The Mongol Empire

The Mongol Empire follows the transformation of Genghis Khan’s steppe confederation into the largest contiguous land empire in history. John Man surveys the conquests of Genghis and his generals, the expansion under Ögedei and Möngke, and the division of imperial authority among competing branches of the ruling family. Warfare and destruction are set beside systems of taxation, protected communications, diplomatic exchange and religious accommodation.

The narrative culminates in Kublai Khan’s conquest of the Southern Song and creation of the Yuan dynasty. Man explains how the empire accelerated movement across Eurasia while never becoming a uniform or permanently united state, and how its successor khanates reshaped China, Russia, Central Asia and the Middle East. The book presents modern China’s formation as one important outcome of a wider Mongol imperial history.