I learned something wonderful recently . . . that a source for our knowledge of the Mongols is one of the most fascinating documents in history, called "The Secret History of the Mongols." David Morgan describes it as

"...it is the only substantial surviving Mongol work about the Mongol Empire, the only direct insight we possess into how the Mongols viewed things, undistorted by the spectacles of the conquered or the hostile."

This sounds like a copy of William the Conqueror's own private history of Hastings, written from his viewpoint. And that is so rare!

Morgan continues that the Secret History is particularly unique because the Mongols at the time of Chingiz Khan were largely illiterate, yet this history is in the Mongolian language as it developed post-Chingiz. Apparently a copy was transcribed from Mongol into Chinese in the 14th century. We don't know the author or just when it was written. The Mongols used a 12-year animal cycle for dating purposes, and it's obvious that the book was completed in the "Year of the Rat." It deals with the course of events from the origins (mythical) of Chingiz's house (CHINGIZID apparently is the name of the dynasty) and goes right through Chingiz's history to that of his first successor, Ogedei, who died in 1241. Scholars think it was most likely composed either in 1228 or 1240.

Although scholars argue about how dependable the Secret History is - some think it's just a compilation of self-serving legends - much of it can be generally corroborated by a secondary source, the Persian Mongol history, the Altan Debter. The consensus is - two independent works, but they both paint a broadly similar picture of Mongol history.

Another testament to its authenticity is that Chingiz is regularly portrayed in the book as the vigorous victim of constant betrayal by other tribes - in other words, like Hitler, he just HAD to invade all those other countries as a preemptive strike, in self defense. This suggests Chingiz was alive and watching while the work was written!

I should note, I went looking at Amazon for this and found that there's a fantastic new translation everyone raves about - and that the price is just exhorbitant. Has anyone got access to this book? It sounds mouth-watering.