The Horde

How the Mongols Changed the World

By: Marie Favereau

Narrated by: Anne Flosnik

In the first comprehensive history of the Horde, Marie Favereau shows that the accomplishments of the Mongols extended far beyond war.

Favereau takes us inside one of the most powerful sources of cross-border integration in world history. The Horde was the central node in the Eurasian commercial boom of the 13th and 14th centuries and was a conduit for exchanges across thousands of miles. Its unique political regime - a complex power-sharing arrangement among the khan and the nobility - rewarded skillful administrators and diplomats and fostered an economic order that was mobile, organized, and innovative. From its capital at Sarai on the lower Volga River, the Horde provided a governance model for Russia, influenced social practice and state structure across Islamic cultures, disseminated sophisticated theories about the natural world, and introduced novel ideas of religious tolerance.

The Horde is the eloquent, ambitious, and definitive portrait of an empire little understood and too readily dismissed. Challenging conceptions of nomads as peripheral to history, Favereau makes clear that we live in a world inherited from the Mongol moment.

©2021 Marie Favereau (P)2021 Tantor

Dry

Very dry and all the names and relationships became confusing. Perhaps better in print with maps and family trees.

Great book - mediocre narrator

Fascinating book about a difficult subject. Shows how one can govern effectively on horseback.

Narrator is hard to follow.

In Depth look at the Mongols

This was a really well researched book on the Horde. It not only provided numerous details about the Horde, it also provided great insight into the mindset and worldview that Mongols utilized in their decision making. The author also did a phenomenal job of breaking some preconceived stereotypes about the Mongols that have existed for centuries. Great read for a historian looking to learn more about the Mongols.

Enjoyed

Interesting book regarding the history and the actions from warriors of the far East. Entertained but probably will not read again. Just not that great of a storyline.

More than you ever wanted to know about the Golden Horde.

I think the subtitle, “How the Mongols Changed the World,” must have been added by the publisher just to sell more books. Other Mongols are discussed but the focus here is just the Golden Horde. They were important but I think most scholars would hesitate to say they were most important of the Mongol groups. Some people will think the book contains too much “inside baseball,” but if you love the Mongols you will probably like this. The author is a big fan of the Horde. Violence, cruelty and conquest are mentioned but downplayed. The author is interested in Mongol society and politics. She seems to think the Mongol Yoke was beneficial for Russia. Her evidence only shows that it was in some ways beneficial for the nobles and the church. The people don’t enter into her calculation. She mentioned the Mongol commerce in slaves several places but only as a stimulant to commerce. She doesn’t even bother to mention who was being enslaved. Perhaps she imagines the slaves all ended up happy Mamluk lords, but many more of them suffered and died inglorously, torn from family and friends. I wonder what the author’s opinion of African slavery is?