Spotted at the Iron Sky showing last night...

oldspicerolldadice · 1 day

Well son, that just a memory from... my previous life.

geekchic · 2 days

No sir, you are nakedladies. And very helpful ones at that. Cheers.

podge27 · 3 days

Try the Windsor Castle in Notting Hill (not to be confused with the many other pubs of the same name- you want the one on Campden Hill road). The cheaper (Sam Smiths) alternative is the Earl of Lonsdale (not The Lonsdale) on Portobello Road. The Queens Head in Brook Green also has a lovely, huge beer garden. Several pubs near Hammersmith Bridge also have open spaces on the river side, but they're on the public promenade, and get very crowded. Those pubs also can get a bit pricey.

geekchic · 3 days

Hey, quick question as a foolish west londoner, but what is defined as 'wappingness'? I've not heard the term before... I mean Wapping, yeah, of course, but not 'wappiness'. (my girlfriend is going for her blue badge, and has stolen my encyclopedia of london)

Ekorn · 4 days

Good list, but 3 years? It's Oxford Street!

Ekorn · 4 days

The Millenium Wheel. It was only meant to be there for 2 years between 1999 and 2001.

spacespaniel · 6 days

River of Smoke by Amitav Ghosh (read Sea of Poppies first)
Moby Duck (yes, duck) by Donvan Hohn
Vanished Kingdoms by Norman Davies
The Shadow of the Sword by Tom Holland

ThatSpencerGuy · 7 days

Going to have to plug my friend (and bookshop colleague) at http://emilybooks.wordpress.com/2012/05/14/toys/ . She's remarkably well read, mostly fiction (and a tiny bit girly at times, but always excellent). She also comments on the book trade, and has been picked up to write about books for *The Spectator" magazine. (Don't be too put off by the right-wing bias of the magazine, the review section is first rate).

mozru · 14 days

Oh god, you're absolutely right, I just denied an entire civil war! Sorry, don't know what I was thinking. How embarrassing. I'm going to blame overtiredness, but still, that was crap of me. Thanks fo the correction.

jazzography · 14 days

As I've been led to understand, Sam Smiths almost never put prices up, any price rise is usually a tax increase only... Still the best value for some pretty good beer in the city, outside of student/parliamentary bars.

mozru · 14 days

This is an extremely broad question, as I'm sure you know. I'm going to break it down into three main periods.

The first is the establishment and consolidation of the Empire under Genghis (Chinggiz) Khan, b.1162 (perhaps), d.1227, as well as his initial conquests which ranged from the Caucaus' and bits of Russia to China.

The second phase would be the establishment of the empire under his son Tolui and then Ogedai, and eventually through to the rule of his grandson Mongke Khan. This was a period of rapid expansion reaching from the Czech Republic to Egypt to Burma and Japan. It also saw the development of court society back in the capital of Karakhorum in Mongolia (founded by Chingiz about 300km from modern Ulaanbaatuur). The emperors, princes and generals who grew up in Kharakorum had access to education, craftsmen and luxury. They were nomadic, and warriors, but they were beginning to be leaders and administrators too.

The third, longest phase, came after Mongke's death. The Mongol's system of tanistry had resulted in a centralised system (though the Great Khan was often away from his capital). When Mongke died, his brothers Kubilai (of Marco Polo/Samuel Coleridge fame), Ariq Boka, and Hulegu each had to return from their campaigns in China, Russia and Iran respectively. Kubilai eventually came out as great Khan (the competition was ~~peaceful but heated~~ violent and prolonged), and returned to China, where he became the founder of the Yuan Dynasty, Hulegu returned to Iran where he became the first Ilkhan of the Ilkhanate, and Ariq Boka returned to Russia and headed up the Golden Horde. In Central Asia and the Mongol homelands, the Chagatai Khanate took control. It must be noted that despite this apparent breakup, the Pax Mongolica (you'll be wanting that phrase in your paper) stood firm. While the empires drifted apart, and occasional conflicts arose (between the Ilkhans and the Golden Horde, usually), several stable empires were created. This third wave was the period of intergration, and lasted from Mongke's death in 1260. How long it lasted depended on the Khanate. The Yuan dynasty survived until the 1370's. The Ilkhans had consolidated, stagnated, resurged and declined by the 1340's. The Golden Horde broke up in the mid 15th century (though married into Kiev's royal families, and thus, arguably, survived until the Russian Revolution.) In Central Asia, Timur the Lame (Tamurlane) claimed descendency from Chinggiz Khan and wrecked havoc in Eurasia in the 15th century, destroying some of the last bastions of other Mongol rule. His descendent, Babur, founded the Mughal dynasty in India, which survived until 1707. The Chaghadaids arguably lasted to the eraly 18th century as well.

I'm off to bed now (I always seem to see these questions at like 1 in the morning), but feel free to ask a follow up or two. I'll post some permalinks below to previous questions I've tried to answer in this and other threads about the Mongols. They'll include some good bibliographical information too. Use the books I suggest in them, they're the ones you need. (Unless you need primary sources, which I can give you if need be, but they'll be hard to find unless you're in a city with a major academic library)

http://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/pvvce/the_mongol_empires_domestic_policy/c3ssybj

http://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/q87k3/what_are_the_best_examples_of_the_usage_of/c3vtfej?context=3

http://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/rcfut/how_close_were_the_mongols_to_sacking_europe/c4513v7?context=3

http://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/tes3i/how_did_ghengissubotai_ect_administer_the_mongol/c4m8lnm?context=3

theAlphaginger · 14 days

It's certainly considered legit by Mongol historians. What the Japanese often leave out, however, is the story that the Chinese workers who built the Mongol boats were a bit peeved at the Mongols, for you know, all the slaughter and shit.

The story goes that they built them boats that were appropriate for shallow water, river operations, not keeled, deep-ocean ships, which is one of the reason they all blew over so easily. That story probably isn't true, but there may be some elements. The Mongols, coming from as far inland as it's possible to be in the world, were not natural sailors. This Book is the current main one on the subject, though the author is a marine archaeologist, not a historian or Mongol Expert.

elaysion · 14 days

18th-19th Centuries, Europe and the America's in particular. It just seems so introverted, so procedural. The names of kings and battles and prime ministers all blend together, and the mish-mash of dates and concurrent conflicts gets far too confusing.

major edit: and Methodology/Historiography. I. JUST. DON'T. CARE. I get historical method, I will happily take it into account when I write, and I will do my best to keep in mind source biases, those who are left out of sources, and all the issues of Marxism, Feminism, etc., but I don't want to write my work on those, just acknowledge that they are issues and get on with writing the History I can. (This was a major piece of contention between my -historiography-obsessed- supervisor and myself, and was the main reason for me leaving my studies under him)

00Elf · 14 days

Really interesting, thanks for that! I knew there had been plenty of previous incarnations of the system, but not how widespread the idea was!

Let me pass on my other recently discovered random fact about post services (because I need to tell someone). American Express was originally a stagecoach and express mail company, just like the Pony Express, which eventually branched off into finance in the late 19th century.

Artimoi · 15 days

Yeah, I second Charles, excellent history writing (despite technically being a political scientist).

On a different tact, you must read my favorite writer, the journalist Ryzard Kapucinsky's, book Shah of Shahs. It's a remarkable piece of reporting, and a pleasure to read, even if it is somewhat a product of the 70's when it was written and when the author was there. Still, I can't recommend it highly enough.

00Elf · 15 days

A highly developed postal service, strong Governorships and loyalty, as well as the co-opting of pre-existing power structures - ie the Persian administrators in Iran, the Mandarins in China.

In the early stages Genghis' rule, administration was indeed secondary to conquest, and beyond the establishment of a capital at Kharakorum (300km west of present day Ulaanbaatuur), locals appear to have been left to pick up the pieces and pay tribute to soldiers and governors left in the conquered lands. Philosophers, scientists, craftsmen, artists and teachers were brought to the capital to teach the next generations of rulers.

As the Mongol administration swiftly became more sophisticated, the empire became better administrated. The Yam postal system was set up, enabling fast communications. Mongol princes and generals were given fifedoms, often spread out across the massive empire, sometimes in land best administered by their relatives, sometimes land already promised to their relatives. This caused both an element of 'dividing and ruling' for the Great Khan, and also a reason to keep on good terms with kin. Hulegu Khan, the first Ilkhan of Iran, for instance, was given lands in southern China, which was ruled by his brother Kubilai. It seems he actually did some administering of the region, and I have heard one academic speculate that it was thanks to his rule in this period that Yunan province in south China is majority Muslim today.

Later Mongol rulers (after and including Hulegu and Kubilai) had sophisticated court systems administering taxation, building abd public works/investment. The Khan's made budgetary decisions (including Tagudar Khans ill-fated attempt to introduce Chinese-style paper money to the Middle East in the 1280s, which resulted in an economic freeze and subsequent famine). For the most part, though, they were competent administrators. In Russia, Iran and Central Asia they all paid titular heed to the Great Khan in China, but in practice, they ruled independently, though with friendly borders.

Books:

The Mission of Friar William of Rubruck: His Journey to the Court of the Great Khan Mongke William of Rubruck (Primary source in translation)
The Travels Marco Polo (Primary source in translation)
Daily Life in the Mongol Empire George Lane
The Mongols David Morgan
The Legacy of Genghis Khan Linda Kormaroff (it looks like an art book, but it contains fantastic history essays)
The Mongols; A Very Short Introduction Morris Rossabi (Brand new, -like 2 weeks old- so, up to date and so far -I'm halfway through- pretty faultless, and accessible)

Docs: Not really, sorry. Film makers are pretty violence-obsessed. There is meant to be a good German one around if you speak the right language. It's online somewhere.

00Elf · 15 days

What you missed is the fact that the Mongol system was in place from the 1220's until... the 1960's! Under the Mongols, staging posts were placed every 40km with fresh horses. It would take a messenger (obviously a good rider) 2 weeks to get from Beijing to Baghdad. A letter could make it in 1!

In Mongolia, this system, called the Yam system, kept going through the Chaghati Khanate and onwards, until the Soviets shut it down in the 60's considering it a waste of funds and a potential threat. Some people I know have re-opened parts of it for an annual race.

I know that there's a PhD on the Yam in the works, but there's some interesting stuff in Linda Kormaroff's The Legacy of Genghis Khan, as well as the classic tome The Mongols by David Morgan.

agentdcf · 15 days

ok, before the joke goes quietly into that good night, will someone please tell me where it came from? I feel like i completely missed this one, and now I keep seeing our dear leader eternalkerri somewhat peeved by Colin Farrell references...

agentdcf · 15 days

Well done that man (woman?). Glad to have you in Red.

NMW · 15 days

It's the usual set or questions about just how barbaric the Mongol's were, with most laypeople assuming them as a group of rape-lovin' genocidal maniacs. Lot's of mentions of how 'everyone is related to Genghis Khan'. (Actually .05% of Eurasian Males are direct decedents, so significant, but not everyone -allegedly you have to go back to Nebuchadnezzar III for that).

Otherwise, if your party is in the Middle East, they tell you Genghis Khan destroyed all their great cities - a partial truth, but with a lot of provisos. If you're in East Asia, Russia, or, I hear, Iran someone will try to tell you that the rule was only a couple of horrible years long but that the locals kicked them all out, while in reality they rules each for a substantial time and then assimilated. In Europe and America, most people who don't frequent this forum don't realise just how far the Mongols got, from the Danube and the border with modern Germany to the Sinai to Burma to Japan.

xlevus · 15 days

yup.

alltorndown · 19 days

Ah... My bad! On your way.

alltorndown · 19 days

Baltic sea mate... Pretty far off the caspian...

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