- Asian Studies, Central Eurasian Studies, Mongolian Studies, Languages and Linguistics, Philology, Tibetan Studies, and 19 moreCentral Asian Studies, Old Turkic, Turfan, Soviet Union (History), History of the Mongol Empire, Turkic-Mongolic linguistic relationship, Mongolic Studies, Mongolia, Mongolian and Central Asian Studies, Tibeto-Mongolian Buddhism, Mongol world empire Seljuk, Religious Studies, Cimmerians, Herodotus, Scythians, Pontic area, Black Sea area, Caucaaus, Near East, Anatolia, nomads, steppe peoples, Yuan Dynasty, Inner Asian Studies, Buryatia, Inner Asian History, Syriac Christianity, and Turkic & Altaic Studiesedit
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Research Interests: Inner Asian Studies, Mongolian Studies, Inner Asian History, Central Eurasian Studies, Central Eurasia, and 10 moreHan Dynasty, Xiongnu archaelogy, Inner Asia, Mongolian Archaeology, Arts and Humanities, History of the Qin and Han Dynasties, Eurasian Studies, Xiongnu, The Xiongnu in Chinese Chronicles, and Mongolian history
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Research Interests: History, Archaeology, Mongolian Studies, Scythian archaeology, Iron Age, and 15 moreRock Art, Bronze Age, Bronze, Pazyryk Culture, Altar, Xiongnu archaelogy, Mongolian Archaeology, Scythian and other Eurasian Nomadic Horse Warrior Cultures, Xiongnu, Scythian Archaeology, Scythian and Other Eurasian Nomadic Horse Warrior Cultures, Parallels, Yurts, Archaeology of Xiongnu Empire, and Representation Politics
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and the “True Way”—is shown to hold the potential to relativize Buddhist ideals in favor of values concerned more with the unpredictable and uncontrollable social realities impacting a physician’s practice (p. 345). Bridging studies of... more
and the “True Way”—is shown to hold the potential to relativize Buddhist ideals in favor of values concerned more with the unpredictable and uncontrollable social realities impacting a physician’s practice (p. 345). Bridging studies of religion, science, and medicine, Being Human in a Buddhist World will be a valuable resource for scholars interested in thinking through these topics comparatively within and beyond Asian studies. The book will be valued by specialists and in graduate courses for its contributions to Buddhist studies and Tibetan studies, including an overview of the complex Tibetan system of tantric anatomy. At the same time, this intellectual history draws attention to the dearth of social histories of Tibet, and in particular Tibetan medical culture, which might shed further light on the rhetorical contradictions Gyatso identifies among Tibetan medical scholars. Questions remain about the impact of bitter sectarian controversies on knowledge debates, as well as the role of connections with India, China, Mongolia, and traveling Europeans in processes of Tibetan innovation. Such lines of inquiry will be greatly indebted to the historical and methodological considerations broached in this book, which will continue to inform scholarship concerning Tibet and Tibetan Buddhism for a long time to come.
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Research Interests: History, Ancient History, Classics, Theology, Islam, and 3 moreMultidisciplinary, Civilization, and Conquest
The appearance of this new publication by Igor de Rachewiltz is evidence of the unquenchable interest in the Mongolian medieval literary monument The Secret History of the Mongols. To quote: ‘The real interest of the Secret History lies .... more
The appearance of this new publication by Igor de Rachewiltz is evidence of the unquenchable interest in the Mongolian medieval literary monument The Secret History of the Mongols. To quote: ‘The real interest of the Secret History lies . . . in its faithful description of the Mongol tribal life in the 12th and 13th centuries’. Why is this text so especially valuable? Firstly, ‘The Secret History stands alone also because it is so close to the events which it relates’ (p. lxiv), and secondly, ‘The Secret History is and remains a true and original Mongol product, unique of its kind, for no other nomadic or seminomadic people has ever created a literary masterpiece like it, in which epic poetry and narrative are so skilfully and indeed artistically blended with fictional and historical accounts’ (p. xxvi). In the present study the author used more than forty translations in different languages. By doing it he pays a tribute to his predecessors: ‘Mostaert’s outstanding contribution’ (p...
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The Secret History of the Mongols (SHM) is without question the most important textual legacy left by the Mongols during the century and a half of their world empire. No fuller record exists of how the Mongols themselves viewed their... more
The Secret History of the Mongols (SHM) is without question the most important textual legacy left by the Mongols during the century and a half of their world empire. No fuller record exists of how the Mongols themselves viewed their great ruler Chinggis Qan, his successor Ogedei Qa'an, and the empire's champions, institutions, and divine mandate. Accurate dating of this key text is thus vital to study of the Mongol empires history. In an effort to develop a clearer understanding of the historical context of the SHM,I propose to review the debates on its dating and compilation and re-examine the evidence to provide a fresh assessment of when it was written. As is well known, the SHM concludes with a colophon which gives the date of its composition only in the animal cycle system: the year of the mouse. Given the works vivid,seemingly contemporary character, the solution would appear to be simple: find the first year of the mouse that comes after the last event mentioned in t...
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since the thirteenth century, the “Mongolia-Tibet interface” (bulag and Diemberger 2007) has been a vital factor in shaping inner asian civilization. brought into being by the Mongol extension of their political control and settlement to... more
since the thirteenth century, the “Mongolia-Tibet interface” (bulag and Diemberger 2007) has been a vital factor in shaping inner asian civilization. brought into being by the Mongol extension of their political control and settlement to the Tibetan plateau, and by the Mongolian acceptance of Tibetan buddhism as their dominant religion, this interface created a broad zone of a “greater Tibetan cultural community” (in gray Tuttle’s phrase) and Mongolian khanates (sperling 2012) that stretched from the southern foothills of the himalayas to lake baykal in southern siberia and beyond. needless to say, historians both traditional and modern have paid considerable attention to the origin of the politico-religious interface between the Tibetan and Mongolian people. since the seventeenth century, traditional inner asian historians have envisioned this interface partly in terms of the origin of the Mongol royal family from that of the primal indian buddhist monarch, Mahasammata, via Tibet a...
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Book InformationThe Secret History of the Mongols: the Life and Times of Chinggis Khan.. The Secret History of the Mongols: the Life and Times of Chinggis Khan. Urgunge Onon Richmond Surrey Curzon Press 2001 298 HB £45.00 0-7007-1335-2 By... more
Book InformationThe Secret History of the Mongols: the Life and Times of Chinggis Khan.. The Secret History of the Mongols: the Life and Times of Chinggis Khan. Urgunge Onon Richmond Surrey Curzon Press 2001 298 HB £45.00 0-7007-1335-2 By Urgunge Onon. Curzon Press. Richmond Surrey. Pp. 298. HB:£45.000-7007-1335-2, 0-7007-1335-2.
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Page 1. BEYOND THE GREAT WALL Urban Form and Transformation on the Chinese Frontiers Piper Rae Gaubatz Page 2. Page 3. Page 4. BEYOND THE GREAT WALL Urban Form and Transformation on the Chinese Frontiers ...
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Through comparing the texts of the "Secret History of the Mongols" and Chinggis Khan's "Veritable Record," one can see the clear traces of a narrative source used by both of them. This source has three separate parts: 1) an "Indictment of... more
Through comparing the texts of the "Secret History of the Mongols" and Chinggis Khan's "Veritable Record," one can see the clear traces of a narrative source used by both of them. This source has three separate parts: 1) an "Indictment of Ong Qa'an" which purports to be the text of a message Chinggis Khan send to Ong Qa'an in 1203; 2) an "Indictment Narrative" which tells of the connection between Chinggis Khan and Ong Qa'an from its origins to the death of Ong Qa'an and Chinggis Khan's conquest of the Kereyid kingdom in 1203; and 3) an "Indictment Narrative Continuation" which tells a similar story of the Naiman kingdom and its fall in 1204 and the aftermath. Using source-critical methodology, the author reconstructs these sources and discusses their many distinctive features. As reconstructed, this is the oldest known narrative history written in the Mongolian language; its reconstruction is a milestone in Mongolian historical and literary research.
Research Interests: Mongolian Studies, History of the Mongol Empire, Mongolian Classical Literature, Life of Genghis Khan, Mongolian and Central Asian Studies, and 12 moreMongol empire, Rashid al-Din, Genghis Khan, Mongol world empire, Genghiz Khan, Mongol Empire, Cingiz Khan, Secret History of the Mongols, Mongol Empire and Its Successors, Ong Khan, Jami al-tawarikh by Rashid al-Din Hamadani, Chinggis Kagan, Chinggisid narrative, and Chinggiside dynasty
Previous studies of petroglyphs in Mongolia have focused on the abundant Bronze Age examples. Recently, however, in the Khawtsgait site in southern Mongolia, two petroglyphs have come to light presenting a major departure from Bronze Age... more
Previous studies of petroglyphs in Mongolia have focused on the abundant Bronze Age examples. Recently, however, in the Khawtsgait site in southern Mongolia, two petroglyphs have come to light presenting a major departure from Bronze Age examples in subject, mode of representation, and parallels with funerary art. One depicts a nomadic camp scene head on, the other presents what seems to be a scene about an altar with a seated figure, possibly female, and standing figures. Relatively close parallels to these figures exist in art found in funerary contexts particularly in Xiongnu sites and the Pazyryk tombs in the Russian Altai. Together with these finds, the new Khawtsgait site provides new evidence of Iron Age material culture and funerary beliefs, along with the continuing links of the Mongolian plateau with the steppe west of the Altai.
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As a rule every newly independent nation faces the problem of what to do with the immigrant settlers of the old colonial regime. Whether those settlers are the con-ethnics of the old colonial government or persons imported from third... more
As a rule every newly independent nation faces the problem of what to do with the immigrant settlers of the old colonial regime. Whether those settlers are the con-ethnics of the old colonial government or persons imported from third countries to staff colonial industries, the new national government always faces the question of how to handle a population that mixes utility with a sharp reminder of a now rejected past. Mongolia is no exception to this rule. After declaring independence in 1911, Mongolia still had a large number of ethnic Chinese within its boundaries. This papers surveys policy of the Mongolian government towards a specific emblematic population of Chinese, the merchants, during the first 15 years of its existence (that is, from 1911 to 1926). I will then conclude with some observations on what this history says about the intersection of ethnicity, citizenship, and state-building in Mongolia. Thus the transformations of the Chinese community in modern Mongolia is one of great interest not only in itself, but also in affording a valuable angle for comparative analysis.
NOTE: The paper was published with a number of errors which I was not given a chance to correct. If you use this paper, please click on the "Comments" section of the menu, to see the corrections of the errors which were introduced in the publication process.
NOTE: The paper was published with a number of errors which I was not given a chance to correct. If you use this paper, please click on the "Comments" section of the menu, to see the corrections of the errors which were introduced in the publication process.
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Mongolian campaign histories were used to justify the distribution of appanages (nuntuq) among the descendants of Chinggis Khan. The notably lackluster record of Jochi, Chinggis Khan's eldest son, as seen in many of the standard accounts... more
Mongolian campaign histories were used to justify the distribution of appanages (nuntuq) among the descendants of Chinggis Khan. The notably lackluster record of Jochi, Chinggis Khan's eldest son, as seen in many of the standard accounts of Mongol history, stand out as an anomaly, given that he inherited by far the largest territory in the steppe of any of Chinggis Khan's sons. The anomaly, however, was one created by partisan historians of Tolui after the 1251 coup d'etat that brought them to power. As this paper's careful examination shows, Jochi's leading role in the early Western campaigns was systematically excised from the historical record, thus making Jochi's large appanage look anomalous. But the anomaly was one created by Toluid historians, who, even while allied with the Jochid lineage, were creating the conditions for delegitimizing its hold on western lands.
Research Interests: Mongolian Studies, History of the Mongol Empire, History of Kazakhstan, History of Golden Horde, Golden Horde, and 9 moreHistory of Mongol Empire and Juchi Ulus (Golden Horde), Numismatics of Juchi Ulus (Golden Horde), Rashid al-Din, Secret History of the Mongols, Mongolian history, Imperial Mongol Historiography, Khwarazmian Dynasty, Juchids, and History of Turks and Mongols
In this paper I address two related points. First I give an example of how attention to the full range of historiographical traditions on the Mongol conquest of North China and the utilization of source criticism in their analysis can... more
In this paper I address two related points. First I give an example of how attention to the full range of historiographical traditions on the Mongol conquest of North China and the utilization of source criticism in their analysis can yield a very different, and much more convincing, narrative than that found in any tradition taken by itself. Secondly, I aim to show that this new narrative also challenges the teleological assumption that the Jin dynasty due was destined to fall and that the “Mongol military machine” was unstoppable. These two aims are linked since what the historiographical traditions share is precisely a commitment to such a teleological view: the Mongol-derived ones viewing the Mongol Yuan dynasty as destined by Heaven to success, and the Jin tradition viewing the Jin as examples of the “nobility of failure." By contrast, when the traditions are combined, what emerges is a picture of a dynasty not content with being a noble lost cause, but attempting in a way that almost succeeded to emulate the Mongol military style. The question of a mysterious Mongol figure, Doqolqu, and his even more mysterious battlefield defeat and death, offers an entry into these two linked questions.
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Questions of genre and composition have long dogged the study of the "Secret History of the Mongols" (SHM). In this paper, I summarize the result of a decade of research into the SHM's composition, focusing on its use of direct and... more
Questions of genre and composition have long dogged the study of the "Secret History of the Mongols" (SHM). In this paper, I summarize the result of a decade of research into the SHM's composition, focusing on its use of direct and extensive quotation from written Mongolian sources. These sources may be reconstructed by source criticism, drawing on Chinese- and Persian-language versions of Mongolian histories included within vast anthologies such as the "Shengwu qinzheng lu," "Yuan shi," and the "Compendium of Chronicles." The results show that while the Secret Historian copied previously existing chronicles, biographies, genealogies, and administrative documents verbatim, the same historian also felt free to radically rearrange and alter the content of such materials. This combination of literary dependence and freedom supplies important data for understanding the genre and intent of this masterpiece.
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Mobility in pastoral societies has often been treated as either a necessity for efficient pastoral production or else as a method of avoiding state power. Yet both the examples of itinerance in medieval Europe and the attested itineraries... more
Mobility in pastoral societies has often been treated as either a necessity for efficient pastoral production or else as a method of avoiding state power. Yet both the examples of itinerance in medieval Europe and the attested itineraries of medieval Inner Asian rulers suggest that power projection, not power avoidance, was a key component of Turco-Mongolian imperial mobility. By using new historico-geographical evidence, the itineraries of several pre-Chinggisid and Mongol empire figures—Ong Qa'an, Batu, Ögedei, and Möngke—may be mapped. The results show that imperial itinerance must be distinguished from pastoral mobility. They also show that movement in vast agglomerations of mob-grazing herds was not just a temporary response to military crisis but continued long into the peacetime of the Mongol empire. These results challenge a functionalist understanding of mobility and state structures in Inner Asia. * An earlier version of this paper was presented at the Mongolian and Inner Asian Studies Unit (MIASU) at the University of Cambridge on 11 March 2014. The author is grateful to Dr David Sneath and MIASU for inviting him to speak and to members of the unit and others of the public for the many helpful questions, suggestions and comments that followed. He would also like to thank Professors Jean-Luc Houle (Western Kentucky University) and William Honeychurch (Yale University) for their assistance on archaeological matters and Marissa Smit, graduate student in the Central Eurasian Studies Department, for her helpful comments on itinerance in medieval Europe. The author would also like to thank colleagues and staff at the Minpaku (National Museum of Ethnology, Japan) for their hospitality during the research and writing of much of this paper.
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The death of Jamugha in the "Secret History of the Mongols" (SHM) is found in two versions, one cited in Rashid al-Din's "Compendium of Chronicles," the other in the SHM. Comparing the two versions, the SHM's version heightens the drama... more
The death of Jamugha in the "Secret History of the Mongols" (SHM) is found in two versions, one cited in Rashid al-Din's "Compendium of Chronicles," the other in the SHM. Comparing the two versions, the SHM's version heightens the drama by making the final confrontation of Chinggis Khan and his sworn brother Jamugha a face to face one, in which Chinggis Khan offers to share the realm with his defeated rival. Jamugha, however, demurs and and asks for a proper execution. This passage may be analyzed by looking at two sources, 1) the Alexander Romance, and 2) the now-lost (but reconstructable) Mongolian biography of Jürchedei. In this paper I argue that the SHM's account of Chinggis Khan and Jamugha's final confrontation was shaped by the final confrontation of Alexander and Darius told in the Romance, as well as by the complex relation of Chinggis Khan and Ja'a Gambo told in the Mongolian biography of Jürchedei.
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I analyze the toponyms for places in China which derive directly or indirectly from Chinese originals, via one or more non-Chinese originals. By analyzing certain features, I conclude that they are not consistent, but the majority of them... more
I analyze the toponyms for places in China which derive directly or indirectly from Chinese originals, via one or more non-Chinese originals. By analyzing certain features, I conclude that they are not consistent, but the majority of them seem to be derived from Yuan-era Chinese via Mongolian. I conclude with an appendix that gives solutions to several hitherto not adequately solved toponyms, such as Caiciu and the related stories, *Cuncian (or Cuncon), and Vuguen.
This paper was delivered at a conference in September, 2015, in Yangzhou. A Chinese translation will be published in the conference volume.
This paper was delivered at a conference in September, 2015, in Yangzhou. A Chinese translation will be published in the conference volume.
