the Jackmeister: Mongol History

Listening this morning (and this afternoon) to @fallofcivilizations.com podcast on the Mongols with our Jack Wilson as historical consultant!

@jackmeistermongols.bsky.social

Nonetheless, if you didn't know any better it would all sound convincing enough. It also made up podcast appearances I did and reviews of my work by Peter Jackson and others. All nonsense.

Was curious to see if Grok, the Twitter AI monster, could tell me what articles I have published. It gave me this; none of these are real, and two of them at best sound similar to things I have published (but are still wrong in name or details).

Just seeing this now, haven't been on Blue Sky for a few days. Not sure what to make of it but doubt it's a crossbow; see how the string runs in between the frame, which would not work well for any projectile. Unlikely to be a weapon, but not sure what it is

Article of mine on the Secret History of the Mongols, its content and history
#mongolempire #mongolsky #tengri

In this dynamic large-format painting, Bahram Gur plunges his sword into the breast of a dragon. Iranian painting during the Mongol period borrowed stylistic and spatial elements from Chinese models, such as the rock formations, tree trunk, and dragon. The surging landscape and writhing dragon create a painting of extraordinary vitality and unity. Bahram Gur (ruled ad 420-438) was a popular king from pre-Islamic Sasanian Iran and a great hunter. He took the name "Gur," meaning onager (a wild ass), because it was his preferred game-although he also excelled at killing dragons.

Bahram Gur Slays a Dragon (verso), from a Shahnama (Book of Kings) of Firdausi (940-1019 or 1025), known as the Great Mongol Shahnama https://clevelandart.org/art/1943.658.b

I put the guy on foot mostly because I didn't feel like drawing the horse.

It's expressed in a few accounts that Jurchen men preferred to wear white (see Jin Shi, juan 43), though I do not believe we have any clear artistic depictions of this in extant artwork from the Jin or Song Dynasties

Jurchen swordsman, based on some Da Jin Dynasty 大金 (1115-1234) armour and weapons. These pieces in the photograph may not have originally gone together as one set, but it was fun to do so anyways, especially this zhanamdao (?) styled sword, and the Hannibal Lector-esque facemask...

Never stop believing

Got reminded of this fun depiction of the battle of 'Ayn Jalut, which depicts the Mamluks as Ancient Egyptians and the Pyramids in the background (the battle was fought north of Jerusalem, not in Egypt!). However, it is no longer on the Wikipedia article for the battle, which is a plus.

Note the nice depictions of Jurchen bianfa 辮髮 hair styles

Link to the user's original post: x.com/Peng201912/s...

Uploaded by user "Peng" on Twitter on 03.06.21, the single best scan I have ever come across of the Jin-era "Lady Wenji's Return to Han" 文姬歸漢圖, perhaps the single best surviving artistic depiction of Jurchen clothing

Marco Polo and his World with Sharon Kinoshita - Medievalists.net This week on The Medieval Podcast, Danièle speaks with Sharon Kinoshita about why Marco travelled so far, what sort of detail he wanted to share with his readers, and what was going on in the world…

A new episode of The Medieval Podcast with @5minmedievalist.bsky.social : Marco Polo and his World with Sharon Kinoshita www.medievalists.net/2025/08/marc... #MarcoPolo #medieval #podcast

Marco Polo and his World with Sharon Kinoshita - Medievalists.net This week on The Medieval Podcast, Danièle speaks with Sharon Kinoshita about why Marco travelled so far, what sort of detail he wanted to share with his readers, and what was going on in the world ar...

Should be a good listen. Dr. Kinoshita is a great scholar on Marco Polo and did one of my favourite translations of the F manuscript (the oldest extant Polo manuscript, dated ca.1310) www.medievalists.net/2025/08/marc...
#tengri #mongolsky #marcopolo

YouTube video by The Jackmeister: Mongol History Mongol Heavy Cavalry Part 2: Mongols vs Jin Dynasty

youtu.be/jPaY-pbRjek?...

There is argument about the use of the face masks (found in several Jin settlements in Primorsky Krai and Jilin), but a convincing case has been made that they were intended for archers

Jurchen Jin Dynasty (大金) elites. Don't remember what I made them for originally, probably my heavy cavalry series. The Mongol Empire reused a lot of former Jin equipment and it had heavy influence on their later styles.

Khitan small script also had a variant "seal script" font. There are two magnificent examples of it: the eulogies on the tombs of Emperor Daozong 道宗 (1032-1101), and of his wife, Empress Xuanyi 宣懿 (1040-1075)

Interested in the Mongol Empire and its underpinning social structure?
Have a look at my newest article, "Hypotheses for a Social History of the Apanages of the Sons of Chinggis Khan and Börte" in the last issue of Przegląd Orientalistyczny!
p. 99-116
pto.orient.uw.edu.pl/wp-content/u...

🚨NEW EPISODE🚨

I talked to Lhamsuren Munkh-Erdene about his work on Mongol and Chinese history and why many pre-modern states were founded by nomadic pastoralists.

Listen below ⬇️ or wherever you get your podcasts!

Watched CNN last night and saw Doug Ford, premier of Ontario (Canada's largest province by population and economy), referred to as "a Canadian official." Like calling the governor of California "a US official."

I suspect Chat GPT will eagerly write one a few paragraphs on the 13th century Mongolian kevlar industry

A substantial amount of all the "fun facts" people like about the Mongol Empire an are present in many publications, originate in the fever dream that is late 19th/early 20th century scholarship ("Mongols wearing arrow-proof silk vests," being one such)

Alajin may have been a daughter of Chinggis or Ögedei, but her year of birth is also unknown.

A marriage is then arranged with another princess, Alajin Beki, but interupted then by Barchuq's death. Finally, Barchuq's son Kesmes (age also uncertain) is married to her at some time early in the reign of Ögedei (r.1229-1241).

The marriage to the Uyghur royal family was initially arranged with Altun Beki, Chinggis' daughter with a secondary wife, and Barchuq, the Uyghur Idiqut. Her year of birth is unknown but she dies before the marriage goes through.

After Olar's death, she marries his son Taichu. Perhaps this union with Olar was a 'placeholder' marriage until Taichu could come of age, in which case Taichu may have been younger than her.