Arts Along the Great Wall A Cultural History of the Mongol Rise

The Mongol Empire was the largest contiguous empire in history, but its origins lie in a rich and often overlooked cultural world that flourished long before the rise of Chinggis Khan. This book traces the history of Northeast Asia from around 900 to 1400, focusing on the dynamic region along the Great Wall where nomadic and sedentary societies met, competed and exchanged ideas. By placing the arts, cultures and lifeways of nomadic peoples at the centre of the story, it challenges conventional narratives that privilege imperial China alone. Reconstructing the cultural foundations of the Mongol rise, it reveals how the peoples who ruled the frontier shaped the emergence of a medieval superpower and transformed the history of Eurasia.