Genghis Khan conquers the world

Furious stone chess pieces. They stand in an intimidating posture and you would not want to have to confront them as a real army. Who or what does this chess game represent? It was purchased by Mr Glotzbach in The Hague in 1976, but unfortunately we don´t have any more information than that.

This chess game has caused us quite a lot of headaches. The pawns somewhat resemble medieval knights with their swords held up in front of their chests, but the rooks look more like Chinese pagodas. And the king, with his marvellous headpiece, is reminiscent of the Polynesian statues on Easter Island. What are we looking at here?
We can cross out the last option. Polynesian tribes don´t dress the way these chess pieces do, including the pointy beards. Is it possible that the chess game is based on the looks of European knights or Asian warriors? This is an interesting thought, considering that in the thirteenth century Europe was shaking with fear, due to Genghis Khan and his Mongol warriors approaching the continent.

World domination
When he was a child, Genghis Khan (circa 1162-1227) and his family were driven into the wilderness by a hostile tribe. They were starving and had to flee time and again, but the boy survived. Hardened by his youth, Genghis Khan managed to work his way up through military victories. In 1206 he was elected by the other Mongols as Genghis (universal) Khan, leader of all Mongols. This was the beginning of the Mongol Empire. Genghis Khan´s ambition was to subject the whole world to the leadership of the Mongols and he nearly achieved his goal.

The number of soldiers and weapons kept growing and his army matured through military experience. The army marched further and further west. Genghis Khan overpowered all of the nations he encountered by speedy cavalry attacks and he founded an empire unlike any other known to mankind. Even the Roman Empire was just a speck on the world map in terms of dimensions when compared to the Mongol Empire, which stretched out from Southeast Asia all the way to Hungary. It included nearly a quarter of all the land on Earth and only the nineteenth century British Empire would be larger.

Pope sent out warning
Europe trembled with fear of this murderous army that kept getting closer, sowing death and destruction along the way. In 1241, the Mongols even stood on the banks of the Danube, after they had taken over and destroyed Budapest. To the relief of the European rulers, the Mongol army withdrew that same year, after the death of their leader Khan. A succession war ensued and the new Khans preferred to deal with warfare against China and the battle against Islam.

The Mongolian army would never return to Europe, only they didn´t know that in Europe yet. Pope Innocent IV wanted to know what plans the new Khan had for the West. He had survived the Mongolian massacres in Poland and Hungary and in 1245 he wrote a letter, in which he voiced his displeasure with the killings of innocent Christians. If the Khan repented then all his sins would be forgiven, in exchange for peace with Europe. Against all the pope´s expectations, the Khan did not grab this opportunity with both hands, as evidenced by his answer to the pontiff.

These letters were the first important diplomatic exchange between Europe and the Mongolian Empire. At the age of sixty, Franciscan Brother John of Pian del Carpine was instructed to travel to the Khan´s court and personally deliver the letter. It would take him two years to complete the mission, and John described his travel experiences and the country in the Ystoria Mongalorum quos nos Tartaros appellamus (History of the Mongols whom we call Tartars). The book gained world-wide fame, but is not always credible. His successor, William of Rubruck, wrote a much more reliable report a few years later. However, this journal wasn´t released in Rubruck´s own time and it was forgotten about until its rediscovery in the nineteenth century.

Khan on a robbing spree
The son of Genghis Khan would complete the construction of the capital city, Karakorum, in 1240. The city was home to the palace of the Khan, Buddhist temples and also a Christian Nestorian Church. In the long term, the exchange of knowledge between Europe and the Mongol Empire would be of greater significance than the trade between the two territories. On a cultural level there are also some interesting swops. An example of this is the Mongolian version of the early medieval story Charlemagne and Elbegast, put in writing for the first time in 1270. In this version of the story, the Khan receives the order to go robbing and in the process he finds out that his brother-in-law wants to poison him. Could this chess set be the product of such a cultural exchange? Or is the design of the chess pieces the result of the imagination of its creator? Who knows…?

By Marjolein Overmeer