Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World

In his Introduction, Weatherford announces his intention to debunk common misconceptions of Genghis Khan and his Mongol empire. While modern culture might depict the medieval Mongols as a massive barbarian horde and Genghis as ruthless and bloodthirsty, Weatherford points out that accounts of Genghis and his empire were generally favorable until around the 18th century. These unfavorable depictions are, he suspects, largely the product of stereotypes of, and bias against, Asian peoples. He offers as contrast a range of medieval sources, including the poet Geoffrey Chaucer, that portray Genghis as a wise, just, and humane ruler.

Weatherford explains that the primary “aim” of the Mongol empire, in his estimation, was not military conquest but rather the spread of humanistic goals and ideals. He cites the great cultural projects undertaken by the Mongol empire, such as the institution of a common language, standardized currency, a postal system, and support for religious freedom. The empire served as a conduit for cultural exchange on a scale not seen before or since.

However, Weatherford explains, the technological and cultural advances of the Mongol empire manifested themselves in ways not generally understood (at least in modern terms) to be “advanced”; many of the remnants of Mongol culture are not enduring and were not intended to be: for example, they left no enduring architecture and the empire’s material artifacts would be regarded today as primitive.

Weatherford describes how histories of Genghis Khan’s life were suppressed by Soviet authorities when Mongolia was a part of the Soviet Union. In an attempt to prevent Genghis from becoming a figure around whom nationalists could rally, Soviet authorities banned access to the region of his birth and early life. However, with the fall of the Soviet Union, the obstacles to studying Genghis’s life and homeland fell away. Additionally, a copy of the medieval text, The Secret History of the Mongols, was discovered in China and, though Communist authorities attempted to suppress it, was eventually translated. This medieval source forms the basis for most of Weatherford’s account.

Weatherford was granted access to Mongolia after it gained independence, and spent the early part of the 2000s researching and traveling with Mongolian scholars. His historical narrative is based mostly on The Secret History of the Mongols, while his personal experience in the Mongolian wilderness informs the opening part of the book and his speculation on Genghis’s early life.