GENGHIS KHAN BY JACK WEATHERFORD

Genghis Khan by Jack Weatherford



Genghis Khan by Jack Weatherford

Introduction

With respect to Genghis Khan and his successors, the first thing that comes to mind is obviously the war. Sultanate Persian empires of Kara-Khitan, Jin, Khorasan, and the Southern Song, Abbasid Caliphate, an alliance of Russian cities and the Teutonic Knights. The Mongols overthrew a phenomenal number of hostile powers. Weatherford takes an interesting pedagogical artifice, somewhat boring term: he explains how the armies proceeded across, and then analysis by contrasting the strategies implemented by the Mongols, the origins of their ideas, and how their innovations confused their opponents completely.

Author's Style

The author, Jack Weatherford, the Dewitt Wallace Professor of Anthropology at Macalester College, has written several books targeted for the non-academic world and writes in a very engaging style. As a result, Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World spent several weeks on the New York Times Best Seller list. The strength of Weatherford's writing is that he mixes narrative with analysis and grabs the attention of any reader (Audrey, 2004).

Content of the book

The book is organized into an introduction, and then three sections of the text itself, and concluding with an epilogue, notes, glossary, and bibliography. Preceding all of these is a genealogical table showing Genghis Khan, his sons, and the successor khanates. In addition to showing the rulers of the empire, the terms of the regents are designated. The latter is something that is often remiss in these sorts of tables, but a welcome addition here. There is an odd segment of the table though. All of the Khanates or states resulting from the split of the Mongol Empire are shown except the Chaghatayid Khanate of Central Asia (Weatherford, 2004).

Strengths and Weaknesses

Weatherford chose his topics which are related to the life of Genghis Khan. The name of Genghis khan certainly represents a heterogeneous personality of a leader of inspiration. He counts as exemplar of a special form of political leadership: the head of state. He occupied the top power position in his respective nation. He managed to rise to the top of his nation's political system in one way or another and stayed there long enough to make it onto this list.

The Mongol victories are due, according to Weatherford, the combination of several factors: an unusual discipline, an outstanding tactical genius - "The Taking of Bukhara by surprise was the conclusion of what is perhaps the most military operation daring of the story: while a diversion of his armies was the most direct route to attack the lands of the Sultan of Khorassan, he [Genghis Khan] proceeded in secret another army [by the mountains of Tien-Shan], making travel more than 3000 km of frozen desert to arise behind enemy lines", a systematic refusal of frontal impact - it binds to the obsession of the Mongolian purity: not having the stained clothing blood - which they substituted the usual tactics of steppe peoples, including harassment, ambushes and flights of arrows shot from ...