Witch Hunt in the Mongol Empire
Witch Hunt in the Mongol Empire

Prolegomena

Summary/Abstract: The phenomenon of the witch-hunt is far broader than the Medieval Catholic world and similar events are documented in a number of other European and Asian societies. Some of the European missionaries and pope's envoys reported the existence of such occurrences in the court of the Great Mongol Khans in the mid-13th century. The detailed examination of these cases is of considerable importance as it could demonstrate that the genesis of this phenomenon is not necessarily confined to Catholic Europe or to Christendom in general and could exist in completely different confessional and cultural environment. The paper analyzes the development of the persecutions against witches in the Great Khan's court and compares them with similar events in the Western world answering the question were the repressions used for overwhelming the political opponents - either through their physical annihilation or by shaping the public opinion in а particular direction.

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