"Astonishing...Brings to life a thriving - and rather civilized - empire" - The Telegraph
"sparkles with energy insight and passion... difficult to put down." Nicholas Morton BBC
History Magazine Control the sea and you control everything...a gripping tale of dynastic
rivalry and innovation from the author of the classic work Genghis Khan and the Making of the
Modern World . Genghis Khan built a formidable land empire but he never crossed the sea. Yet
by the time his grandson Kublai Khan had defeated the last vestiges of the Song empire and
established the Yuan dynasty in 1279 the Mongols controlled the most powerful navy in the
world. How did a nomad come to conquer China and master the sea? Based on ten years of research
and a lifetime of immersion in Mongol culture and tradition Emperor of the Seas brings this
little-known story vibrantly to life. Kublai Khan is one of history's most fascinating
characters. He brought Islamic mathematicians to his court where they invented modern
cartography and celestial measurement. He transformed the world's largest land mass into a
unified diverse and economically progressive empire introducing paper money. And after
bitter early setbacks he transformed China into an outward looking sea-faring empire. By the
end of his reign the Chinese were building and supplying remarkable ships to transport men
grain and weapons over vast distances of a size and dexterity that would be inconceivable in
Europe for hundreds of years. Khan had come to a brilliant realization: control the sea and
you control everything. A master storyteller with an unparalleled grasp of Mongol sources
Jack Weatherford shows how Chinese naval hegemony changed the world forever - revolutionizing
world commerce and transforming tastes as far away as England and France.
