“they come as though the sky were falling”: See “Hei-Ta Shih-Lüeh Kurzer Bericht über die schwarzen Tatan von P’eng Ta-Ya und Sü T’ing, 1237,” in Peter Olbricht and Elisabeth Pinks, Meng-Ta Pei-Lu und Hei-Ta Shih-Lüeh, p. 187.
In 1219, the Year of the Hare: There is debate about whether some of these events occurred in 1207 or 1219, since both were the Year of the Hare.
“red bull”: Secret History, § 240.
Kashgar, a trading city: Regarding the events in Kashgar, the Secret History placed this invasion in the Year of the Ox, 1205, but almost all other sources show that it occurred in the Year of the Ox, 1217.
Jebe’s army defeated the army of Guchlug: For more information on the Mongol campaign against Guchlug, see René Grousset, The Empire of the Steppes: A History of Central Asia, trans. Naomi Walford (New Brunswick, N. J.: Rutgers University Press, 1970), p. 234.
“to be one of the mercies of the Lord”: Ata-Malik Juvaini, Genghis Khan: The History of the World Conqueror, trans. J. A. Boyle (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1997), p. 67.
“Jebe pursued Guchlug”: Secret History, § 237.
“He had brought about complete peace and quiet”: Juvaini, Genghis Khan, p. 77.
“this Emperor having nothing more to fear”: François Pétis de la Croix, The History of Genghizcan the Great: First Emperor of the Ancient Moguls and Tartars (London: Printed for J. Darby, etc. 1722), pp. 119–120.
“I have the greatest desire to live in peace”: Quoted in René Grousset, Conqueror of the World, trans. Marian McKellar and Denis Sinor (New York: Orion Press, 1966), p. 209.
“henceforth the abscess of evil”: Juvaini, Genghis Khan, pp. 79–81.
“laid waste a whole world”: Ibid., p. 80.
“the whirlwind of anger”: Ibid., p. 80.
he uncovered “his head”: Ibid., p. 80.
5. Sultan Versus Khan
“War for the nomadic people”: Sechen Jagchid, Essays in Mongolian Studies (Provo: Brigham Young University Press, 1988), p. 12.
the story of the tattooed messenger: François Pétis de la Croix, The History of Genghizcan the Great: First Emperor of the Ancient Moguls and Tartars (London: Printed for J. Darby, etc., 1722), p. 136
“Commanders, elders, and commonality”: Henry H. Howorth, History of the Mongols, pt. 1, The Mongols Proper and the Kalmuks (London: Longmans, Green, 1876), p. 81.
“it is the will of God”: Robert P. Blake, and Richard N. Frye, “History of the Nation of the Archers (the Mongols) by Grigor of Akanc,” Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies 12 (December 1949), p. 301.
“effaced from off the earth”: Yaqut al-Hamawi quoted in Edward G. Browne, The Literary History of Persia, vol. 2 (Bethesda, Md.: Iranbooks, 1997), p. 431.
“the greatest joy a man can know”: Michael Prawdin, The Mongol Empire: Its Rise and Legacy, trans. Eden Paul and Cedar Paul (London: George Allen & Unwin, 1940), p. 143.
“Stories have been related to me”: Quoted in Browne, Literary History of Persia, p. 430.
All the Mongol prisoners: The murder of the Mongol warriors is related by Luc Kwanten, Imperial Nomads: A History of Central Asia, 500–1500 (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1979), p. 131.
nails into their heads: Stuart Legg, The Barbarians of Asia: The Peoples of the Steppes from 1600 B.C. (New York: Dorset, 1970), p. 274.
Those cities that surrendered: For a fuller account of these campaigns, see David Morgan, The Mongols (Cambridge, Mass.: Blackwell, 1986), pp. 60–61.
the numbers given by historians: For more on the supposedly high number of people killed, see Legg, Barbarians of Asia, p. 277.
“if all my sons”: Paul Ratchnevsky, Genghis Khan: His Life and Legacy, trans. Thomas Nivison Haining (Oxford, U.K.: Blackwell, 1991), p. 140.
“When you tell Jochi to speak”: Paul Kahn, The Secret History of the Mongols: The Origins of Chinggis Khan (Boston: Cheng & Tsui, 1998), p. 153.
“She didn’t run away from home”: Ibid., § 254.
“from a single hot womb”: Ibid., § 254.
“game killed by mouth”: Ibid., § 255.
“Mother Earth is broad”: Ibid., § 255.
“laid the knee of courtesy”: Ata-Malik Juvaini, Genghis Khan: The History of the World Conqueror, trans. J. A. Boyle (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1997), pp. 182–183.
“because of———”: Rashid al-Din, The Successors of Genghis Khan, trans. John Andrew Boyle (New York: Columbia University Press, 1971), p. 98.
“the vision should never stray”: Colonel Kh. Shagdar, “Ikh Khaadin surgaal gereeslel,” Chingis Khaan Sydlal, vol. 4 (2002), pp. 3–35; translated from the Mongolian.
“People conquered on different sides”: Ibid., p. 3–35.
his men cordoned off: For a fuller description of the group hunting procedures, see “Hei-Ta Shih-Lüeh Kurzer Bericht über die schwarzen Tatan von P’eng Ta-Ya und Sü T’ing, 1237,” in Peter Olbricht and Elisabeth Pinks, Meng-Ta Pei-Lu und Hei-Ta Shih-Lüeh: Chinesische Gesandtenberichte über die frühen Mongolen 1221 und 1237 (Weisbaden: Otto Harrassowitz, 1980), p. 117.
Yesui prepared the body: For more information on Mongol funeral practices, see V. V. Barthold, “The Burial Rites of the Turks and the Mongols,” trans. J. M. Rogers, Central Asiatic Journal 14 (1970), pp. 195–227.
“A mighty name”: The cleric’s comments come from Minhaj al-Siraj Juzjani, Tabakat-I-Nasiri: A General History of the Muhammadan Dynasties of Asia, trans. Major H. G. Raverty (Bengaclass="underline" Asiatic Society of Bengal, 1881; reprint, New Dehli: Oriental Books, 1970), pp. 1041–1042.
the text of a letter: The English text of the letter of Genghis Khan can be found in E. Bretschneider, Mediæval Researches from Eastern Asiatic Sources, vol. I (New York: Barnes & Noble, 1967), pp. 37–39.
“died in the fullness of years and glory”: Edward Gibbon, Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (London: J. M. Dent, 1910), vol. 6, p. 280.
6. The Discovery and Conquest of Europe
“For our sins”: The Chronicle of Novgorod: 1016–1491; trans. Robert Michel and Novill Forbes, Camden 3rd Series, vol. 25 (London: Offices of the Society, 1914), p. 64.
“was ever spreading the carpet of merrymaking”: Ata-Malik Juvaini, Genghis Khan: The History of the World Conqueror, trans. J. A. Boyle (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1997), p. 202.