The Mongols and the West provides a comprehensive survey of relations between the Catholic West and the Mongol Empire from the first appearance of Chinggis (Genghis) Khan’s armies on Europe’s horizons in 1221 to the battle of Tannenberg in 1410. This book has been designed to provide a synthesis of previous scholarship on relations between the Mongols and the Catholic world as well as to offer new approaches and conclusions on the subject. It considers the tension between Western hopes of the Mongols as allies against growing Muslim powers and the Mongols’ position as conquerors with their own agenda, and evaluates the impact of Mongol-Western contacts on the West’s expanding knowledge of the world.
This second edition takes into account the wealth of scholarly literature that has emerged in the years since the previous edition and contains significantly extended chapters on trade and mission. It charts the course of military confrontation and diplomatic relations between the Mongols and the West, and re-examines the commercial opportunities offered to Western merchants by Mongol rule and the failure of Catholic missionaries to convert the Mongols to Christianity.
Fully revised and containing a range of maps, genealogical tables and both European and non-European sources throughout, The Mongols and the West is ideal for students of medieval European history and the crusades.
Introduction
Chapter 1: Latin Christendom and its neighbours in the early thirteenth century
Chapter 2: A world-empire in the making
Chapter 3: The Mongol invasions of 1241–4
Chapter 4: A remedy against the Tartars
Chapter 5: The halting of the Mongol advance
Chapter 6: Images of the enemy
Chapter 7: From confrontation to coexistence: the Golden Horde
Chapter 8: An ally against Islam? The Mongols in the Near East
Chapter 9: Temür (Tamerlane) and Latin Christendom
Chapter 10: Western traders and adventurers in the Mongol world
Chapter 11: Mission to the infidel; Epilogue
Chapter 12: A new world discovered?
Conclusion
Appendix I: Glossary
Appendix II: Genealogical tables and lists of rulers
Bibliography
Index
Biography
Peter Jackson is Emeritus Professor of Medieval History at Keele University, and a Fellow of the British Academy. His publications cover the Mongols, the Crusades and medieval Islam, and his most recent book is The Mongols and the Islamic World from Conquest to Conversion (2017).
‘The Mongols and the West is an excellent resource for Asian historians, European historians, and world historians desiring to learn about Mongol interactions with the West at large including European missions and travelers, Russian rule, and Middle Eastern campaigns.’
Michael Bednar, Miller Nichols Library, University of Missouri–Kansas City, USA
