Genetic study reveals insights into the Mongol Empire and the ancient Steppe
Genome-wide analysis spanning 6,000 years in the Eurasian Steppe gives insights to the formation of Mongolia’s empires.
Archaeologists discover Genghis Khan’s winter home
The location of the command post from where the Mongol leader staged his invasions has been the subject of lengthy debate among historians and archaeologists.
Mamluks vs. Mongols
The Mongols presented the greatest threat to the early Mamluk sultanate.
An Offer He Couldn’t Refuse: The Man of Iron Recruits the Man of Letters
A portrait of Yeh-lu, Genghis Khan’s Chinese chancellor, the greatest statesman of the Mongol Empire.
How Millets sustained Mongolia’s Empires
The new discoveries show that the development of the earliest empires in Mongolia, like in other parts of the world, was tied to a diverse economy that included the local or regional production of grain.
Genghis Khan on Film
How has the ruler of the Mongol Empire, Genghis Khan, been depicted in film?
The Mongol Mamluk Sultan Al Adel Kitbugha (694-702 Hij, 1294-1302 AD)
In history, some personalities stand out due to the differences in the way they were viewed after achieving glory for themselves, a glory that took them up to the highest ranks.
Deep Ditches and Well-built Walls: A Reappraisal of the Mongol Withdrawal from Europe in 1242
As an alternative explanation, it posits that European fortifications produced a strategic problem that the Mongols were unable to surmount in the 1240s with their available manpower and siege engine technology.
The Mongol Peace and Global Medieval Eurasia
The Mongol moment has found its place in new scholarship on early forms of globalisation in Eurasia.
Researchers reveal new insights into mass graves from the Mongol invasion of Russia
In the winter of 1238 a Mongol army sacked the Russian city of Yaroslavl, part of its conquest of the region. Researchers have now been able to examine a mass grave from that attack, and used genetic research to identity three members from the same family.
Contextualizing the Mongol Invasion of Hungary in 1241–42: Short- and Long-Term Perspectives
Questions remain about the level and distribution of destruction and population loss, the role that environmental factors played in the invasion, the reasons for the Mongol withdrawal, and how this episode can be used for interpreting later thirteenth and fourteenth-century phenomena.
The Shortcomings of the Mongol Art of War as seen in China, Korea and Eastern Europe
This paper will briefly discuss the nature of the Mongol armies and some of their successes before exploring their shortcomings in a select number of regions
Hungary’s Castle Defense Strategy in the Aftermath of the Mongol Invasion (1241-1242)
Following the Mongol withdrawal from Europe in 1242, there was a flurry of castle-building in the Kingdom of Hungary.
The Mongols in Europe: The Byzantines, the Bulgarians and the Golden Horde
How did the Mongol presence in the Balkans effect its two main political powers – the Byzantines and the Bulgarians?
The Mongol invasions and the Aegean world (1241–61)
This article examines the decisive role played by the Mongols in the political history of the Aegean region in the thirteenth century. The Mongol invasions of 1241–44 were the key turning point in the struggle for hegemony in the region.
How the borders of the Mongol Empire changed in the Middle Ages
Here are several videos that show the development and changing borders of the Mongol empire.
The Look of Medieval Ethnography: William of Rubruck’s Mission to Mongolia
Reads William of Rubruck’s mission to Asia as an instance of premodern ethnographic representation and the shape of the precolonial European ethnographic gaze upon Asia.
Encounters in the Ruins: Latin Captives, Franciscan Friars and the Dangers of Religious Plurality in the early Mongol Empire
For the historian wishing to investigate forms of religious encounter, the complexities and ambiguities of life in the Mongol camps are enticing
Reframing the Mongols in 1260: The Armenians, the Mongols and the Magi
While subjection to the Mongol yoke was far from desirable, rulers could seek to make the best of the situation, in the hope that the ambitions of the Mongols might come to match their own, or that the Mongols might be persuaded to support their cause.
Marco Polo on the Mongol State: Taxation, Predation, and Monopolization
The aim of this article is to bring attention to Marco Polo’s descriptions of economic and political features of the Mongol empire that are especially meaningful when viewed through the lens of Austrian economics.
Escaping the Mongols: A Survivor’s Account from the 13th century
In the year 1241, a Mongol army invaded eastern Europe, ravaging Poland, Hungary, Croatia and Romania.
Climate of Doubt: A re-evaluation of Büntgen and Di Cosmo’s environmental hypothesis for the Mongol withdrawal from Hungary, 1242 CE
Büntgen and Di Cosmo’s recent article in Scientific Reports attempts to tackle an important historical mystery (the abrupt Mongol withdrawal from medieval Hungary). We agree with their underlying assumption that an interdisciplinary analysis of environmental and documentary resources can result in a better understanding of the events. However, some of the supporting evidence does not withstand critical examination in the context of the Mongol invasion of Hungary.
Ruins of 8th century monument discovered in Mongolia
A joint excavation team from Osaka University and the Institute of History and Archaeology of the Mongolian Academy of Sciences discovered the ruins of a unique monument surrounded by 14 large stone pillars with Turkic Runic inscriptions.
The Ilkhanid Mongols, the Christian Armenians, and the Islamic Mamluks: a study of their relations, 1220-1335
This work seeks to fill a gap in the academic literature concerning the study of the Ilkhanid Mongols of the Middle East during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries CE using Armenian, Persian, Arabic, and Syriac primary sources in English translation.