Khubilai Khan: His Life and Times / Edition 1

by Morris Rossabi

Overview

Living from 1215 to 1294, Khubilai Khan is one of history's most renowned figures. Morris Rossabi draws on sources from a variety of East Asian, Middle Eastern, and European languages as he focuses on the life and times of the great Mongol monarch. This anniversary edition is updated with a new preface examining how twenty years of scholarly and popular portraits of Khubilai have shaped our understanding of the man and his time.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780520067400
Publisher:	University of California Press
Publication date:	08/21/1989
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	344
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.88(d)

About the Author

Morris Rossabi is Professor of History at Queens College and the Graduate Center of the City University of New York and Visiting Professor at Columbia University.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations ix

Preface to the Twentieth Anniversary Edition xi

Preface to the First Edition xvii

Note on Transliteration xxiii

1 The Early Mongols 1

2 Khubilai Emerges 22

3 The Great Khan 53

4 The Conqueror 76

5 The Emperor of China 115

6 The Cultural Patron 153

7 Mismanagement and the Chinese Response 177

8 Decline of an Emperor 206

Notes 233

Glossary of Chinese Characters 275

Bibliography of Works in Western Languages 281

Addenda to Bibliography of Works in Western Languages 306

Bibliography of Works in Oriental Languages 311

Index 319

Editorial Reviews

In this highly readable biography Rossabi confines himself to historical sources to provide a fascinating life of this great ruler. Although Khubilai acquired the title of Great Khan, the Mongol empire of the 1250s already had broken into four segments, with Khubilai ruling North China. His greatest success came when he was over 60 with the conquest of the southern Sung dynasty. In the last years of his life, however, he suffered from personal tragedies, obesity, alcoholism, and military reverses. Still, Khubilai ruled ``the largest and most populous empire in the history of the world until that time.'' Recommended for most libraries. History Book Club main selection. David D. Buck, Univ. of Wisconsin - Milwaukee

Library Journal

[Khubilai Khan] will probably stand for many years as the best account of Khubilai available…
—T. H. Barrett, London Review of Books

T.H. Barrett