n this bestselling, revisionist biography, Genghis Khan shines not only as “the greatest military genius in history” who “subjugated more lands and people in twenty-five years than the Romans did in four hundred” but also as a humane, progressive monarch who promoted religious freedom, cultural interchange, and the rule of law. He created safe, international trade routes, fostered the exchange of knowledge and ideas, raised the status of woman, abolished aristocratic privilege, and outlawed the use of torture.
Praised by Chaucer, the Great Khan was subsequently scapegoated when Voltaire caricatured him as a tyrant, the Chinese vilified him, and Stalin purged his last descendants. This fascinating revaluation shows how the Mongolian empire influenced “every aspect of western civilization” from Giotto’s paintings to the discovery of America and onward.
