The Legacy Of Genghis Khan | Essay - The Metropolitan Museum Of Art

Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History Essays

The Legacy of Genghis Khan

Safe Conduct Pass (Paiza) with Inscription in Phakpa Script

Bowl

Basin with Figural Imagery

Stefano Carboni Department of Islamic Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Qamar Adamjee Department of Islamic Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art

October 2003

Genghis Khan (ca. 1162–1227) and the Mongols are invariably associated with terrible tales of conquest, destruction, and bloodshed. This famed clan leader and his immediate successors created the largest empire ever to exist, spanning the entire Asian continent from the Pacific Ocean to modern-day Hungary in Europe. Such an empire could not have been shaped without visionary leadership, superior organizational skills, the swiftest and most resilient cavalry ever known, an army of superb archers (the “devil’s horsemen” in Western sources), the existence of politically weakened states across Asia, and, of course, havoc and devastation.

Yet, the legacy of Genghis Khan, his sons, and grandsons is also one of cultural development, artistic achievement, a courtly way of life, and an entire continent united under the so-called Pax Mongolica (“Mongolian Peace”). Few people realize that the Yuan dynasty in China (1271–1368) is part of Genghis Khan’s legacy through its founder, his grandson Khubilai Khan (r. 1260–95). The Mongol empire was at its largest two generations after Genghis Khan and was divided into four main branches, the Yuan (empire of the Great Khan) being the central and most important. The other Mongol states were the Chagatai khanate in Central Asia (ca. 1227–1363), the Golden Horde in southern Russia extending into Europe (ca. 1227–1502), and the Ilkhanid dynasty in Greater Iran (1256–1353).

The Mongols were remarkably quick in transforming themselves from a purely nomadic tribal people into rulers of cities and states and in learning how to administer their vast empire. They readily adopted the system of administration of the conquered states, placing a handful of Mongols in the top positions but allowing former local officials to run everyday affairs. This clever system allowed them to control each city and province but also to be in touch with the population through their administrators. The seat of the Great Khanate in Dadu (Beijing) was the center of the empire, with all its pomp and ceremony, whereas the three semi-independent Central and western Asian domains of the Chagatai, the Golden Horde, and the Ilkhanids were connected through an intricate network that crisscrossed the continent. Horses, once a reliable instrument of war and conquest, now made swift communication possible, carrying written messages through a relay system of stations. A letter sent by the emperor in Beijing and carried by an envoy wearing his paiza, or passport, could reach the Ilkhanid capital Tabriz, some 5,000 miles away, in about a month.

The political unification of Asia under the Mongols resulted in active trade and the transfer and resettlement of artists and craftsmen along the main routes. New influences were thus integrated with established local artistic traditions. By the middle of the thirteenth century, the Mongols had formed the largest contiguous empire in the world, uniting Chinese, Islamic, Iranian, Central Asian, and nomadic cultures within an overarching Mongol sensibility.

Genghis Khan’s grandson Hülegü (died 1265) subdued Iran in 1256 and conquered Baghdad, the capital of the ‘Abbasid caliphate, in 1258. Hülegü’s dynasty—the Ilkhanids, or Lesser Khans—ruled this area, called Greater Iran, until about 1353. After their rapid gain of power in the Muslim world, the Mongol Ilkhanids nominally reported to the Great Khan of the Yuan dynasty in China, and in the process imported Chinese models to better define their tastes. However, the new rulers were greatly impressed by the long-established traditions of Iran, with its prosperous urban centers and thriving economy, and they quickly assimilated the local culture. The Mongol influence on Iranian and Islamic culture gave birth to an extraordinary period in Islamic art that combined well-established traditions with the new visual language transmitted from eastern Asia.

Citation

Carboni, Stefano, and Qamar Adamjee. “The Legacy of Genghis Khan.” In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/khan1/hd_khan1.htm (October 2003)

Further Reading

Amitai-Preiss, Reuven, and David O. Morgan, eds. The Mongol Empire and Its Legacy. Leiden: Brill, 1999.

Carboni, Stefano, and Komaroff, Linda, eds. The Legacy of Genghis Khan: Courtly Art and Culture in Western Asia, 1256–1353. Exhibition catalogue. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2002.

Rossabi, Morris "Genghis Khan." In The Encyclopedia of Asian History, vol. 1, pp. 496–98. New York: Scribner, 1988.

Additional Essays by Stefano Carboni

• Carboni, Stefano. “Venice and the Islamic World: Commercial Exchange, Diplomacy, and Religious Difference.” (March 2007)
• Carboni, Stefano. “Islamic Art and Culture: The Venetian Perspective.” (March 2007)
• Carboni, Stefano. “Venice and the Islamic World, 828–1797.” (March 2007)
• Carboni, Stefano. “Venice’s Principal Muslim Trading Partners: The Mamluks, the Ottomans, and the Safavids.” (March 2007)
• Carboni, Stefano. “A New Visual Language Transmitted Across Asia.” (October 2003)
• Carboni, Stefano. “Courtly Art of the Ilkhanids.” (October 2003)
• Carboni, Stefano. “Folios from the Great Mongol Shahnama (Book of Kings).” (October 2003)
• Carboni, Stefano. “Folios from the Jami‘ al-tavarikh (Compendium of Chronicles).” (October 2003)
• Carboni, Stefano. “Takht-i Sulaiman and Tilework in the Ilkhanid Period.” (October 2003)
• Carboni, Stefano. “The Art of the Book in the Ilkhanid Period.” (October 2003)
• Carboni, Stefano. “Blown Glass from Islamic Lands.” (October 2002)
• Carboni, Stefano. “Cut and Engraved Glass from Islamic Lands.” (October 2002)
• Carboni, Stefano. “The Mongolian Tent in the Ilkhanid Period.” (October 2003)
• Carboni, Stefano. “The Religious Arts under the Ilkhanids.” (October 2003)
• Carboni, Stefano. “Enameled and Gilded Glass from Islamic Lands.” (October 2002)
• Carboni, Stefano. “Glass from Islamic Lands.” (October 2002)
• Carboni, Stefano. “Glass with Mold-Blown Decoration from Islamic Lands.” (October 2002)
• Carboni, Stefano. “Hot-worked Glass from Islamic Lands.” (October 2002)
• Carboni, Stefano. “Mosaic Glass from Islamic Lands.” (October 2002)
• Carboni, Stefano. “Stained (Luster-Painted) Glass from Islamic Lands.” (October 2002)

Additional Essays by Qamar Adamjee

• Adamjee, Qamar. “A New Visual Language Transmitted Across Asia.” (October 2003)
• Adamjee, Qamar. “Courtly Art of the Ilkhanids.” (October 2003)
• Adamjee, Qamar. “Folios from the Great Mongol Shahnama (Book of Kings).” (October 2003)
• Adamjee, Qamar. “Folios from the Jami‘ al-tavarikh (Compendium of Chronicles).” (October 2003)
• Adamjee, Qamar. “Takht-i Sulaiman and Tilework in the Ilkhanid Period.” (October 2003)
• Adamjee, Qamar. “The Art of the Book in the Ilkhanid Period.” (October 2003)
• Adamjee, Qamar. “Blown Glass from Islamic Lands.” (October 2002)
• Adamjee, Qamar. “Cut and Engraved Glass from Islamic Lands.” (October 2002)
• Adamjee, Qamar. “The Mongolian Tent in the Ilkhanid Period.” (October 2003)
• Adamjee, Qamar. “Enameled and Gilded Glass from Islamic Lands.” (October 2002)
• Adamjee, Qamar. “Glass from Islamic Lands.” (October 2002)
• Adamjee, Qamar. “The Religious Arts under the Ilkhanids.” (October 2003)
• Adamjee, Qamar. “Glass with Mold-Blown Decoration from Islamic Lands.” (October 2002)
• Adamjee, Qamar. “Hot-worked Glass from Islamic Lands.” (October 2002)
• Adamjee, Qamar. “Mosaic Glass from Islamic Lands.” (October 2002)
• Adamjee, Qamar. “Stained (Luster-Painted) Glass from Islamic Lands.” (October 2002)

Related Essays

• The Art of the Ilkhanid Period (1256–1353)
• A New Visual Language Transmitted Across Asia
• Yuan Dynasty (1271–1368)
• The Art of the Book in the Ilkhanid Period
• Byzantine Art under Islam
• Chinese Cloisonné
• Constantinople after 1261
• Courtly Art of the Ilkhanids
• Folios from the Jami‘ al-tavarikh (Compendium of Chronicles)
• Folios from the Great Mongol Shahnama (Book of Kings)
• The Mongolian Tent in the Ilkhanid Period
• Nineteenth-Century Iran: Continuity and Revivalism
• Northern Song Dynasty (960–1127)
• The Religious Arts under the Ilkhanids
• Takht-i Sulaiman and Tilework in the Ilkhanid Period
• Venice and the Islamic World: Commercial Exchange, Diplomacy, and Religious Difference

List of Rulers

• List of Rulers of China
• List of Rulers of the Islamic World

Chronology

• Anatolia and the Caucasus, 1000–1400 A.D.
• Central and North Asia, 1600–1800 A.D.
• China, 1000–1400 A.D.
• Eastern Europe and Scandinavia, 1400–1600 A.D.
• Iran, 1000–1400 A.D.
• Iraq, 1000–1400 A.D.

Keywords

• Abbasid Art
• Animal
• Asia
• Central and North Asia
• Central Europe
• China
• Chinese Literature / Poetry
• East Asia
• Europe
• Horse
• Hungary
• Ilkhanid Art
• Iran
• Islam
• Islamic Art
• Islamic Art in the Early Period
• Mongolia
• Ruler
• Southeast Asia
• Trade
• Warfare
• West Asia
• Yuan Dynasty