The Mongols’ Middle East: Continuity and Transformation in Ilkhanid Iran. Edited by Bruno De Nicola and Charles Melville. Islamic History and Civilization, vol. 127. Leiden: Brill, 2016. Pp. xiii + 346. $149, €115.

The roots of the formation of a post-Mongol political theology that situated Muslim emperors and sultans at the center of an Islamic cosmos are found in the Ilkhanid court in late thirteenth- and early fourteenth-century Iran. This article investigates the case of the short-lived rebellion of the Mongol governor of Rūm and Mahdi-claimant Temürtash. It demonstrates how the discourse of religious reform was recruited to translate and support the claims of non-Chinggisid commanders to the transfer of God’s favor, thus opposing (...) the Chinggisids’ heaven-derived exceptionalism. Exploring affinities with the Timurid appropriation of the mujaddid tradition a century later, the article argues that Temürtash’s rebellion signaled the early stages of the dispersion of a new political language that freed Muslim kingship from the restrictive genealogical and juridical Sunni models of authority. (shrink)

Articles on the latest achievements in Mongolian linguistics and Altaic studies.

Mongolian cultural thought compared to Chinese.

Linguistic study of Mongolian traditional classical translation.

Work on ethics, presented at a scientific conference held on May 23, 2014 in Ulaanbaatar.

On Mongolian language; research papers published during 1920-1940.

Mongolian traditional teaching of reasoning.

Wu Ch'eng (1249-333) was the most innovative Confucian scholarteacher during the Mongol epoch in China, and his thought is a bridge between thinkers of the Sung und Ming eras. Having experienced the Mongol takeover in his thirties and the abrogation of the examination system, which blocked the traditional route to an official career, Wu was at first associated with Sung loyalists and did not serve the Yuan rulers until he was over sixty (in the National College and the Hanlin Academy). (...) Even then, his affinities for Taoism and individualistic strains in Confucian thought set him at odds with those who reestablished the examination system in the early fourteenth century. He was also one of the first scholars to question the legitimacy of the conquest dynasties. Wu pursued a scholarly vision that bore fruit in his searching classical commentaries, educational policies, and philosophical essays stressing intellectual enlightenment. This study of Wu's life and career examines his flirtations with official service, his disagreements with the educational establishment at the capital and locally, and how these experiences shaped his outlook. (shrink)

Conference proceedings on Mongolian contributions to Buddhist knowledge.

This reflection on the social and political role of revenge in the Mongol empire, with a focus on the Īl-Khānate, uses revenge as a means of analyzing the relationship between the khān, his commanders, local officials, the ulema, and the subject population of the Īl-Khānate. It documents the limitations on royal authority and begins a new conversation about the way that juridical power was conceived and practiced in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. This study will contribute to the current debate (...) about the role of the Jasaq in the Mongol empire and the Middle East, with particular reference to how it was enacted by the Mongol nobility. It is hoped that this paper will be the start of a more detailed investigation into the role of blood-feud and vengeance across Central Asia. (shrink)

The Mongol in Our Midst F G Crookshank Originally published in 1925. "A brilliant piece of speculative induction" Saturday Review Combining anthropology, psychology, geography, science and medicine, this volume was a ground-breaking study in the area of race, ethnicity and eugenics, when first published and has to be read in the appropriate historical, social and scientific context of the early twentieth century. 120 pp, 24 b&w plates Prometheus or Biology and the Advancement of Man H S Jennings Originally published in (...) 1925 "This volume is one of the most remarkable that has yet appeared in this series." Times Literary Supplement "An exceedingly brilliant book." New Leader This volume provides a lucid summary of the striking advances of the early 20 th century in biological knowledge, genetics, and the theory of evolution. 88pp Metanthropos or the Body of the Future Ronald Campbell Macfie Originally published in 1928 "An exceptionally stimulating book…" Saturday Review "Should certainly be read by a large public." The Lancet Drawing on the history of evolution and geology, this volume examines the role of society on physical, emotional and psychological changes in the population of Western Europe during the early twentieth century, whilst attempting to predict genetic developments of the future. 88pp. Pygmalion or the Doctor of the Future R M Wilson Originally published in 1925 "No doctor worth his salt would venture to say that Dr.Wilson was wrong." Daily Herald "Dr Wilson has added a brilliant essay to this series." Times Literary Supplement The author foresees an evolution in the personality of the doctor, who will become less of a scientist, more of a humanist, and use every spiritual agency, as well as every practical measure, to restore the human body and soul to health. 66pp. The Conquest of Cancer H W S Wright Originally published in 1925 "Eminently suitable for general reading. The problem is fairly and lucidly presented." F G Crookshank Whilst affirming that the causes and treatment of cancer will never be solved by the efforts of the medical profession alone, this volume provides an accessible source of information on cancer and proposes routine examination for those people aged 40 and over as the best means of defence against cancer. 82pp. (shrink)

This article aims to elaborate the effects of Ghazan Khan’s reformative measures for changing Mongol lifestyle. They migrated from one place to another to make a living but after his reforms, they were settled. Mongols were among the people who lived in the Central Asia usually made raids on the neighboring nations. They had taken to a life of vagrancy and never wanted to be settled in a particular place. When they entered the civilized Persia, the Mongolian government became (...) highly polarized. On the one hand, the Mongols habitually destroyed the government’s sources of income (agriculture and trade), and on the other, they were its military force, whose existence was a necessity. As this polarization continued, political and economic crises emerged, too. Then, Ghazan Khan, by some actions, hindered the collapse of the Ilkhanate. As a result, the Mongols underwent a self-imposed settled life but it was against the great Yasa code of Genghis Khan. (shrink)

Power, Politics, and Tradition in the Mongol Empire and the Īlkhānate of Iran. By Michael Hope. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2016. Pp. x + 238. $90, £60.

Along the Silk Roads in Mongol Eurasia: Generals, Merchants, and Intellectuals. Edited by Michal Biran, Jonathan Brack, and Francesca Fiaschetti. Oakland, CA: University of California Press, 2020. Pp. xv + 335. $85, £70 (cloth); $29.95, £25 (paper, ebook).