The Mongol Empire was the largest continuous land empire known to history, its violent creation the major political event of the thirteenth-century world. Yet little is known of the history of Christendom's most formidable eastern neighbor.In this classic history, David Morgan explains how the vast Mongol Empire was organized and governed, examining the religious and political character of the steppe nomadic society. He assesses the astonishing military career of Chingiz (Genghis) Kh-an, considers the nature of Mongol imperial government, and the effects of Mongol campaigns on the countries and peoples they conquered in China, Russia, Persia, and Europe. His narrative extends to the collapse of the Empire and the formation of a people's republic as a Russian satellite state.For this second edition, the author provides a new epilogue assessing the contribution of recent scholarship to our understanding of the Mongols' history, and updating his own interpretations in light of those advances. This new chapter, together with an updated bibliography, will refresh the book for a new generation of readers.