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Lu.‘Altan Tobchi’:
Golden History written in 1651
Inscribed 2011
What is it
This manuscript tells the story of Mongol history
including the rise of Genghis Khan and the growth
of the Mongol empire and it contains the oldest record
in Mongolian of The Secret History of the Mongols, the
oldest account of the origins of the Mongols.
Why is it inscribed
The only surviving handwritten manuscript in Mongolian
vertical script, the Altan Tobchi, dating from 1651,
remains the most reliable historical source on Mongol
history, and its relevance extends to all countries that
once were part of the Mongol empire.
Where is it
National Library of Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
This manuscript presents the history of Mongolia and
neighbouring countries from Genghis (Chinggis) Khan
to Ligden Khan (13th–17th centuries). It was written with a
bamboo pen on muutuu paper in black ink in Mongolian
vertical script. The greatest achievement of its author,
Lubsandanzan, was that he restored old Mongolian
historiographic traditions, successfully using sources of the
13th century, particularly The Secret History of the Mongols.
Scholars have shown that 233 of the 282 paragraphs of The
Secret History are incorporated into the Altan Tobchi.
The Secret History of the Mongols is an epic account of
the story of Mongol origins, the rise of Genghis Khan,
the unification of the Mongol tribes and the beginning
of Mongol empire. On the 750th anniversary of the
appearance of The Secret History of the Mongols, UNESCO
honoured the work by citing it as a ‘great monument of
eastern history and literature, unique in history by its rich
literary language and artistic aesthetics’. Unfortunately
no original version written in Mongolian characters has
survived to the present day. Chinese bibliophiles of the
14th century transcribed The Secret History into Chinese
characters and made verbatim and abridged translations.
The Altan Tobchi also contains additional information
about Mongolia, Central Asia and China in the 12th and
13th centuries which are not present in The Secret History.
240 Lu.‘Altan Tobchi’: Golden History written in 1651
The Altan Tobchi recounts the genealogy of the early
Mongol khans and the life and deeds of Genghis Khan,
founder of the unified Mongol state and prime initiator
of the Mongol empire, which became the world’s
largest continuous land empire. It also paints a vivid
picture of the nomadic Mongol way of life and provides
rich source material for an understanding of Mongol
society in the 13th–17th centuries. The text reveals the
philosophical outlook, language, religion, culture, customs
and traditions of nomadic Mongol people. It displays
a remarkably accurate knowledge of the geography
of Mongolia itself and also includes information on foreign
countries, towns, lakes, rivers, mountains and people that
can still be recognized and identified today. It also contains
rich information about life and culture of the nations of
Central Asia – the Uigur, Kirghyz, Turkish, Tajik and Uzbek
peoples and people of Russia and China. Mongol nomadic
culture undoubtedly influenced societies across Asia and
into Europe and, in turn, absorbed influences from both
East and West in a true interchange of human values.
Genghis Khan sitting on his throne, with two of his sons, Ogadei
and Jochi, as imagined in a Persian manuscript. The Altan Tobchi
recounts the history of the Mongol empire created by Genghis Khan
and is central to the understanding of Mongolian history. �