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The Secret History of the Mongol Queens

How the Daughters of Genghis Khan Rescued His Empire

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The Secret History of the Mongol Queens

By: Jack Weatherford
Narrated by: Robertson Dean
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About this listen

The Mongol queens of the thirteenth century ruled the greatest empire the world has ever known. Yet sometime near the end of the century, censors cut a section from The Secret History of the Mongols, leaving a single tantalizing quote from Genghis Khan: “Let us reward our female offspring.”

Only this hint of a father’s legacy for his daughters remained of a much larger story. The queens of the Silk Route turned their father’s conquests into the world’s first truly international empire, fostering trade, education, and religion throughout their territories and creating an economic system that stretched from the Pacific to the Mediterranean. Outlandish stories of these powerful queens trickled out of the empire, shocking the citizens of Europe and the Islamic world.

At the conclusion of his magnificently researched and groundbreaking narrative, Jack Weatherford notes that the deeds of these Mongol queens inspired great artists from Chaucer and Milton to Goethe and Puccini, and so their stories live on today.

With The Secret History of the Mongol Queens, Weatherford restores the queens’ missing chapter to the annals of history.

©2010 Jack Weatherford (P)2010 Random House Asia Europe Historical Medieval Politics & Activism Royalty Women World Middle Ages Mongol Empire China Middle East Iran

Critic Reviews

"Uplifting, entertaining history.”—Kirkus Reviews
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there is so much that affected me deeply in this book... untold stories of brave and selfless women... the section on "the war on women" needs to be taught in schools as it shows how easily our rights and freedoms can be taken away so easily... the author has given us insights into very human storied... well worth reading.

i didn't know...

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Pretty heavy on details at times, but interspersed with enough interesting facts to keep you in. Reader is a touch quick.

Good info

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When I studied Sinology some decades ago, the quest to find and translate an extant copy of the Secret History was just beginning. By the 1980s, Mongolia had been occupied by various foreign powers for the previous three centuries and was still strictly controlled by the USSR through it proxy, the Mongolian Communist Party. Previously, the Chinese had ruled over Mongolia from the early Eighteenth Century until the early Twentieth Century. After the Fall of the Qing Dynasty in 1911, Mongolia had had a very brief period of self-government until the Bolshevik invasion in 1921. The Soviets regarded themselves as the inheritors of imperial Russia, which was based on the Mongolian Empire. Even the imperial colour, white, was taken from Genghis Khan's own clan colour. In 1962, the USSR went so far as to ban any celebration in Mongolia of the 800th anniversary of Genghis Khan's birth, 31st May 1162. So, research into the Mongolian history of any kind was seriously fraught. However, we now have several complete English versions of The Secret History and Jack Weatherford's history of Genghis Khan has been complimented by this history of the Mongol Queens. It is an excellent read and a great beginning to the quest to uncover more historical records of the Mongol Empire. The reader of the Audible book is also extremely competent. However, you will need to overlook his mangling of Chinese words and names.

Opening the door of the Mongol ger.

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Bought to life a hidden history...loved it. Infuriates me how women are written out of history - their contributions overlooked - this outlines a prime example.

Loved this book.

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I am about to listen to this book over in case I missed anything the first time.

I absolutely loved this book!

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Absolutely fascinating and thoroughly entertaining. There are so many links to other nations and cultures, and so many profound wisdoms and understandings that have come from the Mongol culture. That the women were so venerated and empowered is truly unique among societies of the time - and even now.

Brilliant!

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I had little knowledge of these woman and their place in history and now I want to know more. Their focus and strength was astounding. Their influence on history should be celebrated every day. I recommend you read their stories.

Valuable and informative

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