The Mongol invasions of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries had a profound effect on the national history of the countries of the Near East and of Eastern Europe. There exists a wealth of Far Eastern,Middle Eastern and European documents for this period,and the extracts in this book are all taken from these contemporary sources.

he documents collected here provide a thorough description of the founding of the Mongol Empire and in particular offer an account of the Mongols as seen through European eyes. The extracts deal with the exploits of Chinggiz Khan and his immediate successors,with the Ilkhan Dynasty in Persia,the Mongols in China,and the empire of the Golden Horde. The documents in the book are preceded by an Introduction which gives an account of the Mongol advance from the East,thus providing a historical background against which the texts can be more fully appreciated.