Genghis Khan And The Making Of The Modern World Chapter Summary

502 Words3 Pages
enghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World was written by Jack Weatherford, a professor of anthropology at Macalester College in Minnesota. His book is well-known as a work of popular history. The book tells the story of Genghis Khan's life, influence and legacy, through his successors to the present day. It focuses on a number of recently unearthed and translated historical texts that, in centuries past, were unavailable, such as the Secret History of the Mongols. Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World is effectively an extended attempt to rehabilitate the image of Genghis Khan in a much more positive light than is normal for Western historiography. The work is far friendlier to the Mongols and is included in a string of books that have reconceived the personality and life of Genghis Khan. Weatherford argues that the Mongols are not the horrible, conquering hordes of Western imagination, but instead Mongols tended to be egalitarian, destroying local hierarchies. They also tended to treat the general population much better than the rulers they deposed and were widely tolerant of religious differences. They imposed fewer taxes and had less administration. The Mongols also promoted universal education.…show more content…
The Mongols tended to rule by consensus, rather than by orders, widely promoted the use of paper money, reduced the use of torture and created the idea of diplomatic immunity. While Weatherford's book is thought to contain a number of important historical errors, it has done much to revive interest in the Mongol Empire and the man who created
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    Michelangelo. Genghis Khan. What do these three men have in common? According to Jack Weatherford, they’re all Renaissance men. In his book, Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World (2004), Weatherford claims that Khan was not the barbaric leader of savages he had been portrayed as in Western Culture, but instead was an intelligent, strategic leader with a focus on securing the wellbeing of his empire. The book does a fantastic job at highlighting many of Khan’s contributions to the Modern World: increasing

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