Podcasts about mongolian empire

China, famously, built the Great Wall to defend against nomadic groups from the Eurasian steppe. For two millennia, China interacted with groups from the north: The Xiongnu, the Mongols, the Manchus, and the Russians. They defended against raids, got invaded by the north, and tried to launch diplomatic relations. John Man, in his book Conquering the North: China, Russia, Mongolia: 2,000 Years of Conflict (Oneworld Publications, 2025), takes on this long history, combining it with his own on-the-ground experience seeing some of this history for himself. He starts with the Xiongnu—a nomadic group that's so unknown, historically, that we're forced to use the pejorative Chinese term for them—all the way to the Second World War, and the seminal Battle of Khalkin Gol, which halted the Japanese advance into Northern Asia. John Man is a historian specializing in Mongolia and the relationship between Mongol and Chinese cultures. He studied Mongolian as a post-graduate, and after a brief career in journalism and publishing, he turned to writing. John's books have been published in over twenty languages around the world and include bestselling biographies of Chinggis Khan, Kublai Khan, and Attila the Hun, as well as histories of the Great Wall of China and the Mongolian Empire. You can find more reviews, excerpts, interviews, and essays at The Asian Review of Books, including its review of Conquering the North. Follow on Twitter at @BookReviewsAsia. Nicholas Gordon is an editor for a global magazine, and a reviewer for the Asian Review of Books. He can be found on Twitter at @nickrigordon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

China, famously, built the Great Wall to defend against nomadic groups from the Eurasian steppe. For two millennia, China interacted with groups from the north: The Xiongnu, the Mongols, the Manchus, and the Russians. They defended against raids, got invaded by the north, and tried to launch diplomatic relations. John Man, in his book Conquering the North: China, Russia, Mongolia: 2,000 Years of Conflict (Oneworld Publications, 2025), takes on this long history, combining it with his own on-the-ground experience seeing some of this history for himself. He starts with the Xiongnu—a nomadic group that's so unknown, historically, that we're forced to use the pejorative Chinese term for them—all the way to the Second World War, and the seminal Battle of Khalkin Gol, which halted the Japanese advance into Northern Asia. John Man is a historian specializing in Mongolia and the relationship between Mongol and Chinese cultures. He studied Mongolian as a post-graduate, and after a brief career in journalism and publishing, he turned to writing. John's books have been published in over twenty languages around the world and include bestselling biographies of Chinggis Khan, Kublai Khan, and Attila the Hun, as well as histories of the Great Wall of China and the Mongolian Empire. You can find more reviews, excerpts, interviews, and essays at The Asian Review of Books, including its review of Conquering the North. Follow on Twitter at @BookReviewsAsia. Nicholas Gordon is an editor for a global magazine, and a reviewer for the Asian Review of Books. He can be found on Twitter at @nickrigordon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/history

China, famously, built the Great Wall to defend against nomadic groups from the Eurasian steppe. For two millennia, China interacted with groups from the north: The Xiongnu, the Mongols, the Manchus, and the Russians. They defended against raids, got invaded by the north, and tried to launch diplomatic relations. John Man, in his book Conquering the North: China, Russia, Mongolia: 2,000 Years of Conflict (Oneworld Publications, 2025), takes on this long history, combining it with his own on-the-ground experience seeing some of this history for himself. He starts with the Xiongnu—a nomadic group that's so unknown, historically, that we're forced to use the pejorative Chinese term for them—all the way to the Second World War, and the seminal Battle of Khalkin Gol, which halted the Japanese advance into Northern Asia. John Man is a historian specializing in Mongolia and the relationship between Mongol and Chinese cultures. He studied Mongolian as a post-graduate, and after a brief career in journalism and publishing, he turned to writing. John's books have been published in over twenty languages around the world and include bestselling biographies of Chinggis Khan, Kublai Khan, and Attila the Hun, as well as histories of the Great Wall of China and the Mongolian Empire. You can find more reviews, excerpts, interviews, and essays at The Asian Review of Books, including its review of Conquering the North. Follow on Twitter at @BookReviewsAsia. Nicholas Gordon is an editor for a global magazine, and a reviewer for the Asian Review of Books. He can be found on Twitter at @nickrigordon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/east-asian-studies

China, famously, built the Great Wall to defend against nomadic groups from the Eurasian steppe. For two millennia, China interacted with groups from the north: The Xiongnu, the Mongols, the Manchus, and the Russians. They defended against raids, got invaded by the north, and tried to launch diplomatic relations. John Man, in his book Conquering the North: China, Russia, Mongolia: 2,000 Years of Conflict (Oneworld Publications, 2025), takes on this long history, combining it with his own on-the-ground experience seeing some of this history for himself. He starts with the Xiongnu—a nomadic group that's so unknown, historically, that we're forced to use the pejorative Chinese term for them—all the way to the Second World War, and the seminal Battle of Khalkin Gol, which halted the Japanese advance into Northern Asia. John Man is a historian specializing in Mongolia and the relationship between Mongol and Chinese cultures. He studied Mongolian as a post-graduate, and after a brief career in journalism and publishing, he turned to writing. John's books have been published in over twenty languages around the world and include bestselling biographies of Chinggis Khan, Kublai Khan, and Attila the Hun, as well as histories of the Great Wall of China and the Mongolian Empire. You can find more reviews, excerpts, interviews, and essays at The Asian Review of Books, including its review of Conquering the North. Follow on Twitter at @BookReviewsAsia. Nicholas Gordon is an editor for a global magazine, and a reviewer for the Asian Review of Books. He can be found on Twitter at @nickrigordon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/russian-studies

China, famously, built the Great Wall to defend against nomadic groups from the Eurasian steppe. For two millennia, China interacted with groups from the north: The Xiongnu, the Mongols, the Manchus, and the Russians. They defended against raids, got invaded by the north, and tried to launch diplomatic relations. John Man, in his book Conquering the North: China, Russia, Mongolia: 2,000 Years of Conflict (Oneworld Publications, 2025), takes on this long history, combining it with his own on-the-ground experience seeing some of this history for himself. He starts with the Xiongnu—a nomadic group that's so unknown, historically, that we're forced to use the pejorative Chinese term for them—all the way to the Second World War, and the seminal Battle of Khalkin Gol, which halted the Japanese advance into Northern Asia. John Man is a historian specializing in Mongolia and the relationship between Mongol and Chinese cultures. He studied Mongolian as a post-graduate, and after a brief career in journalism and publishing, he turned to writing. John's books have been published in over twenty languages around the world and include bestselling biographies of Chinggis Khan, Kublai Khan, and Attila the Hun, as well as histories of the Great Wall of China and the Mongolian Empire. You can find more reviews, excerpts, interviews, and essays at The Asian Review of Books, including its review of Conquering the North. Follow on Twitter at @BookReviewsAsia. Nicholas Gordon is an editor for a global magazine, and a reviewer for the Asian Review of Books. He can be found on Twitter at @nickrigordon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/chinese-studies

China, famously, built the Great Wall to defend against nomadic groups from the Eurasian steppe. For two millennia, China interacted with groups from the north: The Xiongnu, the Mongols, the Manchus, and the Russians. They defended against raids, got invaded by the north, and tried to launch diplomatic relations. John Man, in his book Conquering the North: China, Russia, Mongolia: 2,000 Years of Conflict (Oneworld Publications, 2025), takes on this long history, combining it with his own on-the-ground experience seeing some of this history for himself. He starts with the Xiongnu—a nomadic group that's so unknown, historically, that we're forced to use the pejorative Chinese term for them—all the way to the Second World War, and the seminal Battle of Khalkin Gol, which halted the Japanese advance into Northern Asia. John Man is a historian specializing in Mongolia and the relationship between Mongol and Chinese cultures. He studied Mongolian as a post-graduate, and after a brief career in journalism and publishing, he turned to writing. John's books have been published in over twenty languages around the world and include bestselling biographies of Chinggis Khan, Kublai Khan, and Attila the Hun, as well as histories of the Great Wall of China and the Mongolian Empire. You can find more reviews, excerpts, interviews, and essays at The Asian Review of Books, including its review of Conquering the North. Follow on Twitter at @BookReviewsAsia. Nicholas Gordon is an editor for a global magazine, and a reviewer for the Asian Review of Books. He can be found on Twitter at @nickrigordon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/asian-review

Jack Weatherford returns to the pod which marks a pretty sentimental moment for me (links are at the bottom of this email, before the transcript snippet).Jack's first appearance was #19 of the podcast. To this day, it's my favourite podcast I've ever recorded. These are links to the first appearance. Jack Weatherford #19 on SpotifyJack Weatherford #19 on AppleJack Weatherford #19 on YoutubeBut four years ago, when I had just started this podcast, I had written to Jack telling how I was listening to the final chapters of his book while walking across sand dunes in Merghouza, (a desolate slice of the Sahara in south west Morocco). The chapter was making the case for how the plagues viral spread was downstream of the Mongols connectivity of the modern world. I wrote that I was keen to interview him for this podcast that I had just started. There were lots of rejection for a while in the first few years and I had no expectations he would even get back to me. But to my surprise he did, and it was an emphatic yes. We corresponded a bit over email, recorded a 4 hour discussion, of which 3 where published And it was as much a dedication to Mongolia as it was Genghis Khan and the Mongols. And I've waited in the years since to see him appear on Rogan, Fridman, Tim Ferriss or even a Dan Carlin addendum, since these are all blokes who have openly praised and spoken about Jack's work many times. But so far, nothing, although it looks like one of them may correct this, which Jack may or may not give away at the end.But onto this episode today. Jack has just published his final instalment on the Mongols, his fourth book on the topic. It's called Emperor Of The Seas and it's about Genghis's grandson, Kublai Khan, who expanded the Mongol territory beyond the dominion his grandfather conquered 50 years before him. Kublai folded into the Khan empire the fertile agricultural lands of south China, repurposed that fleet and the expertise along with and expanded the Khan empire beyond the oceans. Mongols sitting on horseback, atop goat skins, riding wooden ships. Jack Weatherford #190 Of The Curious Worldview Podcast on YoutubeEmperor Of The Seas - Jack Weatherford

Enjoy this sample of my newest Bonus Episode.  The full version (73 minutes) is on the Calm History-Bonus & Archives Podcast for Silk+ Members.  Summary: Learn all about Marco Polo’s journey on the Silk Road, his time with Kublai Khan, the life of Mongols, and Kublai Khan’s reign over the Mongolian Empire. Become a Silk+ … Continue reading *Sample* | 1-Hour Bundle of Marco Polo, Silk Road, Mongols, & Kublai Khan [1206-1368 AD] (Bonus Episode #27)

https://www.rt.com/shows/modus-operandi/588022-mongolia-role-world-stage/ The Mongolian Empire was one of the largest in history, stretching from the Far East to the Middle East and parts of Europe. Present-day Mongolia remains an important nation on the world stage, as it is strategically wedged between China and Russia, creating a gateway to Central Asia and beyond. Due to its size and location, influence over Mongolia's foreign policy has become a growing priority for the West, as they attempt to counteract China and Russia. Can this be achieved? The MO's Manila Chan speaks to geopolitical analyst Alisher Khamidov about The West's attempts to pull Mongolia into its sphere of influence. #2023 #art #music #movies #poetry #poem #food #photooftheday #volcano #news #weather #monkeys #climate #horse #puppy #fyp #love #instagood #onelove #eyes #getyoked #horsie #gotmilk #book #shecomin #getready 

Who's to blame for the Reign of Genghis Khan?This week, The Alarmist (Rebecca Delgado Smith) welcomes comedian and actor Dusty Warren to discuss the brutal and bloody reign of Genghis Khan through his expansion of the Mongolian Empire; the largest empire in world history. Was Khan driven by an irrational thirst for revenge? Did the earth's climate have something to do with it? Perhaps his obsession with self preservation will take the fall. Fact Checker Chris Smith and Producer Clayton Early join the efforts to conquer this behemoth. Join our Patreon!We have merch!Join our Discord!Tell us who you think is to blame at http://thealarmistpodcast.comEmail us at thealarmistpodcast@gmail.comFollow us on Instagram @thealarmistpodcastFollow us on Twitter @alarmistThe Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/alarmist. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The largest and most successful empire in history wasn't Rome: it was the Mongols. This week I interview Jack Weatherford the New York Times bestselling author of "Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World" about what made the Mongolian Empire so successful. . . and what is REALLY hidden in Genghis Khan's grave. Support this show on Patreon and get exclusive EARLY ACCESS and access to a private discord server:  Subscribe to my newsletter Scott Carney Investigates Podcast Books: ⁠The Wedge⁠  ⁠What Doesn't Kill Us⁠ ⁠The Enlightenment Trap⁠ The Vortex The Red Market Social Media: YouTube  Instagram  Facebook    Twitter  Bluesky  ©PokeyBear LLC (2023)

Jesse does a quick history lesson paralleling the steppe Mongolian Empire fall from grace.  with the gradual decline of expertise in our country today. Is Philly pizza better than New York City Pizza?! Prediction: if RFK gets frozen out of the Democratic debates, he will run as an independent and tank the vote for Trump and reelect Biden. "Science doesn't have debates." Who is Peter Hotez? See omny.fm/listener for privacy information.

Jesse does a quick history lesson paralleling the steppe Mongolian Empire fall from grace.  with the gradual decline of expertise in our country today. Is Philly pizza better than New York City Pizza?! Prediction: if RFK gets frozen out of the Democratic debates, he will run as an independent and tank the vote for Trump and reelect Biden. "Science doesn't have debates." Who is Peter Hotez? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this part of our series on the history of the world, we cover Genghis Khan, the Mongol Empire, the Crusades, and many other events that took place during the 13th century.Write to us on Twitter!https://twitter.com/crucem_sanctamhttps://twitter.com/humanredacted

Genghis Khan is notably one of the greatest leaders the world has ever seen. He was the leader of the Mongolian Empire that spanned from the Sea of China to the Middle East. He and his sons lead countless successful military campaigns, while also managing an Empire that is one of the most tolerant empires we have ever heard of. He was also not a man to be trifled with, which some individuals had to learn the hard way. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/history-on-the-level. Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information.

From the "occasional" dad/pastor joke, to the rich culture of the Mongolian Empire.  And from the great halls of Tolkien literature, to the dangers of a sweet and innocent strawberry.  The Ridgeview Podcast covered a wide array of issues and topics in season 2.  Even though all of these episodes may have helped, Pastor Mike and the crew, become "experts" at podcasting.  It's plausible that there may have been some problems and big booms along the way.  Leading to a need for some parts to be rejected, and substituted with a new part.  So pull up a seat on the cry couch, and try to keep your popcorn down.  As we take a look through some of the highlights/low-lights of Seasons 2.

We're going global on this episode of BTL Radio Show with our films, one a narrative based on a true story and one a documentary, thanks to our special guests JONATHAN KEIJSER talking PEACE BY CHOCOLATE while ROBERT H. LIEBERMAN talks ECHOES OF THE EMPIRE: BEYOND GENGHIS KHAN. Writer/director JONATHAN KEIJSER kicks off the show as he joins us in talking about his narrative feature debut – PEACE BY CHOCOLATE. A feel good true story pulled from the news, this is the story of a Syrian family (and distinguished chocolatiers) who emigrate from Syria to Canada and are forced to rebuild their lives in a new country with language barriers, work issues, family struggles, father-son head-butting, unacceptance and acceptance by the community and more. A wonderful film that inspires and gives hope, Jonathan's story of bringing this film to life and working with the real family in developing the film is inspirational while the production challenges are the things that only make first-time filmmakers better. Then we cross the globe to Mongolia with a look at ECHOES OF THE EMPIRE: BEYOND GENGHIS KHAN and have a conversation with documentarian ROBERT H. LIEBERMAN. A fascinating documentary that takes us back in time to the days of Genghis Khan, examining the man himself and how he came to power, and how the Mongolian Empire came to be, only to eventually collapse, become part of the Soviet Union, and then re-emerge as a democratic country now facing issues with pollution, a dwindling way of life for the generational herders now trying to "fit in" in the modern world, and more. Beauteous eye-popping cinematography, interesting interviews from experts and Mongolian citizens alike, and a solid and engaging storyline (among many other things) are all discussed by Robert in this energetic and interesting conversation about a fascinating film. Listen as he goes in-depth about the research behind this documentary, his travels through Mongolia, meeting and living with the people, doing his own camera work, the meld of a stunning pen & ink/watercolor animation for historical aspects of the film, really getting "up close and personal" in every aspect of this documentary. One of my favorite documentaries of 2022! http://eliasentertainmentnetwork.com

In this episode of Half-Arsed History, hear the second half of the life story of Genghis Khan, the man who created the Mongolian Empire and led it to early greatness as it expanded across Asia and into Europe.

In this episode of Half-Arsed History, hear the second half of the life story of Genghis Khan, the man who created the Mongolian Empire and led it to early greatness as it expanded across Asia and into Europe.

The rise and fall of the mongolian empire and how the legendary Ghengis Kahn conquered Eurasia in the late 1100s and created the silk road as well as become a mass murderer and exterminate many nations of humans and their tribes

The area governed by Kublai Khan was enormous and swept from the Pacific Ocean in the east to the Black Sea in the west, and from Afghanistan in the south to Siberia in the ...

How do modern business empires resemble the Mongolian Empire assembled by Genghis Khan and his descendants?And why is it important, as an investor, to identify these empires?For a transcript and images referenced in the show, please visit:https://www.hellerhs.com/post/why-empire-building-is-importantIncreasing Returns is a podcast by Heller House. We apply the principles of value investing to the industries of the future.Learn more about Heller House https://www.hellerhs.comFollow Marcelo on Twitter https://twitter.com/MarceloPLimaSubscribe to our email list https://www.hellerhs.com/subscribe 

On this edition of Parallax Views, the distinguished historian Prof. Alfred W. McCoy of the University of Wisconsin-Madison joins us to discuss his latest book To Govern the Globe: World Orders and Catastrophic Change. McCoy's previous works include the classic The Politics of Heroin: CIA Complicity in the Global Drug Trade as well as A Question of Torture: CIA Interrogation, from the Cold War to the War on Terror, Policing America's Empire: The United States, the Philippines, and the Rise of the Surveillance State, Colonial Crucible: Empire in the Making of the Modern American State, Endless Empire: Spain's Retreat, Europe's Eclipse, America's Decline, and In the Shadows of the American Century: The Rise and Decline of US Global Power. In To Govern the Globe, delves into the history of empires and world orders from the Iberian Age to now as well as tackling the seeming decline of U.S. hegemonic power, the rise of China, and what climate change means for world order going forward. In this conversation Alfred and I begin by discussing the meaning of empire and world order and what those terms mean. We then delve into the issue of what Alfred calls the "delicate duality" in which Empires express ideals on one hand but seeks maintenance of power, often through breaking from those ideals, on the other. From there we dive into a number of other topics including the United Nations and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, how the contradictions of the "delicate duality" can eventually undermine and subvert an empire, the degradation of U.S. moral authority vis-a-vis the torture at Abu Gharib and Guantanamo Bay, China and an alternative international order, climate change and its projected impact on Shanghai by 1950, the late geopolitical chess player Zbigniew Brzezinski, principle vs. power in China and the U.S., what the decline of U.S. power means for the American public, projecting 2030 as the year of America's loss of hegemonic power globally, Chinese military power and technology in the near future, the Pentagon war games in which the U.S. end up in a conflict with China over Taiwan, the succession of hegemonic powers historically and their struggles to dominate the Eurasian land mass, how the U.S. dominated the Eurasian landmass through the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), China and the Shanghai Cooperative Organization, China and the tri-continental world island, potential waning of relations between U.S. with countries like Japan and the Philippines, the advantage that the U.S. has had as the global hegemon, the establishment of the U.S. dollar as the global reserve currency and the construction of a "Grand Imperial Bargain", the weak social safety net and low wages in the U.S. and workers relying on cheap good that could become expensive in the future (causing social tensions to arise and exacerbate), not wanting to make policy recommendation in To Govern the Globe as it could degrade an objective analysis of the historical trajectory, Barack Obama's strategy for containing China and the Asia Pivot, the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), Sir Halford McKinder and the World Island, Zbigniew Brzezinski's conditions for the perpetuation of U.S. hegemonic power and how all those conditions have been violated), climate change as the next catastrophe for world order and the choice between world order and barbarism that may face us as climate change worsen, climate change and the potential refugee crisis it could cause, the emergence of the First World Order through the Black Death and the destruction of the Mongolian Empire, the death of one world order and the emergence of another throughout history, China and coal power, projections indicating China will be hit by extreme heatwaves in the coming decades, international cooperation without the total loss of national sovereignty, the potential for a new kind of empowered world order to face climate change, climate change and the potential for brutal conflict over resources like water, the prosperous Global North vs. the impoverished Global South, John Mearsheimer and looking past the anarchic world system, the European Union, ceding limited and narrow areas of sovereignty as a small reform that could combat climate change, and more!

The guys discuss their games and Amby reflects on the similarities between the hit Netflix series Squid Game and Diplomacy. Intro & Around the grounds The guys introduce the show, their drinks and tonight's venue (0 mins 15 secs) Amby admits he's hit his limit in how many games he's joined up. They discuss the Dawn of the Enlightenment game they're both in  (5 mins 15 secs) Amby is playing France and discusses the challenges of playing colonial positions in addition to Europe (13 mins) They discuss spectating a game with the view to taking over a civil disorder position in High Renovatio Jackpot (18 mins) Kaner asks if any of Amby's games where he's takes over civil disorder positions he's going well in (22 mins) Amby discusses his Divided States anonymous game, No Name 11, where New Hampshire (red) has lost its homeland and re-established itself in Alaska (23 mins 15 secs) Amby goes onto discuss getting shafted in the Mongolian Empire game Screaming Jugular Bloodaxe Gusher (28 mins 45 secs) Amby gets a new drink (Cabernet Sauvignon from Langhorne Creek) where a turn has just happened in his anonymous Europa Renovatio game Yellowstone Honey (34 mins 15 secs) Amby discusses his World War IV Primacy game amongst the non-zombie players (41 mins 45 secs) Kaner gives a shout out to the latest sign up round for Nexus (45 mins) Squid Game Amby gives an overview of Squid Game to Kaner and his thoughts on the similarities of the hit Netflix series and the game dynamics of Diplomacy. No spoilers. (47 mins) The guys wrap things up with a reminder about the upcoming 100th episode (53 mins) Venues: Hop & Pickle, Brisbane Drinks of choice: Kaner: Hop Hog pale ale from Feral Brewing Amby: Geezer Pleaser bitter by Little Bang Brewery Just a reminder you can support the show by giving it 5 stars on iTunes or Stitcher. And don't forget if you want to help pay off the audio equipment... or get the guys more drunk, you can also donate at Patreon, plus you get extra podcast episodes! Lastly, don't forget to subscribe so you get the latest Diplomacy Games episodes straight to your phone. Thanks as always to Dr Dan aka "The General" for his rockin' intro tune.  

One of the most enduring images of the Mongolian Empire is that it was a model of religious tolerance, one where each of the Khan's subjects were free to worship as they pleased. This is not a new belief;  in the 18th century, Edward Gibbon presented Chinggis Khan as a forerunner of the enlightenment, and for modern audiences the notion was repopularized with Jack Weatherford's book Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World. Some use the notion to counter the common presentations of Mongol brutality, usually accompanying blanket terms that all religious clergy were exempted from taxation, labour and were respected- or go as far as to present the Mongols as the inspiration for modern liberal religious toleration. While there is an element of truth to be had here, as with so much relating to the Mongols, describing the Chinggisid empire as a state of religious tolerance where all religions east and west lived in harmony fails to capture the reality of the period.       Even before the founding of the empire, Chinggis Khan interacted with a variety of religions. During his war to unify Mongolia, Chinggis Khan was supported by men of various religious backgrounds: Mongolian shamanist-animists, Nestorian Christians, Buddhists and Muslims, one of whom, Jafar Khoja, was supposedly a descendant of the Prophet Muhammad, and stood with him at the muddy waters of Lake Baljuna during one of his lowest moments. The most prominent tribes in the Mongolian steppe in the 12th century were Nestorian Christians such as the Kereyid and Naiman, and on the declaration of the Mongol Empire in 1206 Chinggis Khan's army and administration were quite mixed. Chinggis Khan himself was an animist: in Mongolian belief, all things in the world were inhabited by spirits which had to be consulted and placated. It was the job of shamans to intercede with these spirits on the Mongols' behalf. Generally, shamanism is not an exclusive religion; one can consult a shaman and still practice other faiths. The shaman was not like a Christian priest or Islamic imam, but a professional one could consult with regardless of other religious affiliation. The persuasion and power of religion in the Mongol steppe  came from the charisma of specific holy men -such as shamans- and their power to convene with spirits and Heaven on the Khan's behalf in order to secure his victory.        This seems to have been the guiding principle for how Chinggis Khan, and most of his successors, approached religion. Some Mongols viewed the major religions they encountered -Daoism, Buddhism, Christianity and Islam- as all praying to the same God via different methods. This was more or less the statement that in the 1250s, Chinggis' grandson Mongke Khaan provided to the Franciscan friar William of Rubruck during an interview, stating that “We Mongols believe that there is only one God through whom we have life and through whom we die, and towards him we direct our hearts [...] But just as God has given the hand several fingers, so he has given mankind several paths.”       Usually for the Khans, it did not matter who was right, as basically all of the major religions were. What mattered was that these religions should pray to God on behalf of the Chinggisids to ensure divine favour for their rule. Heaven's will was manifested through victories and rulership, while it's displeasure manifested in defeats and anarchy. Much like the concept of the Chinese Mandate of Heaven, the right to rule provided by heaven could be rescinded, and thus the Mongols hoped to continually appease Heaven.       But the Mongols' views on religion were not static and took years to develop into their political theology- and nor were they inherently tolerant, and favours were allotted more on a personal basis. For example, in 1214 Chinggis Khan, or one of his sons, had an encounter with a Buddhist monk named Haiyun. Haiyun, with his head shaved bare in accordance with his role as a monk, was told by the Khan to grow his hair out and braid it in Mongolian fashion- for at that time, the Mongols were attempting to order the general population of north China to do so as a sign of their political subordination.  Religions in China dictated how one should maintain their hair; Buddhist monks had to shave their heads, Daoist monks could keep their hair long, while the general Chinese population, on Confucian teaching, could not cut their hair in adulthood, as it was a gift from the parents, and thus was kept in topknots. Demanding that the general population adopt the unique, partly shaved Mongolian hairstyle, was therefore a decree against all of China's major religions. The Mongols did not succeed in this policy and soon abandoned it's implementation on its sedentary subjects, though other sources indicate it was enforced on nomadic Turkic tribes who entered Mongol service, indicating their submission to the Great Khan. Notably the Manchu would successfully implement such a policy after their conquest of China 400 years later, forcing the population to adopt the long queues at the back of the head. When the Chinese revolted against Manchu rule, the cutting of the queue was one of the clearest signs of rejecting the Qing Dynasty.   Back to the Buddhist monk Haiyun, who Chinggis had ordered to grow out his hair in Mongol fashion. Haiyun told Chinggis that he could not adopt the Mongol hairstyle, as growing his hair out violated his duty as a monk. Learning this, Chinggis Khan allowed Haiyun to maintain his baldness, then in time extended this allowance to all Buddhist and Daoist clergy.  Even with this first privilege, Haiyun and his master did not receive coveted tax exempt status until 1219, and then on the recommendation of Chinggis' viceroy in North China, Mukhali. This is the earliest indication of Chinggis Khan granting of such a favour, followed soon by the extensive privileges granted to the Daoist master Qiu Chuji. The Daoist had made the journey from North China to meet Chinggis Khan in Afghanistan on the Khan's urging, ordered to bring Chinggis the secret to eternal life, as the Mongols had been told Qiu Chuji was 300 years old. Master Qiu Chuji told Chinggis that not only did he not have such power, but Chinggis should also abstain from hunting and sexual activity. Not surprisingly, Chinggis Khan did not take this advice, but he did grant the man extensive privileges, tax exempt status and authority over all Daoists in China. Importantly, Chinggis' edict was directed personally at Qiu Chuji and his disciples, rather than Daoism as a whole. The value Qiu Chuji had to Chinggis was on his individual religious charisma and ability to intercede with the heavens on the Khan's behalf, as well as his many followers who could be induced to accept Mongol rule. In Chinggis' view, the fact that Qiu Chuji was a Daoist leader did not entitle him to privileges. Neither did the Mongols initially differentiate between Buddhism and Daoism. In part due to the vaguely worded nature of Chinggis' edicts, Qiu Chuji's Daoist followers used these decrees to exert authority over Buddhists as well, seizing Buddhist temples and forcing Buddhist monks to become Daoists, beginning a Buddhist-Daoist conflict that lasted the rest of the 13th century.       The point of these anecdotes is to demonstrate that the conquests did not begin with a specific policy of general religious tolerance or support for local religious institutions. Governmental support and privilege was provided on an ad hoc basis, especially when a group or individual was seen as influential with the almighty. Toleration itself was also advertised as a tool; in the Qara-Khitai Empire, in what is now eastern Kazakhstan and northwestern China, an enemy of Chinggis Khan, prince Kuchlug of the Naiman tribe, had fled to Qara-Khitai and eventually usurped power. Originally an Eastern Christian, that is a Nestorian, in Qara-Khitai Kuchlug converted to a violent strang of Buddhism and began to force the Muslim clerics, particularly in the Tarim Basin, to convert to Chrisitanity or Buddhism on pain of death. When Chinggis Khan's forces under Jebe Noyan arrived in 1217 pursuing the prince, they recognized the general resentment against Kuchlug and, in order to undermine his support, declared that anyone who submitted to the Mongols would be free to practice their religion. The announcement worked well, as the empire was quickly and successfully turned over to the Mongols, and the renegade prince Kuchlug cornered and killed. Notably, this announcement did not come with statements of privileges or tax exemptions at large for the Islamic religious leaders. It was a decree spread to deliberately encourage the dissolution of the Qara-Khitai and ease the Mongol conquest- in this region, it was a comparatively peaceful conquest, by Mongol standards. But it was not coming from any specific high-mindedness for the treatment of religion, but an intention to expand into this territory and defeat the fleeing Kuchlug.       By the reign of Chinggis' son Ogedai in the early 1230s, the Mongol stance towards religions became more solidified. A major advancement, on the insistence of advisers like the Buddhist Khitan scholar Yelu Chucai, was that privileges were to be granted on religious communities and institutions rather than based on individual charisma, which made them easier to regulate and manage. Chucai also impressed upon the Mongols that Buddhism and Daoism were distinct beliefs, though the Mongols seem to have often continually erroneously thought both creeds worshipped a supreme deity a la Christianity and Islam. Buddhist and Daoism became, alongside Christianity and Islam, the four main “foreign religions” which the Mongols would issue edicts regarding privileges. It was not an evenly applied thing. With Islam, for instance, it can be said the Mongols often had the greatest difficulties. For one thing, the rapid annihilation of the Khwarezmian empire, the world's single most powerful islamic state at the time, resulted in the deaths of perhaps millions of Muslims as well as the belief that the Mongols were a punishment sent by God- a belief the Mongols encouraged. The reduction of Islam from “the state religion” to “just another religion of the Khan's subjects,” was a difficult one for many an imam and qadi to accept. For a universalist religion like Islam, subjugation to a pagan entity was a difficult pill to swallow, and the destruction of cities, mosques, agriculture and vast swathes of the population would not have been eased by statements of how tolerant the Mongols supposedly were.        Further, it is apparent that the Mongols' rule for the first decade or two of their interaction with the Islamic world was not tolerant. Part of this comes to an inherent conflict between the sharia law of Islam, and the yassa of Chinggis Khan. The yassa and yosun of Chinggis Khan were his laws and customs set out to provide a framework for Mongol life, which regulated interactions for the state, individuals, the environment, the spirits and the heavenly. As a part of this, it was decreed that animals had to be slaughtered in the Mongolian fashion; the animal usually knocked unconscious, turned onto its back, an incision made in the chest and its heart crushed. The intention was to prevent the spilling of the animals' blood needlessly upon the earth, which could beget misfortune. Contravening this was forbidden and punishable by death. The problem was that this is inherently conflicting with halal and kosher slaughter, which entailed slitting the throat and draining the blood. At various times over the thirteenth century, this was used as an excuse to punish and lead reprisals against Muslims. A number of Persian language sources assert that Ogedai Khaan's brother Chagatai was a harsh enforcer of the yassa on the empire's Muslim population. In the 1250s ‘Ala al-Din Juvaini asserted that Muslims in Central Asia were unable to make any halal killings due to Chagatai, and were forced to eat carrion from the side of the road. The Khwarezmian refugee Juzjani meanwhile said Chagatai planned a genocide of the Muslims. While these sources like to depict Chagatai as a foil to Ogedai's more ‘friendly to islam' image, it remains clear that for many Muslims, it was felt that the Mongol government had a particular hatred for them. But Chagatai was not the only one to enforce this. Ogedai himself briefly sought to enforce this rule, and the famous Khubilai Khan grew increasingly unfriendly to religion in his old age, and in the 1280s launched anti-muslim policies, banning halal slaughter and circumcision on pain of death. The incident which apparently set him off was a refusal of Muslim merchants in Khubilai's court to eat meat prepared in the Mongolian manner, though it may also have been an attempt to appease some of the Chinese elite by appearing to reduce Islamic and Central Asian influence in his government, particularly after the assassination of Khubilai's corrupt finance minister Ahmad Fanakati.        Even Daoism, favoured early by the Mongols thanks to the meeting of Qiu Chuji and Chinggis Khan, suffered stiff reprisals from the Mongol government. As the conflict between the Daoists and Buddhists escalated, in the 1250s on the behest of his brother Mongke Khaan, prince Khubilai headed a debate between representatives of the two orders. Khubilai, inclined to Buddhism on the influence of his wife and personal conversion, chose the Buddhists as the winners. Declaring a number of Daoist texts forgeries, Khubilai ordered many to be destroyed and banned from circulation, while also reducing their privileges. This failed to abate the tensions, and in the 1280s an older, less patient Khubilai responded with the destruction of all but one Daoist text, Lau Zi's Daodejing, and with murder, mutilation and exile for the offending Daoists.       Privileges only extended to religions the Mongols saw as useful, or offered evidence that they had support from heaven. Judaism, Zoroastrianism, Manicheism and Hinduism were usually totally ignored by the Mongols and did not receive the same privileges as the Christian, Buddhist, Daoist and Islamic clergy. Judaism may have received tax exemption status in the Ilkhanate for a brief period in the 1280s  and 90s due to the influence of a Jewish vizier, Sa'd al-Dawla, while in the Yuan Dynasty it took until 1330 for Judaism to earn such a status. As these religions lacked states which interacted with the Mongols, the Mongols saw these religions as having no power from heaven, and were therefore useless to them. Without any political clout, and of small representation within the Empire, these groups largely escaped the notice of the Khans.       The Mongols were also not above ordering the annihilation of a religion or religious groups when they defied them. The most well known case was a Shi'ite sect, the Nizari Ismailis, better known as the Assassins. Due to their resistance against the Mongol advance, the sect was singled out for destruction not just politically, but religiously, as Mongke Khaan had become convinced of this necessity by his more orthodox Islamic advisers. This task fell to his brother Hulegu, who enacted his brother's will thoroughly. Soon after the destruction of the Ismaili fortresses, which was lauded by Hulegu's Sunni Muslim biographer ‘Ala al-Din Juvaini,  Hulegu famously sacked Baghdad and killed the Caliph in 1258. Juvaini's chronicle, perhaps coincidentally, cuts off just before the siege of Baghdad. This attack on Baghdad was not religiously motivated; the Caliph had refused to accept Mongol authority. As a seemingly powerful head of a religion, his independence could not be abided. It was not a specifically anti-Islamic sentiment here, but a political one. Had the Mongols marched on Rome and the Pope also refused their mandate, such a fate would have awaited him as well. The presence of Christians in Hulegu's army, many from the Kingdom of Georgia and Cilician Armenia who partook with great enthusiasm in the slaughter of Muslims on Hulegu's request at Baghdad and in his campaign into Syria, as well as the fact that Hulegu's mother and chief wife were Chrisitans, would not have been lost on many Muslims, as well as the fact that Hulegu himself was a Buddhist.  Hulegu after the conquest of Baghdad ordered its rebuilding, but placed a Shi'ite Muslim in charge of this task and sponsored the restoration of Christian churches and monasteries, and other minority religions in his majority sunni-islam territories.     When the Mongols did convert to the local religions, they were not above carrying out with zeal assaults on other religious communities in their empire. Such was the case for Khans like Ozbeg in the Golden Horde or Ghazan in the Ilkhanate, who converted to Islam and struck against Christian, Buddhist and shamanic elements in their realms. These were as a rule very brief rounds of zealousness, as the economic usage of these groups and the uneven conversion of their followers to Islam made it politically and economically more useful to abandon these measures.        This is not to say of course, that there is no basis for the idea of Mongol religious tolerance, especially when compared to some contemporary states: just that when the favours, privileges and state support were granted, they were usually done to the four main religious groups the Mongols designated: again, Muslims, Christians, Daoists and Buddhists. So entrenched did these groups become as the “favoured religions” that in the Yuan Dynasty by the 14th century it was believed these four groups had been singled out by Chinggis Khan for their favours. This is despite the fact that Chinggis Khan had no recorded interactions with any Christian holymen.   But not idly should we dismiss the notion of there being a certain level of religious toleration among the Mongols. Not without reason was Ogedai Khaan portrayed as friendly in many Islamic sources, and he regularly gave the most powerful positions in the administration of North China to Muslims.  European travellers among the Mongols, such as John De Plano Carpini, Marco Polo and Simon of St. Quentin, along with Persian bureaucrats like ‘Ala al-Din Juvaini and the Syriac Churchman Bar Hebraeus, generally reported Mongol indifference to what religions were practiced by their subjects, as long as said subjects accepted Mongol command. Sorqaqtani Beki, the mother of Mongke and Khubilai, was a Nestorian Christian famous for patronizing and supporting mosques and madrassas. Mongke Khaan held feasts to mark the end of Ramadan where he would distribute alms and at least one such feast held in Qaraqorum, listened to a qadi deliver a sermon. He show respect to his Muslim cousin Berke, and for him had halal meat at one imperial banquet. If the yassa of Chinggis Khan was upheld thoroughly, then the Khans and all princes present would have been executed. In the four level racial hierarchy Khubilai Khan instituted in China, Muslims and Central Asians were second only to Mongols and nomads, and ranked above all Chinese peoples.    Religious men visiting the Khans usually left with the belief that the Khan was about to convert to their religion, so favourably had they been received. Khubilai Khan asked Marco Polo's father and uncle to bring him back  100 Catholic priests and holy oil from Jerusalem, and likely sent the Nestorian Rabban bar Sauma to Jerusalem for similar purposes. Marco Polo then goes on to present Khubilai as a good Christian monarch in all but name. Qaraqorum, the Mongol imperial capital, held Daoist and Buddhist temples across the street from Mosques and Churches. In Khubilai's capital of Dadu and the Ilkhanid capital of Sultaniyya were Catholic archbishoprics by the early 14th century. So there certainly was a level of toleration within the Mongol Empire that contemporaries, with wonder or frustration, could remark truthfully that it was quite different from their own homelands.    Such religious syncretism survived well into the century, when claimants to the fragmenting successor Khanates in western Asia, in order to define their legitimacy amongst the largely converted Mongol armies and stand out amongst the many Chinggisids, latched onto Islamic identities. Eager to prove their sincerity, they pushed back violently against even traditional Mongol shamanism. Despite it's early difficulties, in the end Islam largely won amongst the Mongols of the western half of the empire and their descendants, overcoming the brief revitalization Nestorian Christianity and Buddhism had enjoyed thanks to Mongol patronage. Such was the final outcome of the Mongols' religious toleration     Our series on the Mongols will continue, so be sure to subscribe to the Kings and Generals podcast to follow. If you enjoyed this, and would like to help us keep bringing you great content, please consider supporting us on patreon at www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals, or sharing this with your friends. This episode was researched and written by our series historian, Jack Wilson. I'm your host David, and we'll catch you on the next one.

In the early 1200s Genghis Khan's armies rose out of the eastern steppe and built the world's largest empire, stretching from China in the East almost all the way to Vienna.  The West made repeated forays into the East to seek out the Khan and his successors.  Meanwhile, the Mongolian Empire was growing and bringing everyone within reach into their grasp.  The conquered civilizations were therefore pouring oodles and oodles of tribute into the coffers of the Khan and the Mongolian Empire.  Decades of tribute created a rich empire with a hearty appetite for luxury goods.Enter, then, merchants who sought to satiate this hunger, namely, Niccolo and Maffeo Polo and Niccolo's son Marco Polo...

The guys interview Matt and David, creators of the Primacy app which is playable on Apple and Android platforms. Plus 2032 Olympics talk, around the grounds and Amby's Summer Classic experience. Intro and Diplomacy news The guys are at the Guilty Rogue and discuss Brisbane officially hosting the 2032 Olympics. So its time to make Diplomacy an Olympic sport (0 mins 10 secs) Amby asks if Diplomacy was an Olympic sport right now, who'd be representing their players and which countries would have a team (2 mins) They talk specialist players for each country and what would be the scoring system for Diplomacy at the Olympics (5 mins 30 secs) Amby talks about the need for an International Diplomacy Federation to advocate for the game to be in the Olympics (8 mins) Interview with Matt and David from the Primacy App Kaner & Amby start setting up the interview (10 mins 30 secs) The interview starts. NOTE for listeners, Amby had some recording troubles so his audio isn't as good as normal (11 mins 15 secs) Amby asks David about the Primacy App and why they created it (12 mins) They discuss how the App is available on Apple and Google Play stores (14 mins 45 secs) Kaner asks about variants and Realpolitik (17 mins 45 secs) Amby asks about copyright (19 mins 30 secs) Amby asks about the forward program of work for the app (22 mins 45 secs) They talk about what you get when you sign up and the premium version of the app (26 mins) They discuss rule sets, number of players and feedback (29 mins) Kaner asks about creating variants and the app (32 mins 15 secs) Amby asks about whether Matt and David have created apps before (37 mins) Amby asks what success would look like for the app (40 mins 15 secs) Kaner asks Matt and David about how they got into Diplomacy (43 mins) Amby asks about how to counter new players who NMR/civil disorder. They talk about mobile notifications (44 mins 30 secs) During the interview Kaner downloads the app and signs up for a game and discusses his experience (50 mins 30 secs) They talk about using their Discord server as a way for players to communicate in a forum style (52 mins 30 secs) Amby talks about the game he's currently in at Primacy (53 mins 45 secs) They discuss visual design of maps (55 mins 30 secs) The guys wrap up the interview before returning to give their thoughts on the discussion (57 mins 15 secs) Kaner talks about some of his Realpolitik experience. He gives an update on his variant creation work with David E Cohen (59 mins 30 secs) Amby discusses his observations on getting the word out about Primacy and suggestions for improvements (1 hr 3 mins 15 secs) Around the grounds Kaner starts talking about when he created a variant that simulated the Black Death during the time of the Mongolian Empire. He talks a little about this Mongolian Empire variant (1 hr 8 mins) After some more drinks, they talk about Amby in the Cloak and Dagger series game that has started using the Mongolian Empire. But Amby first gives a quick recap of his three way draw in the just competed Cloak and Dagger game using the Who Controls America map: Dystopian Post-Truth Knockdown-Dragout (1 hr 12 mins) The new game is called Screaming Jugular Bloodaxe Gusher. They give an overview of the variant. For more info about the variant have a listen to our chat about it back in Episode 63 (1 hr 14 mins) They have a chat about having a Bourse game. Kaner gives a quick rundown of what a bourse game is if you're not familiar with it (1 hr 22 mins 40 secs) They talk about a couple of other games including Amby's Undivided States game (1 hr 30 mins 30 secs) David E. Cohen has got in touch with some more info about pronunciation of the word "Arkansas" (1 hr 33 mins 20 secs) Amby gives an update of which states are still in the game (1 hr 36 mins) They start talking virtual games, turning to the Summer Classic. Kaner said he was going to play but didn't. Amby played in two rounds (although the first game he handed over midway to Jamal Blakkarly). Here's Amby's game 1 as England  and his second game as Germany (1 hr 38 mins) The guys then wrap up the show (1 hr 45 mins 40 secs) Venues: Guilty Rogue, Brisbane Drinks of choice: Kaner: Green Beacon Windjammer IPA from Brisbane Amby: Green Beacon Windjammer IPA from Brisbane Just a reminder you can support the show by giving it 5 stars on iTunes or Stitcher. And don't forget if you want to help improve the audio equipment... or get the guys more drunk, you can also donate at Patreon, plus you get extra podcast episodes! Lastly, don't forget to subscribe so you get the latest Diplomacy Games episodes straight to your phone. Thanks as always to Dr Dan aka "The General" for his rockin' intro tune.

Temur Khan died without an heir and did not designate one. A violent succession conflict resulted among the royal princes.  Eventually one of his nephews emerged from the conflict to take the throne of the Mongolian Empire and the Chinese Yuan Dynasty.  He became Emperor Wuzong (or Kulug Khan).    He made a pact with his younger brother, Ayurbarwada Buyantu, to succeed him.  He became Emperor Renzong.  Together the two brothers ruled China for thirteen years.  The two of them could not have been more different in the directions they took China.  One of the brothers was a military commander from the Asian Steppes before ascending to the throne.  The other brother grew up under Chinese tutelage and tried to further Sinicize the Yuan Government.

Daniel introduces us to the term khrims and looks at the “rise of legality” in 13th century Central Tibet. What were Tibetan ideas concerning the relationship between law and power? In the search for answers to whether “law” (khrims) existed in pre-modern Tibet, previous scholarship has uncovered new aspects of khrims' semantic and functional spectrum, which ranges from administration to morality, ideology, legislation and law. I would argue this is because the term khrims has undergone conceptual change(s). The aim of my talk is twofold: In the first part of the presentation, I will sketch in broad strokes the development of khrims from the beginnings of the “Tibetan empire” to the mid-13th century. I will highlight the various connotations of the term and provide the necessary background for the period (mid-13th century–1354 CE) of my work-in-progress dissertation. In the second part, I will build on this analysis and present my perspective on the meaning of hor khrims. The invasion of the Mongols and the subsequent integration of Tibet into the Mongolian Empire is well attested through many legalistic documents, edicts, and historical reports. But what exactly was introduced by the Mongols, and how did this affect the administration of Central Tibet?

Daniel introduces us to the term khrims and loosk at the “rise of legality” in 13th century Central Tibet. What were Tibetan ideas concerning the relationship between law and power? In the search for answers to whether “law” (khrims) existed in pre-modern Tibet, previous scholarship has uncovered new aspects of khrims' semantic and functional spectrum, which ranges from administration to morality, ideology, legislation and law. I would argue this is because the term khrims has undergone conceptual change(s). The aim of my talk is twofold: In the first part of the presentation, I will sketch in broad strokes the development of khrims from the beginnings of the “Tibetan empire” to the mid-13th century. I will highlight the various connotations of the term and provide the necessary background for the period (mid-13th century–1354 CE) of my work-in-progress dissertation. In the second part, I will build on this analysis and present my perspective on the meaning of hor khrims. The invasion of the Mongols and the subsequent integration of Tibet into the Mongolian Empire is well attested through many legalistic documents, edicts, and historical reports. But what exactly was introduced by the Mongols, and how did this affect the administration of Central Tibet?

The Chinese Yuan Dynasty begins.  Kubilai Khan and the Mongols reunite China for the first time in nearly four centuries.  China became the biggest prize for the Mongolian Empire.  Kubilai Khan brilliantly wove together Mongolian traditions and institutions with those of the Chinese.  Despite the severe fiscal problems he caused, and his failures trying to subjugate Japan, he was a decent Emperor.  Unfortunately, he died without leaving an heir or a designated successor.

The Mongol Empire of the 13th and 14th centuries was the largest contiguous land empire in history and the second largest empire by landmass, second only to the British Empire. However, they collapsed almost as fast as they expanded due to issues with succession. However, if this was somehow fixed, what would happen? How would history change and the world develop? Have a listen and find out the consequences if the Mongolian Empire did not collapse. Twitter: https://bit.ly/39ts3CG Website: https://bit.ly/3cw7Qg6 Email: back2thepastpodcast@gmail.com Wikipedia Page on the Mongol Empire: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mongol_Empire --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/rohan-parikh7/message

What do a World War II art conservator and a Mongolian Princess have in common? Bad Hollywood interpretations and - they're the subjects of this week's episode! Join us as we talk about Rose Valland and Khutulun, two more kickbutt women from history.We want to hear from you!Twitter: @TINAHLpodEmail: thisisnotahistorylecture@gmail.com

This season tells the story of the Mongolian conquest of China.  We are all familiar with Genghis Khan and his grandson, Kubilai Khan.  How many people, however, are aware the Mongols were rulers of China (Yuan Dynasty)?I will bring to you this fascinating story. 

Who was Genghis Khan? A brutal butcher, or a unifier of nations? So much surrounds the character of this extremely controversial figure and as always, the Loe Bros like to explore all facets of who these people were and how they should be remembered. The Mongolian Empire is a truly fascinating group of people who dominated the Asian Steppe controlling the largest land empire in history. You will learn the interesting story of how one man unified the Mongolian tribes to create the first Mongolian Empire whose impact would be seen for years to come. There is obviously a lot to unpack in this episode so enjoy! https://instacart.oloiyb.net/d4NmQFREE delivery on first order over $35https://allswellhome.mvvx.net/c/2602920/599204/9824Free Shipping, 10-Year Limited Warranty, 100-Night Risk Free Trial, Financing As Low as 0% APRStart your podcast with Buzzsprout!https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=1323982Start for FREE$20 Amazon Gift Card (sent after 2nd paid invoice)Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Support the show (https://www.paypal.me/loebroshistory)

Ben and Jenny discuss the life of Lance Loud, cast member of the first ever reality TV show and, the first gay man to recur on television. They also discuss Töregene Khatun, female ruler of the Mongolian Empire, possible lesbian, and Jenny's pick to be the next Cersei Lannister from Game of Thrones.

Today is a discussion with Peter Konieczny from Medievalist.net and Medieval Warfare Magazine, about the Mongolian Empire of the Middle Ages.Host: RosieSocial Media: Twitter @historyeh | Instagram @historyeh.podcast | Facebook @historyeh | Website www.historyeh.comFollow the GuestGuest: Peter KoniecznySocial Media: Website Medievalists.net | Twitter @Medievalists |  | Facebook @medievalists.netWebsite Medieval Warfare | Twitter @MedWarMag | Facebook @MedievalWarfare Join me on the Blog for more in-depth information: Medieval Mongolian Empire with Peter Konieczny#History #HistoryEh #Podcast #HistoryPodcast #NewEpisode #Medieval #Warfare #Mongolian #Mongol #Empire #War #MiddleAge #Medievalists

Chad enlightens us on why we're not all currently part of the Mongolian empire, how to learn to become fluent in any language in 2 simple steps, and what his favourite Hamburg memory is, involving none other than Towbar Costello.

Genghis Kahn. Damn. I knew the dude was a renowned conqueror. Did NOT know he conquered like no other before or since. At the height of their army, perhaps no army in the world was more feared than the Mongol horde. Mongolian archers were second to none. They planned and prepared more than their adversaries. Their tactics were more ruthless. You'll learn a lot about what the Mongols accomplished during the reign of Genghis today, and also a lot about ancient Mongolia. A fascinating and unique land. Hail Nimrod!  We've donated $5,800 this month to the Alzheimer's Association. The Alzheimer’s Association leads the way toward ending Alzheimer’s and all other dementia.  To find out more, visit https://www.alz.org/ Watch the Suck on YouTube: Coming Soon Merch  - https://badmagicmerch.com/ Try out Discord! https://discord.gg/tqzH89v Join the Cult of the Curious private Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/cultofthecurious/ For all merch related questions: https://badmagicmerch.com/pages/contact Please rate and subscribe on iTunes and elsewhere and follow the suck on social media!! @timesuckpodcast on IG and http://www.facebook.com/timesuckpodcast Wanna become a Space Lizard? We're over 8500 strong! Click here: https://www.patreon.com/timesuckpodcast  Sign up through Patreon and for $5 a month you get to listen to the Secret Suck, which will drop Thursdays at Noon, PST. You'll also get 20% off of all regular Timesuck merch PLUS access to exclusive Space Lizard merch. You get to vote on two Monday topics each month via the app. And you get the download link for my new comedy album, Feel the Heat. Check the Patreon posts to find out how to download the new album and take advantage of other benefits

Genghis Khan had a pretty wild childhood. This episode is about his upbringing and rise to power on the Mongolian Empire. Genghis talk starts at 20 minute mark. Up top I talk about ugly Scottish people, exercise plans and getting out of New York. 

During the thirteenth century, a merchant named Marco Polo returned home to Italy after spending 24 years living in the Mongolian Empire. He had the bad luck of getting arrested in Genoa, while they were at war with his hometown of Venice. He was a prisoner for two years, and he just so happened to share his cell with a famous writer named Rustichello da Pisa. The two of them shared stories with one another- as you do, when you’re stuck in a prison cell with absolutely no form of entertainment. Rustichello was so captivated by the stories of Marco Polo’s journey, that he knew it would make a great book. So they spent those two years in captivity writing the manuscript together. When they were finally released from prison, they published The Travels of Marco Polo, and it became an overnight best-seller.

The guys talk Corona Virus, Primaries, the new Mongolian Empire variant, current games & much more. Intro and news The guys introduce the show and quickly get into discussions around what's going on in the world (0 mins 10 secs) Amby explains why Hitler had a funny mustache (1 mins 45 secs) They discuss the Super Tuesday primaries and how their presidential campaign is going. Amby explains why they've got such a good chance of winning the election (2 mins 25 secs) They belatedly intro the bar and drinks, before Amby explains his vote winning strategy (4 mins 20 secs) The guys give a hat tip to our latest Patreon - Zachery Moore from the Minnesota Diplomacy Club - who'll be our Secretary of Convoy Operations when we're elected. If you want to contribute and become a Cabinet Secretary when we're elected and get our exclusive extra Patreon episodes visit https://www.patreon.com/DiplomacyGames (9 mins 10 secs) Amby delivers a shit sandwich, advising the Canetoad Classic tournament in Brisbane is being postponed a year (12 mins) The Mongolian Empire variant A variant created by Kaner many years ago has at last come to life on vDip! After extra work by ninjanrd and coding by Flame from the Russian Diplomacy site, it can now be played (14 mins 20 secs)   Amby congratulates Kaner and creates a similarly with Dan Carlin's incredible  Wrath of the Khans series (16 mins) Kaner outlines the 11 powers in the game (17 mins 20 secs) Kaner explains why the map is orientated east-west instead of north-south (20 mins) He goes onto discuss the affect of the Black Death on units/SCs (21 mins 35 secs) Kaner comes up with a clever plan to reduce the amount of noise coming from the tow truck (24 mins 25 secs) He then discusses the role of the Silk Roads and Trade Winds (25 mins 40 secs) They talk dogs in impoundment yards. Amby diverges for a moment and talks about the kids TV show "Bluey" that is created a stone's throw from many of the pubs they've recorded at in Fortitude Valley (30 mins) Amby then has a flash back to the 70's Australian police show also called "Bluey" that was then parodied in the early 90's by Australia's The Late Show, as "Bargearse" - a fat cop whose always farting, solving crimes by accident (31 mins 20 secs) Kaner goes back to Mongolian Empire and talks about geographic complexities from rivers, bridges, mountains, the Great Wall of China and city states with standing neutral armies (32 mins 30 secs) Amby asks Kaner what it feels like to see something he's created now being played by people (38 mins) The guys return with new drinks and new batteries in the recorder (39 mins 20 secs) Around the grounds Amby discusses his 1812 Overture game being played on Discord and facilitated through PlayDip (41 mins 20 secs)     They discuss whether they should be playing more classic games online to improve their face to face gameplay and strategies (48 mins) The guys talk about Kaner's Europa Renovatio games (52 mins) Kaner talks about his Silent Europe game (54 mins) Amby reflects that Kaner's ranking may soon be getting an uptick with how he's currently going in multiple game (58 mins 55 secs) Amby talks about his Europa Renovatio game and briefly his Undivided States game (1 hr 2 mins 30 secs) Next up is Amby's involvement in G-Man's Cloak and Dagger series in the World Diplomacy X game Fake NewsLeak Interference Democalypse (1 hr 4 mins) They start wrapping up the show so they can record a bonus Patreon episode. Amby reminds Americans to write-in "Kaner" in their primary voting. Amby asks Kaner if he minds also running for Lord Mayor of Brisbane (1 hr 8 mins) Venue: Doo-Bop Bar, Brisbane Drinks of choice: Kaner - Young Henry's cloudy cider from Sydney Amby - Kalleske Moppa shiraz from the Barossa Valley Just a reminder you can support the show by giving it 5 stars on iTunes or Stitcher. And don't forget if you want to help improve the audio equipment... or get the guys more drunk, you can also donate at Patreon Lastly, don't forget to subscribe so you get the latest Diplomacy Games episodes straight to your phone. Thanks as always to Dr Dan aka "The General" for his rockin' intro tune.

In the spirit of the holiday season, Cody and CJ lighten the mood by taking a little break from blood and guts. This diet episode of JTM covers the history of Ghengis Khan. Put on your softest robe and curl up by the fireplace for the smooth sounds of the Mongolian Empire. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/justice-time-machine/support

Temujin Khan crushes his enemies, sees them driven before him, and hears the lamentations of their women!!! Time Period Covered: ca. 1202-1206 CE Major Historical Figures: Borjigin/Mongol: Temujin (Genghis Khan) Khasar, Temujin's Brother Börte - Temujin's 1st Wife Yesugen - Temujin's 2nd Wife Yesui - Temujin's 3rd Wife Jochi, Temujin's first son(?) Jirkho'adai (Jebe the Arrow) Khubilai Jelme Subedei Jadaran: Jamukha (Gurkhan) - Temujin's anda/nemesis Kereyid: To'oril (Ong Khan) Senggum, Ong's son Cha'ur Beki, Ong's daughter Naiman: Tayang Khan Queen Gürbesu, Tayang's Wife/Stepmother Works Cited: Allsen, Thomas (1994). “The Rise of the Mongolian Empire and Mongolian Rule in North China” in The Cambridge History of China, Vol. 6: Alien Regimes and Border States. Kahn, Paul (tr.) (2005). The Secret History of the Mongols: The Origin of Chingis Khan. Onon, Urgunge (2001). The Secret History of the Mongols: The Life and Times of Chingghis Khan. Ostrowski, Donald (2002). Muscovy and the Mongols: Cross-Cultural Influences on the Steppe Frontier, 1304-1589. Pelliot, Paul (1959). Notes on Marco Polo, Vol. 1. Weatherford, Jack (2005). Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World. Weatherford, Jack (2017). Genghis Khan and the Quest for God. Weatherford, Jack (2011). The Secret History of the Mongol Queens.

Temujin Khan crushes his enemies, sees them driven before him, and hears the lamentations of their women!!!Time Period Covered:ca. 1202-1206 CEMajor Historical Figures:Borjigin/Mongol:Temujin (Genghis Khan)Khasar, Temujin's BrotherBörte - Temujin's 1st WifeYesugen - Temujin's 2nd WifeYesui - Temujin's 3rd WifeJochi, Temujin's first son(?)Jirkho’adai (Jebe the Arrow)KhubilaiJelmeSubedeiJadaran:Jamukha (Gurkhan) - Temujin's anda/nemesisKereyid:To'oril (Ong Khan)Senggum, Ong's sonCha'ur Beki, Ong's daughterNaiman:Tayang KhanQueen Gürbesu, Tayang's Wife/StepmotherWorks Cited:Allsen, Thomas (1994). “The Rise of the Mongolian Empire and Mongolian Rule in North China” in The Cambridge History of China, Vol. 6: Alien Regimes and Border States.Kahn, Paul (tr.) (2005). The Secret History of the Mongols: The Origin of Chingis Khan.Onon, Urgunge (2001). The Secret History of the Mongols: The Life and Times of Chingghis Khan. Ostrowski, Donald (2002). Muscovy and the Mongols: Cross-Cultural Influences on the Steppe Frontier, 1304-1589.Pelliot, Paul (1959). Notes on Marco Polo, Vol. 1.Weatherford, Jack (2005). Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World. Weatherford, Jack (2017). Genghis Khan and the Quest for God. Weatherford, Jack (2011). The Secret History of the Mongol Queens.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This week we discussed the first three episodes of Anglomois: Record of Mongol Invasion. Synopsis: In the 13th century, the Mongolian Empire rapidly expands across the globe. Later historians who studied the prophecies of Nostradamus would say that Mongolia was the birthplace of the "Great King of Terror", Angolmois. And at last, the force of the Mongolian Empire would turn their attention toward Japan... 1274: The Bun'ei Invasion. This story is a fresh look at the great battle that rocked all of medieval Japan: the Mongol Invasion. It shows how the people of Tsushima panicked, struggled, and eventually rose up against the overwhelming forces of their enemy. You can stream it on Crunchyroll.com or VRV.co

00:00 Spider School - 00:21 A.I. - 01:10 Mongolian Years - 02:07 Darkness - 02:55 Real Gangsters - 04:00 Mongolian Years pt. 2 - 04:20 Inspired by Imitation -04:40 Diamond Mining - 05:21 Expectations Bring Pain -05:42 Regular MaintenanceRecorded throughout October 2018Support the show (https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=HTT62N2TDNZGJ&source=url)

In our 38th episode, Julia conquers the topic of Genghis Khan and the Mongolian Empire in the 12th and 13th centuries. [Hold onto your yaks!] We debut a new segment dedicated to Real Funny Ladies– first up: the late, great Madeline Kahn. Later, enjoy a quiz called “Cons or KHAAAAAAAAAANs”! . . . [Music:  1) TALES, “The Doors of Khanbaliq,” 1999. Courtesy of TALES, CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 license; 2) Frau Holle, “Ascending Souls,” 2017. Courtesy of Frau Holle, CC BY-NC 3.0 license.]

The guys keep the drinking going and Diplomacy chats rolling on Bourse, variant testing and a Conspiracy app update. Plus the odd history lesson from Amby and discussion on shit cake. Intro Kaner discusses how CaptainMeme and a few webDip folks recently hosted a live vidcast of an online Dip game (0 mins 30 secs) They get around to introducing the Euro restaurant and their drinks. Amby gets a bit carried away with his wine and shares a story about his brother-in-law's bad drinking habits and how Mrs Amby's sister put in place a system to stop him drinking the expensive stuff (5 mins) Diplomacy Chat They start discussing the upcoming Bourse game. Amby gives his thoughts on Sealanes games and why he's shit at them (13 mins) Amby shares another story, this time about shit cake (18 mins 45 secs) Then its back to Kaner's learnings from the last Bourse and how he's going to correct that for the new Bourse game (20 mins 45 secs) Amby discusses YCHTT's suggestion of a proper market driven by supply and demand for the Bourse and why he loves the idea (26 mins) The guys pop upstairs to the Laneway Bar to find no-one there. Instead they've walked a block further to the Port Office Hotel (33 mins 30 secs) Amby describes how on the way to the Port Office Hotel, he managed to give Kaner a history lesson about the former Queensland colonial naval dockyards (see photo.) Amby explains why he knows a heap of irrelevant shit due to an attempt to write an alternative history novel, and how the never completed novel was the inspiration for the Mate Against Mate variant (34 mins) A small impromptu "this week in Australian politics" segment (39 mins) The guys give a drinks update (41 mins 20 secs) Kaner asks about Amby's involvement in some test games at the Diplomail Lab including another Austrian Succession game. Amby describes how he adopted a different strategy which is working well (42 mins) Then its onto the test game of the Mongolian Empire variant - created by Kaner but being advanced by other developers now. They discuss the impact of the bubonic plague on the game where a rapid die-off of units happens at the end of the first game year's build phase. They talk about other historical aspects of the variant and really interesting elements of the game including city states, rivers/bridges, trade winds and silk roads, Himalayan passes and the Great Wall of China (49 mins 30 secs) After Kaner gets a tech support call from Mrs Kaner, the guys return to the Conspiracy app. Kaner talks about his first full press game ending up in a 4 way draw as Austria. He talks about side chat rooms and how they operate really easily. That said communicating can take a while with the amount of texting required. They discuss again getting the French app developers on the show (1 hr 2 mins) The guys start wrapping things up. They discuss whether people interested in donating to the show with Patreon would prefer better audio or more drunkedness (1 hr 8 mins 45 secs) Venue: Euro Restaurant and then the Port Office Hotel, Brisbane. Drinks of choice:Kaner - Estrella lager from Barcelona, Spain and Little Creature's Roger's amber ale from Western AustraliaAmby - Marcelo Pelleriti Sol fa Soul malbec from Mendoza, Argentina and SC Parnell tempranillo from the Adelaide Hills And thanks as always to Dan Philip for his rockin' intro to the Diplomacy Games podcast. Don't forget you can now donate to the show (for better audio or drunker episodes) by going to our Patreon page.

The Mongolian Empire has a well-deserved reputation for its brutality (it did, after all, kill 40 million in the 12th century, enough people to alter planetary climate conditions). But it's positive legacies are nearly as profound, if less well known. In this episode I talk about the lasting influence of Genghis and his descendants on world civilization. The Mongolians patronize the arts on a scale not seen since the height of Rome; the Pax Mongolica consolidated the Silk Road and kicked off a boom in trade where ideas, technologies and goods flowed freely from Europe to Asia (spices, tea, and silk headed west while gold, medical manuscripts, and porcelain headed east; and the Mongolian approach to religious tolerance was so flexible that Buddhists, Muslims, and Christians were invited to debate their ideas before the royal court in Karakorum.

Welcome to part one of Mongol Week(s). In this multi-part series, we will look at the Mongolian Empire from multiple perspectives, including its unprecedented level of brutality (so many died from their attacks that untended farmland returned to forrest, scrubbing the atmosphere of carbon and causing global cooling).But we will also look at their positive contributions -- the opening up of the Silk Road, religious tolerance, and rights granted to women. We will also consider the rise of Temujin (Genghis), the importance of the Mongolian horse and bow, battle tactics, and everyday life.

Much more than just a pool game, this Venetian merchant traveler adventured through China and the Mongolian Empire. Though his memoirs may have been heavily embellished, the book gave those who came after Marco Polo a broad picture of 13th century culture, led to advances in cartography and inspired explorers throughout history.

Much more than just a pool game, this Venetian merchant traveler adventured through China and the Mongolian Empire. Though his memoirs may have been heavily embellished, the book gave those who came after Marco Polo a broad picture of 13th century culture, led to advances in cartography and inspired explorers throughout history.

The guys live stream with Periscope and hit many Diplomacy topics: when your employer blocks Dip, the new Lab & variants being tested and interview with Flame. Plus we talk Dip etiquette on readying up orders, Victory Points farming in Bourse and how they're going in their games. Around the grounds Amby describes for new listeners/viewers on Periscope what the podcast is about (1 min) Both of the guys say they're in way too many games. Amby says his problem is he's often having to go to 4 different Diplomacy platforms (2 mins 10 secs) Amby describes briefly Cisco Spark, one of these Dip platforms that we will highlight in a future episode (2 mins 30 secs) Kaner asks Amby how he's going in the Online Diplomacy Championship over at PlayDip (3 mins) Amby also goes to on to briefly discuss the group messaging system at PlayDip and his initial thoughts on it, before talking php and their WebDip games (4 mins) The guys stuff around with the live Periscope feed (6 mins 45 secs) Kaner talks about how he's been going in his Sengoku tournament games (7 mins 45 secs) Amby digresses onto the Known World tournament, before briefly touching on his First Crusade game, with that variant being highlighted in more detail in a future episode (8 mins 45 secs) Amby tries setting Periscope viewers expectations straight about the podcast being about the game Diplomacy, rather than real life international foreign affairs (9 mins 30 secs) The guys talk about how a number of players in games they're in are criticising other players for taking too long to ready their orders (14 mins 15 secs) Amby explains why he's occasionally been guilty of this of late (16 mins 45 secs) Diplomacy Dilemmas Kaner raises a Diplomacy Dilemmas question he received: "Is there any time in a game where you can legitimately NMR in a game?"  (18 mins 50 secs) Amby gives his take, indicating he might have done this once in the past (20 mins) Kaner describes how he's done this once before too (22 mins 15 secs) Amby discusses how a player contacted him about Victory Points farming in the Bourse Known World 901 game, trying to get Amby to see the light (25 mins 15 secs) Kaner gives his independent non-player perspective on this issue (28 mins) Amby flags how he's looking forward to when the game finishes up to have a wide ranging end-of-game interview in the podcast from other key players (29 mins 30 secs) What the Doctor Recommended Amby discusses how he received a PM from Murcanic who made it into the vDip top 100, and wanted to be included in an updated pronunciation effort from the guys (30 mins) Kaner and Amby then go on to start a What the Dr Recommended attempt at pronouncing the names of the top 20 players at webDip (31 mins 10 secs) When the boss bans Dip The guys discuss how Amby's employer blocks pretty much all Dip sites, while Kaner's gives him access, but blocks Diplomail, possibly because its a Russian site (34 mins) Amby gives Kaner some bullshit excuses on how to convince your employer to lift their block on Dip sites. Kaner adds to the possible arguments depending on your line of work (35 mins) The guys then go onto explain how you can try getting around this by not using the boss' network (eg using an iPad, phone etc) (37 mins 15 secs) Amby explains how the only Dip site he can reach at work is Cisco Spark's Diplomacy area. Amby goes on to talk briefly about Cisco Spark and North American face-to-face champ Chris Martin. We'll cover this in a future podcast when Amby has more time to familiarise himself with how it works  (40 mins 20 secs) The new Lab The guys discuss the new Lab and its 4 variants being currently play tested: Napoleonic, War of the Austrian Succession, Mongolian Empire and Lepanto x6 (42 mins 45 secs) Kaner is playing in all 4 games, Amby just in Napoleonic. As a result Amby asks Kaner to explain his thoughts and experience first up on Lepanto x6. It follows a lot of the same principles and gameplay as Lepanto which is a 1 vs 1 game, but turns it on its head (44 mins 15 secs) Kaner talks about how Flame (Admin at Diplomail and the new Lab) has received some of the files for the new Lab (45 mins 15 secs) As Guroz created the game but has since dropped off the scene, it may be a little harder for this game to make it live. So far it is the only variant that failed technical play testing by crashing - as a result we have no link for you (46 mins 15 secs) Amby starts describing how Lepanto x6 is played out on a hexagonal board set in space. Kaner gives the details for how armies, space ships, planets (SC's), warp points and space stations work in the game (46 mins 45 secs) Kaner explains in light of all these little twists the board is a bit visually overwhelming for his liking and gives it a thumbs down. Amby explains he likes the space based concept but maybe not this map (50 mins) The guys move onto the next game Kaner is playing in the Lab, the War of the Austrian Succession. Kaner likes this one, he played as Prussia and felt he was thrown straight into the diplomatic arena of negotiation straight away while still having opportunities to expand. Amby explains how he likes the visual nature and historical accuracy of the variant (51 mins 45 secs) Amby asks Kaner what the dark black lines on the map are, but doesn't get a very convincing answer from Kaner. The guys also discuss some of the border connections on the board shown with red lines. Overall they both give this two thumbs up (53 mins 45 secs) Finally the guys turn to the new Napoleonic variant in the Lab, discussing the test game they're both in. They both really love how the map looks and works, even down to the way territory names are displayed on the map. What makes this variant particularly challenging is the absence of neutrals. For this reason Kaner doesn't like this aspect of the map, making diplomatic negotiations even more important. Amby doesn't mind this but acknowledges it makes the game a lot harder (56 mins 45 secs) They discuss how they're going in this particular game, with Kaner as Italy and Amby as the Ottomans. As its a test game, the usual confidentiality and speaking about a game they're both in isn't as critical as normal. Amby goes on to discuss how he likes the little postcard sized territories. Players on the board have different number of units with most on 3, some 4 and France on 5 SCs  (1 hour 00 mins 30 secs) After Amby stuffs around with the pause button as they get drinks, Kaner explains the decor in the hallway to the gents toilets. In wrapping up the Lab games, Kaner explains he wants to discuss the Mongolian Empire variant a little later in a future episode, so we'll wait 'til then  (1 hour 05 mins 30 secs) Interview with Flame, creator of the new Lab and admin at Diplomail Amby gives a quick back story on how Diplomacy labs work in creating php games. He explains vDip while having a Lab, its become inactive with Oli busy with other priorities (1 hour 07 mins 15 secs) As the php web Diplomacy code is open source, it can be picked up and installed anywhere. Kaner explains why some Dip sites have been reluctant to install extra variants because of the risk of code incompatibility and crashing. Basically you need a good php coder to manage the risk of this. The Diplomail community was created using this open source, primarily for the Russian community. However, Flame has made the Lab more open to English speaking players (1 hour 09 mins 15 secs) Due to the fact that English isn't Flame's first language, he preferred to do a text based interview which we were cool with. Kaner is going to ask the questions, and Amby answers on behalf of Flame (1 hour 11 mins 45 secs) We start exploring why Flame created the Lab, what level of technical skills are needed to add variants to the Lab and whether there's a guide on what to do to create variants (1 hour 12 mins 30 secs) Next we look at Flame's role at Diplomail and his role in personally creating the variants Classic Cataclysm - the standard map but units can move seamlessly between land and sea territories regardless of how they start. Flame says the next variant he'd like to see is the Western 901 variant. The Known World 901 variant was originally envisioned by David Cohen as two maps, a western and eastern version but it was subsequently sewn together. Flame would like just the western iteration to come to life on the site  (1 hour 15 mins) We ask Flame about in his opinion what makes a great variant. He says he likes good balance and based on history, for this reason he really likes the Napoleonic variant (1 hour 19 mins) Amby asks about the flexibility of the Lab and its game engine eg he'd like to change the way retreating clippers operate in Pirates, as their current behavior is generally hated by anyone playing the variant. Flame goes onto explain what new game functionality will be available from the Lab (1 hour 20 mins 45 secs) Amby goes on to say that if there's a chance the double space retreat movement of clippers can be reduced to one, he'd like to check with the Dip community if there are any other fixes so they can all be done at once in the Lab. Amby goes onto say some players bitch about how privateers are tied to their host nation eg Captain Henry Morgan (one player) and England (another players) cannot attack each other. Amby goes on to explain that he doesn't want to change that as the coding would be too difficult to swap privateers into pirates, and potentially pirate to privateers (1 hour 24 mins 15 secs) We explore with Flame whether he can personally help if a variant creator doesn't have strong php technical skills (1 hour 27 mins 30 secs) Next we tackle the question of plans for once games are successfully play tested in the Lab and then moved to Diplomail, what chances are there that the variant will also be moved to vDip (1 hour 28 mins 30 secs) We ask about Diplomail and its community and culture compared to other Dip sites, and support for Diplomail (1 hour 32 mins) We discover that Flame isn't actually Russian, how he got into Dip and shares some of his political views about Putin. Flame goes on to discuss the breakdown of Russian players at Diplomail compared to players from other parts of the ex-Soviet Union (1 hour 35 mins 15 secs) Amby goes off on a tangent with a culturally insensitive joke (1 hour 38 mins 45 secs) Flame explains in Classic what countries he likes and dislikes playing, then he discusses what variants are his favorite and what he thinks about getting more people playing Diplomacy (1 hour 41 mins 30 secs) Lastly we ask Flame about the quality of Amby's Russian pronunciations from our last episode before wrapping things up (1 hour 44 mins 15 secs) Venue: Embassy Hotel, Brisbane Drinks of choice: Kaner - Drought Relief lager by Newstead Brewery from Queensland, Australia Amby - Cake shiraz from McLaren Vale, South Australia Don't forget if you're enjoying the podcast please hop onto iTunes and give us a rating and a review so we can get the Diplomacy message out. If you have any suggestions on what you'd like to see covered in an upcoming podcast, or something you'd like to see regularly covered, please contact us or leave your thoughts in the comments below. Thanks to Dan Philip for his rockin' intro to the Diplomacy Games podcast.

Rabban Sauma is the title of this Episode, Part 1.So --  there I was, walking through the Genghis Khan exhibit at the Reagan Library, reading the various offerings on the Great Khan and Mongols -  a subject that as a student of history I find fascinating when I came upon an offering that launched an investigation. It spoke of a Nestorian priest who was a Chinese version of the famous Marco Polo. As I read the exhibit's terse account of Rabban Sauma, I knew I had a new investigation to make. Why had I never heard of this fascinating character before? Why haven't YOU?The story of Marco Polo is part & parcel of the teaching of World History. His life and career are central to the prompts of what's called the Age of Discovery. Mini-series have been made of his amazing tale. Virtually unknown to westerners is the story of an equally fascinating character of the same period. A Chinese Christian priest who ended up acting as an ambassador of the Mongols to the Pope and the kings of both France and England. Before that, Rabban Sauma was instrumental in establishing the new Patriarch of the venerable Church of the East. This man lived a truly epic life containing three separate sagas.The Ongguds were a Turkic people living just North of the Great Wall. They'd allied with their Chinese neighbors in the past, and had proven a fertile field for Nestorian missionaries. They were one of the first groups to throw in with Genghis, benefiting from the Great Khan's liberal toleration policy. The Mongols were largely illiterate while the Onggud's, having converted to Christianity centuries before, possessed an academic class of priests and scholars. These provided the administrative core of the emerging Mongolian Empire. To prove his loyalty, the Onggud ruler gave one of his sons in marriage to the Khan's daughter.Shiban was an Onggud noble who married a woman of his class. Longing for a child but unable to conceive, they prayed and fasted. Their prayers were answered and a son was born, whom they named Bar Sauma – Son of the Fast. This was right around 1225. The piety of the parents was passed on to the son, who showed an extraordinary interest in spiritual things from a young age.He was given a religious education and proved so adept at his studies was entrusted with special duties at the church of his hometown. While his parents were proud of their son's piety, they were disappointed when at the age of 20, he made a vow to abstain from meat and alcohol. They'd hoped Bar Sauma would eventually use his mental acuity as a scholar or official. His vow made it clear he planned on pursuing the life of a monk. While Nestorian monks were required to be celibate, deacons and priests were encouraged to be married. In some eras, they were even required to have a wife as the thought was it would better equip them to offer counsel and guidance. So Bar Sauma's parents arranged a marriage for their son, hoping to steer his aspirations into a more amenable course. They requested he delay his commitment to becoming a monk, as he prayerfully pondered continuing the Chinese tradition of continuing the family line. They asked him, “How can it possibly be pleasing to you for our seed and name to be blotted out?” Who would inherit their property and wealth, a not insubstantial consideration since they were figured amount the Onggud nobility? This query reflects the assimilation of the Ongguds into the larger and far more dominant Chinese culture. Bar Sauma deferred to his parents wished and delayed his commitment for three years.He continued his education with the teachers his parents had arranged but stayed true to his earlier commitments. Rather than softening to his parents' requests, they softened toward his and agreed that their son was destined for a religious life. The arranged marriage, part of which had already been formally conducted, was suspended and then annulled.Bar Sauma's diligence in the study of the Bible came to the attention of the bishop of the Mongol capital at Tai-tu, the city that would eventually be known as Beijing. Mar Giwargis inducted Bar Sauma into the Nestorian clergy at the age of 25.That closes ch. 1 of Rabban Sauma's amazing story. Before we open ch. 2, it would be wise to set the scene on two important dimensions of his story. The unique aspects of his Nestorianism, and the world scene his story is a part of.We spent some time on the tale of Nestorius and his theological and political contest with Cyril of Alexandria back in Season 1. While Nestorius was declared a Heretic by the Council of Chalcedon in the 5th Century, we saw that the man himself did NOT espouse heresy. The council's decision was based more on the politics of the day than a careful analysis of his theology. BUT: it is certainly true those who came after Nestorius by a few generations did indeed deviate from orthodoxy. When Nestorius was banished from Constantinople, he went West to the monastery where he began in Antioch. After Chalcedon, his followers moved to Persia and gave rise to a rich religious tradition that came to be known as The Church of the East, synonymous with The Nestorian Church.Eventually, the very thing the Western Church accused Nestorius of, but he'd vehemently denied, became the doctrinal position of his followers; that Christ possessed not just two natures as God and Man, but that He was two PERSONS. In contradistinction with the West, Mary's role was downgraded. She wasn't Theotokos, that is, the bearer of God; she was Christotokos, the bearer of Jesus' humanity.  If the Nestorians had stopped here, they might eventually have been understood to merely use different terminology to describe Jesus as the Son of God and Man. But they went further than Nestorius himself had by editing their view of the Trinity. Jesus wasn't just subordinate to the Father in the teaching of the Church of the East, He was understood as produced by The Father, with the Holy Spirit then subsequently proceeding from both Father and Son. In other words, ontologically, The Father existed first, then the Son, then the Spirit. This has the Son and Spirit coming into being after the Father -an idea utterly anathema to Western Orthodoxy as it makes the Son and Spirit creations. But, it's important to make this clear, in classic Nestorianism, the Son and Spirit are understood, not as creations, but as deity co-equal with the Father.The Church of the East retained the sacraments of the West, although as the two branches of the Faith evolved, they'd take on somewhat different expressions.Banished from Roman & Byzantine provinces int eh 5th Century, Nestorians settled in the Middle East and Central Asia. Beng highly missionary in outreach, they extended their reach all the way t the Far East and China. Their new headquarters was set up in Persia where they established a rich tradition with an emphasis on education and scholarship.From the 6th through 9th Centuries missionaries converted many of the Turkic peoples of Central Asia. In the 7th Century, Nestorians reached China and established themselves amongst the Tang Dynasty, lasting into the 10th Century. In the late 11th and 12 Centuries, Nestorianism had taken root among the Mongols, with several of their elite women as adherents of the Faith. There was a Nestorian church in the Mongol capital at Khara Khorum.Almost counter-intuitively, The Church of the East was a settled feature of the religious scene in the 13th Century across Central Asia and the Middle East. That's counter-intuitive because Islam had swept this area centuries before. Christianity would not decline in this region until the late 14th Century when Mongol influence also declined. It was then that a resurgent Islam saw both a voluntary and coerced conversion of other Faiths.It may be fairly said that Nestorianism spread much further than it's Western Cousin over the same period because of its missionary zeal and scholarly ardor. Nestorian leaders were highly motivated to plant churches and extend the borders of the faith into new realms.Facilitating the spread of the faith eastward was the development of new trade routes that connected West & East. Today, we know these routes as the Silk Road, better understood as Roads – plural, as there wasn't just one route. And they weren't roads as we think of them. Don't picture some kind of ancient highway, a wagon trail with clearly defined ruts across hundreds of miles of territory. That's not what the Silk Roads of this time were. No map charted their course. Few guides could lead others on them. The path Marco Polo & Rabban Sauma took was little more than an idea when they traversed it. Later, their routes would indeed become those trails countless others would travel. But Polo & Sauma were trail-blazers, pioneers of commerce and Faith. It was Nestorian merchants who helped make the old Silk Roads. And everywhere they went, their churches followed.Another factor enhancing the spread of The Church of the East was the Nestorian policy of cultural adaptation. Missionaries didn't require converts to adopt a Persian or Middle Eastern culture. The Gospel was understood as transcending culture. Even to the point where missionaries accommodated some decidedly unbiblical practices, such as polygamy, a common practice among the nobility of Central Asia. It isn't that Nestorianism endorsed or approved of polygamy; they just would not see the reach of the Faith stalled until people accepted monogamy. Nestorian missionaries reasoned, Do we require monogamy before we preach The gospel and accept converts, or preach the Gospel, make converts, then disciple them toward a Biblical view of marriage? They decided for the second option.Because of this, not a few of the Mongol nobles were converted, especially among the women. And that insured the protection of Nestorianism as a viable faith under the Mongol policy of religious toleration in their rise to hegemony over all Central Asia, the Far East, and eventually into the Middle East.Nestorianism's spread over such a vast area, combined with its assimilation of various cultures, resulted in the Faith's diversification. While keeping its central doctrines intact and uniform, the WAY it was expressed and practiced, in terms of its rituals, took on different forms. So across the whole body of the Church of the East, while some churches looked very different from their Western counterparts, others look quite similar. Rabban Sauma will be asked to conduct a Mass in Italy before Western Church leaders and while his words were translated into Latin, what he said was readily understood and approved of, a remarkable thing when we realize the split between East & West was at that point 700 years old.Another factor that contributed to the success of Nestorianism's spread across such a vast region is the looseness of its organization. The Church of the East was headquartered in Seleucia-Ctesiphon, modern day Baghdad, led by a Patriarch known as the Catholicus. He appointed archbishops called Metropolitans over the major dioceses. Because travel and communication between these dioceses were difficult and slow, the Metropolitans had considerable flexibility to lead their regions as they saw fit without much interference or guidance from the Catholicus. Each metropolitan, being highly educated and a willing adherent of the Faith, held firm to the doctrinal core of Nestorianism while adapting it to the cultural sensibilities of the locals.Eastern Christianity accommodated itself to local festivals and holidays. Nestorian priests blessed objects brought to them by commoners. Holy sites were designated and made the goal of pilgrimages. Relics took on special significance. What really enhanced the religion's reach was the Nestorian clergy's tendency to make medical treatment a part of their practice. This gained the Faith many converts.In part 2, we'll take a look at the political scene into which Rabban Sauma stepped and lived his amazing life.Listeners to & subscribers of CS are encouraged to visit the FB page and leave a comment on where they live so we can see just how wide the CS family is.Since the podcast has grown tremendously, requiring a major expansion in our hosting requirements, we now want to invite donations to help support the podcast. Many thanks to those who've already done so. You can make a donation by going to sanctorum.us and hitting the Donate button.