Though there would be later conquerors with roots in the steppes, including the Manchus, the Mughals, and the Ottoman Turks, the Mongols represent the last great irruption of steppe conquerors whose center of political and cultural gravity remained on the steppes. They therefore stand at the climax in Eurasia of a two-millennium-long cycle of interaction between nomadic and sedentary peoples outlined in Chapter 6. Armies of nomadic horse- archers would remain a substantial military threat for another three centuries after the breakup of the Mongol Empire, but never again would they dominate their sedentary neighbors the way the Mongols did.
The impact of the Mongol conquests was mixed and the balance sheet remains a matter of historical contention to this day (see the Issues box). But whether the Eurasian world benefited from or was harmed by the Mongols, there is no denying their tremendous impact. Recent genetic studies suggest that this impact extends to the level of modern demographics: It has been calculated that roughly 16 million people today are descended from Chingiz Khan and his immediate relatives. From this measure, at least, Chingiz Khan’s career must be judged a success.
There are quite a few books on the Mongols, with much repetition in each. However, a few stand out as descriptions of the Mongols, Chingiz Khan, and the various military campaigns of the Mongol armies. The following are among the most useful of these books.
Amitai-Preiss, Reuven. Mongols and Mamluks: The Mamluk- Ilkhanid War, 1260-1281. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995. An incisive analysis of the Mamluk victory over the Mongols and of the ecological limits of steppe-based empires.
Chambers, James. The Devil’s Horsemen: The Mongol Invasion of Europe. London: Routledge, 1979. A good narrative description of the Mongol conquests, particularly the Russian and European campaigns.
Grousset, Rene. Empire of the Steppes: A History of Central Asia. New Brunswick: Rutgers State University Press, 1997. Provides tremendous detail on the Mongols, especially their conquests. Kahn, Paul. The Secret History of the Mongols: The Origin of Chingis Khan; An Adaptation of the Tuan Chao Pi Shih. San Francisco:
Harper & Row, 1984. A description of the rise of Chingiz Khan from the “official” Mongol version.
Lococo, Paul Jr. Genghis Khan: History’s Greatest Empire Builder. Washington, D.C.: Potomac Books, 2008. Succinct narrative account of the military talents and accomplishments of Chingiz Khan.
Morgan, David. The Mongols. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1990. Probably the best introduction to the Mongols; a well-organized treatment of the people, their rise to power, and the administration of their empire.
Rossabi, Morris. Khubilai Khan: His Life and Times. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1988. More a political and cultural history; also contains much on the Mongols of Khubilai’s reign.
Saunders, J. J. The History of the Mongol Conquests. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2001. The most accessible overall narrative of the Mongol conquests.
Sinor, Denis. “The Mongols and Western Europe.” In A History of the Crusades, vol. 3. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1975. A more academic treatment of the Mongol contact with Europe.