Towns of the Steppes. Urban Policy and Religious Tolerance in the Mongol Empire (13th- 14th Centuries) (VISTE)

During the Mongol empire, the construction of religious buildings abounded. From China to Crimea, monasteries, temples, churches, mosques, synagogues all proliferated from the second half of the 13^th century. This project analyses this phenomenon of religious and funerary constructions funded by nomadic elites and their dependents, associating this with the new cities that emerged on the steppes in the same period. In particular, it explores the links between Mongol political construction, and the building of permanent structures. How and why did the Mongols build cities within their empire? What were the links between the mobile cities (the hordes lead by Mongol princes, with their itinerant monasteries) and the sedentary cities (called “capitals”)? This project looks closely at the cultural and religious motivations that constitute a central aspect of permanent structures. The planned research will allow us to test the links between Mongolian imperial policy of “religious tolerance”, a specific economic situation (the Pax Mongolica), and the emergence of several religious complexes in an empire where inter-faith friction remained limited.

Project Leader

Marie FAVEREAU , Université Paris Nanterre

Internal cluster partners

• Centre d’histoire des sociétés Médiévales et Modernes (MéMo)

Duration

Keywords

empire nomade, Asie, politique, ville, tolérance religieuse