Women and the Making of the Mongol Empire

'A brilliant addition and timely corrective to the study of the Mongol Empire. Professor Broadbridge has produced an exciting and unique contribution to the scholarship of the Mongol Empire which will forever change our understanding of the Mongol elite.' Timothy May, University of North Georgia

'This book is far more than a gendered history of the Mongol Empire. By exploring the highly complex place of women and marriage in imperial politics, it helps to make sense of the alignments within the imperial dynasty and the actions and policies of Mongol khans and princes.' Peter Jackson, Keele University

'In this intelligent and original book, Anne F. Broadbridge has carried the study of women in the Mongol Empire to a new level, and has made an important contribution to our understanding of the Mongol Empire as a whole. The analysis goes well beyond the lives and activities of the most prominent Mongol women to show how dynastic marriages shaped central military institutions and brought manpower into the Mongol enterprise. In examining the family strategies of both privileged and secondary wives, Broadbridge sheds much new light on the difficult and disputed question of tribes within Mongol society, and will be a valuable resource for all future work. Finally, in her fascinating chapters on conquered women, she investigates the emotional and social lives of a group of women who have until now been largely overlooked, but nonetheless played an important part in Mongol history. This work thus offers important new insights on the formation of the Mongol Empire and its successor states.' Beatrice Manz, Tufts University, Massachusetts

'Broadbridge's richly detailed book makes a valuable contribution to this debate by clarifying the roles played by Chinggisid women, both before the Mongol conquest of China and after the establishment of the Yuan dynasty.' Bret Hinsch, NAN NÜ

'… Broadbridge's book is impeccably researched. It is a welcome addition to the field of Mongol Empire history. For many decades to come, students will be turning to Women and the Making of the Mongol Empire for a comprehensive and thoughtful account of why and how women mattered to the Mongols and their empire.' Jinping Wang, American Historical Review

'Broadbridge's book will be a bonanza of information for future anthropologists, women's studies scholars, and sociologists. Scholars in Mongolia, China, the Middle East, and Russia will find her work engaging and invaluable. Hers is and will remain the best pioneering work on the subject. Broadbridge, more than any other scholar, has laid the groundwork for what will follow.' David Curtis Wright, Journal of Interdisciplinary History