Culture and Conquest in Mongol Eurasia
Culture and Conquest in Mongol Eurasia
Thomas Allsen is one of the foremost historians of the Mongol empire. His latest book breaks new scholarly boundaries in its exploration of cultural and scientific exchanges between Iran and China. Contrary to popular belief, Mongol rulers were intensely interested in the culture of their sedentary subjects. Under their auspices, various commodities, ideologies and technologies were disseminated across Eurasia. The result was a lively exchange of scientists, scholars and ritual specialists between East and West. The book is broad-ranging and erudite and promises to become a classic in the field.
- A major new synthesis, engagingly told, path-breaking and erudite in approach
- Places Islamic cultural history in a wider Eurasian/world history context
- Author is one of the most distinguished authors writing today on Mongol history
Reviews & endorsements
"This splendid work charts a maze of hitherto unlooked-for circuits and connections, identifying technical fields that warrant further investigation. Erudite, cogent, and original, it serves the Mongols well." International History Review
"This book belongs in all undergraduate and graduate school libraries; indeed, it should be in the libraries of all campuses that offer courses on world history." Choice
"...Culture and Conquest in Mongol Eurasia is a superb book and a model of accurate scholarship. All those interested in late medieval China or Iran, in the Mongol empire, or in international cross-cultural contact before European dominance will profit greatly from reading Professor Allsen's fascinating story." Islamic Studies
Product details
March 2004Paperback
9780521602709
264 pages
232 × 154 × 16 mm
0.4kg
Available
Table of Contents
- Part I. Background:
- 1. Introduction
- 2. Before the Mongols
- Part II. Political-Economic Relations:
- 3. Formation of the Il-qans, 1251–65
- 4. Grand Qans and Il-qans, 1265–95
- 5. Continuity and change under Ghazan, 1295–1304
- 6. Sultans and Grand Qans, 1304–35
- 7. Economic ties
- 8. Overview of the relationship
- Part III. Intermediaries:
- 9. Marco Polo and Po-lo
- 10. Qubilai and Bolad Aqa
- 11. Rashid al-Din and Pulad chinksank
- Part IV. Cultural Exchange:
- 12. Historiography
- 13. Geography and cartography
- 14. Agriculture
- 15. Cuisine
- 16. Medicine
- 17. Astronomy
- 18. Printing
- Part V. Analysis and Conclusions:
- 19. Models and methods
- 20. Agency
- 21. Filtering
- 22. Summation.
