005 and 2006, respectively, completed a trilogy on Asian leaders.
In 2007 John Man was awarded Mongolia's Friendship Medal for his contributions to UK–Mongolian relations.
Man's 2007 book ThTerracotta Army]] coincided with the British Museum exhibition (September 2007 – April 2008). This was followed by The Great Wall , published in 2008. The Leadership Secrets of Genghis Khan (2009) combines history and leadership theory. Xanadu: Marco Polo and the Discovery of the East was published in the autumn of 2009, and Samurai: The Last Warrior, the story of Saigō Takamori's doomed 1877 rebellion against the Japanese emperor, was published in February 2011.
The Mongol Empire (2014) tells the story of the world's greatest land empire, established by Genghis and taken to its fullest extent by his grandson Kublai. It develops two major themes touched on in previous books: the nature of the Mongols' ideology of world rule and the consequences for the modern world of Kublai's conquest of all China.
Also in 2014, Xanadu: Marco Polo and Europe's Discovery of the East was acquired by HarperCollins US, who retitled the book Marco Polo to accompany the 10-part Netflix original TV series Marco Polo .
He is married to writer Timberlake Wertenbaker. Together, they translated the English production of the Mongolian play The Mongol Khan . [3] However, his translation received poor reviews from the audience.
The Battle of Xiangyang was a protracted series of battles between the Yuan dynasty and the Southern Song dynasty from 1267 to 1273. The battle was a significant victory for the Yuan dynasty and ended a 30-year defensive campaign waged by the Southern Song dynasty, allowing Yuan forces to advance into the Southern Song heartland. The capture of Xiangyang also allowed the Yuan dynasty to take control of the Han and Yangtze rivers, thereby depriving the Southern Song dynasty of two formidable natural barriers. The defeat devastated the Southern Song dynasty, which collapsed several years later at the Battle of Yamen.
Shangdu, more popularly known as Xanadu, was the summer capital of the Yuan dynasty of China before Kublai moved his throne to the former Jin dynasty capital of Zhōngdū which was renamed Khanbaliq. Shangdu is located in the present-day Zhenglan Banner, Inner Mongolia. In June 2012, it was made a World Heritage Site for its historical importance and for the unique blending of Mongolian and Chinese culture.
Articles related to Mongolia include:
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, mounted invasions of Southeast Asia, and conquered the Iranian Plateau; and reached 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 and violent conquests.
Kaidu was a grandson of the Mongol khagan Ögedei (1185–1241) and thus leader of the House of Ögedei and the de facto khan of the Chagatai Khanate, a division of the Mongol Empire. He ruled parts of modern-day Xinjiang and Central Asia during the 13th century, and actively opposed his uncle, Kublai, who established the Yuan dynasty. Medieval chroniclers often mistranslated Kadan as Kaidu, mistakenly placing Kaidu at the Battle of Legnica. Kadan was the brother of Güyük, and Kaidu's uncle.
Mongols living within the Mongol Empire (1206–1368) maintained their own culture, not necessarily reflective of the majority population of the historical Mongolian empire, as most of the non-Mongol peoples inside it were allowed to continue their own social customs. The Mongol class largely lead separate lives, although over time there was a considerable cultural influence, especially in Persia and China.
Bayan of the Baarin, or Boyan, was an ethnic Mongol general of the Yuan dynasty of China. He was known to Marco Polo as "Bayan Hundred Eyes". He commanded the army of Kublai Khan against the Southern Song dynasty, ushering in the Southern Song collapse and the conquest of southern China by the Yuan dynasty.
Zhenjin, also rendered as Jingim, Chinkim, or Chingkim, was a crown prince of the Yuan dynasty of China. He was a son of Kublai Khan and grandson of Tolui.
Kublai Khan, also known by his temple name as the Emperor Shizu of Yuan and his regnal name Setsen Khan, was the founder and first emperor of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty of China. He proclaimed the dynastic name "Great Yuan" in 1271, and ruled Yuan China until his death in 1294.
Kheshig were the imperial guard and shock troops for Mongol royalty in the Mongol Empire, particularly for rulers like Genghis Khan and his wife Börte. Their primary purpose was to act as bodyguards for the emperors and other important nobles. They were divided into two groups: the day guard (Torguud) and the night guard (Khevtuul). They were distinct from the regular army and would not go to battle with them, instead staying back on guard duty. Their supreme commander was called the Cherbi.
Various nomadic empires, including the Xiongnu, the Xianbei state, the Rouran Khaganate (330–555), the First (552–603) and Second Turkic Khaganates (682–744) and others, ruled the area of present-day Mongolia. The Khitan people, who used a para-Mongolic language, founded an empire known as the Liao dynasty (916–1125), and ruled Mongolia and portions of North China, northern Korea, and the present-day Russian Far East.
The Yuan dynasty (1271–1368) was a dynasty of China ruled by the Mongol Borjigin clan. Founded by Kublai Khan, it is considered one of the successors to the Mongol Empire.
Chabi was a Khongirad empress consort of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty of China, married to Kublai Khan.
A paiza or paizi or gerege was a tablet carried by Mongol officials and envoys to signify certain privileges and authority. They enabled Mongol nobles and officials to demand goods and services from civilian populations.
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.
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.
Marco Polo is an American drama television series inspired by Marco Polo's early years in the court of Kublai Khan, the Khagan of the Mongol Empire and the founder of the Yuan dynasty (1271–1368). The show premiered on Netflix on December 12, 2014. The series was created by John Fusco and stars Lorenzo Richelmy in the title role, with Benedict Wong as Kublai Khan. It was produced by The Weinstein Company. On January 7, 2015, Marco Polo was renewed by Netflix for a 10-episode second season, which premiered on July 1, 2016.
Nayan was a prince of the Borjigin royal family of the Mongol Empire. He raised a noteworthy and serious rebellion against Kublai Khan, the Mongolian Khagan. He was a Nestorian Christian. Much of what is known of Nayan was recorded by the Venetian traveller Marco Polo.
Fatima was an influential figure in the Mongol Empire as a favourite of Töregene Khatun, regent of the empire from 1241 to 1246.
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