On the Trail of Genghis Khan: An Epic Journey Through the Land of the NomadsGrand Prize Winner, Banff Mountain Festival Book Competition The relationship between man and horse on the Eurasian steppe gave rise to a succession of rich nomadic cultures. Among them were the Mongols of the thirteenth century – a small tribe, which, under the charismatic leadership of Genghis Khan, created the largest contiguous land empire in history. Inspired by the extraordinary life nomads lead, Tim Cope embarked on a journey that hadn't been successfully completed since those times: to travel on horseback across the entire length of the Eurasian steppe, from Karakorum, the ancient capital of Mongolia, through Kazakhstan, Russia, Crimea and the Ukraine to the Danube River in Hungary. From horse-riding novice to spending months in the saddle, he learnt to fend off wolves and would-be horse-thieves, and grapple with the haunting extremes of the steppe as he crossed sub-zero plateaux, the scorching deserts of Kazakhstan and the high-mountain passes of the Carpathians. As he travelled he formed a close bond with his horses and especially his dog Tigon, and encountered essential hospitality – the linchpin of human survival on the steppe – from those he met along the way. Cope bears witness to how the traditional ways hang in the balance in the post-Soviet world – an era that has brought new-found freedom, but also the perils of corruption and alcoholism, and left a world bereft of both the Communist system upon which it once relied, and the traditional knowledge of the nomadic forefathers. A journey of adventure, endurance and eventual triumph, On the Trail of Genghis Khan is at once a celebration of and an elegy for an ancient way of life. |
Contents
Wolf Totem | |
A Fine Line to the West | |
The Roaring River Mountain | |
Kazakhstan | |
Stalins Shambala | |
Lost Hordes in Europe | |
Cossack Borderlands | |
The Timashevsk Mafia | |
Crimea | |
Where Two Worlds Meet | |
The Return of the Crimean Tatars | |
Ukraine | |
Crossroads | |
7 | |
Tokym Kagu Bastan | |
Balkhash | |
Wife Stealing and Other Legends of Tasaral | |
The Starving Steppe | |
The Place That God Forgot | |
Otamal | |
Ships of the Desert | |
The Oil Road | |
Russia | |
Taking the Reins | |
Among the Hutsuls | |
The End of the World | |
Epilogue | |
List of Maps | |
Glossary | |
Selected Bibliography | |
A Note on the Author | |
Other editions - View all
On the Trail of Genghis Khan: An Epic Journey Through the Land of the Nomads Tim Cope Limited preview - 2013 |
On the Trail of Genghis Khan: An Epic Journey Through the Land of the Nomads Tim Cope Limited preview - 2013 |
On the Trail of Genghis Khan: An Epic Journey Through the Land of the Nomads Tim Cope Limited preview - 2013 |
Common terms and phrases
Akbakai animals army arrival Aset Australia Baitak Balkhash began blanket border camel camp Carpathians Caspian Central Asia century Cossacks Crimea Crimean Tatars culture Danube dark Darya Dashnyam desert drink Eurasian steppe Europe eyes farm feeling felt forest Genghis Khan Golden Horde grass grazing hand head herd herders hooves horizon horse’s horseman horses Hungarian Hungary Hutsul journey Kalmykia Kalmyks Kathrin Kazakh Kazakhstan Khan’s khanate Kharkhorin Kipchaks known lake Lake Balkhash land legs lived looked Meirim miles milk Mongol Empire Mongolia months morning mountains moved night nomads Ogonyok Oirat passed pasture pulled reached ride river rode Ruslan Russian saddle saiga Seryoga sheep sleep snow Soviet stallion summer Syr Darya Taskonir tent Tigon told took town traditional Turkic turned Ukraine Ukrainian valley village vodka weeks western winter wolves yurt