The Secret History of the Mongol Queens: How the Daughters of Genghis Khan Rescued His Empire

If you are a layperson, like myself, just getting into the rich and amazing history of the Mongol people, this is an absolute MUST read. This is the side of Chinggis Khan you probably never see in other books. The title is something of a misnomer. All that's left of the secret history of the Mongol queens is one line: "Let us reward our female offspring." What the author has done is an amazing and inspiring job of piecing together what would probably have been in the secret history had it survived. And, what an amazing story it is! It is the story of Hoelun and Borte, the mother and wife of the Great Khan, who advised, managed, and used their political influence to help him build the largest empire in human history. It's the story of Alaqai, Al-Altun and Chechiyegen, his daughters, who helped run, keep the peace and hold together the empire he built; at least until his sons decided to tear it apart, violating every law and social more of the Mongol people and Chenggis Khan in the process. And, even in this disintegrating mass, granddaughters and great granddaughters were assisting their husbands, clans, or themselves in an effort to reunite or reconquer their Mongol people, and re-establish his empire. It is the story of Sorkhokatani, the Christian Mongol queen who came close to restoring Mongol unity, only to destroy it all in a quest for vengeance. It is the story of Khutulun, the much fabled Mongol warrior princess, who vowed never to marry any man who could not best her in wrestling. And, finally, it is the story of Manduhai the Wise, the greatest queen of them all! A woman who came from nothing and who was never expected to amount to much; who, at the ripe old age of twenty-two, stepped up to become queen and took as her husband and Khan, a sickly seven year old boy and turn him into probably the second greatest Khan the Mongols ever produced. And she did this with no wealth, no army and supporters ready to bolt at the earliest opportunity, and only her own wits and determination to guide her. And, in the space of less than twenty years, she rebuilt the nation Chenggis' sons had lost, and his grandsons had never been able to reacquire. And that brings me to my one criticism of this fascinating book: It's too short. There is so much here, and the story of these queens, princesses and pretenders is so fascinating, you can't help but want to hear more. In many of the books I've read, they mention Hoelun and Borte, for instance, advising Chenggis during his ascent and in maintaining peace between his otherwise warring Mongol tribes. Nowhere else have I seen it explicitly laid out. What they said, how they helped, what they did. This is a collection of the some of the most fascinating and amazing women in history, and ones you've probably never heard of. Each of these women deserves their own book. You can't help but want more. Hopefully, the author, Jack Weatherford, will take that as a hint! I bought this book on pre-order and waited PATIENTLY through a couple delays. I am extremely happy I did. You will wish you'd bought it sooner! Mr. Weatherford has written this book for the layperson, making it an easy read, but he has done it with more than a glancing nod to the scholarship. It is probably as detailed and accurate as one can get given the problems of reconstructing records which were destroyed, heavily edited or omitted altogether. I'm sure there's a story in everything he had to do to piece together what he got to write this, but even so, this is not a sketch of a group of women, this is a full on history replete with blank spaces waiting to be discovered and filled in. This is one history you will not be able to put down or be satisfied enough not to want more.

Jack Weatheford has done a great serive to both the many Mongol queens and to modern readers by telling us about the daughters, grand-daughters and even very distant X-times-grand-daughters. Everyone interested in the true players in history will be glad to have this information. Feminists, as I'm glad to say I am -- will be interested in this view of the history of the Mongol empire and how it was ruled in its stable segments by the five daughters of the great Khan while the men were off conqueroring vast portions of Asia. Descriptions of the power of the mothers and the queens, some as young as 16 when entrusted with vast territories, has not been known until now. I have visited Mongolia and even there, I heard nothing about these women. Thank you, Mr. Weatherford for digging through history and writing an illuminating book.

I learned so much from this book. Have you ever seen the movie, Genghis Khan, with Stephen Boyd? I saw it years ago and laughed at one scene, where one of his warriors tried to carry off a woman, and Genghis Khan said no, that will not be allowed. I thought it was a fictional attempt to make the character more likeable. Imagine my surprise reading this book – it was true. Genghis Khan was not a kind and gentle man, but he believed in balances in nature and in life, and he appreciated the important contributions made by women in his life. In fact, his mother’s family and his first wife’s family were much kinder to him than his father’s family. He also felt his life had been saved by the female forces in nature. GK groomed his daughters to rule kingdoms, marrying them off to kings and princes, but insisting the daughters be in charge. For the most part, they served him well, in fact, better than his sons. After his death, the story of how women were viewed by the Mongol rulers varies greatly. There are some serious ups and downs. In some cases, women were treated horribly, viciously. However, a few of the queens became renowned and their legends are still told in Mongolia today. This is a fascinating book.

Ordinarily, I would put a reaction to another reviewer in a comment after his/her post. But I think that the point I am making is important enough to have its own post. The information I am putting here was taken from Weatherford's Acknowledgments at the end of the book. When younger, I usually ignored introductions, forewords, prefaces, and acknowledgements. It is a severe mistake to do so. Surprisingly important information is often contained within these sections of the book. I have to say that my first reaction to the pen and brush drawings was delight. I was impressed with the apparent simplicity, the grace, and the essence and skill of the drawings--so much so, that I have thought about taking them from the book and putting them in simple frames to hang side by side. I have never felt this way before about an illustration. Afer reading the acknowledgments, I am even more impressed! They are 'name-drawings!' That is, the brushstrokes not only capture the essence of the queen, but her name is also included, coded, into the drawing. Now that is remarkable! And it makes the illustration even more important and impressive. The cover is, to me, appropriate, and well done. Since the book is about the Mongol Queens, it depicts perhaps the greatest/most powerful/effective of them. She has abandoned her headdress and put on a warrior's helmet. She is horseback, as a warrior had to be, and she is in the act of firing her arrow. It says so many important things about her. I don't want to insult the reviewer who was disappointed in the drawings, but I surely think that these are superb and support the book beautifully. I liked the drawings anyway a lot!) but reading the acknowledgements gave me great appreciation of them.

I had to write my final paper for my World Civilization to 1500 class on this book. I thought this book was boring, even with the crazy stories mixed in. Admittedly, this particular era & place are not ones I was interested in before, but I don't know that this book helped me any. Weatherford writes about Genghis Khan with such an awe that was unsettling. At times, he justifies some of the Khan's gruesome & disgusting actions. Additionally, he stated some events as fact, when they are only assumptions. Some of his references were enemies or allies of the khans, which means that some of what they wrote was possibly biased or exaggerated.

Where to start? We are so used to thinking of women as they exist today, subjugated and powerless. Who could have guessed at centuries in which the great leaders daughters were ruling queens? The whole Mongol culture is terra incognita for most people, and the keys to the success of the queens with their princes consort, and Manduhar and the Khan shale raised, comes from the fundamental equality, social and economic, of the Mongol culture. This book was less startling to me because I know more about the Mongols than the average Jill or Job, but still, the additional details on the girls makes what I knew, now make more sense. Like the Welsh, Mongols didn't have a fetish about "legitimate" children. Babies come from their mothers. The only way to be sure your children are your DNA is to lock up women. Let go of that hangup, realize the power you have in rearing them to honorable sons and daughters and the options it opens up...... pretty amazing. Buy this book immediately.

Well researched and well crafted history of women whose pride in their heritage helped mold Mongolian history to what we now know today. Their contributions and perseverance are amazing, especially given what most of us would consider to be a humble and not-well-educated, from today’s standards, background. Loved the author’s history of Genghis Khan, and this book continues the incredible story.

I have been intrigued by the story of Genghis Khan and his empire for a long time. This book gives an insight into the background of how he structured his empire, and the women who influenced it. A really good book for anyone who wants to learn more about this fascinating society.

Delivered in perfect condition.

Excellent quality

This book is certainly a change of pace; as well as being a whole new education on the Mongols. Focused on Mongol women, specifically noblewomen, it sheds bright light on the actual lives and achievement of these women as mothers, wives and queens. I was impressed and enamoured with these stories and actually learned a considerable amount more about these wonderful people.

Excellent book

ce livre merveilleusement rédigé avec beaucoup de sensibilité est un véritable joyau dans une bibliothèque. L'histoire de ces princesses devenues reines ne peut qu'impressionner le lecteur...