Genghis Khan: Illustrated

The book "Genghis Khan" by Jacob Abbott nowadays is in the public domain, but a great work has been done by Publisher to this version to make an electronic book that contrasts favorably to the original version. A lot of errors that exist in the free versions have been corrected; proper navigation is available or shortly, the ASCII text has been converted into a proper e-book. And the most important, in addition to original illustrations in this book, were added many new illustrations that help us to see how the History comes to Life.

Genghis Khan (1162 – 1227), born Temujin, was the founder of the Mongol Empire, which became the largest contiguous empire in history. At the time of his death, the Mongol Empire stretched from the Caspian Sea to the Sea of Japan. Temujin came to power by uniting many of the nomadic tribes of northeast Asia. After founding the Mongol Empire and being proclaimed "Genghis Khan," he started the Mongol invasions that resulted in the conquest of most of Eurasia. His campaigns were often accompanied by wholesale massacres of the civilian populations. The empire's expansion continued for a generation or more after Genghis's death in 1227. Under his successor Ögedei Khan the speed of expansion reached its peak. Mongol armies pushed into Persia, finished off the Xi Xia and the remnants of the Khwarezmids, and came into conflict with the imperial Song Dynasty of China, starting a war that lasted until 1279 and that concluded with the Mongols gaining control of all of China. They also pushed further into Russia and Eastern Europe.

Jacob Abbott (1803 – 1879) was a prolific American writer with vast and complete bibliography. It was not until about 1848 that he and his brother John Stevens Cabot Abbott embarked on the idea of doing a series of biography targeted to young people. His target audience was age "15 to 25", and the Abbott brothers eventually produced a set of biographies that were critically acclaimed, and widely read. Within a few years of their publication, the Abbott biographies became standard reference works of history, and were available in libraries throughout America. They were originally published as the ‘Illustrated History’ series, but were republished many times during the next sixty years in various collections, entitled ‘Famous Characters of History’, ‘Famous Queens of History’, and others. They were most recently republished in the early 1900’s as the ‘Makers of History’ series. In addition to these series, Jacob Abbott wrote at least thirty additional children’s books, as well as many books and articles regarding education for the young, directed at parents and educators. He also wrote several explicitly Christian books, teaching the tenets of Christian theology and moral instruction to the young. Here is what Abraham Lincoln wrote of Abbott's historical series: "I want to thank you and your brother for Abbott’s series of Histories. I have not education enough to appreciate the profound works of voluminous historians, and if I had, I have no time to read them. But your series of Histories gives me, in brief compass, just that knowledge of past men and events which I need. I have read them with the greatest interest. To them I am indebted for about all the historical knowledge I have."