Spring, 2024
HSEA UN3898
THE MONGOLS IN HISTORY
Professor Rossabi
Students may wish to purchase the following book, but they are not required to do so. There are
several copies on reserve.
Genghis Khan and the Mongol Empire edited by William Fitzhugh
All of the other readings are on CourseWorks. The required reading is minimal, partly because I
have tried to assign accessible and readable works that are not overly technical. Partly, too, I
would like you to focus on your term papers. Please do not start on your papers without
receiving my approval on your topic. Approximate length: 15 pages. I will discuss plagiarism
issues and proper bibliographical references in class.
January 16: Languages, Ecology, and Peoples of Mongolia
The Perilous Frontier by Thomas Barfield (Blackwell), pp. 1-31.
"The Mongols" by Joseph Fletcher, Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies (1986), pp. 11-50.
Inner Asian Frontiers of China, by Owen Lattimore pp. 53-102.
Fitzhugh, Chapters by Bosson, Sneath, and Manduhai
January 23: Central Asian Ancestors
Records of the Grand Historian of China trans. by B. Watson, pp. 155-192.
"Silk and Gold” by Morris Rossabi (in James Watt and Anne Wardwell,
When Silk Was Gold, Metropolitan Museum of Art), pp. 1-46.
“Liao Dynasty” by Morris Rossabi (Asia Society website), pp. 1-9.
Fitzhugh, Chapter by Skaff and Honeychurch
January 30: The Rise of Chinggis Khan
Fitzhugh, Chapters by Rossabi and Shiraishi
Genghis Khan by Paul Ratchnevsky (Blackwell), pp. 89-134.
The Secret History of the Mongols trns. By Paul Kahn, pp. 15-32; 120-155.
Pages on Onggirad, Naimans, Sübedei and Tactics, and Khwarazmian Empire
.
February 6: Mongol Conquests and Ramifications
Fitzhugh, Chapters by Kahn, Ulanbayar Erdenebat and Pohl, Hüttel, and Dunnell
Pages on Chagatai Khanate
February 13: Mongol Influence on China
Khubilai Khan by Morris Rossabi (University of California Press), Chapters 2-6.
“Tibetans in Yüan China” by Herbert Franke (in J. Langlois, China under Mongol Rule,
Princeton University Press), pp. 296-328.
Fitzhugh, Chapters by Louis and Kallander
Pages on Oghul Qaimish Khatun and Siege of Xiangyang
February 20: Mongol Impact on Russia and Persia
Russia and the Golden Horde by C. Halperin (Indiana University Press), pp.33-43, 75125.
The Successors of Genghis Khan by J. Boyle (Columbia University Press), Chapters on
Ogodei.
Fitzhugh, Chapters by Morgan, Kramarovsky, and Waugh
Pages on Nogai, Battle of Kulikovo, The Assassins, and Öljeitü
February 27: Midterm
March 5: The Mongols in European and World History
Voyager from Xanadu by M. Rossabi (Kodansha), pp. 99-180
The Voyage of Marco Polo by Henry Yule and Henri Cordier (Philo Press), pp. 296-331.
Fitzhugh, Chapters by Dunn and May
Pages on Black Death
March 19: Tamerlane and Ming China
The Rise and Rule of Tamerlane by B. Manz (Cambridge University Press), pp. 66-106.
March 26: Conversion to Buddhism and the Last Nomadic Empire
China and Inner Asia by M. Rossabi (Thames and Hudson), pp. 139-158.
“Ch’ing Inner Asia” by J. Fletcher (in J. Fairbank, Cambridge History of China: Late
Ch’ing, Cambridge University Press), pp. 48-58, 352-360.
Fitzhugh, Chapters by Bira and Crossley
The Political Role of Mongol Buddhism by L. Moses (Indiana University Uralic and
Altaic Series), pp. 108-160.
April 2: Communist Rule in Mongolia
Nomads and Commissars by O. Lattimore (Oxford University Press), pp. 92-169.
APRIL 9: TERM PAPERS DUE
April 16: Post-Communist Era
Mongolia in Transition ed. by O. Bruun and O. Odgaard (Curzon), pp. 23-41, 103-146.
Bounty from the Sheep by T. Namkhainyambuu (White Horse Press), pp. 1-92.
Fitzhugh, Chapters by Marsh and Nomin
April 23: Mongolia’s Future
The End of Nomadism? by C. Humphrey and D. Sneath (Duke University Press), 293306.
Modern Mongolia by M. Rossabi (selections)
Final Examination
Office Hours: Tuesdays, 9-10; and by appointment
Email: MR63