Six years after his “Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World” ignited a global reappraisal of the Mongolian empire and its positive contributions Dr. Jack Weatherford  has published a masterful sequel, “The Secret History of the Mongol Queens: How the Daughters of Genghis Khan Rescued His Empire”. This new book was the result of his belief that one volume could not convey all he wanted to write about the 13th-century ruler who shaped the largest empire in the history of the world and those who inherited it.

Honored in Mongolia as “Book of the Year” for 2009 in its Mongolian language edition, Scientific American has now listed Mongol Queens as a Recommended Book for 2010.

Dr. Weatherford holds the DeWitt Wallace Chair of Anthropology at Macalester College in Minnesota and an honorary position at Chinggis Khaan University in Mongolia. In 2007 he received the Order of the Polar Star, Mongolia’s highest decoration. He was fascinated by the unique and central role played by the Great Khan”s female descendants at a time when political power was reserved for men only and written histories were dominated by male authors writing about male leaders. As he writes, “Genghis Khan sired four self-indulgent sons who proved good at drinking, mediocre in fighting, and poor at everything else; yet their names live on despite the damage they did to their father”s empire.” However, the ruler”s daughters – it is unclear whether he had seven or eight — had “superior leadership abilities”, so Chinggis Khaan willed “strategically important parts of his empire” to the women.

Without the wisdom of the daughters, Dr. Weatherford convincingly argues, the Mongol Empire would have crumbled much faster than it did, eventually dissolving during the middle of the 14th century.  Mongol pride did not disappear. The empire was restored during the late 15th century with the emergence of another woman descended from Chinggis Khaan, known as Queen Manduhai the Wise.  She is celebrated as an important figure in Mongolian popular culture, and is the subject of movies, operas and songs.