Stone Epigraphy in the Service of Chinggisid Imperial Culture

The paper discusses the scope and the patterns of stone usage for the sake of the Eurasian-wide dispersion of imperial propaganda under the Chinggisids (13–14th centuries). Bringing together case studies from a broad range of geographical locations under the Mongol control, the paper especially underlines, quite in Allsen’s terms, both the selectivity and adaptability of the Chinggisid overlords and their elites, who succeeded to adapt the usage of stone for the needs of the imperial statehood in the areas with extremely diverse cultural, religious, and political traditions throughout the continent. The paper also stresses the limitations of stone as an information and propaganda medium for the steppe nomadic conquest rulers as well as the limitations of the source and the scope of the surviving artifacts.

Ancient history · Archaeology · Epigraphy · Geography · Sociology · Anthropology · Chinese history and philosophy · Eurasian Exchange Networks · History · Linguistics and Cultural Studies