Title:

Genghis: Lords of the Bow

Author:

Conn Iggulden

Category:

Literature

Rating:

Date Reviewed:

June 29, 2026

enghis : Lords of the Bow is the second book in Iggulden's historical series describing the life of Genghis Kahn. In book one, the young man, Temujin, successfully united all the tribes on the steppe under one banner. Now Temujin has become Genghis Kahn; the ruler of a vast army with thousands of men. With this force, Genghis attacks the Chin people. His first target is the Chin lands of Xi Xia. The only way into those southern lands is through a narrow pass guarded by a forbidding fortress. It will take a desperate attempt to overcome the defenders, but Genghis cannot turn back, his leadership would be questioned, and the Mongols would once again split into warring tribes.

Iggulden is a talented author of historical novels. Presumably, the events he dramatizes actually occurred, though I wonder where about the origin of the source material. The Mongols were illiterate, so they certainly did not write anything down. Perhaps oral traditions were retold over generations until somebody from one of the conquered kingdoms wrote down the tale? The battle scenes are dramatic and exciting. The Chin soldiers are numerous, but the Mongols have reckless courage and incredible accuracy with their bows. The Mongols also delight in deception, luring the enemy troops into traps, or attacking from an unexpected direction.

Unfortunately, the Genghis and his brothers are not very likeable. Although they are courageous and wily, they exist solely to slaughter. At one point, Genghis explains that the Mongols must wipe out the Chin empire, or certainly the Chin will assemble a vast army and wipe out the Mongols in retaliation. Genghis claimed that for years the Chin had deliberately set one tribe against the other, keeping the Mongols at bay by manipulating them to fight one another. But Genghis never experienced a Chin attack, nor did he have any personal dealings with their deceitful diplomats. Genghis is really leading the Mongols on an ever expanding path of slaughter because he knows nothing else. If a city refuses to surrender, then when the Mongols finally break in, every inhabitant of the city is murdered (Iggulden does not describe these scenes, but the barbarism and cruelty must have been horrific.) The Mongols don't even know what to do with the loot - when the Chin try to bribe them with cartloads of gold, the Mongols scoff. Of what good is gold? It is a soft metal, useless as a weapon. The Mongols have no aspirations of building anything, their sole reason for existence seems to be to murder as many people as they can.

I was surprised by Iggulden's description of a vast train of carts trundling along behind the Mongol army. I thought the Mongols were famous for moving swiftly on horseback without any supply trains. But in this book, the women and children, the tents, the supplies all follow along behind, just like any other army. I was also surprised that the Mongols had siege machinery to batter down the fortifications of the Chin cities. My mental image of the Mongols was of tough men on shaggy ponies riding pell-mell across the steppes. I didn't know that they engaged in siege warfare.

It is hard to get a scale of the Mongol depravations. I suspect Iggulden left out many conquests of the Chin cities simply because the constant battles would have become repetitious. The climax of the book involves the capital city of Yenking (Beijing) - the emperor and his troops stand behind unscalable walls, immune to the Mongol catapults. But Genghis can never afford to turn back - if he loses face, the Mongols will fracture into warring tribes and self-destruct.

Lords of the Bow is interesting enough that I want to continue onto the third volume, where the Mongols turn westward, toward India, the Middle East and ultimately Europe. I vaguely know the ultimate outcome of this endless campaign, but learning more details through this historical series appeals to me.