Jacob Abbott

Genghis Khan (1162-1227) was the founder, Khan (ruler) and Khagan (emperor) of the Mongol Empire, which became the largest contiguous empire in history after his death. He came to power by uniting many of the nomadic tribes of northeast Asia. After founding the Mongol Empire and being proclaimed "Genghis Khan", he started the Mongol invasions that would devastate most of Eurasia. These included raids of the Kara-Khitan Khanate, Caucasus, Khwarezmid Empire, Western Xia and Jin dynasties. These campaigns were often accompanied by wholesale massacres of the civilian populations - especially in Khwarezmia. By the end of his life, the Mongol Empire occupied a substantial portion of Central Asia and China. Before Genghis Khan died, he assigned gedei Khan as his successor and split his empire into khanates among his sons and grandsons. Beyond his great military accomplishments, Genghis Khan also advanced the Mongol Empire in other ways. He decreed the adoption of the Uyghur script as the Mongol Empire's writing system. He also promoted religious tolerance in the Mongol Empire, and created a unified empire from the nomadic tribes of northeast Asia. Present-day Mongolians regard him highly as the founding father of Mongolia.

The "History of Cyrus the Great" by Jacob Abbott is a truly magnificent account of the story of the life of Cyrus The Great, founder of the Persian empire. Narrrated by two Greek historians (Herodotus and Xenophenon), the life of Cyrus is brought to life once more in Abbott's great masterpiece. While the Iranians regarded Cyrus the Great as "The Father," Babylonian revered him as "The Liberator, Hellenes saw him as the "Law-Giver" and the Jews viewed him as "The Anointed of the Lord." Cyrus the Great was the emperor who proclaimed, at the pinnacle of power 2500 years ago, that "... he would not reign over the people if they did not wish it." He also promised not to force any person to change his religion and faith and guaranteed freedom for all. The Charter of Cyrus the Great remains an important document that should be studied in the history of human rights. The first chapters in Jacob Abbott's classic tell about the birth of Cyrus the Great and his visit to Media as a young prince when his grandfather Astyages was king of Media. Chapter 4-8 describes the accession of Cyrus to the throne, his conquest of Lydia and Babylon, and the liberation of Jews. Chapter 10 tells the story of Panthea, a Susian captive who was treated with dignity and respect, before being reunited with her Assyrian husband Arbadates (a general). The last chapter tells about the death of Cyrus the Great. A very interesting read.