6 Foreword 8 Important Dates in the History of the Mongol Empire INTRODUCTION 10 A Force from the East 13 Ch 1, The Nine-Tongued People 23 Ch 2, Out of Nowhere: The Rise of the Mongols 35 Ch 3, Building a Nation 51 Ch 4, Expanding the Empire 67 Ch 5, East Meets West 82 Ch 6, The Fracturing of Empire 99 Notes 101 For Further Reading