Analysis of Genghis Khan by Jack Weatherferd Essay

The Mongolian Empire began in the central area of Asia around the 13th century. This empire grew and clans expanded to numerous regions across the Asian, European and African continents. This empire was able to gain these regions by means of conquest which quickly resulted in gains of power and influences across the world. Below I will further discuss how the Mongol conquest had global implications.

The Mongol Empire had many impacts on modern day Asia and other parts of the world. Genghis Khan led an empire from the steppes of Asia during the 13th century, called the Mongols. They conquered a lot of land, from to Korea to Poland, and also from Vietnam to Syria. Because they ‘terrorized’ much of Asia, they were known as barbarians. They were thought to live beyond civilization, and known as evil. The Mongolians of the Asian Steppe had a negative impact on the world during their rule of the Asian continent from 1206 to 1368 by influencing violence, destruction, and the falling of cities.

Revenge also contributed to the conquering of more and more conventional societies. For example in 1218 Chinggis Khan sought to open trade and diplomatic relations with the Khwarazm Shah, but the Shah despised the Mongols. So he ordered his officials to murder Chinggis Khan's envoys. The following year the Mongols went on a revenge rampage. Declared in document 7 and 9, the Mongols shatter the Shah's army. This lead to the killings of hundreds of thousands of people around that area. This rampage strengthened and made the empire a lot larger in size.

The book I have chosen is called Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World. This book describes the Mongol Legacy and how his achievements have impacted the globe since he was first found. This book consists of Jack Weatherford’s take of how the Mongolian empire impacted the world. This book is divided into sections that talk about the stages of the Mongol influence.

The magnitude of the Mongol empire from the beginning to its greatest heights is an amazing story. Weatherford states “he smashed the feudal system of aristocratic privilege and birth, he built a new unique system based on individual merit, loyalty, and achievement” (xix). All of these newly presented ideas assist Khan in his conquest of unity and progression. In the battle against the Bukhara, he had many of the local people either assist him in his mission or be punished brutally. This old, but newly used concept of divide and conquer worked in Khan’s favor. It not only caused the surrender of the Bukhara, but when word spread it assisted in the surrender of the capital of Samarka (9). He realized the power of psychological warfare and used it to his advantage. In a campaign against Jamuka, the displaying of the Spirit Banner was used to make it difficult for the opposing side viewing these Banners to fight if the kinsmen had used ancestors’ Spirit Banner. This was used as “tantamount” to attacking

Towards the end of the post classical period, during the early twelfth century new empires rose to power. Specifically, the Mongol Empire located in the steppes of Central Asia. The Mongol Empire was started by Genghis Khan who was part of a nomadic clan. Khan used his position as leader of the clan to unite all the clans in the area to create a very powerful army, which he then used to expand further and conquer empires such as China, Russia, the Middle East, and and the city of Baghdad creating the Mongol Empire. The Mongol Empire controlled the most land of any empire. As the Mongol Empire conquered new Empires they effected them through the environment, social classes, politically economically, and their culture. Two empires that the Mongol Empire had an effect drastically on was China and Russia politically and economically. The Mongol Empire improved China and Russia economically by facilitating trade routes stabilizing China economy and helped Russia semi-stable their economy. Politically the Mongol Empire enforced a system which united the people in China and helped Russia develop a political system indirectly.

The Mongols impacted civilizations all over the world. In the end though the Mongols blended into most civilizations they conquered,

The Mongols are a group of men and some women who took over China, and united the largest empire in the world history. They did this in many ways, some positive and some negative, using smart tactics to make their way to ruling the empire. Nevertheless, the Mongols had a more positive impact than negative by influencing transportation and communication, economic diversity, and politics in the world around them for many years.

Who were the Mongols? Most would think they were just a bunch of dishonorable people with no moral and treated their conquered people horribly. But really, they were not that bad if you were not the ones fighting them. Although the Mongols started as a small, nomadic group, they could expand, conquer, and maintain their empire because of their effective military tactics, their religious tolerance and integration, as well as their flourishing trade.

“I will rule them by fixed laws so that rest and happiness shall prevail in the world,” Genghis Khan. In the 1200s, the Mongol Empire rose and conquered most of China. The Mongol Empire was one of history’s most brutal forces because their dominance was led by a hostile leader, driven by ruthless aggression, and strengthened by an understanding of a correct civilization. The Mongol Empire was feared by many because of its ruthless leaders. The empire was divided into groups led by different khans, but the empire soon turned and was united by a strong leader, Temijin.

Throughout history, empires have controlled vast expanses of the world. Yet no empire has ever impacted the world's like the Mongols. Spanning from present day Russia to Korea, the Mongol Empire ruled the Eurasian continent. By modern conventions, legacy is the gift or impact someone leaves when they die. Noah Feldman once said, “Empires inevitably fall, and when they do, history judges them for the legacies they leave behind.”

Genghis Khan, or Temujin, as he was referred to in his early life, was born around 1167 into the pastoral nomadic lifestyle of the Mongols. Mongolian life was centered on several fragmented tribes that continuously fought each other, led by individual khans. “Temujin enjoyed years of successful conquest in these tribal wars” (Adler and Pouwels, 239-41). At the age of sixteen, Temujin married Borte, a woman from another tribe. “Temujin married Borte, cementing the alliance between the Konkirat tribe and his own.” ("Biography.com"). Temujin was greatly feared among the Mongols, as he was known for his ruthlessness, cunning, and his ferocity. “…by 1196 he had become powerful enough to assert personal control over all of the

People being boiled, buried alive and tormented and many more being slaughtered. Most people see the Mongols as a brute force of nature, a barbarian, but from history’s point of view, they created the biggest and the strongest empire for hundreds of years. The Mongolians of the Asian Steppe had a positive impact on the world during their rule of the Asian continent from 1260 to 1368 by influencing the Silk road and blooming trade, new and innovative inventions and uniting most of Asia into one amazing empire.

The Mongols were excellent in learning from obstacles, doing without, and making the best out of what was given with them. Their ingenious thought process led to them being one of the most successful empires of all time. Unlike no other empire of their time, their war-like way of life is what brought them to the top and is what they’ve left in history. The Mongolian empire was successful due to their vast understanding of characteristics needed in an empire, dealing with environmental setbacks, and makeshift

The rise of the Mongol Empire can be attributed to a famous emperor, Genghis Khan. He led his armies through the Great Wall of China and crushed the Jin Dynasty. “In the twelfth and thirteenth centuries the Mongols were far from more barbarous than their neighboring tribes. For this reason Genghis Khan, as the cultivated Chinese put it, was nothing more nor less than a barbarian. However, this barbarian possessed a number of qualities that enabled him to become one of the greatest conquerors in the history of the word” (Hartog p.139). Unfortunately, he has a sudden death in 1227 while in the war against the Xia Dynasty. Before his passing Genghis ordered his second son, Ogedei Khan, as his inheritor to split his empire into four khanates between his children and grandchildren to complete his invasion. Many years pass after Genghis Khan died, and several Mongol leaders attempted to continue the mission of the Great Khan. It isn’t until his grandson Kublai Khan, succeeded in creating a more powerful domain during his establishment of the Yuan Dynasty