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The Mongol Empire: Largest Land-Based Empire In Human History

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The Mongol empire lasted from 1206-1368. They were the largest land based empire in human history. Their territory stretched from the Pacific coast of Asia to Eastern Europe. The Mongols were nomadic people of inner Eurasia who settled agriculture of outer Asia. Their conquests took land in Europe, China, and the Islamic world. In total, their population consisted of 700,000 people. The Mongol empire split up into hordes, or small, independent empires. The leader of the Mongol empire was Genghis Khan (1162-1227). The Mongol empire was nomadic. This means that they followed where the food was and they had no permanent shelter. They had horsemen and archers who were highly organized and highly mobile. They could travel up to 90 miles each day. The Mongol empire had many military …show more content…

Their army was organized into units of 10s, 100s, 1,000s, and 10,000s. The army was disciplined. This means that if one soldier left battle, then his/hers whole unit would receive the death penalty. They had relay stations, a massive census, and a system of taxation. “Whoever submits shall be spared but those who resist shall be destroyed with their wives, children, and dependents…so that the others who hear and see should fear and not act the same.” Unskilled civilians who resisted the Mongols were used as human shields, and used to fill moats. They also used psychological warfare. They supported the many religions as long as it wasn’t a source of rebellion.
The impact of the Mongol conquest included death, destruction, extortion of wealth, disease, and displacement. However, the Mongol empire was actually very civilized. The mongols spared more urban populations instead of executing them. The Great Khan limited destruction to a minimum and that civilians should be left alone. He

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