Calliope articles from March 2008

Calliope archives from March 2008

5 Mongolian superstitions.(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... 1 Don't step on the threshold of anyone's ger or house. Doing so is like stepping on its owner's neck. Not stepping on it shows respect for the owner's property. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] 2 Never stamp out a fire or put anything on it....

The Mongol world A.D. 1162-1294.(MUSINGS)(Anno Domini)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] READY FOR AN ADVENTURE? Good! In this issue, we travel to Mongolia, land of spectacular scenery and forbidding terrain. Here is the world's southernmost permafrost (permanently frozen subsoil) and northernmost...

The rise of Genghis.(Genghis Khan)
March 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] one day, while hunting, Yesugei, a minor chief of one of the many smaller Mongol tribes, kidnapped a woman, Ho'elun, from the Merkits, another Mongol tribe. Their first son was named Temujin, from the Mongolian word...

Mongol 'secrets'.(The Secret History of the Mongols)
March 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Most of what we know about the Mongols comes from non-Mongol sources. Some is favorable, such as the writings of the Persian historian Juvan (1226-1283). Some is not. Those written by Mongol enemies paint an...

Secret History of the Mongols.
March 1, 2008... The following selection from The Secret History of the Mongols belongs to the original core of the text and reflects the work's style and content. In it, we are told how Temujin's mother, Ho'elun, and her young children were left to die by...

Who were the Mongols? A woman prepares to milk her sheep. As there are no corrals on the steppe, tying ewes neck-to-neck in long double rows keeps them quiet for milking.
March 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The Mongols are known as steppe-dwelling pastoral nomads. But they became nomads rather late in their history. The change occurred in the eighth and ninth centuries A.D. Prior to this time, they were Hoy-in Irgen, or...

Taking control.(Genghis Khan and the Mongols)
March 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] A common misconception is that the semiliterate Mongols came out of the steppes of Mongolia, quickly conquered far more advanced civilizations, and left the government in each area in the hands of the conquered....

Why trade mattered.(Mongol Empire)
March 1, 2008... Like most nomadic pastoral peoples, the Mongols required goods that they did not produce in order to survive. For example, while they did raise animals, they seldom grew grain or made tools or clothes. Surviving Chinese historical accounts...

A woman's right.(in the Mongol Empire)
March 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED] Women played important roles in the traditional Mongol nomadic pastoral economy. If the records are accurate, they had more rights than women in other contemporary East Asian societies. Not only did they do what...

Two geese & a frog.(ancient mongolian literature)
March 1, 2008... At the time Temujin was proclaimed Genghis Khan in 1206, he was fighting the people known as the Uighurs. One of his captives was a learned scribe named T'a-t'a T'ung-a, who had been seized as he searched the battlefield for his master....

Messengers of the yam.(postal system developed by Genghis Khan)
March 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] By the time Temujin became Genghis Khan, caravans laden with merchandise had been trudging along the trade routes between Europe and China for more than 1,000 years. But a caravan moves only as quickly as its slowest...

Fun with words.
March 1, 2008... WORD ORIGINS Horde Visit any major tourist attraction and you will encounter hordes of tourists. Go camping in the woods and hordes of mosquitoes will almost always manage to invade your tent. This commonly used word traces its roots to...

A follower of shamanism.(Genghis Khan)
March 1, 2008... Young Temujin pursued his goal of uniting the warring Mongol tribes under his rule for many years. A talented diplomat, he made powerful allies and persuaded some tribes to follow him. Those who resisted, he conquered with military force. But...

From Genghis to Kublai.(Genghis Khan and Kublai Khan)
March 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] When Kublai was about nine years old, he met his grandfather, Genghis Khan, for the first time. Genghis had returned to his home territory during a lull in his military campaigns. One afternoon, he took Kublai and...

A-maze-ing archers.(ACTIVITY)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... Mongolians have always been recognized as superb archers. But, even experts can have a "bad day," and so, when this Mongol archer searched for his lost bow, he found himself alone on the steppe--with bow in hand but uncertain how to get back to...

Let's eat.(Mongol foods)
March 1, 2008... With no towns or markets where they could buy food, the Mongols needed reliable sources for food. They hunted wild animals and gathered wild plant foods, but the most commonly eaten food came from their herds of sheep, goats, and horses. ...

Let's try some manta, using eggplant.(ACTIVITY)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... DIRECTIONS: (Note: How you want the manta to taste determines the quantity of each ingredient.) [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] 1. Remove the inside or pith of the eggplant and cut it into cubes. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] 2. Saute...

A ger full of wombs.
March 1, 2008... Answer each of the clues and then try to find the 22 words hidden in this Mongol ger. 1. Genghis' oath of blood brotherhood 2. Brother of Kublai Khan 3. Genghis' wife 4. Postal express riders 5. Round felt tents of Mongol...

Ask calliope.(ASK ME!)
March 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [?] What's the connection between Daedalus and the minotaur of Crete? --Brian, Web post [!] According to legend, when King Minos ruled the Mediterranean island of Crete, he commissioned Daedalus, a...

SPQR discovering Ancient Rome.(From our Readers)(Senatus Populusque Romanus)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... (An excerpt) Rome, the capital of present-day Italy, is a city and the center of a civilization that has seen many empires and republics rise and fall. The first, and possibly the greatest, was the Roman Empire... [ILLUSTRATION...

Genghis Khan: Conqueror of the World.(BOOKS)(Book review)(Brief review)
March 1, 2008... Genghis Khan: Conqueror of the World by Leo de Hartog (Tauris Parke Paperbacks, 2004, www.ibtauris.com) examines how this fearless leader united the Mongol tribes and organized them into troops that would eventually conquer most of Asia. ...

The Blue Wolf: The Epic Tale of the Life of Genghis Khan and the Empire of the Steppes.(BOOKS)(Book review)(Brief review)
March 1, 2008... The Blue Wolf: The Epic Tale of the Life of Genghis Khan and the Empire of the Steppes by Frederic Dion (Thomas Dunne Books, 2003, www.thomasdunnebooks.com) is a historical novel that takes the reader back of Genghis Khan's early life and tells...

The Way People Live: Life in Genghis Khan's Mongolia.(BOOKS)(Book review)(Brief review)
March 1, 2008... The Way People Live: Life in Genghis Khan's Mongolia by Robert Taylor (Lucent Books, 2000, www.gale.com/lucent) describes all aspects of life during the Mongol leader's rule, using historical documents, paintings, and photos of artifacts. It...

Cobblestone resources.
March 1, 2008... Music Travels the Silk Road (CAL0701) Mongolia (FAC0310) The Song Dynasty (CAL0212) The Silk Road (CAL0202) The Ming Dynasty: The World of the Yongle Emperor (CAL9505) Buddhism (CAL 9503)

On the net.(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... WRITE TO US! Ask CALLIOPE, 30 Grove St., Peterborough, NH 03458 or askcalliope@caruspub.com By Chip Baker The Royal Alberta Museum hosted an exhibition about Genghis Khan. On this Web site is a terrific pictere gallery of the...

Let's meet at Naadam!
March 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED] Ask any Mongol what the most important national celebration is, and most likely the answer will be "Naadam." The word translates into English as "game" or "competition." The chief Naadam takes place every July, from...

Celebrating the 800th!(Genghis Khan )
March 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED] The 800th anniversary of Genghis Khan becoming the leader of all the Mongols had significant political implications. In 1206, the Mongol nobility granted Temujin the title of Genghis Khan. In 2006, the government...

Then and now.(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... WHAT'S CHANGED? Bows and arrows are no longer the preferred military weapon of Mongolian soldiers. Nor do they use horses or the outfits worn at the time of Genghis Khan. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] WHAT'S THE SAME? Archery and horseback...