The members of The Hu are indigenous Mongolians. The band’s name is an homage to their ancestors. The Hunnu Empire revolutionized the social and political structure of Central Asia. While Genghis Khan, or Changis Khan, was in power, he passed laws declaring religious freedom and paved the path to fair trade. Khan also created the Gereg, the first diplomatic passport. But more on that later.

I sat down with The Hu at Joshua Tree Music Festival, a single stop on their worldwide tour. Admittedly, I was nervous to interview the warriors who blend Eastern war songs and throat singing with Western metal music. After meeting them, I was humbled by their sincerity and kindness. The core of The Hu consists of Gala (morin khuur and throat singer), Enkush (morin khuur and throat singer), Jaya (tumur khuut, flute, throat singer) and Temka (tovshuur). Their instruments are traditional musical instruments that have been played by their ancestors for thousands of years. The morin khuur is a horse-head fiddle, the tovshuur is a Mongolian guitar, and the tumur khuur is a jaw harp. Paired with these ancient instruments are Western rock instruments such as guitar, bass and drums. The band’s sound is unique and empowering, but what really makes The Hu is their presence and passion. Each song has meaning beyond belief. The four-piece just released their first album in September and are now touring the planet to share their music.

Thank you all so much for coming to Joshua Tree Music Festival. So, tell me about your new album.

THE HU's new song “Sugaan Essena” is featured in EA's 'Star Wars. Yu” and “The Great Chingiss Khan“–showcasing their one-of-a-kind style.

Our debut is an album that is a fruit of so many years of our work. We are happy that within two weeks, we released the album and found out that our album was top[ping the] chart on Billboard’s World Albums and also [the] Heatseekers chart. We are super happy.

Gta 5 pc digital download. That’s lovely. Was the record inspired with the intention to travel?

This album comes with so many messages. Every song and every word has a meaning behind it. For example, our album name is “The Gereg.” The Gereg is the first diplomatic passport introduced to the world by our ancestors. We named our album Gerag, so with this album, we [could] travel to many nations without restrictions to share our music.

I heard you were actually granted diplomacy from a leader in Mongolia?

Yes, actually it was the Minister of Foreign Affairs who named us official Mongolian cultural ambassadors to the world. We are super honored to be the ambassadors of our country and we will try to represent our country in a very positive way.

That’s incredible. What message do you hope to share with the world?

The most important thing that we want to share is the good positive vibe, the energy. Mongolia is a land of cool energy; positive energy, and as Mongolians, we carry this energy with us so we would like to share this with everybody through our music.

Also, we wanted to let the world know that this world needs to be taken care of. You know, we have to protect this, not to destroy, because we have to hand down this word to the next generation as it was, because we can’t make it worse. So we wanted to share this message with the world too.

Thank you so much for doing that and sharing your message. That is so important. Is there anything you would like to share about Changis Khan?

Yes, Changis Khan is very important to our history and there is also a misconception of who he was. He was perceived as this warrior and warlord. He was more than that. He did so many positive things to this world. He brought in the postal service, the Gereg, and also international trading, the Silk Road. Back in the day, the road existed but [there] was always robbing and killing, so it was hard. Because of [Khan’s] reign, traders would travel through [the] Silk Road without any harm and it would allow, you know Eastern and Westerners to share their cultures. Western would have Eastern culture, like silk and everything. His reign was a good thing for the world.

So I think that is all the time we have. Is there anything else you would like to share?

We are on our American tour, our first American tour. We feel so loved by the people here. Almost all of our shows are sold out and everywhere we go there is the full venue waiting for us. Even before we get on the stage, people [are] chanting “Hu Hu.” It's such an honor. We feel so loved. We want to say thank you to everybody. We still have two more months to go. We are so excited for the rest of the cities and the people. We want to greet them with our music. Thank you.

Find The Hu’s tour dates here and be sure to check out their other viral music videos on YouTube. Support their pilgrimage by purchasing their album or coming out to one of their shows.

See more photos from this show here.

Due to the language barrier, this interview was interpreted by Hu’s manager, Tuga. All photos per the author. All videos and embedded tracks per the artists featured and those credited. This feature was edited for brevity and clarity by BolderBeat.

Extract of the letter of to, in the, dated 1289. French National Archives.In 1279–80, Kublai decreed death for those who performed slaughtering of cattle according to the legal codes of Islam or , which offended Mongolian custom. When seized the throne of the Ilkhanate in 1282, attempting to make peace with the Mamluks, Abaqa's old Mongols under prince appealed to Kublai. After the execution of, Kublai confirmed Arghun's coronation and awarded his commander in chief the title of. Kublai's niece, Kelmish, who married a general of the Golden Horde, was powerful enough to have Kublai's sons Nomuqan and Kokhchu returned. Three leaders of the Jochids, and Nogai, agreed to release two princes. The court of the Golden Horde returned the princes as a peace overture to the Yuan Dynasty in 1282 and induced Kaidu to release Kublai's general.

Konchi, khan of, established friendly relations with the Yuan and the Ilkhanate, and as a reward received luxury gifts and grain from Kublai. Despite political disagreement between contending branches of the family over the office of Khagan, the economic and commercial system continued. Emperor of the Yuan dynasty. The ' ' used to breach the walls of and.Thirty Muslims served as high officials in the court of Kublai Khan. Eight of the dynasty's twelve administrative districts had Muslim governors appointed by Kublai Khan.

Among the Muslim governors was, who became administrator of. He was a well learned man in the and Daoist traditions and is believed to have propagated. Other administrators were and (mayor of the Yuan capitol).Kublai Khan patronized Muslim scholars and scientists, and Muslim astronomers contributed to the construction of the observatory in. Astronomers such as introduced 7 new instruments and concepts that allowed the correction of the Chinese calendar.Muslim cartographers made accurate maps of all the nations along the and greatly influenced the knowledge of rulers and merchants.

Muslim physicians organized hospitals and had their own institutes of Medicine in. In Beijing was the renown Guang Hui Si 'Department of extensive mercy', where medicine and surgery were taught. 's works were also published in China during that period.Muslim mathematicians introduced, and in China.Kublai brought siege engineers and to China, and together they invented the ' , which was utilized by Kublai Khan during the. Continuation of the restriction upon some Abrahamic ritual practices Yuan Emperors like Kublai Khan forbade practices such as butchering according to Jewish or Muslim legal codes and other restrictive decrees continued. Was also strictly forbidden. Warfare and foreign relations.

A Yuan dynastyAlthough Kublai restricted the functions of the kheshig, he created a new imperial bodyguard, at first entirely Chinese in composition but later strengthened with, , and units. Once his own kheshig was organized in 1263, Kublai put three of the original kheshigs under the charge of the descendants of Genghis Khan's assistants, Borokhula, Boorchu,. Kublai began the practice of having the four great aristocrats in his kheshig sign (decrees), a practice that spread to all other Mongol khanates. Mongol and Chinese units were organized using the same decimal organization that Genghis Khan used.

The Mongols eagerly adopted new artillery and technologies. Kublai and his generals adopted an elaborate, moderate style of military campaigns in South China. Effective assimilation of Chinese naval techniques allowed the Yuan army to quickly conquer the Song. Kublai's annexation of Goryeo. The reflects the during the about countries in the West.Despite the opposition of some of his Confucian-trained advisers, Kublai decided to invade Japan, Burma, Vietnam, and Java, following the suggestions of some of his Mongol officials. He also attempted to subjugate peripheral lands such as Sakhalin, where its indigenous people eventually submitted to the Mongols by 1308, after Kublai's death. These costly and the introduction of paper currency caused inflation.

From 1273 to 1276, war against the Song Dynasty and Japan made the issue of paper currency expand from 110,000 ding to 1,420,000 ding. Invasions of Japan. The Japanese samurai Suenaga facing Mongol arrows and bombs.

(蒙古襲来絵詞), circa 1293.Within Kublai's court his most trusted governors and advisers appointed by meritocracy with the essence of multiculturalism were Mongols, Koreans, Hui. Because the extended support to the crumbling Song dynasty, Kublai Khan initiated.Kublai Khan twice attempted to invade Japan.

It is believed that both attempts were partly thwarted by bad weather or a flaw in the design of ships that were based on river boats without keels, and his fleets were destroyed. The first attempt took place in 1274, with a fleet of 900 ships.The second invasion occurred in 1281 when Mongols sent two separate forces: 900 ships containing 40,000 Korean, Chinese, and Mongol troops were sent from Masan, while a force of 100,000 sailed from southern China in 3,500 ships, each close to 240 feet (73 m) long. The fleet was hastily assembled and ill-equipped to cope with maritime conditions.

In November, they sailed into the treacherous waters that separate Korea and Japan by 110 miles. The Mongols easily took over about halfway across the strait and then closer to. The Korean fleet reached on June 23, 1281 and landed its troops and animals, but the ships from China were nowhere to be seen. Mongolian landing forces were subsequently defeated at the Battle of Akasaka and the Battle of Torikai-Gata. 's samurai attacked the Mongolian army and fought them, as reinforcements led by Shiraishi Michiyasu arrived and defeated the Mongolians, who suffered around 3500 dead.The warriors, following their custom, rode out against the Mongol forces for individual combat but the Mongols held their formation. The Mongols fought as a united force, not as individuals, and bombarded the samurai with exploding missiles and showered them with arrows.

Eventually, the remaining Japanese withdrew from the coastal zone inland to a fortress. The Mongol forces did not chase the fleeing Japanese into an area about which they lacked reliable intelligence. In a number of individual skirmishes, known collectively as the Kōan Campaign (弘安の役) or the 'Second Battle of Hakata Bay', the Mongol forces were driven back to their ships by the Samurai.

The Japanese army was heavily outnumbered, but had fortified the coastal line with two-meter high walls, and was easily able to repulse the Mongolian forces that were launched against it. Japanese boarding Yuan ships in 1281.Kenzo Hayashida led the investigation that discovered the wreckage of the second invasion fleet off the western coast of. His team's findings strongly indicate that Kublai rushed to invade Japan and attempted to construct his enormous fleet in one year, a task that should have taken up to five years.

This forced the Chinese to use any available ships, including river boats. Most importantly, the Chinese, under Kublai's control, built many ships quickly in order to contribute to the fleets in both of the invasions.

Hayashida theorizes that, had Kublai used standard, well-constructed ocean-going ships with curved keels to prevent capsizing, his navy might have survived the journey to and from Japan and might have conquered it as intended. In October 2011, a wreck, possibly one of Kublai's invasion craft, was found off the coast of.

David Nicolle wrote in The Mongol Warlords, 'Huge losses had also been suffered in terms of casualties and sheer expense, while the myth of Mongol invincibility had been shattered throughout eastern Asia.' He also wrote that Kublai was determined to mount a third invasion, despite the horrendous cost to the economy and to his and Mongol prestige of the first two defeats, and only his death and the unanimous agreement of his advisers not to invade prevented a third attempt. Main articles: andThree expeditions against Burma, in 1277, 1283, and 1287, brought the Mongol forces to the, whereupon they captured, the capital of the and established their government. Kublai had to be content with establishing a formal, but Pagan finally became a tributary state, sending tributes to the Yuan court until the Mongols were expelled from China in the 1360s.

Mongol interests in these areas were commercial and tributary relationships. Kublai Khan maintained close relations with, in particular with prince of Chiangmai and king of Sukhothai. In fact, Kublai encouraged them to attack the after the were being pushed southwards from. This happened after king of the refused to pay tribute to the Mongols.

Jayavarman VIII was so insistent on not having to pay tribute to Kublai that he had Mongol envoys imprisoned. These attacks from the Siamese eventually weakened the Khmer Empire. The Mongols then decided to venture south into Cambodia in 1283 by land from.

They were able to conquer by 1284. Cambodia effectively became a vassal state by 1285 when Jayavarman VIII was finally forced to pay tribute to Kublai.During the last years of his reign, Kublai launched a naval of 20–30,000 men against on Java (1293), but the invading Mongol forces were forced to withdraw by after considerable losses of more than 3000 troops.

Nevertheless, by 1294, the year that Kublai died, the kingdoms of and had become vassal states of the Yuan dynasty. Kublai gives financial support to.Under Kublai, direct contact between East Asia and Europe was established, made possible by Mongol control of the central Asian trade routes and facilitated by the presence of efficient postal services. In the beginning of the 13th century, Europeans and Central Asians – merchants, travelers, and missionaries of different orders – made their way to China.

The presence of Mongol power allowed large numbers of Chinese, intent on warfare or trade, to travel to other parts of the Mongol Empire, all the way to Rus, Persia,. In, where Kublai Khan wrote his poem.Kublai was a prolific writer of Chinese poetry, though most of his works have not survived. Only one Chinese poem written by him is included in the Selection of Yuan Poetry (元詩選), titled 'Inspiration recorded while enjoying the ascent to Spring Mountain'. World racing 2 download free. It was translated into Mongolian by the Inner Mongolian scholar B.Buyan in the same style as classical Mongolian poetry and transcribed into Cyrillic by Ya.Ganbaatar. It is said that once in spring Kublai Khan went to worship at a Buddhist temple at the in western Khanbaliq (Beijing) and on his way back ascended ( Tumen Nast Uul in Mongolian), where he was filled with inspiration and wrote this poem. Inspiration recorded while enjoying the ascent to Spring Mountain ( 陟玩春山記興). I ascended on Fragrant Hill in the friendly season of springNot discouraged I climbed to the peak and met the Golden FaceFlowers shone bright rays and auspicious colors gleamed like a rainbowIncense smoke wafted like mist and a blessed light emanatedRaindrops were like bubbles on jade bamboos at the edge of the big rockThe blowing wind played a song among the green pines at the mountain passIn front of the Buddha in the temple I conducted the incense ceremonyAnd on the way back I rode a in the royal carriage.Family.

Chabi, Khatun of Kublai and Empress of the Mongol EmpireKublai first married Tegulen but she died very early. Then he married of the, who was his most beloved empress.

After Chabi's death in 1281, Kublai married Chabi's young cousin, presumably in accordance with Chabi's wish.Kublai and his wives' children included:., the director of the Secretariat and head of the Bureau of Military Affairs from 1263, but was sickly and died young., father of, Kublai's successor., King of Anxi. Has a son. Nomukhan. Khungjil.

Aychi. Saqulghachi. Qughchu. led Mongol armies into Burma and Vietnam. Khulan-temur. Tsever. married the king and became empress of the Goryeo.

and a further son and two daughters; names unknown.Legacy. Further information:Kublai's seizure of power in 1260 pushed the Mongol Empire into a new direction.

Despite his controversial election, which accelerated the disunity of the Mongols, Kublai's willingness to formalize the Mongol realm's symbiotic relation with China brought the Mongol Empire to international attention. Kublai and his predecessors' conquests were largely responsible for re-creating a unified, militarily powerful China. The Mongol rule of, and the steppe from a capital at modern Beijing were the precedents for the 's Inner Asian Empire.Kubilay is a name seldom given to children in Turkey.