The Secret History of the Mongols

The Secret History of the Mongols is the earliest work concerning Chinggis (Genghis) Khan and his peoples and, as such, it is the source text (whether directly or indirectly) for all related canon and fandom content. The Secret History was prepared for the Mongol royal family around the time of Chinggis Khan's death in 1227. 
The people or characters most often explored in canon and fandom works are: 
* Temujin, who took on the formal title Chinggis Khan in 1206, and founded the Mongol Empire. 
* Jamukha, Temujin's closest friend, and later rival and frenemy. 
* Börte, Temujin's first wife, and later head of the first Court of Chinggis Khan. 
While the hugely negative notion of the bloodthirsty "Mongol Hordes" has been common, there is a growing awareness now that the actual history was far more complex. Elements of Temujin's history are similar to the Arthurian concern with bringing peace and order to a disrupted country and a unity to its peoples. 
Scholar Jack Weatherford describes the Mongol Empire, with its trade routes enabling shared cultures and technologies, as an intrinsic part of the Renaissance.Wikipedia page on the book Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World by Jack Weatherford (2004). Weatherford later wrote about "the impact and legacy of Genghis Khan's daughters and Mongol queens such as Mandukhai the Wise and Khutulun".Wikipedia page on the book The Secret History of the Mongol Queens by Jack Weatherford (2010). 
==Fandoms and Fanworks==
The Mongols fandom has been a scatter of disparate activities, but is slowly starting to find common ground. 
===Mongolian History RPF===
There are currently 20 works listed in the Mongolian History RPF fandom on AO3.Mongolian History RPF fandom on AO3 (accessed 1 January 2021). Many of them explore women and their historical roles in Mongolian culture. 
Fanart of the 13thC Mongols can be found on DeviantArt. Some of it leans heavily into the (contested and perhaps problematic) notion that Chingghis Khan had red hair and green eyes. 
====Fanworks====
* By Bright Moonlight, a fic about Khutulun, her suitors, and 10,000 horses, by saiditallbefore.
* And Then The Arrows Fly, Snippets in the lives of four historical Mongolian women, by lightningwaltz.
* A Brother's Death, in which Temujin sentences his former blood brother and now enemy Jamukha to death, by CrunchySalad.
* mongols gallery on DeviantArt, by Phobs.
* Mongol Princess on DeviantArt, by Tsabo6.
===Star Trek (TV and film franchise, 1966)===
====Klingons in Canon====
When Gene Roddenberry first created the Klingons for Star Trek: TOS, this alien race was described as "the Mongol Hordes with spaceships and ray guns."Academic paper "Star Trek: A Phenomenon and Social Statement on the 1960s" by J. William Snyder, Jr. (1995). Just as with the Mongols themselves, however, the canon and fandom views of the Klingons have evolved to take into account their complexities. As the editor of fanzine Grip observes in Issue 37 (November 1990):
====Klingons in Fanworks====
The earlier Klingon characters were portrayed with East Asian features, as seen in these fannish artworks. Perhaps the problematic "Ming the Merciless" aspects of this"Yellow Peril" section of the Ming the Merciless Wikipedia page. helps explain the Klingons' physical evolution in later Star Trek iterations. 
Image:klingonkor.jpg|Portrait of "Kor", the first named Klingon on Star Trek (artist unknown).
File:landon1.jpg|An unnamed Klingon from the Signe Landon Star Trek Postcards (1976).
Image:yuwi.jpg|Portrait of "Kang", by Robert Jan, from the zine YU'WI cha' Interrogator (1986).
====Vulcans in Fanworks====
Fan Gayle F created a band of bonded warriors on the pre-reform planet Vulcan; these are called S'Kandarai. It was noted by one fan that "they've always been reminicent of the Mongol horse warriors of about 1200 A.D., especially the costumes and braided hairdos she sometimes draws them wearing". from K/S & K.S. (Kindred Spirits) #11 (1984). 
===Star Wars, Episodes 1-3 (films, 1999)===
The character Padmé Amidala, Queen and Senator of Naboo, wears a fantastic range of costumes, with impressive attention paid to hair and other cosmetic styling. Much of this - especially the more formal and regal instances - is based on a variety of Asian influences, including Mongolian. In particular, at least one of her headdresses is "directly inspired by the Mongolian headdress used by women from the Khalkha Mongols tribe, one of the largest ethnic groups in Mongolia today"; an article by Georgie Juszczyk on the MongolInk site considers the question of whether this was admiration or appropriation on the part of the Star Wars producers.The Secret History of Star Wars article on MongolInk (accessed 12 October 2021). 
What is undeniable, however, is the dramatic effect of Padmé's costumes, and hence the inspiration for fanart.
====Fanworks====
* Amidala in Red, art featuring the Khalkha Mongols-inspired headdress, by juliaharrison. 
* Amidala, art featuring the Khalkha Mongols-inspired headdress, by Namwhan-K. 
* Padme Amidala, art featuring a wise and regal Padmé on her throne, by Totemos. 
* Padme Amidala, art featuring a determined Padmé on Naboo, by ChrissieZullo.
===Mongol: The Rise of Genghis Khan (film, 2007)===
This 2007 film directed by Sergei Bodrov deals with Temujin's early life and is intended as the first of a trilogy. 
====Fanworks====
The beautiful cinematography of this film - and the intriguing relationship between Temujin and Börte - has inspired many an animated gif and picspam on Tumblr.
* I promise, animated gif featuring Temujin and Börte by jorindelle
* All Mongols fear the thunder, animated gif featuring Temujin and Jamukha by philomaela
* Mongol landscape, animated gif featuring the epic land and cinematography by categorysixkaiju
* I chose you, animated gif featuring Temujin and Börte by jorindelle
* Temujin and Börte, picspam by platoapproved
* best battle scene ever, animated gif featuring the epic landscape, battle dress and battle tactics by jorindelle
===Amgalant (series of novels, 2012)===
Amgalant is a trilogy of novels by Bryn Hammond that brings The Secret History to vivid life. The author has begun sharing fanfic based in her own universe.
====Fanworks====
* Love and Conquest at the Gates of Samarkand, fic focussing on the Temujin/Jamuqa slash relationship by Bryn.
* The Tenth Street Ordo, a Coffee Shop AU focussing on the relationship between Temujin, his wife, and his anda by Julie.
===Genghis Khan (Miike Snow song, and Ninian Doff music video, 2015)===
This song's lyrics declare the singer's own identification with Genghis Khan, as he knows he is behaving tyrannously towards his girlfriend. The song's accompanying music video bursts open this cliché and pushes the concept to the next level.
The music video "depicts a love story between a villain and a James Bond-esque spy", with the villain struggling to kill the captive good-guy due to his own emotions for him. The villain ends up leaving his wife in order to start a new life with the secret agent.Wikipedia page on the Genghis Khan (Miike Snow song).YouTube page for the music video. While the characters don't directly reference Temujin and Jamukha, they share a frenemy relationship. This has naturally captured the imagination of slash fans, with 72 fanworks relating to the video currently listed on AO3.Genghis Khan - Miike Snow (Music Video) fandom on AO3 (accessed 31 December 2020). 
====Fanworks====
* Pas de Deux, fic focussing on the Secret Agent/Supervillain relationship, by icarus_chained. 
* Just like in the pulp magazines, fic adding some femslash to the mix, by adreadfulidea.
* Nobody Else But Me, fic taking it all another step away to feature Steve Rogers/Tony Stark from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, by Amonae.
===Легенда о Коловрате | Furious (film, 2017)===
Легенда о Коловрате (English title "Furious", translates as "The Legend of Kolovrat"), Russian movie from 2017, inspired some fanworks mostly in Russian language. Most of them center on Batu Khan, who is often paired with OFCs and sometimes with the movie protagonist Evpaty Kolovrat.
====Fanworks====
* Легенда о Коловрате / Фильм, 2017 - movie tag on Ficbook
* Легенда о Коловрате | Furious (2017) - AO3 tag
===Other Related Fandoms===
* Genghis Khan was a character in the animated series Clone High, and is currently tagged in two works on AO3 - one of which pairs him with Julius Ceasar.Genghis Khan (Clone High) character on AO3 (accessed 1 January 2021). 
==References==
Category: Fandoms by Source Text
Category: Books & Literature
Category: Historical RPF
Category: Live-action Film