The effective combination of brutal military tactics and organized governance ensured the success of the Mongol Empire. This was possible due to the skills gained under their pastoral nomadic political structure. Their success was further fuelled by their motivation for world domination stemming from their worldview and values. Their ruthless military practices were efficient in conquering Eurasia, and the political changes made to these nations ensured continual rule. The rapid usurpation of territory impacted Eurasia through opening trade and communication. Although the Mongol Empire was short-lived, these means ensured a rule that was total and unrivalled.
The political structure of the Mongols trained them uniquely for military
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Resources were scarce in the fields of Central Asia, which necessitated these practices. The tribes were unified under Genghis Khan, who stated that ‘a man’s greatest pleasure is to defeat his enemies, to drive them before him, to take from them that which they possessed, to see those whom they cherished in tears, to ride their horses, to hold their wives and daughters in his arms’. This identifies the Mongol value of possession and highlights their superiority complex. This complex served as the primary motivation in conquering territory. Sources such as the Novgorod Chronicle imply that their conquest was driven by a thirst for blood, however the absence of torture in their warfare apart from especially grievant circumstances indicates cold efficiency. Additionally, this chronicle is highly emotive and religious, which has caused exaggeration.
It is difficult to fully interpret the motivations of the Mongols or their perspective of foreigners due to the lack of Mongol-written sources. This is because of the late formation of a written Mongol language. Therefore, the accounts of foreigners are invaluable to the investigation of the Mongols. One of these accounts is from William of Rubruck, who was sent by King Louis IX of France to unofficially observe the Mongols in 1254. He wrote an extensive report, including observations on their social,
Some people would say the Mongols were a key development to civilization. However, the progress they made is nothing compared to their cruelty and the process they used to conquer the majority of Asia and parts of the Middle East. The Mongols were originally a small, nomadic tribe that originated from the steppes of Central Asia. The tribe placed little value on objects, considering they moved around in yurts and hardly settled. Led by Genghis Khan, they conquered land worth double the size of the Roman Empire. The Mongols were greedy, bloodthirsty barbarians who had little to no regard for human life. They went to unthinkable lengths to conquer land while destroying countless ancient cities.
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
The positive aspects of the Mongol conquest were surprisingly vast and extensive. The Mongols helped unify an expansive empire through a network of communication channels- inspired from the posts of their military. This system spread across Asia and Europe, a larger area than any empire thus far had to control. Also, the Mongols were peaceful with these conquests, being open to religious practices of the conquered. This, possibly, was in accordance to their ruler, Chinggis Khan, who often preached about a lenient rule for cultures out of respect as he often respected the practices of those he conquered. To continue, the Mongols helped unify the empire through a writing system and mail system, which they called “Yam”. On the other hand, the Mongols were also very destructive and brutal in regards to their conquests. The Mongols pillaged and destroyed cities, raping the women and killing most of the men. They only kept the highest
Throughout the 13th century world, the Mongols constantly showed displays of continuous violence, drinking, brutality and unfair treatment. They were considered to be savages, and people who lived far beyond what we would know as a “civilized world.” They single handedly became one of, if not the most powerful empires to have existed, building their empire through violent and barbaric manors. The Mongols were very barbaric people, for they portrayed many inhumane and mannerless actions while their empire lasted, causing death destruction and the downfall of all of the land they took over.
The Mongol empire was one the greatest empires of all time expanding all over Central Asia. Bordering Chinese states, the Khwarazmian empire, present day Afghanistan, Siberia, Iran, and many more, at its height the mongol empire was over 20,000,000 square kilometers. This was all possible due to extraordinary men in Central Asia, ruled by Genghis khan emperor of the Mongol empire. These Asian nomads along with their fearless and intelligent leader, flourished against numerous odds impacting all those whom they waged war against. A recipient of this ‘impact’ in particular was Russia. It was around 1219 when the Mongols first entered the Kievan Russia marking the beginning of the interactions of the two. With the Mongols rise in establishing one of the largest contiguous empire in history and having Russia only distances away the collision of the two were inevitable. As history shows this collision did happen in the year 1236 which marked the beginning of great impact that the Mongols would have on the Russian empire culturally, politically, and economically.
One major effect of Mongol expansion on Eurasia was the Mongols’ Facilitation of Trade. This effect is similar to how the Mongols collected tribute from foreign travelers with the introduction of Kublai Khans decree that was issued in 1278. The Mongol Empire always favored trade and this was a very fortunate thing for the worlds nations, especially for the West. When the Mongols began to conquer land and rise to power, they opened themselves up to trade and reopened the Great Silk Road Trade Network. This was possible because the Mongols and the “Golden Horde” cleared out bandits during their conquests that had made merchants and travelers afraid to go on with their business. The Mongols also created rest stops and had fortified outposts along the GSR and helped caravans across the network. Because of this, trade contacts increased exponentially starting around 1250. This also had to do with ‘Pax Mongolica’ which was the peace that the Mongols had created around Eurasia since they began to unify it. The Mongols facilitation of trade and their openings of trade all around Eurasia is what shifted trade to the west and began the diffusion of different technologies. According to the information from Marco Polo in Document 1, the Mongols were smart and wealthy people who lived by their skills and trade. Marco Polo goes on to explain how even the merchants had the spirits of soldiers and the people in general had what it took to conquer the whole world.
Throughout history, various peoples have been considered harsh, violent, and uncivilized. One empire well known for its either barbaric or kind nature, are the Mongols. Based on the documents, the attitudes of various people towards the Mongols in Eurasia from the 13th century to the 14th century were positive, neutral, and negative.
Throughout the years, historians have found evidence to show that many ethnic groups were barbaric, like the Germanic tribes: Ostrogoths and Visigoths, or the nomadic tribes: Huns and Mongols. Though the evidence is strong to show the primitive nature of the Ostrogoths, Visigoths, and Huns, the evidence is ambiguous for the Mongols. From what historians have collected — who they conquered and people they were close to conquering — they believe that Mongols were barbaric; however disagreements can be made, because of the lack of evidence and prejudices we have been raised along-side with. This can be shown in their military, their commerce, their laws, and how they rule their conquered lands.
3. In David Morgan’s piece, “Who Ran the Mongol Empire?”, Morgan utilizes and plethora of contemporary and primary sources, as well as employs rhetorical analysis in order to persuade the reader that even though the Mongols incorporated foreign aspects into their empire, that they still remained dominate to their subjects. The author relies on the primary works of Rashid Al-Din, Marco Polo, and alludes to The Secret History of Mongols, as well as the contemporary works of Dr. Igor de Rachewiltz and Dr. Paul Buell in order to advance his rhetorical argument. 4.
The Mongol Empire is very successful because their society became technologically advanced and they had very a skilled and mobile military force. They also had a very favorable tolerance policy that allowed people to follow their own customs and beliefs.
The Mongols are arguably the best conquerors the world has ever seen. Through brutal military tactics and intimidating physiological warfare, they were capable of building the greatest land empire that the world has ever seen. The empire not only was fierce and cruel but they also brought about the rival of Silk Road trading which helped lead to their people to great economic prosperity. The Conrad-Demarest Model of an empire is a basic guideline that all of the empires are said to have to follow. In the Mongols, case they followed this model in the reasons for its fall and in the fact that it had militaristic and political preconditions in its rise, but it did
In the thirteenth century, Genghis Khan infiltrated other cultures in order to build his empire. He did so very brutally, never backing down from opposition. One of the most important factors to his conquests were the use of horses, especially in war. In the spiritual realm, horses were of much importance as well. The Mongols’ utilization of horses as well as well-equipped riders made conquering other lands not nearly as difficult as it had been for past empires.
The Mongols were a group of people that originated from Mongolia who grew to overthrow most of China and the eastern part of Europe. Considering the amount of territory that the Mongols conquered, one might be concerned about the power and authority of the Mongol ruler, Kubilai Khan. If a king was to challenge Kubilai Khan in war, what would the king have to fear? Marco Polo, a famous trader, wrote a detailed description about The Great Khan and the Mongol society in his work, The Travels of Marco Polo.
There were many reasons for the Mongol victory over China. The main reason on why they were so successful in conquering other civilizations was because of their flawless fighting techniques. Men were divided into myriads where they then could be controlled just by hand signals. As time goes on the Mongols became more organized and began to borrow more advanced military technology. Under the powerful rule of Khan, he unified the Mongol tribes and conquered Northern China and Central Asia. Besides military, economic and social attributions helped influenced the takeover. Historians believe that environmental changes such as drought and overpopulation helped deplete pasture on the steppes, which helped influence the Mongols motivation to capture
In the early 13th Century an impressive and terrifying force was spreading over half the known world. Atop the backs of horses the Mongols brought down large empires with their military conquest and innovative conquest. The Mongolians started their empire as a collection of nomadic tribes struggling for supremacy. Little did they know but major kingdoms across the world were about to experience a dark age. Over the course of the Mongolian conquest the innovation in war, commerce, and diplomatic circles would change the world forever. China, Western Europe, Russia, and the Middle East were all targets for the Mongolian Empire during their short time as an almost unstoppable force. Following great leaders ranging from Chinggis, Kublai, and Ogedei the story of the Mongolian empire is one of conquest and supremacy. The Mongolian Empire was an important culture that changed the face of the world.