What do pants, the pony express, cannons, paper money, skis, violins, bakhlava and “hooray!” have in common? Answer: Genghis Khan. Not Genghis the brutal barbarian of Western history books, but Genghis the great civilizer and lawmaker, whose empire brought each of these innovations to the west, including 13th Century Mongolian-style democracy. Come discover the man behind the legend as the most comprehensive exhibition of Genghis Khan and his treasures invades the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum, its only Southern California stop on an international tour that has drawn more than a million visitors.
“The Reagan Library’s recent Titanic exhibit was a blockbuster. We saw lines out the door. Our next exhibit on Genghis Kahn is just as spectacular and we can’t wait to open it for the public to see,” said John Heubusch, executive director of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute. “More and more the Reagan Library has become a site where one can go to see ‘Must-See’ exhibitions they just can’t find anywhere else in L.A. Our Genghis Kahn exhibit is one of those special opportunities and we’re excited to have it here.”
Opening on February 16, 2018, the start of the Mongolian New Year, this special exhibition presents a more complete image of the legendary leader whom Time Magazine and CNN named “The Man of the Millennium.” As the exhibit strikingly portrays, Genghis’s reputation as the greatest conqueror is well-deserved – he dominated three times more land in his lifetime than either Julius Caesar or Alexander the Great, a conquest attested to by the formidable array of swords, bows, arrows, saddles and armor included on display in Genghis Khan. In fact, the historic exhibition showcases hundreds of artifacts from Genghis’s 13th century Empire, the largest such collection ever to tour.
However, as visitors discover, Genghis not only created the nation of Mongolia and its written language, but his lineage established the modern borders of nations from India to Iran, Korea to China as well as opened the trade routes that united East and West, forever after.
Visitors will experience the exhibition through the eyes of a Mongolian resident, receiving a civilian identity card at the beginning of their journey. From warrior to spy to princess, follow this character’s life throughout the rise of the great Mongol Empire.
• Discover the daily life of a nomad on the high plateaus of Central Asia and learn about the outcast Genghis Khan’s earliest struggles.
• Learn how the young, charismatic Genghis Khan united warring tribes in order to form an unrivaled cavalry. Explore the equestrian culture and innovations in weaponry Genghis Khan mastered to conquer three times more land than any Empire in history.
• Enter the recreation of Karakorum, the walled city, which became the capital of the Mongolian Empire after Genghis Khan’s son inherited the kingdom. See how life changed for Mongols once they had vanquished all of their enemies, and arts and diverse religions and cultures flourished as the need for war subsided.
• Enter the sumptuous Chinese palace of Xanadu, the center of the Empire of Genghis’s grandson, Kublai, who united China for the first time.
• Explore the vital trade route along the Silk Road which enabled the exchange of both goods and ideas between cultures.
• Trace the influence of Genghis Khan in images of modern Mongolian life.
Curated and developed by dinosaur expert Don Lessem, the exhibition features more than 200 spectacular objects on display, including rare and sophisticated weapons, costumes, jewels, ornaments, instruments and numerous other fascinating relics and elaborate artifacts from 13th-century Mongolia. The exhibition features loans by private collectors from Mongolia, Azerbaijian and the United States.
“I went to Mongolia to look for fossils and discovered the truth about Genghis Khan, a civilizing genius,” said Lessem. “It’s a great story best told in a major exhibition.”
The Reagan Library is located at 40 Presidential Drive in Simi Valley, California. Public hours are from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. The Museum is only closed on Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day and New Years Day. For Museum Admission fees, please visit www.reaganlibrary.com. As large crowds are expected to view the exhibition, pre-purchased timed-entry tickets are recommended by visiting www.reaganlibrary.com/tickets. For more information, call (800) 410.8354 or visit www.reaganlibrary.com/khan.
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About The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute
The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute is a nonprofit, non-partisan organization dedicated to the preservation and promotion of the legacy of Ronald Reagan and his timeless principles of individual liberty, economic opportunity, global democracy, and national pride. It sustains the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum, the Reagan Center for Public Affairs, the Walter and Leonore Annenberg Presidential Learning Center and The Air Force One Pavilion. Located in Simi Valley, California the Library houses 55 million pages of Gubernatorial, Presidential and personal papers and over 60,000 gifts and artifacts chronicling the lives of Ronald and Nancy Reagan. It now also serves as the final resting place of America’s 40th President and his first lady. www.reaganfoundation.org
