The Mongol Period: History of the Muslim World

First published by E.J. Brill (The Netherlands) in 1969 as Geschichte der Islamischen Länder, this volume is still one of the few studies to deal — authoritatively, comprehensively, and clearly to the non-specialist — with the Mongols. It provides a lucid account of the empires of the two greatest Mongol empire-builders, Jingiz (Genghis) Khan and Timur (Tamerlane), and their successor states in Western Eurasia. Arthur Waldron’s new introduction discusses the contribution of the Mongols and other nomadic societies to world history.


Bertold Spuler, author, (University of Hamburg) was one of the world’s leading experts on Mongol History. He is the author of The Age of the Caliphs and a contributor to The Last Great Muslim Empires (both available from Markus Wiener).

Arthur Waldron, who wrote the introduction, is the author of The Great Wall of China. He is the Lauder Professor of International Relations at the University of Pennsylvania.