19. The Mongols - Terror of the Steppe

In the far east of the Eurasian steppe, the sound of hoofbeats is growing...

In this episode we travel along the vast grassland corridor of the steppe, to hear one of the most remarkable and unlikely stories from medieval history – the story of the Mongol Empire. Find out how this group of nomadic horse riders united the peoples of the Mongolian steppe, and forged them into a truly unique kind of state. Discover how they conquered much of the lands of Eurasia, and brought the distant cultures of China, Persia, the Middle East and Europe into contact. And hear the story of how the world’s largest land empire finally came apart, and left the world as we know it in its wake.

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CHAPTERS

00:00 Introduction
09:31 The Steppe
50:51 Temujin
01:53:51 Chinggis Khan
02:18:28 China
03:02:42 Persia
03:33:27 Succession
04:02:20 Ogedei
04:19:41 Europe
05:01:23 Assassins
05:19:11 Kublai
06:03:20 The Fall
06:34:21 Ghosts of the Steppe

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Voice Actors:

Michael Hajiantonis
Henry Stenhouse
Lachlan Lucas
Alexandra Boulton
Simon Jackson
Tom Marshall-Lee
Chris Harvey
Nick Denton
Amrit Sandhu
Matt Bidulph
Paul Casselle
Peter Walters
Garrett Caver
Sebastian Balzarolo

Readings in Arabic were performed by Oussama Taher
Readings in Chinese were by Richard Teng
Readings from the secret history of the Mongols in Mongolian were performed by Uiles

Sound design by Alexey Sibikin
Mongolian throat singing by Batzorig Vaanchig
Music by Kevin Macleod

Genghis Khan family tree by Jeramy Smith of Arkane Labs

Map animations by Hussein Sheikh

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[HistoryDose]

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[seanhenasey]

In my view this is one of the finest pieces of media ever published on YouTube. 7 hours of grade A documentary about one of the most monumental yet still understudied periods in human history. Thank you! What a time to be alive!

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[XtayCalmEco]

Genghis Khan's rise to power is a masterpiece of drama, let alone history. You won't find a better place to hear the story than right here. Thanks again Paul!

[GildaLee]

THIS is why the internet was invented.

THIS channel is among the finest educators in. The. WORLD.

THANK YOU, PAUL COOPER! ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

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[DrCateShanahan]

Hard to belivee just one man so expertly writes, produces, directs and narrates. He brings the past to life like no other.

[matthewtaylor]

The fact a YouTube channel can produce a documentary far better than that of the BBC will never cease to amaze me. Truly great work by all involved -- just brilliant. Thank you!

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YES! I’ve been eagerly awaiting this ever since the original audio version dropped.

I gave out an audible gasp of excitement when I saw the notification. It’s truly some of Paul’s best work. I can’t wait to see imagery to accompany the incredible story.

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[jmignin]

Paul - I bought your book several weeks ago and just finished it. I’m a social studies teacher in Chicago, and let me pay you a compliment.

You are an extraordinary storyteller and writer. I assigned one of your episodes to my eighth-graders this past semester, and they could not have loved it more.
Personally, as a fan of yours - heck yes brother. Keep me, and these kids, interested and engaged. Well done.

[bennettbullock]

On the one hand I find myself cheering for Ghengis Khan, due to his ingenuity, strategic genius, and his ability to turn the most leftover and powerless of the steppe peoples into a world-conquering juggernaut. On the other hand I realize that his campaigns constitute probably the biggest genocide of the pre-modern world, and they're probably the reason that Eurasia fell behind Europe in the next millennium - people were traumatized, decimated, and clinging to what vestiges of civilization they had.

[Lashovadjs]

What a master piece and the quality is surreal. The actors and the actresses you chose are beyond my ability to praise.

I did notice that you did not touch much upon the Khitans when you mentioned about the rise of the Mongols and their relationship with the Jurchens, considering that the Khitans, Jurchens and the Song Dynasties themselves had a twisted history of wars and conquests.

I'm wondering if you will be talking about the broader Mongolic peoples and the empires that they established well before Chinggis. The Khitans were Mongolic, and hundreds years predating them the Mongolic Xianbeis (Serbi) and their Avar (Rouran) cousins were the ones that established large empires across the Eurasian steppes.

Expecting more great work from you!

[MegaSupernowa]

Highest quality documentaries I ever experienced in my life . This is how history deserves to be presented to people. Passion of the author can be felt in every second. As a history major, you have my deepest thanks.