I finished Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World recently. (Author Jack Weatherford.) Some thoughts follow ...
From the dust jacket:
"The Mongol Army led by Genghis Khan subjugated more lands and people in twenty-five years than the Romans did in four hundred. In nearly every country the Mongols conquered they brought an unprecedented rise in cultural communication, expanded trade, and a blossoming of civilization. Vastly more progressive than his European or Asian counterparts, Genghis Khan abolished torture, granted universal religious freedom, and smashed feudal systems of aristocratic privilege. From the story of his rise through the tribal culture to the explosion of civilization that the Mongol Empire unleashed this brilliant work of revisionist history is nothing less than the epic story of how the modern world was made."
First off, that's the first time I've ever seen 'revisionist history' used proudly ; )
In the comments I'm going to lay out some of the themes Weatherford's narrative evokes. Starting tonight yet ; )
Like Alexander before him and Napoleon after him Genghis Khan had more than just conquest in mind. He believed that he had been 'chosen' to bring order and justice to the world.
ReplyDeleteIn a class I had on The History of Islam I wrote a paper comparing The Prophet Muhammad and Paul the Apostle, suggesting that the two of them had the same mission; creating a more just society.
When the Founding Fathers of the American Republic wrote up a Constitution they included a preamble; something of a 'mission statement.' To Establish Justice was listed first among the four basic roles they saw for their new government.
(Back soon ; )