800 years ago, a new nomadic power emerged on the Eurasian steppe. By uniting the Mongol tribes, Genghis Khan (originally called Temüjin) created a Mongol Empire. He subdued the Russian princes, his troops conquered Persia, Asia Minor, Korea, South-East India, Indonesia, China. One of the largest empires in history, it spread from the Pacific Ocean to Central Europe at the peak of its power. Genghis and his heirs put down their names in mankind's common history book indelibly.

      It is, however, the fate of books that everyone reads them differently, depending on age, gender, accumulated knowledge. The pages of the Mongol Empire may equally suggest the "Pax Mongolica" of religious and cultural tolerance and the almost complete devastation of a country, depending on where they are read in the world.

      After Bonn, Munich, Schallaburg and Istanbul, this exhibition presenting the history of Mongolia up to the 20th century on the basis of outstanding art works from the major Mongolian museums and great European collections may be a real sensation for the Hungarian public interested in history, too. The selection of over five hundred exhibits conjures up ages and figures which and who live on as legends in the common cultural history of humanity.

      Compared to its original appearance in Bonn, the exhibition has been slightly modified in each venue, but it certainly acquired the most substantial "added value" in Budapest. The presented material is enriched not only with new objects from Mongolia but also with the finest pieces kept in leading Hungarian collections. A curiosity of the Hungarian adaptation is the separate "historical supplement" evoking the Mongol invasion and its latest archaeological finds. The visitor can get to know closely the Janus face of our past in this dual mirror: Hungarian history preserving the memory of the ravaging Mongol troops for a thousand years on the one hand, and the universal historical role of the often tolerant leaders of a world empire of wide vision, on the other.

      After the giant shows of fine arts in recent years, now an exhibition of history lures the visitors of Budapest to a museum. With such cultural events of the highest standards, these institutions of culture often denounced as conservative and slightly dated have also entered the noble rivalry the winner of which is always the visitor, the public interested in culture.

      We hope that the exhibition entitled Genghis Khan and his Heirs - the Mongol Empire will mark the beginning of a sequence of exhibitions that will bring to the Hungarian National Museum the culture historical treasures of the great civilizations of the world, allowing anyone a glimpse of the unparalleled historical adventures of humanity's past.

Tickets:

	Full adult rate	Reduced rate	On-line reservation
Entrance fee for  the Mongol invasion and the Genghis Khan  exhibitions	2000 HUF	1000 HUF	adult:1800 HUF reduced:900 HUF

More information: www.dzsingisz.hu