The Mongol Empire between myth and reality : : studies in anthropological history / / by Denise Aigle.

• Superior document: Iran Studies, Volume 11
• VerfasserIn: Aigle, Denise,
• Place / Publishing House: Leiden, The Netherlands : : Brill,, 2015.; ©2015
• Year of Publication: 2015
• Language: English
• Series: Iran studies ; Volume 11.
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (407 p.)
• Notes: Description based upon print version of record.

In The Mongol Empire between Myth and Reality , Denise Aigle presents the Mongol empire as a moment of contact between political ideologies, religions, cultures and languages, and, in terms of reciprocal representations, between the Far East, the Muslim East, and the Latin West. The first part is devoted to “The memoria of the Mongols in historical and literary sources” in which she examines how the Mongol rulers were perceived by the peoples with whom they were in contact. In “Shamanism and Islam” she studies the perception of shamanism by Muslim authors and their attempts to integrate Genghis Khan and his successors into an Islamic framework. The last sections deal with geopolitical questions involving the Ilkhans, the Mamluks, and the Latin West. Genghis Khan’s successors claimed the protection of “Eternal Heaven” to justify their conquests even after their Islamization.

Table of Contents

Preliminary Material -- Introduction -- 1 Mythico-Legendary Figures and History between East and West -- 2 The Mongols and the Legend of Prester John -- 3 The Historiographical Works of Barhebraeus on the Mongol Period -- 4 The Historical taqwīm in Muslim East -- 5 Shamanism and Islam in Central Asia. Two Antinomic Religious Universes? -- 6 The Transformation of a Myth of Origins, Genghis Khan and Timur -- 7 Mongol Law versus Islamic Law. Myth and Reality -- 8 From ‘Non-Negotiation’ to an Abortive Alliance. Thoughts on the Diplomatic Exchanges between the Mongols and the Latin West -- 9 Hülegü’s Letters to the Last Ayyubid Ruler of Syria. The Construction of a Model -- 10 Legitimizing a Low-Born, Regicide Monarch. Baybars and the Ilkhans -- 11 The Written and the Spoken Word. Baybars and the Caliphal Investiture Ceremonies in Cairo -- 12 Ghazan Khan’s Invasion of Syria. Polemics on his Conversion to Islam and the Christian Troops in His Army -- 13 A Religious Response to Ghazan Khan’s Invasions of Syria. The Three “Anti-Mongol” fatwās of Ibn Taymiyya -- Epilogue. The Mongol Empire after Genghis Khan -- Maps -- Genealogical Tables -- Bibliography -- Illustrations -- Index.