The Mongols And The Mongol Empire

The Mongol empire is undeniably one of the largest empires in history. The immense conquer of civilizations would not occur without their great rulers. Founder Genghis Khan started the successful conquers ending with his grandson Kublai Khan. The large size of the empire ultimately led to its fall, but the rule abetted the conquered people.

The Mongol Empire was the largest continuous land empire in history, taking control of many Afro-Eurasian societies in the thirteenth and fourteenth century. Not only were the Mongols militarily powerful, they were also administratively powerful. The Mongols had a major impact on societies of Afro-Eurasia during this time period because their conquests ruined cities, their cultural diverse population adopted controlling positions, and their administrative efficiency promoted economy.

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.

The Mongols were the greatest of the nomadic peoples who came out of the steppes (a large area of flat grassland) of Central Asia conquering the territories of their adversaries. The leader of Mongol Empire was Genghis Khan; he was the proclaimed leader of all Mongols in 1206. The empire grew rapidly under his rule and under his descendants, who sent invasions in every direction.

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.

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.

Khubilai Khan (Great Khan) was the most powerful man who was known as the grandson of Genghis Khan, who was the founder and first ruler of the Mongol Empire. After Genghis Khan death, the Mongol Empire was divided and Khabilai was given the Eastern portion of the empire. He continued his grandfather’s conquest and he had eliminated resistance throughout China. Which lead Khan to establish his own empire called Yuan Dynasty. Though there are challenges of governing an empire, Khubilai Khan demonstrated how to govern his empire effectively.

Temujin took the name Genghis Khan, or “universal leader”. When Temujin received the name Genghis Khan which gave him the right to be known as an universal ruler, it also gave him the right to be known as a Mongol god. The tribe’s shaman declared Genghis Khan the representative of Mongke Koko Tengri, the supreme god of the Mongols. Religious was practiced daily in the Mongol Empire, and was highly regarded by every Mongol. To object to any rules of the Great Khan was just as bad as objecting to their god. Genghis Khan was believed to be born in 1155 and died in 1227. He was born in north central Mongolia into the Borjigin tribe. He was named after a Tartar chieftain that his father had captured. Temujin was born with a blood clot in one of his hands. In Mongol folklore this was a sign for Temujin to become a leader. At a young age of nine Temujin’s father was poisoned by the Tartar tribe on trip to meet Temujin’s future bride Borte. Temujin returned home to gain his thrown has clan chief. When he returned Temujin and his family were cast out and treated poorly. At age sixteen Temujin married Borte to create an alliance her tribe, the Konkirat’s, and his own. Now Temujin has finally gained power to rule with.

During the early thirteenth century Chinggis Khan and his following successors helped forge various tribes in to a powerful alliance that built the largest empire the world has ever seen. The Mongolian empire reached great in size in such a short period of time. This was basically because of the sturdy Mongol army and many efficient policies the Khan family established. The Mongols were very knowledgeable in military tactics. There empire had a strong sense of unity, helping the empire get so great so rapidly. There allies also contributed to the Mongolian empire. By the time of Chinggis Khan's death in 1227, he had laid the foundation of a vast and mighty empire, which continued to grow with his tactics set in stone.

The major legacies of the Mongol rule in the Islamic world are that they supported trade, built roads, increased religious tolerance, further advanced in medicine and astronomy and built paper money. They reopened four major trade routes which were closed – Silk Road, sea route from China to Persian Gulf, Siberian Route and an alternate route from lower Volga. The four major legacies of Genghis Khan, the founder of Mongol empire were tolerance, written language, legal code and trade and crafts.

The Mongols were very harsh and brutal like no one else in their era but I believe that they are not barbarians. The Mongols had a strong dominating military that was almost always successful, they contributed to many of the ideas that are still around today, and made a very stern set of laws that kept their community civilized which is why I believe that the Mongols were not barbarians.

The Mongolians had such a strong and powerful empire that made a great impact throughout history. Through the novel Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World, which was written by Jack Weatherford we learn many aspects that assisted the Mongol empire into building the largest contiguous empire to ever exist. The Mongolian empire began at around 1200 A.D. and throughout the empires very long and fairly large existence, there were very influential aspects that were created. The most powerful aspect was that the Mongolian empire had a very strong and very powerful line of rulers all coming from the family line of Genghis Kahn, also referred to as the Great Kahn. Under the rule of Genghis, the Mongol society would be changed entirely. Their military is another aspect that assisted the Mongols to became dominant due to their discipline. And they also had very strong tribal unity having faith and loyalty in each other and working hard together to accomplish their set tasks. These aspects would assist the Mongols in building the world’s largest contiguous empire in human history.

1) Why do you believe that the Mongols are referred to as the “forgotten conquerors?”

By 1260, the Mongol Empire extended from the Siberian forests to the Yellow Sea and the Eastern Mediterranean coast. The vast expanse of land the Mongols ruled over made it difficult for leaders to quickly relay orders to troops making advances on several fronts and to communicate other information, edicts, and laws. To combat the inefficient communication, the Yam system was developed under Chinggis Khan’s rule and was officially established under Ogodei Khan. The network included post houses located every few miles, between which messengers would ride their horses pass off the messages to each other. When Marco Polo traveled in the Mongol Empire in the thirteenth century, he claimed that the Mongols maintained up to 10,000 relay stations and 200,000 horses in the Yam (Strayer 347). Each messenger was considered an official representative of the Great Khan, and was eventually issued a tablet called a paiza. The paizas were used to distinguish messengers carrying out orders from unauthorized merchants and traders who were not granted the use of the stations. Through this simple yet massive communication system, messages that normally required weeks to transport now took only a few days to cross thousands of miles. By speeding up communication, the Great Khan could give orders and receive reports rapidly, increasing the efficiency and accuracy of their military attacks and the rate of implementing new government structures in conquered territories. By connecting the far

According to background essay on the Mongols “The Mongols were a small tribe during the 13th century. They were from the grasslands of Central Asia and conquered much of the known world.” They also said that “They operate from the backs of horses and sometimes use siege weapons. The essay also explained how the Mongols were one of the several nomadic peoples who competed with one another for pasture land and livestock. They also had no metal working, no written language, and no permanent homes. The Mongols also were first led by Genghis Khan and did not have a good reputation. The Mongols may have been successful but it was do to mostly negative examples and information. The Mongols were although positive in a way. For example their Yam System, to make them go faster and farther. However, this example and many other positive examples are ways for the Mongols to fight better and kill more people. The Mongols were barbaric because they were brutal and ruthless.