The Crusades have always been one of those areas of particular interest to me. This interest goes all the way back to my reading of Runciman's three volume History of the Crusades some twenty-five years back. Having the opportunity to live in Turkiye for eight years has only heightened that interest. Since that first read, I have read dozens of books with varying perspectives and outlooks.

This book is the first in a long time to present something genuinely new. The title would lead one to believe that this book is primarily about the Mongol invasion into this area. It is not. Rather, this book is a history of the Middle East in the thirteenth and early fourteenth centuries and how the introduction of a new player, the Mongols, "upset the apple cart."

For someone who is looking for a history of the Mongols in the generations after Genghis Khan, this book will be a disappointment. For someone looking for a history of the Middle East roughly spanning the time of the Fourth Crusade up almost up to the Black Death, this book is exactly what you are looking for.

This was a very good, well-written, and informative book. I don't know a lot about Mongol history so I was very excited to read this book, and I'm happy I did! It was very interesting and kept me interested throughout the entire book.

extremely well-done research, analysis, and synthesis of Mongols, origins, conquests, leaders, interests, and ambitions.
The history of the Mongol empire was widely researched in mainly 2-3 characters and pop-culture gave us an illusion of the knowledge of the subject, in the truth, is, we ae acquainted with particles of this mighty empire's history.
as an Armenian myself, I have learned at school about the conquests of Mongols on our region and it was fascinating to have deep time.

For centuries, the Crusades have always been the key event that influenced the history of the medieval Near East but these religious wars are only part of the region’s complex history. It can be argued that not the Crusades, but the Mongol invasions which reshaped the entire Near East, altering the geopolitics of an entire region.

This is the definitive history of the Mongol assault on the Near East as well as Europe. In a single generation, the Mongols conquered vast swaths of the Near East, and Empires such as the Byzantines, the Abbuyid Empire, Khwarazmian Empire, the Seljuk Turks, and the crusaders struggled to survive, while new players such as the Ottomans arose to fight back. The Mongol conquests forever transformed the region from Egypt to Jerusalem, to Byzantium, and to Syria and Georgia, and Armenia. The book goes into great detail about how the Mongols organized themselves, how they viewed themselves as having a mandate from heaven to rule, and their invasions. It also talks about the crusades and the power shift in Egypt with the Mamluks coming to power. This is an astonishingly all-inclusive book on the impact of the Mongols. With an amazing level of research, helpful maps, and detailed accounts of empires in the Medieval Near East, this book tries to depict the truly complicated affairs of the medieval Near East.

For centuries, the Crusades have always been the key event that influenced the history of the medieval Near East but these religious wars are only part of the region’s complex history. It can be argued that not the Crusades, but the Mongol invasions which reshaped the entire Near East, altering the geopolitics of an entire region.

This is the definitive history of the Mongol assault on the Near East as well as Europe. In a single generation, the Mongols conquered vast swaths of the Near East and Empires such as the Byzantines, the Abbuyid Empire, Khwarazmian Empire, the Seljuk Turks, and the crusaders struggled to survive, while new players such as the Ottomans arose to fight back. The Mongol conquests forever transformed the region from Egypt to Jerusalem, to Byzantium, and to Syria and Georgia and Armenia. The book goes in great detail about how the Mongols organized themselves, how they viewed themselves as having a mandate from heaven to rule, and their invasions. It also talks about the crusades, and the power shift in Egypt with Mamluks coming to power. This is an astonishingly all-inclusive book on the impact of the Mongols. With an amazing level of research, helpful maps, and detailed accounts of empires in the Medieval Near East, this book tries to depict the truly complicated affairs of the medieval Near East.

The book focuses on Near East Asia (from the Caspian and Aral Seas to Constantinople and Hungary) It starts with the reign of Genghis Khan in 1218 and ends half a century after the death of Kublai Khan in 1353, with the breakup of the Mongol Empire into four fragments fighting among themselves. The book discusses how Mongols opened up new trade routes to China, allowing multiple religions to coexist within their empire, and incorporating innovative military technologies from the forces they conquered. How political infighting and dynastic upheavals led to the collapse of the Khwarazmian Empire of Central Asia, the Anatolian Seljuk Sultanate, and the smaller crusader kingdoms and led to the rise of aggressive new empires including the Mamluks and the Ottomans, who would ultimately challenge the Mongol Empire and dominate the Middle East for centuries.

Overall, The book is very well written and researched. Sometimes the flurry of facts might seem daunting but every effort is made to simplify the complex history of that time. There are many maps that helps the reader understand the political landscape of the region. The book itself is well-written, well-structured the book well, largely chronological and easy to understand even for casual readers. A must-read for all history fans especially those interested in Mongol history.

Many thanks to Basic Books and NetGalley for the ARC.

My thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher Basic Books for an advanced copy of this history tome on Mongol invasion and their effect on history.

The Crusades are about as much as students learn about the history of the Middle and Near East, at least that is what I was taught way back when. Even in classes that were I guess honors or AP like Western Civilization and World History, narrator spoiler we didn't learn much World history, we would spend more time on the Crusades, nothing on the peoples who were there, except their role in the Crusades. Nor can I remember any discussion about the Mongols and their invasion, maybe something casual, but everything I learned was from my fascination with reading later on. The only Khan that might have come up was Kubla Khan in a poetry class. However this book fills in a lot of gaps my classes never even thought to teach. The Mongol Storm: Making and Breaking Empires in the Medieval Near East by Professor Nicholas Morton, is a look at not only the Mongols and their invasion, but the people who fought and died, and the empires that were made and lost.

The book begins with a city under siege by a large army of outsiders, at least to the people who lived there. The army was made up of strange men, strange animals, and stranger weapons. These were the Mongols who path to empire had brought them to the Near East, or as they would consider it fresh lands for conquest. As the Mongols began to move deeper into this territory cracks began to form as old pacts and peace alliances began to collapse, other rulers began to try and claim territory as once strong cities began to fall to the superior tactics and strength of the invaders. The book looks at both sides, with the chapter beginning with the Mongols actions, and the rest of the chapter being about how everyone else reacted. Or fled. The book covers the different religions, treaties and powers in the area, covering an area that seemed almost to be completely at war with everyone else.

The book is very well written and sourced. A lot of time and effort has been taken in researching and coming up with new ways to looks at historic events. There is quite a lot going on in this book. Sometimes the information might seem daunting and a little much, but everything seems to have a reason for being in the book, and what might seem like a diversion, is really setting a scene for something later. There are many maps which helps the reader realise how much territory was involved, how big the Mongol forces was, and how tactically efficient they were.

Recommended for fans of history, not just middle eastern history, or the Crusades, but for people who enjoy well written histories, especially on subjects that might be new to them. A very complete history on a time and place that might be new to a lot of people, or who like myself not received the full story.

A well written and informative without being dry book. I enjoyed reading it even with no background of knowledge in the subject.

Impressively detailed and illustrated, this gives a sense of the sweeping changes wrought by the most expansive empire the world has ever seen.

Quick Summary: Educational Resource

My Review: The Mongol Storm: Making and Breaking Empires in the Medieval Near East by Nicholas Morton was an extraordinarily comprehensive book on the presence and impact of the Mongols. With a vast amount of scholarly input, helpful cartographic illustrations, and detailed accounts on empires and peoples in the Medieval Near East, Morton has done a masterful job communicating history.

My Final Say: This is a book that will require time to read. It is not for the faint at heart. Rather, it is for those who are interested in Mongol history, events associated with the Medieval Era, peoples of the Middle Ages, and geographical and regional studies.

Rating: 4/5
Recommend: Yes
Audience: A

Appreciation is extended to the author, to the publisher, and to NetGalley, who provided access to this title in exchange for an honest review. I have voluntarily provided my personal input without any undue influence from any of the aforementioned parties.

A gripping history book that causes you to re-think and re-analyze what you might already know about the Mongols. The ideas of conquest and government are explored from new angles, and this book provides a fresh look at who the Mongols really were.

I really enjoyed this, a fascinating account of the Mongols. It is well written and brilliantly researched. In places it was quite a difficult read, but totally worth it! Highly recommend.

Well-written and accessible work about the history and influence of the Mongol reign. Morton deals with the history fairly and honest. Would recommend for a nonfiction library collection

As a Jill-of-all-trades when it comes to history, I feel like "the Mongols" is one of those topics that a lot of people have vague ideas about but don't really know what they're talking about, or any details at all. Genghis Khan, Kublai Khan, greatest land empire of all time... done.

Yeah. This book has made an enormous difference to the way I see the Mongols as a group, as an empire, as an historical force.

In his Introduction, Morton promises "a multi-perspective history of the Mongol invasions constructed from many different viewpoints". And that's definitely what the book delivers, as the way that the movement of Mongol troops - in and out of territory, sometimes staying, sometimes just installing new leadership after dismantling entire areas - impacts on a variety of pre-existing governments. The thing that surprised me is just WHERE that is happening... because it's the "Near/Middle East" (which is a stupid term for an Australian to use, but there we go). The book is focussed on how the Mongols impact on everything from Egypt, through the Frankish kingdom of Jerusalem, to Byzantium, and to Syria and Georgia and Armenia. I don't quite know where I thought the focus would be - I knew the Mongols had briefly penetrated Europe and made everyone crap their pants - but this was not it. And the thing is, the Mongols are a significant force for DECADES. There are events in this history - across the 13th and into the 14th centuries - that I already knew but that I had NO IDEA were at least partly as a result of the pressure coming from the east, via the Mongols: either directly because of the Mongols' actions, or because of the movement of people driven out by the Mongols (directly or through fear). How is it I had no idea of this?? I'm going to say it's at least partly racism, and also partly the occasionally narrow focus of some histories - in trying to narrow down the historical story, some things get chopped. (Rant could be inserted here about how choices are made, etc... but I'll spare my reader.)

One of the slightly odd parts of this book is that it is NOT as focussed as I had expected. There's entire sections about the politics of the Franks in Jerusalem and the Crusader States... with no apparently connection to the Mongols. Morton gets there eventually, but it does sometimes feel like there's a lot of extraneous detail that wasn't required to actually understand the point of the book - the Mongols. Not that I didn't enjoy the detail! It just wasn't necessary.

Obviously, I learned an enormous amount from this book. About the Mongols themselves - how they were organised, how they viewed themselves (as having a mandate from heaven to rule, and that all religions were fine because they were all subsumed within their own), and how they dealt with subject people. I also learned a huge amount about what was going on in Egypt around the period of the Mamluks coming to power, and to the east I finally learned something about Georgia and Armenia, which hadn't previously come across my radar in this period. Also more about the Crusader States, and generally how all of these states interacted with each other. Which is also something that I feel like has been missing from my knowledge here. Of course rulers were in contact, of course they were making deals and alliances, including across religious and ethnic lines... but I don't really kn0w about them.

The book itself is well-written. I found it engaging - perhaps because I was already invested in the general period and area. As with all such books, I did sometimes find the names hard to follow... if only everyone in the past had differentiated their names more (did there need to be more than one Bohemond?). Morton has structured the book well, largely chronologically and within that, geographically. There are also some useful maps that make locating the changing circumstances of the various polities easier. Overall, definitely a good addition to my understanding of the world.

I am a big fan of Chenggis & all his progeny.

Let's take all the dark stuff that we know about him and them and move that to one side.

I marvel at the way and extent the Mongols were able to influence the world ....
...from the spread of gunpowder to the black plague....!!

Nicholas concentrates his dissertation on the East and the latter Mongol affairs.

This was almost a DNF. Sometimes a bit dry, being squeezed with facts after facts was a little too much for me.

But, this is a history book. I persisted, and things got a little better!

If you are a fan of the Mongols, it is essential Reading covering subject matter that the others have not often talked about.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Basic Books for this ARC of this book.

Best read with a glass of chilled kumis outside your yurt (with your horse close by)

The Mongols managed to establish the second largest land empire in human history without a doubt. Sources from Chinese observers to Christian monks describe the ruthlessness and ferocity of their conquests which they made seem easy. Morton has done a fantastic job of peeling back one area though that the Mongols struggled to conquer: the Near East. Morton has done a fantastic job of unveiling the narrative of the Mongol conquest in the Middle East and how this region actually halted their advance. I definitely think this book takes its place amongst other great works on the Mongols.

Professor Morton takes a wide-view approach to the Mongol Empire, tying the impact of the Mongol invasion with how other nations dealt with this potential threat and the decision matrix that is generated.