The Empire of the Steppes: A History of Central AsiaWhile the early history of the steppe nomads is shrouded in obscurity, this obscurity lifts somewhat after their contact with cultures possessing written histories. But even when information about them becomes relatively more plentiful, linguistic ocmplexities make its interpretation extremely difficult. Thus, while the number of specialized studies devoted to them is impressive, general works embracing the many disciplines involved, or syntheses on a grand scale encompassing the sprawling history of these peoples, are exceedingly scarce. Among these very few, The Empire of the Steppes is outstanding. The aim of this first English-language edition has been to make available a major work useful to the general reader as well as to the specialist, above all an edition which retains the majestic sweep and grandeur, as well as the overriding intellectual grasp, of Grousset's original. Hailed as a masterpiece when first published in 1939, this great work of synthesis rapidly became indispensable to scholars fluent in French. Now, after a decade of preparation, this unique history of Central Asia is available in English, in a felicitous translation by Naomi Walford from the 1952 French edition, the last published in Grousset's lifetime. Nineteen maps have been expressly prepared for the Rutgers edition, and a comprehensive 54-page index has been added. In addition, specialists have checked the text, notes, and bibliographical references to bring this vast work into conformity with present-day academic standards. |
Contents
LXXXVII | 300 |
LXXXVIII | 304 |
LXXXIX | 309 |
XC | 313 |
XCI | 320 |
XCII | 326 |
XCIII | 331 |
XCIV | 333 |
29 | |
32 | |
38 | |
39 | |
XIX | 41 |
XX | 48 |
XXI | 53 |
XXII | 55 |
XXIII | 60 |
XXIV | 66 |
XXV | 67 |
XXVI | 72 |
XXVII | 80 |
XXVIII | 87 |
XXIX | 90 |
XXX | 93 |
XXXI | 95 |
XXXII | 98 |
XXXIII | 101 |
XXXIV | 103 |
XXXV | 110 |
XXXVI | 113 |
XXXVII | 114 |
XXXVIII | 116 |
XXXIX | 118 |
XL | 119 |
XLI | 120 |
XLII | 126 |
XLIII | 127 |
XLIV | 134 |
XLV | 141 |
XLVI | 144 |
XLVII | 148 |
XLVIII | 159 |
XLIX | 164 |
L | 166 |
LI | 171 |
LII | 176 |
LIII | 179 |
LIV | 182 |
LV | 187 |
LVI | 189 |
LVII | 197 |
LVIII | 199 |
LIX | 200 |
LX | 209 |
LXI | 213 |
LXII | 216 |
LXIII | 219 |
LXIV | 226 |
LXV | 233 |
LXVI | 236 |
LXVII | 245 |
LXVIII | 247 |
LXIX | 248 |
LXX | 253 |
LXXI | 256 |
LXXII | 257 |
LXXIII | 259 |
LXXIV | 264 |
LXXV | 268 |
LXXVI | 269 |
LXXVII | 272 |
LXXVIII | 275 |
LXXIX | 276 |
LXXX | 282 |
LXXXI | 285 |
LXXXII | 286 |
LXXXIII | 288 |
LXXXIV | 291 |
LXXXV | 295 |
LXXXVI | 297 |
XCV | 336 |
XCVI | 341 |
XCVII | 342 |
XCVIII | 343 |
XCIX | 347 |
C | 351 |
CI | 353 |
CII | 356 |
CIII | 359 |
CIV | 365 |
CV | 367 |
CVI | 371 |
CVII | 373 |
CVIII | 376 |
CIX | 378 |
CX | 383 |
CXI | 387 |
CXII | 389 |
CXIII | 392 |
CXIV | 394 |
CXV | 401 |
CXVI | 404 |
CXVII | 405 |
CXVIII | 409 |
CXIX | 412 |
CXX | 414 |
CXXI | 419 |
CXXII | 422 |
CXXIII | 426 |
CXXIV | 429 |
CXXV | 435 |
CXXVI | 443 |
CXXVII | 446 |
CXXVIII | 448 |
CXXIX | 453 |
CXXX | 456 |
CXXXI | 460 |
CXXXII | 463 |
CXXXIII | 467 |
CXXXIV | 469 |
CXXXV | 471 |
CXXXVI | 478 |
CXXXVII | 481 |
CXXXVIII | 486 |
CXXXIX | 487 |
CXL | 488 |
CXLI | 489 |
CXLII | 491 |
CXLIII | 493 |
CXLIV | 496 |
CXLV | 498 |
CXLVI | 500 |
CXLVII | 502 |
CXLVIII | 505 |
CXLIX | 508 |
CL | 511 |
CLII | 513 |
CLIII | 515 |
CLIV | 519 |
CLV | 521 |
CLVI | 522 |
CLVII | 525 |
CLVIII | 526 |
CLIX | 531 |
CLX | 536 |
CLXI | 537 |
CLXII | 539 |
CLXIII | 541 |
CLXIV | 543 |
CLXV | 633 |
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
army Baghdad Barthold brother Buddhist Bukhara Byzantine capital Central Asia century Chavannes chief China Chinese Christian civilization clan conquest court d'Ohsson Darya death defeated dynasty Dzungar eastern emir emperor empire Fergana grand khan Herat Histoire des Mongols Horde Hsiung-nu Hulägu Ibid imperial Iran Iranian Islam Issyk Kul Jagatai Jenghiz Khan Jenghiz-Khanite Juan-juan Juvaini Kara Shahr Kara-Khitai Karakhanid Karakorum Kashgar Kashgaria Kerayit khagan Khan's khanate Khitan Khurasan Khwarizm king kingdom Kipchak Kublai Kucha Mamelukes Marco Mogholistan Mongka Mongolia Muhammad Muslim Naiman Nestorian nomads northern Ogödäi Oirat Ordos Orkhon Peking Pelliot Persia Polo prince Qaidu Rashid ad-Din region reign River Rubruck ruler Russian Samarkand Scythians Secret History Seljuk Shah Shansi Shih steppe successor sultan Syr Darya T'ang T'u-chüeh Tabriz Tamerlane Tamerlane's Tarim Tashkent Tatars Temür throne Timurid Toba took Toqtamish trans Transoxiana tribes Turfan Turkestan Turkic Turko-Mongol Turks Uigur vassal western Yüan Yüeh-chih Zafer-name
Popular passages
Page xx - At the end of the sixth century and the beginning of the seventh Northumberland was at the height of its power.
Page 249 - Heaven is weary of the inordinate luxury of China. I remain in the wild region of the north, I return to simplicity and seek moderation once more. As for the garments that I wear and the meals that I eat, I have the same rags and the same food as cowherds and grooms, and I treat the soldiers as my brothers.41 Jenghiz Khan did not exactly live a simple life, but he was determined and tough.
Page 249 - Genghis once said that his greatest pleasure was "to cut my enemies to pieces, drive them before me, seize their possessions, witness the tears of those dear to them, and embrace their wives and daughters.
Page 434 - Mongols were mere barbarians who killed simply because for centuries this had been the instinctive behavior of nomad herdsmen toward sedentary farmers. To this ferocity Tamerlane added a taste for religious murder. He killed from piety. He represents a synthesis, probably unprecedented in history, of Mongol barbarity and Muslim fanaticism, and symbolizes that advanced form of primitive slaughter which is murder committed for the sake of an abstract ideology, as a duty and a sacred mission.
Page 122 - this country of barbarous customs, full of the fumes of blood, was changed into a land where the people live on vegetables; from a land of killing to a land where good deeds are fostered'.12 12 Rene Grousset, The Empire of the Steppes, p.
Page vii - ... who saw in them the scourge of the Lord, sent for the chastisement of ancient civilizations.
Page 556 - Jli-köl (A. von Le Coq, Bilderatlas zur Kunst- und Kulturgeschichte Mittel-Asiens. Berlin 1925, S.
Page 280 - ... This place was all hung with cloth of gold : in the centre there was a chafingdish, with a fire made of thorns and roots of wormwood, which grows here in great abundance ; and this fire was lit with bullocks' dung. " The great khan was seated upon a small couch clothed with a rich fur robe, glossy as the skin of a seal. He was a man of middle height, with a nose a little flat and compressed, and about fortyfive years of age. His wife, who was young and pretty, was seated near him, with one of...