Genghis Khan and the Quest for God: How the World's Greatest Conqueror Gave Us Religious Freedom

I'm a bit over halfway through this book and I wish it never ended. I agree with a previous reviewer that this may be the best work of the author. Genghis Khan conquered so many different lands that he had to have faced the challenge of administering people of a large variety of religions. These were lands where the people were probably unfamiliar with what lies 100 miles in any direction. The author also refines some of the stories from his previous books (e.g. the birth of Genghis Khan) and he does this in an appealing way.His empire dealt with the variety of beliefs in an effective way... but that wasn't easy. This book is a phenomenal essay on the what it took to handle the oppression faced by the people of those times. This book is relevant today as well - not a day passes without fanatics using religion as an excuse to kill or be killed.

This book's subtitle certainly grabbed my attention, and Weatherford did not disappoint as he argued compellingly for the claim that the freedom of religion currently enjoyed in most of the Western world owes a great deal to a 13th century Mongolian warlord.As a pastor with a deep love of history and of this country, I'll admit to some skepticism about any meaningful connection between Genghis Khan and the 1st Amendment. Then again, I must also admit to having spent very little time studying Eastern civilization, and so I really didn't know much about "the world's greatest conqueror" at all. I sure do now!Weatherford's lifelong devotion to the study of Genghis Khan is apparent in the depth of his research and the passion of his writing. He certainly presents a more positive view of the Mongol leader than I expected--after all, most of what little I had previously heard about Genghis Khan reduced him to little more than a bloodthirsty savage. And while he undoubtedly was often savage in the conquest of his enemies, in this book we also encounter a man of vision, with sincere interest in tackling the great spiritual and philosophical questions of life: Is there a god? If so, how can we know him? What is he like, and what does he want from us?The history presented in this book is fascinating. I had no idea just how vast the Mongolian empire was! In addition to conquering and controlling an unprecedentedly large span of land (with relatively few resources initially at his disposal), Genghis Khan had to effectively administrate an empire consisting of Taoist, Buddhist, Confucian, Christian, Jewish, Muslim, and shamanistic citizens; not to mention all the competing sects within each of those faiths. To combat the religius factionalism he encountered during his conquests, he decreed that "each should abide by his own religion and follow his own creed." This edict became known as the Great Law of Genghis Khan.As the book points out, this was not the first example of religious tolerance in history, but the empire ruled by Genghis Khan was the first to make freedom of religion an individual right. And while the ruler himself never became an adherent of any particular religion (with the possible exception of the steppe religion of his ancestors), he successfully cobbled together an administration consisting of leaders and spiritual advisors from all walks of life who, remarkably, all coexisted relatively peacefully (provided they submitted to his ruling authority) throughout his reign.The final chapter and epilogue was perhaps the most compelling, as this is where Weatherford connects the 13th century with the 21st. He recounts how interest in the life and rule of Genghis Khan was revived periodically throughout history, with writers as prominent as Dante Alighieri, Geoffrey Chaucer, and Voltaire writing of him. The Enlightenment was one era in which this interest was especially strong, particularly among Deists, who looked for historical examples of religious toleration outside of Western civilization.And so it was that biographies of Genghis Khan came to be found in the libraries of George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, and Thomas Jefferson. And while Jefferson never explicitly mentions Genghis Khan in his writing, the similarity in wording between his "Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom" (which was later incorporated into the US Constitution as the First Amendment) and Genghis Khan's Great Law is unmistakable. And so it now seems plausible--if not probable--that, to some extent, this great conqueror really did "give us religious freedom." Amazing!Two and a half centuries later, the influence of Genghis Khan remains prominent in both the Eastern and Western worlds, and interest in his life and his policies is once again on the rise.

Great story... thoroughly researched...very readable.This is Jack Weatherford's third book on GENGHIS KHAN, and he gives the world a fascinating insight into the true genius of this much maligned major historical figure....HIGHLY RECOMMENDED !

Genghis Khan and the Quest for God provides triple service as a history of the conqueror; as a report on how his approach toward religious diversity contributed to the expansion and stability of his empire; and as a concise, accessible contribution to the field of comparative religion, centered on a point in historical time that otherwise might not get its popular due. The story also serves as an object lesson in how quickly a great empire can crumble back into oblivion when the people who inherit power prove to be unworthy of it.In Jack Weatherford’s book, Genghis Khan comes across as the character whose approach toward religion is most consistent with real faith. Unlike Genghis Khan, the many proselytizers from across Asia and Europe who compete for the conqueror’s favor show little inclination toward putting God at the center of their lives.The middle third of the book provides many of the insights that might be of most continuing relevance:The Mongols believed that everyone had an innate inclination to self-preservation and comfort, but each person also had an innate attraction to honor and correct behavior. Page 143As happens at the end of so many regimes, those in power became trapped between a generalized fear of their subjects, whom they no longer understood, and an inability to comprehend a world in which they themselves would no longer be in power. Page 174The work of a good astrologer was not so much to predict the future as to be able to give a positive interpretation of whatever situation the soldiers or common people might perceive as a bad omen. Page 187“The dwellers in houses and towns were,” according to a Muslim description of the Mongols’ perception, “a degenerate and effeminate race… who toiled like cattle, in order that their betters might pass their time in luxury.” In the Mongol view the people of Samarkand, Bukhara, and Otrar were like herds of goats or sheep, quickly frightened, easily led, and completely disposable. Page 194“Did he give food to his own people or to strangers?” asked Genghis Khan.“Everyone gives food to his own people,” said one of his disciples. “This man’s father gave food to strangers.”“It was a good person indeed who gave food to the people of God,” Genghis Khan responded. He then released the man and gave him a new cloak. Page 203Religion is politics by another means. Page 239In Central Asia, China exercised a powerful and exotic mystique as a land of (people) who possessed great cunning and harbored secret knowledge. Page 241

The ties that link our cultures and histories are important, and this does a good job of showing the surprising breadth of Genghis Khan's influence on Western thought. I gave "The Secret History of the Mongol Queens" five stars. This one gets four, because it wasn't edited quite as well. It could be tighter, without the occasionally distracting repetitions. Nonetheless, well worth the read, and I recommend it. The author's closing notes alone are worth preserving, and hisunparalleled depth of research and familiarity with the important locations bring the story to vivid life.

Enjoyed reading all books of Mongolian history by this author. Convinced by his creative viewpoint and thorough research on historical documents.

Excellent, product and arrived early