Culture and Conquest in Mongol Eurasia by Thomas T Allsen

Culture and Conquest in Mongol Eurasia by Thomas T Allsen

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Summary

Thomas Allsen's latest book breaks new scholarly boundaries in its exploration of cultural and scientific exchanges across Mongol Eurasia. Contrary to popular belief, Mongol rulers were intensely interested in the culture of their sedentary subjects and, under their auspices, commodities, ideologies and technologies were disseminated from East to West.

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Culture and Conquest in Mongol Eurasia by Thomas T Allsen

In the thirteenth century, the Mongols created a vast transcontinental empire that functioned as a cultural 'clearing house' for the Old World. Under Mongol auspices various commodities, ideologies and technologies were disseminated across Eurasia. The focus of this path-breaking study is the extensive exchanges between Iran and China. The Mongol rulers of these two ancient civilizations 'shared' the cultural resources of their realms with one another. The result was a lively traffic in specialist personnel and scholarly literature between East and West. These exchanges ranged from cartography to printing, from agriculture to astronomy. The book concludes by asking why the Mongols made such heavy use of sedentary scholars and specialists in the elaboration of their court culture and why they initiated so many exchanges across Eurasia. This is a work of great erudition which crosses new scholarly boundaries in its analysis of communication and culture in the Mongol empire.
'The focus of this path-breaking study is the extensive exchanges between Iran and China … is informative and erudite and promises to become a classic in the field' The Middle East
'… will occupy and entertain specialists for some time to come …' Bulletin of the School of Oriental & African Studies
'Thomas Allsen's book is a very compact and informative account of the cultural changes which took place during the supremacy of the Mongols. Allsen is able to share with the reader his impressive knowledge of the Arabic, Persian, and Chinese sources regarding the Mongols. The cross-cultural links, their implications and their background in this highly interesting period of history are presented in a systematic manner, making the book of great value for scholars in a variety of fields.' Bibliotheca Orientalis
'… this is mature scholarship at its best, and a must not only for every student of the Mongol empire, but also for cultural and world historians, historians of China and the Muslim world, and anybody interested in the ongoing exchange between East and West.' Journal of the American Oriental Society
Thomas T. Allsen is Professor in the Department of History, The College of New Jersey, Ewing. His publications include Commodity and Exchange in the Mongol Empire: A Cultural History of Islamic Textiles (1997).
SKU Unavailable
ISBN 13 9780521602709
ISBN 10 052160270X
Title Culture and Conquest in Mongol Eurasia
Author Thomas T Allsen
Series Cambridge Studies In Islamic Civilization
Condition Unavailable
Binding Type Paperback
Publisher Cambridge University Press
Year published 2004-03-25
Number of pages 264
Cover note Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.
Note Unavailable