The Chinggis Khaan National Museum, in collaboration with the Embassy of India, opened a special exhibition of Mongolian paintings “Mongols Depicted in Chronicles” to mark the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries. (2025.02.07)

The “Conpendium of Chronicles” a 273-page manuscript preserved in its original version at the Raza Library in Rampur, India, was received in digital format by the Chinggis Khaan National Museum in 2022.

The exhibition was opened by the Director of the Chinggis Khaan National Museum, Academician S. Chuluun, who mentioned in his speech that the Raza Library in Rampur, India, possesses a very ancient and extensive collection, including an original version of Rashid al-Din's "Compendium of Chronicles," which is related to the history of Mongolia during the time of the Mongol Empire and the Ilkhanate period. This "Compendium of Chronicles" was written with the involvement of Mongols, and it contains numerous illustrations depicting the life, customs, and history of the Mongols, including the kings and nobility of that era. Scholars around the world interpret some of these images as Persian depictions from the time of the Mongol conquests, while others believe that they were created using traditional Mongolian artistic techniques. Currently, the originals of the book are preserved in six countries around the world. The exhibition of the illustrated manuscript from the time of the Ilkhanate, written during the time of King Oljaitu, is particularly notable as it is being displayed for the first time at the Chinggis Khaan National Museum.

He mentioned that the Chinggis Khaan National Museum has obtained the rights to publish the book in its original form with an English translation. Soon, the original manuscript of the Compendium of Chronicles, one of the most significant historical sources of the 13th-14th centuries in Mongolia, will be printed and made available to the public in Mongolia. The Compendium of Chronicles is one of major sources of Mongolian history, as a supplementary source to the Secret History of the Mongols. The miniatures displayed in the exhibition are considered essential historical sources of Mongolian history. While the original sources of that period may not have recorded details on items, royal palaces, clothing, food, drink, and music and dance, all of these are depicted in the illustrated miniatures. The exhibition of the illustrations from the Compendium of Chronicles, which highlight significant events in Mongolian history, is of great importance as it is being presented in Mongolia for the first time.

This exhibition provides a glimpse into the historical and cultural relations between the two countries over many centuries. The watercolors from the Compendium of Chronicles, which are preserved in Indian and Persian, depict the history of the golden lineage of the Mongol Empire. In 2015, the Prime Minister of India, Mr. Narendra Modi, presented a copy of rare manuscript, commissioned from the Raza Library in Rampur, to the President of Mongolia, Ts. Elbegdorj. This manuscript tells the story of the Mongols in the 13th-14th centuries.

The opening of the exhibition was attended by Academician S. Chuluun, Director of the Chinggis Khaan National Museum, First Secretary of the Embassy of the Republic of India to Mongolia Kumar Sanjeev, Head of the Mongolian-Indian Studies Center O. Nyamdavaa, along with scholars, researchers, and other officials, were in attendance. 

Historically, the Compendium of Chronicles was written by Rashid al-Din, a former Minister of State of the Ilkhanate, who was of Jewish origin and later converted to Islam. He began writing the work in Persian between 1316 and 1317, under the decree of Ilkhan Ghazan, and was completed during the reign of King Oljaitu.