This lecture will address the early stages of the Mongol conquest (c. 1206-1260) from an environmental perspective.  It will focus in particular on the characteristics of the Mongol army and its requirements in relation to the lands that they invaded.  The relationship between Mongols, climate, and environment will be illustrated through several case studies.

Nicola Di Cosmo 狄宇宙  is the Henry Luce Foundation Professor of East Asian Studies at the Institute for Advanced Study.  He holds a PhD from Indiana University, and has previously taught at Harvard University and at the University of Canterbury (New Zealand). His research interests are in the history of Chinese and Inner Asian frontiers from the ancient to the modern periods, history of nomadic peoples, Manchu and Mongol history, and climate history.  His publications include Ancient China and Its Enemies, Manchu-Mongol Relations on the Eve of the Qing Conquest, and The Diary of a Manchu Soldier in Seventeenth Century China. He has edited several volumes, the last of which is Empires and Exchange in Eurasian Late Antiquity (2018).

Introduction by Tansen Sen, Director of the Center for Global Asia, Professor of History, NYU Shanghai; Global Network Professor, NYU.