Shyngys Khan, illustrations from the Kazakh historical tetralogy

What it is

This is a photograph of four dark blue hardcover book spines, numbered 1, II, III and IV, standing side by side. Each spine carries the title Шыңғыс хан in Kazakh script and the author name Мұхтар Мағауин. The Commons record gives the publication as Almaty, Dauir publishing house, 2011-2016, and calls the work a documentary-style historical story about Genghis Khan. The file's date of 25 May 2024 comes from its Exif data, which records when the photograph was taken, not when the book was written.

Why it matters

This is a modern work, written more than 700 years after Genghis Khan died. It shows how his life is retold for present-day readers in Kazakhstan. The curator's note calls it a later popular retelling, so it reflects the ideas and interests of its own time as much as those of the thirteenth century.

Look closer

• What do the title, author name and book design tell you about how this work presents Genghis Khan?
• Why might a modern author write a historical story about a figure from the 1200s?
• What does a book cover leave out about the sources the author used?