Yes I know its not June anymore, but I wasn’t happy with my writing for 3.7 so the episode was delayed until that was resolved. This does mean that I have broken a run of continuous publication stretching back to October, but on the flip side I am pushing myself to bring you two episodes this month!
Research for future episodes is picking up pace, with a history of Xi Xia well underway and the groundwork having been laid for a biography of the general Muqali. The Xi Xia one episode is likely to be coming up fairly soon, most likely straight after Temujin becomes Chingis Khan. It is my plan to release episodes that present historical background prior to the next campaign to give a little bit of context; biographies will follow the death of notable figures. That means you shouldn’t expect to see a biography of Muqali appear until we hit 1224!
There are many things I would like to look at, but not all will make for exciting/informative listening and time constraints and personal motivation often means that there is a gap between what I want to produce (lots) and what may actually appear (not as much). We shall see.
In preparation for the submission of Xi Xia I have recently obtained a number of important books to dig into; R.A Stein’s Tibetan Civilization and Christopher Beckwith’s Tibetan Empire in Central Asia provide the background to the rise of Xi Xia, whilst F.W. Mote’s monumental Imperial China fills in the later bits.
Of course, primary sources will still be a vital contributor to episodes and we will soon be able to refer to more than Rashid al-Din and The Secret History, with Juvaini and Ibn al-Athir both readying themselves.
So I have lot’s to read and I better get on with it!