Mini essay Unit 9

Central Asia Primary Sources

The Secret History of the Mongols

As you’ll have read in Chapter 11, under Genghis Khan and his successors, the Mongols conquered an extensive empire covering much of Asia. Now we're going to read a selection of the so-called Secret History of the Mongols. This is an account of the rise of Genghis Khan (here spelled Chingis Khan) to power and his conquests and the conquests of his sons. It's called the secret history because it was written not for a general audience but for the family and associates of the Great Khan. 

Travels of Marco Polo

The Mongol conquest allowed Europe the Middle East and North Africa, and Asia to come into much closer contact than they had experienced in years beforehand. The thirteenth century was an age in which people could travel from one end of the Eastern Hemisphere to another. One such travel was Marco Polo, from the city-state of Venice in northern Italy. Upon his return from China, he wrote an account of his travels, which will allow you to see what the Mongol Empire of Kubilai Khan looked like to a foreign visitor.

Both of these primary sources are linked on the following pages. Click the forward navigation button to begin reading. 

Go to top