The Mongol Empire between Myth and Reality: Studies in Anthropological History

Front Cover
BRILL, 2014 M10 23 - 408 pages
In The Mongol Empire between Myth and Reality, Denise Aigle presents the Mongol empire as a moment of contact between political ideologies, religions, cultures and languages, and, in terms of reciprocal representations, between the Far East, the Muslim East, and the Latin West. The first part is devoted to “The memoria of the Mongols in historical and literary sources” in which she examines how the Mongol rulers were perceived by the peoples with whom they were in contact. In “Shamanism and Islam” she studies the perception of shamanism by Muslim authors and their attempts to integrate Genghis Khan and his successors into an Islamic framework. The last sections deal with geopolitical questions involving the Ilkhans, the Mamluks, and the Latin West. Genghis Khan’s successors claimed the protection of “Eternal Heaven” to justify their conquests even after their Islamization.
 

Contents

Introduction
1
Part 1 The Memoria of the Mongols in Historical and Literary Sources
15
Chapter 1 MythicoLegendary Figures and History between East and West
17
Chapter 2 The Mongols and the Legend of Prester John
41
Chapter 3 The Historiographical Works of Barhebraeus on the Mongol Period
66
Part 2 Shamanism and Islam
105
Chapter 5 Shamanism and Islam in Central Asia Two Antinomic Religious Universes?
107
Chapter 6 The Transformation of a Myth of Origins Genghis Khan and Timur
121
Part 4 Mamluks and Ilkhans The Quest of Legitimacy
219
Chapter 10 Legitimizing A LowBorn Regicide Monarch Baybars and the Ilkhans
221
Chapter 11 The Written and the Spoken Word Baybars and the Caliphal Investiture Ceremonies in Cairo
244
Chapter 12 Ghazan Khans Invasions of Syria Polemics on His Conversion to Islam and the Christian Troops in His Army
255
Chapter 13 A Religious Response to Ghazan Khans Invasions of Syria The Three AntiMongol fatwās of Ibn Taymiyya
283
Epilogue The Mongol Empire after Genghis Khan
306
Maps
323
Genealogical Tables
327

Chapter 7 Mongol Law versus Islamic Law Myth and Reality
134
Part 3 Conquering the World Protected by the Tenggeri
157
Chapter 8 From NonNegotiation to an Abortive Alliance Thoughts on the Diplomatic Exchanges between the Mongols and the Latin West
159
Chapter 9 Hülegüs Letters to the Last Ayyubid Ruler of Syria The Construction of a Model
199
Bibliography
331
Illustrations
373
Index
383
Copyright

Other editions - View all

Common terms and phrases

About the author (2014)

Denise Aigle is emeritus professor at "EPHE" and researcher at "CNRS (UMR Orient & Mediterranee)." She has published monographs, edited volumes and many articles on Mongols and Iran, including "Le Fars sous la domination Mongole. Politique et fiscalite" (Leuven, Peeters, 2005)."

Bibliographic information