The Secret History of the Mongols

The 13th century Secret History of the Mongols, covering the great Činggis Qan’s (1162-1227) ancestry and life, stands out as a literary monument of first magnitude. Written partly in prose and partly in epic poetry, it is the major native source on Činggis Qan, also dealing with part of the reign of his son and successor Ögödei (r. 1229-41). This true handbook contains an historical introduction, a full translation of the chronicle in accessible English, plus an extensive commentary. Indispensable for the historian, the Sino-Mongolist, the Altaic philologist, and anyone interested in comparative literature and Central Asian folklore. "As the author writes in his introduction, books are still to be written about many particular aspects of the Secret History. Certainly his present magnum opus, in which he succesfully incorporates all achievements of previous investigations and the many fruits of his own research, will be a great source of inspiration for the generations of scholars to come." 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 an Emeritus Fellow in the Pacific and Asian History Division of the ANU. György Kara, The Journal of Asian Studies, 2005