Genghis Khan

May 18, 2015
Prolific British historian and biographer McLynn (Captain Cook) seeks to determine how a seemingly insignificant nomadic tribe from the remote, arid, sub-Arctic steppe became world conquerors. He relies heavily on The Secret History of the Mongols, an enigmatic Mongol hagiography, and on contemporary Arab and Persian authors who had their own evident biases. “The history of Genghis Khan and the Mongols can sometimes seem no more than an endless recital of massacres with pyramids of skulls,” McLynn writes, but he enlivens the litany of destruction with explorations of animal husbandry, traditional religion, and other anthropological topics—sections that are often more interesting than those recounting military exploits. Mongol diplomatic strategy
also bears recounting, particularly the drinking binges forced upon Song dynasty envoys. Although the author exhibits a great deal of sympathy for his subject, his opinions on the Mongol nation are not particularly positive: “While the Mongols’ military achievements were stupendous, they were otherwise totally parasitic,” he notes. They also “produced no cultural artefacts... and did not even bake bread; they essentially relied on the captive craftsmen and experts for everything.” McLynn’s work is sweepingly ambitious and persistently intriguing, even if it is not always clear how reliable his sources may be. Maps & illus.