Catalina Sierra February 8, 2018
Wiglesworth 4th Block
During the 13th century, Central Asia was taken aback with a force that demanded to be reckoned with, the Mongols(later knowns as Khans), although astounding conquerors, were barbaric in their ways of gaining power. This can be seen through their military tactics, treatment of enemies, and casualties of war.
The Mongols were barbaric in their methods of their military tactics. According to John of Plano Carpini, a Franciscan emissary of Pope Innocent IV, Carpini wrote about on the decree set upon men who were soon to go to war or were present in battle. If two or three or even more of the group were to flee, the whole group would be put to death; if ten flee from 100, all are put to death. Likewise, if two or more of the group charge head on at the enemy and
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Even though, fleeing from a fight is frowned upon in many countries, the fact that those who did not pursuit such cowardly acts had to be put to death due to one person’s actions is unbelievable. Not long after the battle is over, depending if the Mongols had won or not, they were given choices for the citizens of the government they had attacked. John of Plano Carpini indulged readers on the Mongols battle Tactics, The Mongol Mission, inhabitants who surrendered to them, were searched as the Mongols sought mostly artisans, others were kept as slaves, the unwanted ones….they were killed with the axe [Document D]. The Mongols, for some reason, saw it unfit to allow the captured to roam free, so instead they slaughtered all those who did not fit the requirements of a basic slaves. Most likely, the unwanted ones were the elderly or the sick, too weak to defend themselves as they seemingly had no voice in their unfair executions. Paul Ratchnevsky in his, Genghis Khan: His Life and Legacy, made a single comment that if merely glanced over did not produce a second thought, however, upon closer
The Mongols used brutal tactics and strategies to gain their territory. Throughout the reign of terror they prompted, the Mongols were anything but judicious when invading cities. While conquering Persia, an account from Juvaini, a Persian chronicler wrote, “The Mongols now descended from the walls and began to slay and plunder… not even cats and dogs should be left alive” (Document 4). In the written entry, he speaks to the panic that was inflicted during this dire event. Another piece of this entry states that the Mongols “severed the heads of the slain from their bodies and heaped them up in piles” (Document 4). The fact that they severed heads from the corpses is despicable. Another account on the Mongols brutal war tactics was by John of Plano Carpini,
Genghis Khan and the Mongols were very violent. According to document 2, Genghis organized his army in rows of ten, in which one man would be a leader. Over ten groups of ten, there would be one man in charge of all of them, over that 10 there would be one man in charge. There would be one man in charge of a thousand, then another in charge of 10 groups of a thousand. The Mongols used the word “tumin” to describe this number. Over every army there was two to three commanders, but in some way one held the overall command. While the Mongols were in battle if more than one man fled, the whole group of ten would be put to death, which caused a lot of acts of unnecessary violence. Also, if an entire group of ten fled, if the whole group of one hundred didn’t flee they would all be put to death, even though technically they did nothing wrong. Another rule present
The next topic in a few of the documents(4,8, and 9) directly relate to the previous paragraph. The warfare techniques used by the Mongolians and devised by the Khans and the commanders. In doc.4 Juvaini, a former historian for the Mongols and later governor of Baghdad, wrote about how the army was arranged. It is arranged in such a manner that there are groups of ten with one of them being commander of the other nine. Ten groups of ten equal a larger squad with one of the hundred being the leader. Then 1,000 and the last rank 10,000 is called a tümen. Documents 8 and 9 are simply a letter from the Pope Innocent IV to Genghis Khan and a reply. The Pope basically saying that he has invaded many countries and does not spare anyone. His reply is to use Eternal Heaven as his excuse for killing. These two documents show that Genghis Khan was infamous and believed in a God, making him religious. He is like the Islamic people that fight for Allah. Pope Innocent IV believes that Genghis Khan is being irrational with all his killings and rages because he does not spare anyone. He is a reliable source due to his being a Pope and how influential a Pope is.
The Mongols were not and possibly have never been barbaric. Cruel, yes but never savages. They were a community who was disciplined, who had laws, and who had control of a great army.
Mongolian conquests and invasions devastated affected areas and left survivors terrified. To all areas they have invaded including Tangut cities, Novgorod, and Nishapur, Mongols treated inhabitants harshly and most of the time, killed them (Doc.1, 2, 3, 6). Monks
If all else failed, they even had back up techniques. If needed, they would take all the fat off of the people they had already massacred, burn it, and start to catapult it into peoples homes. (document three) They also killed people in mass amounts, ranging anywhere from 30,000 people to 2,000,000 people at a time. No civilized people would kill in such a bestial manner. Once killed, in a lot of situations, the Mongol soldiers cut off the heads of the deceased and piled them up, men, women, and children. They wanted the land so that there was no life at all. Not even in animals. (document four)
The Mongols had a very skilled and strong arming and never lost battles outnumbered. They would travel by horse and split into small groups to surround the enemy to trap them. They were also falsely retreat the attack. To have a skilled and strong army they must have a great which was Genghis Khan. [From The Mongols Movie Worksheet and Document 2]
Understanding the Mongol’s culture is the key to comprehending their strength in numbers. Their leader was Chinggis Khan, a man who was obsessed with combining empires into one world ruled with his power. In order to do it, he needed a loyal army that would follow his commands into battle. Eventually he found men who believed in him and his mission. The dedication of his soldiers became exactly the right kind of army he needed to conquer other empires. “If we disobey your command during battle, take away our possessions, our children, and wives” (489). He treated his soldiers with respect. Happy soldiers meant a dedicated army to follow command and succeed in battle. He understood the importance of his soldiers and said, “I consider the people my children, and take an interest in talented men as if they
Although the Mongols were sometimes very brutal they were not barbarians. The Mongols were able to come up with very complex battle tactics like no other military in their era. In document three “ History of the Mongols” recorded by John of Plano Carpini he, states “they make figures of men and set them on horses. They do this
The Mongols came about when Genghis Khan united all of the Mongol tribes and clans, creating an army of up to 125,000 whose main goal was to conquer. One of his more effective tactics was enemies were treated fairly unless they resisted. Ones who resisted were killed. Kublai Khan was successful in reuniting the empire prior to a power struggle but was able to conquer all of China by 1276. However, he was not successful in conquering Japan by sea because of harsh storms and shipwrecks. Other countries Mongols had taken over included, Tibet, Persia, Russia, Poland, Hungary, and eastern Germany. People taken over by the Mongols had no choice to cooperate because failure to would result in them being slaughtered. Genghis Khan granted religious
Mongolian clans under Genghis Khan tore their way through opposing civilizations using fear-mongering tactics, utilizing total warfare and guerrilla stratagems and inventing the feigned retreat([Doc 3]). Total warfare involved the absolute destruction of a target, including all people, animals and structures; to instill fear into surrounding territories to urge them into submission. An advantageous use of their cavalry who were armed with compound bows, iron maces and occasionally spears, ([Doc 1]) to engage their enemies with guerilla
The Mongols were one of the most treacherous and fearful groups in the 13th century CE, creating an empire that was not to be messed with. They used threats and techniques that no other tribe dare use, making them come off as ferocious. Even today, they have been remembered as a savage and barbaric tribe; although some disagree at this point. Based on documents 2, 3, 4, 5 and 7, it can be concluded that although most other empires were fiercely savage, the Mongolians were the most barbaric out of them all. An additional document that could be used would be evidence of how the Mongols didn’t always use violence to conquer land.
Most obviously chose to surrender. What would happen to those that retreated though? Well, as Jeffrey Hays says, “the Mongols would pretend to withdraw to determine if the surrender was genuine, If the Mongol representatives left behind were killed, Mongol soldiers would return to massacre the entire population” (Jeffrey Hays). That was just for the civilians though. The rulers, once again as Jeffrey Hays states, “Enemy rulers were often wrapped in carpets and suffocated or trampled to death by horses.
To begin with, the Mongols in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries were brilliant warriors who always kept their goals in focus. The Mongol empire should be described as fierce, their advantage
The Mongols were first off very brutal people whose only focuses were to kill people to get what they wanted, land. One reason why the Mongols were so brutal was because their brutal leaders who told them what to do and go for. According to the background essay on the Mongols “Numerous chinese cities fell, including where Mongol slaughter was so great the streets were said to be greasy with flesh.” This was all done under the leadership of Genghis Khan who launched this army. Therefore, Khan led this army