It all begin in the year 1190 when Genghis Khan managed to bring together the different nomadic tribes of Mongolia in a single, powerful army of 200,000 men.
The last rex crucesignatus, Edward I and the Mongol alliance
September 12, 2015 By
This study explores the crusading efforts of Edward I, King of England (1272– 1307), in the last decades of the thirteenth century.
‘Spurred on by the Fear of Death’: Refugees and Displaced Populations during the Mongol Invasion of Hungar
September 6, 2015 By
Sensitized by the grim headlines which daily announce the appalling plight of twentieth-century refugees in eastern Europe, I was motivated to investigate the behavior and conditions of medieval refugees fleeing the Mongols.
Genoa: The cog in the new medieval economy
August 18, 2015 By
Journalist and author Nicholas Walton writes about medieval Genoa’s economy, trade and role in the Black Death. Walton recently published a book on Genoese history entitled, “Genoa: La Superba”
13th-century Mongol sabre discovered in Russia
April 22, 2015 By
While Russian archaeologists were conducting a routine examination of an old sabre unearthed seven years ago in Yaroslavl, they discovered that the weapon dates back to the 13th century, making it to be oldest crucible steel weapon in East Europe.
Millions of people are descended from Genghis Khan and 10 other Asian dynastic leaders, researchers find
March 11, 2015 By
Geneticists from the University of Leicester have discovered that millions of modern Asian men are descended from 11 powerful dynastic leaders who lived up to 4,000 years ago – including Mongolian warlord Genghis Khan.
The Mongol Empire: The State of the Research
February 21, 2015 By
The study of the Mongol Empire has made enormous strides in the past two decades, and its most notable impact is the shift of seeing the Empire not only in national or regional terms but from a holistic perspective, in its full Eurasian context.
How Well Do You Know Genghis Khan?
December 2, 2014 By
What do you really know about Genghis Khan? Take our quiz and find out:
Chingiz Khan: Maker of the Islamic World
November 7, 2014 By
For centuries Chingiz Khān has been a symbol of barbaric mayhem and murderous plunder, and the unifier of the Turco-Mongol Eurasian tribes has been presented as the archetypal embodiment of evil, a threat to the sedentary civilised world, and the stereotypical steppe marauder.
A First Escape from Poverty in Late Medieval Japan: Evidence from Real Wages in Kyoto (1360-1860)
September 26, 2014 By
This paper offers a first investigation of long-term trends in Japanese living standards from the mid-14th to the mid-19th century using urban daily wages and price data for a number of basic commodities.
A Mongol Princess Making hajj: The Biography of El Qutlugh Daughter of Abagha Ilkhan (r. 1265–82)
August 22, 2014 By
his study examines in detail the biographical entry of an Ilkhanid (the Mongol state centred in Iran) princess, El Qutlugh Khatun daughter of Abagha Ilkhan (r. 1265–82), in the biographical dictionaries of the Mamluk author Khalil b. Aybeg al-Safadi (d. 1363)
Castle Building and Its Social Significance in Medieval Hungary
August 22, 2014 By
The history of Hungarian fortification and castle-building has been a subject of Hungarian historiography ever since the 1870s, when Bela Czobor wrote his pioneering study, “Hungary’s Medieval Castles.”
The report of friar John of Plano Carpini: analysis of an intelligence gathering mission conducted on behalf of the Papacy in the mid thirteenth century
June 22, 2014 By
During the course of the Council, Innocent IV sent three separate embassies to the Mongols: two Dominican missions under Andrew of Longjurneau and Friar Ascelin respectively, and a Franciscan mission under Carpini.
How warm weather led to the rise of Genghis Khan
March 11, 2014 By
In the thirteenth-century a Mongol warrior named Genghis Khan took control of the nomadic tribes on the Great Stepee and launched a series of invasions that would see a vast empire being established from China to Eastern Europe. Now a team of researchers have shown that their success can be partly attributed to climate change.
The Battle of Herat (1270): A Case of Inter-Mongol Warfare
March 9, 2014 By
When the armies of the Ilkhan Abaqa (r. 1265-1282) met the troops of the Chaghadaid Khan Baraq (r. 1266-1271) in 1270 at Herat in present-day Afghanistan, it was for a full-scale and decisive combat.
BOOKS:Medieval Celebrities!
March 3, 2014 By
They may not have won any Oscars, but they were definitely medieval celebrities! Here are some great reads about some of the most famous faces of the Middle Ages
Whose secret Intent?
February 23, 2014 By
Hülegü Khan’s arrival on the south bank of the Amu Darya, or the Oxus, in the 1250s was the second time that a large Mongol-led military force had landed south of the great river poised to advance on the Iranian plateau.
Worldly Unease in Late Medieval European Travel Reports
January 11, 2014 By
Comparing the Book of John Mandeville with Jean de Jeanville’s Vie Saint Louis and William of Rubruck’s Journey, this chapter argues that cosmopolitan perspectives in these texts seem to emerge in spite of rather than because of their contacts with other cultures.
The Rise of Muscovy
December 26, 2013 By
Kievan Rus which was founded in 880 was made up of a loose knit alliance between small city states in what is today western Russia. The most powerful of these city states was Kiev. During the early thirteenth century the Mongol continued their march west until they conquered Kievan Rus in 1240.
Women, War, and Social Change in Armenia during the Mongol Domination
November 22, 2013 By
The Mongol conquest of Armenia precipitated social changes that were in motion since the late 10th-early 11th centuries, such as the dissolution of some princely houses, the realignment of others, as well as the rise of new ones.
Islamic Astronomy in Medieval China
September 15, 2013 By
In 1271, Kublai Khan founded the Bureau of Islamic Astronomy in Peking, which operated alongside the long-established Chinese Astronomical Bureau.
Alexander and the Mongols
September 8, 2013 By
The association of Alexander the Great with the Mongols begins with the identification of the latter with the peoples of Gog and Magog.
How to Invade Iraq: The Mongol Way
August 20, 2013 By
‘Even a brief mention of it would be terrible to hear – how much worse its recapitulation in detail! Things happened which I shall not record, imagine them and do not ask for a description!’
The Festive Beverages of the Khans
August 9, 2013 By
Festivities held with yearly regularity are a stable feature of nomadic life. Each nomad tribe seems to have had a ceremony connected with eating and drinking on which the leaders were presen
Kings, Conquerors, and Gods: The Autobiographies of Timur, Isma’il, and Babur
July 31, 2013 By
In 1360, a hundred years after the finalization of Mongol conquest, the most famous of these post-Genghisid rulers emerged in Kesh, not far from Samarqand. Timur Barlas, anglicized as Tamerlane, pursued a life-long career of warfare, first establishing himself in the ranks of the regional amir Kurgen and eventually awing the entire region from the Punjab to Cairo and Constantinople through his conquests. Like his predecessor Genghis, Timur has since been a hotly debated figure.
How you can Follow Us!