New Approaches to Ilkhanid History examines moves the study of the Ilkhanate beyond the court of the Ilkhan as well as considers new source material.

An epic account of how a new world order under Tamerlane was born out of the decline of the Mongol Empire By the mid-fourteenth century, the world empire founded by Genghis Khan was in crisis. The Mongol Ilkhanate had ended in Iran and Iraq, China’s Mongol rulers were threatened by the native Ming, and the Golden Horde and the Central Asian Mongols were prey to internal discord. Into this void moved the warlord Tamerlane, the last major conqueror to emerge from Inner Asia. In this authoritative account, Peter Jackson traces Tamerlane’s rise to power against the backdrop of the decline of Mongol rule. Jackson argues that Tamerlane, a keen exponent of Mongol custom and tradition, operated in Genghis Khan’s shadow and took care to draw parallels between himself and his great precursor. But, as a Muslim, Tamerlane drew on Islamic traditions, and his waging of wars in the name of jihad, whether sincere or not, had a more powerful impact than those of any Muslim Mongol ruler before him.

This book examines the life and work of Rashid al-Din Tabib (d. 1318), the most powerful statesman working for the Mongol Ilkhans in the Middle East. It begins with an overview of administrative history and historiography in the early Ilkhanate, culminating with Rashid al-Din's Blessed History of Ghazan, the indispensable source for Mongol and Ilkhanid history. Later chapters lay out the results of the most comprehensive study to date of the manuscripts of Rashid al-Din's historical writing. The complicated relationship between Rashid al-Din's historical and theological writings is also explored, as well as his appropriation of the work of his contemporary historian, `Abd Allah Qashani.

How the Mongol invasions of the Near East reshaped the balance of world power in the Middle Ages For centuries, the Crusades have been central to the story of the medieval Near East, but these religious wars are only part of the region’s complex history. As The Mongol Storm reveals, during the same era the Near East was utterly remade by another series of wars: the Mongol invasions. In a single generation, the Mongols conquered vast swaths of the Near East and upended the region’s geopolitics. Amid the chaos of the Mongol onslaught, long-standing powers such as the Byzantines, the Seljuk Turks, and the crusaders struggled to survive, while new players such as the Ottomans arose to fight back. The Mongol conquests forever transformed the region, while forging closer ties among societies spread across Eurasia. This is the definitive history of the Mongol assault on the Near East and its enduring global consequences.

“The most important of all things sought.” Thus the Syriac Orthodox monk Rabban Daniel Ibn al-Ḥaṭṭāb describes the subject of The Principles of Religion, written in the 13th century, probably in South-East Anatolia. In this treatise, Rabban Daniel Ibn al-Ḥaṭṭāb systematically explained and defended fundamental commitments of Syriac Orthodox theology. This volume provides an introduction, a critical edition of the Arabic text, an English translation, and extensive commentary on the influences on The Principles of Religion, particularly from Syriac sources. This editio princeps offers the reader a new window into the literary culture of the Syriac Orthodox Church during the years of the Syriac Renaissance.

A new translation of a great historical epic, recounting the turbulent life and times of Chinggis Khan 'Bear the sword and Hew asunder high and haughty necks Slash apart all strong and self-willed shoulders' Born poor into a world of dangers and hardships, Chinggis (or Genghis) Khan would grow up to unify Mongolia and conquer a vast empire stretching from modern-day Beijing to Baghdad. The Secret History of the Mongols, written after Chinggis's death in the thirteenth century, is a great historical saga recounting not only his turbulent life and times, but that of his loved ones, ancestors and heirs. This remarkable new translation of the earliest surviving work written in Mongolian gives insight into a world of warlords, kinship, horses, yurts, shamans and vast landscapes, where bloody battles and violent family conflicts are impelled by Heaven's destiny. Translated with an introduction by Christopher P. Atwood

Reconstructing the Mongol invasions, conquest and early government of Caucasia, in the context of the Byzantine and the Central Asian broad political picture.

In the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries Chinggis Khan and his progeny ruled over two-thirds of Eurasia. Connecting East, West, North and South, the Mongols integrated most of the Old World, promoting unprecedented cross-cultural contacts and triggering the reshuffle of religious, ethnic, and geopolitical identities. The Cambridge History of the Mongol Empire studies the Empire holistically in its full Eurasian context, putting the Mongols and their nomadic culture at the center. Written by an international team of more than forty leading scholars, this two-volume set provides an authoritative and multifaceted history of 'the Mongol Moment' (1206–1368) in world history and includes an unprecedented survey of the various sources for its study, textual (written in sisteen languages), archaeological, and visual. This groundbreaking Cambridge History sets a new standard for future study of the Empire. It will serve as the fundamental reference work for those interested in Mongol, Eurasian, and world history.

What were the effects of Mongol rule in Iran? This book focuses on Shiraz and the province of Fars to provide a detailed political, social and economic history of Ilkhanid rule from the first Mongol invasions in 1220 until the end of the Injuid Dynasty in 1357. Using a vast collection of sources, Denise Aigle combines local and global approaches to integrate the history of the province into the whole administrative system. Central is the thesis that Mongol rule caused a break in traditional administrative patterns. A dual administrative system was set up, consisting of both Mongol and local Persian personnel, directed from the court. Charting the fortunes of each successive ruler, her research shows that the failings of individual rulers, as well as intriguing by Persian notables, were the principal reasons for Shiraz and Fars's economic decline under the Mongols in comparison with the more successful neighbouring province of Kirman. Iran Under the Mongols is a vital contribution to our understanding of the effects of Mongol rule in Iran.

Drawing upon research carried out in several different languages and across a variety of disciplines, The Mongol World documents how Mongol rule shaped the trajectory of Eurasian history from Central Europe to the Korean Peninsula, from the thirteenth century to the fifteenth century. Contributing authors consider how intercontinental environmental, economic, and intellectual trends affected the Empire as a whole and, where appropriate, situate regional political, social, and religious shifts within the context of the broader Mongol Empire. Issues pertaining to the Mongols and their role within the societies that they conquered therefore take precedence over the historical narrative of the societies that they conquered. Alongside the formation, conquests, administration, and political structure of the Mongol Empire, the second section examines archaeology and art history, family and royal households, science and exploration, and religion, which provides greater insight into the social history of the Empire -- an aspect often neglected by traditional dynastic and political histories. With 58 chapters written by both senior and early-career scholars, the volume is an essential resource for all students and scholars who study the Mongol Empire from its origins to its disintegration and legacy.