REVIEWS 139 beast as egajde. Since a horn no more gets born (plural ekajatd in Manu means “born of one man”) than it roams about alone, the Jain phrase could imply that it was as an “only child” that Mahavira resembled the Indian rhinoceros, Similarly, the fact that the Pratyekabuddha prose story in the Pali Jataka and a Jain Nijjutti both combine a list of four kings with a set of three identical symbols, so that a fourth symbol had to be added independently in each case, does not require that the story must antedate both canons as an item of common heritage (p. 14). Nor is it obvious that, because the Buddhist commentator Dhammapila eventually applies to kevalin the normal Jain gloss “omniscient”, that would have been its original meaning in Buddhism, Dhammapala applies it in a Suttanipata context where knowledge is not otherwise mentioned, presumably because it reappears in Samyuttanikaya, not only at I 173, still in the context of agriculture, but also at I 167 in that of knowledge and at I 168 in that of birth. These prefixed versions are clearly an afterthought. The point in Sn and in S I, 173 is that ordinary food, even though abhigita “consecrated” (after the manner of Vedic mantras) by the Buddha's Anustubh gathas, is not sustenance for a kevalin mahesi. In $ 1 167 f., the point is lost: the “knowledge” version makes the Buddha reject ordinary food even when it has been consecrated for a Vedic Agnihotra; and the “birth” one adds an explanation alleging that such food is lethally inedible. The Buddha’s reference to the khettam “field” where ordinary food is grown is now an irrelevance; and his piquant use of Anustubh mantras is finally dropped in favour of uniform Tristubh. A possible explanation of the crucial phrase Kevalin mahesi is that it could have been extracted as “the one true rsI” from *kevalthhiita “unique”. in order to compensate for the loss in canonical Pali of the adjectival use of kevala in that sense. Multiplication of the unique isisatiama in Buddhism (p. 10) would account for subsequent vagueness as to the meaning of kevalin, This further important and stimulating contribution to the study of Middle Indo-Aryan language and culture includes another twelve significant reviews, dating from 1979 onwards, on selected topics of major interest: the contributions of Masiea and Emeneau to South Asian linguisties; the Vinaya studies of Stache-Rosen and von Hiniiber, the grammars of Oberlies and von Hiniiber; and Parpola’s Deciphering the Indus Seript. J.C. Wright CENTRAL AND INNER ASIA GEORGE LANE: Daily Life in the Mongol Empire. (Daily Life through History.) xxiv, 315 pp. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2006. ISBN 978 0313332265. The George Lane’s latest book on the Mongol Empire belongs to The Greenwood Press Daily Life through History series, and while it makes no claims to be of the highest academic standard this work provides a good introduction to various aspects of the cultural history, practices and beliefs of medieval Mongols. Readers will first be struck by an epigraph containing an account by Ibn al- thir of the first Mongol invasion of the Middle East. The diabolie portrait of Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies bso140586.3d 9/1/08 22:10:46 The Charlesworth Group, Waketild +44(0}1924 369598 - Rov ste Uns an 20203)M0 REVIEWS the Mongols executed by the Arab historian permits a sharp contrast between the traditional views of some in the Muslim world of these nomads and the view of the rich culture of the steppes that Lane presents. Since the book is intended for a general readership, the first chapter gives a brief account of the historical development of the Mongol Empire from the early life of Chinggis Khan (spelled “Genghis” here) to its division into the khanates of Iran, China, Russia and Central Asia. While stressing the most important facts in the political history of Mongol rule over Asia, the author also suggests that the analysis of daily life in the Mongol Empire cannot be considered homogeneous, since the process of acculturation between conquer- ors and conquered was diverse. Great differences existed, for example, between Mongol rule in Iran and China from that of the Golden Horde and the more northerly khanates, The second chapter is concerned with life on the steppes as a distinctive element in the development of Mongol daily life. The author has to face the problem of condensing an outline of a great many institutions and geopolitical concepts into a single chapter. He manages to give an account of the most important institutions of pre-imperial Mongol society. The third and fourth chapters deal with the “appearance” and “dwellings” respectively of traditional Mongol socicty. The former offers a scloction of pereeptions held in the thirteenth century, by Christians and Muslims on the Mongols as their seemingly unstoppable armies advanced towards the west. The chapter on dwellings underlines the transformation in Mongol building skills from their beginnings with traditional tents (gers) to the construction of the Yian Observatory in Reijing This is further evidence of the cnltnral and material diversity found in the Mongol Empire where in Central Asia and Russia the Mongols continued living in tent-like structures, gers or yurts, while in China and Iran, they patronized native architects for the construction of temples, observatories and public buildings. ‘The following chapter focuses on the Mongol army and gives a brief explanation of the characteristics of the Mongol military machine that vonquered Curasia, China and the Middle East in the thirteenth century. Since scholars have produced a great deal of literature in this field, Lane concentrates on key points in the structure of the army such as the reforms introduced by Chinggis Khan, the size of the Mongol hordes, and the psychological tactics ised by the Mongols in war. ‘The next three chapters explore health issues, food and drink. The author underlines the concern shown by the Mongols to medical science and health care in particular; some of their practices would raise eyebrows today. Chapter 6 takes medicine as an example of the role of cultural broker played by the Mongols in transmitting ideas and knowledge across Asia. So diverse were the products that arrived on the Khans’ tables that, as their conquest expanded and spread, the cuisine of these cosmopolitan nomads was rapidly gaining in sophistication and richness, with food and drink arriving from every comer of the Empire. However, as noted in chapter 7, their traditional love of drinking may have contributed to the decadence of Mongol rule in Iran. The author suggests that this attitude towards alcohol may have been the reason for premature death and a decline in fertility in the Mongol dynasty of Tran. Religion, law and politics are the topies investigated in chapters 9 and 10. On religion, a description of the shamanistic practices and creed of the Mongols is given together with an exploration of Mongol attitudes towards Islam and Christianity. The mention of the Qalandar Sufi sect deserves special attention, sinee the author links the appearance of this group in the Middle Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies bso140586.3d 9/1/08 22:10:46 The Charlesworth Group, Waketild +44(0}1924 369598 - Rov ste Uns an 20203)REVIEWS 141 East to the new religious milieu introduced by the Mongols into the region, The controversy surrounding the existence of a written code of Mongol law (Yasa) and the influence of Mongol rule in Chinese and Iranian jurisprudence is nominated as the most significant issues of Mongol law. Chapter 11 focuses on a topic neglected by scholars of the Mongol Empire: even though it is widely recognized that women were highly influential among the elite and in Mongol society in general, little research has been conducted in this field, Lane has structured this chapter as a compendium of biographies of Mongol Khatins (ladies) that develops chronologically from Chinggis Khan's mother to Baghdad Khatin (d. 1336) of [ran. The portraits of these women are drawn from original sources, confounding the widely held notion of “silence in the sources” about the role of women in the Empire. This chapter might encourage future researchers and students to undertake further studies of this unexplored field of gender relations in the Mongol Empire and a possible re- interpretation of the sources from the perspective of gender studies. ‘The final chapter is a brief compendium of traditional Mongol folktales which aims to underline the importance of the oral tradition for the Mongols and steppe culture. Daily Life in the Mongol Empire could readily serve as a basic history course text owing to its introductory and explanatory character. However, it differs from other general, introductory history texts for two important reasons. First, it covers topics related to daily life and the social and cultural history of the Mongols while intentionally avoiding descriptive factual and narrative history for which there are many other books. Second, it is a general history book, but ‘one which uses primary source material throughout. It introduces students to the importance of primary sources and stresses how these early texts provide the evidence and foundations for all the words, ideas and thoughts which make up traditional history books. The excelleat bibliographies, including one listing many of the translated primary source materials, ensure that this book will be an essential component in any library of the Mongol Empire. Though rather haphazard in their organization, the plentiful illustrations add to the book’s attractive nature. ‘he glossary 1s a valuable tool for scholars in need of a general reference guide to the whole spectrum of Mongol studies. Bruno De Nicola JUDITH PFEIFFER and SHOLEH A. QUINN (eds), in collaboration with ERNEST TUCKER: History and Historiography of PostMongol Central Asia and the Middle East. Studies in Honor of John E. Woods. xx, 604. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 2006. €128. One of the apparently inevitable consequences of attaining a certain age in academia is that it would not be difficult to spend most of one’s time in writing contributions to the Festschripis of one’s senior colleagues in the profession Sometimes, however, deadlines and other commitments make it impossible to accept such invitations, despite the fact that one would very much wish to do so. The volume under review is, for me, just such an instance; and I therefore welcome the opportunity provided by this account of it to pay my own tribute to Professor John Woods of the University of Chicago, whose work on the Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies bso140586.3d 9/1/08 22:10:46 The Charlesworth Group, Waketild +44(0}1924 369598 - Rov ste Uns an 20203)