The Secret History of the Mongols the Secret History of the Mongols: A Mongolian Epic Chronicle of the Thirteenth Century a Mongolian Epic Chronicle o (Brill's Inner Asian Library) [Hardcover]

I. Rachewiltz (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 2003 | ISBN-10: 9004131590 | ISBN-13: 978-9004131590

The 13th-century "Secret History of the Mongols", covering the great Cinggis Qan's (1162-1227) ancestry and life, is written partly in prose and partly in epic poetry. It is the major native source on Cinggis Qan, also dealing with part of the reign of his son and successor Ogodei (1229-41). This handbook contains a historical introduction, a full translation of the chronicle in accessible English, plus an extensive commentary. It is useful for the historian, the Sino-Mongolist, the Altaic philologist and anyone interested in comparative literature and Central Asian folklore.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Igor De Rachewiltz, Ph.D. (1961) in Chinese History, The Australian National University, has published extensively on the political and cultural history of China and Mongolia in the 12th-14th centuries, and on Sino-Mongolian philology. He is at present a Visiting Fellow in the Pacific and Asian History Division of the ANU.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 1352 pages
• Publisher: Brill Academic Publishers (November 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 9004131590
• ISBN-13: 978-9004131590
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 6.6 x 4.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,518,945 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Definitive Version of the Secret History of the Mongols, January 30, 2004

By 

John J Emerson (Portland, OR USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Secret History of the Mongols the Secret History of the Mongols: A Mongolian Epic Chronicle of the Thirteenth Century a Mongolian Epic Chronicle o (Brill's Inner Asian Library) (Hardcover)

For decades students of "The Secret History of the Mongols" (the primary source on the life of Genghis Khan) have been using de Rachewiltz's indexed text and his tentative chapter-by-chapter translations. Now we have his 1500 page magnum opus. De Rachewiltz has mastered the secondary literature in all the relevant languages including Mongolian and even Hungarian, and this work is really the culmination of a century and a half of work by dozens of scholars. At $214 almost nobody can afford this 1500-page set, but every serious research library should have it. Perhaps a condensed popular edition will also be published soon.