It has been difficult to get information about Genghis Khan and the Mongol Empire until recently because of destruction, poor communication of information, and restriction. The first aspect of the difficulty of gleaning information about Genghis Khan stemmed from Stalin and the Soviet Union. Weatherford illustrates the complete lack of respect for history and culture in the following text: "During the 1930s, Stalin's henchmen executed some thirty thousand Mongols in a series of campaigns against their culture and religion". A lack of communication between generations also warped the history of Genghis Khan and made it difficult to learn more about him and the Mongol empire. A feeling of disgust towards the idea of death among the Mongol people caused many tall tales about the death …show more content…
Restrictions from both Genghis Khan and the Mongol Empire itself muddled with furtiveness from the Soviet Union made information gathering difficult. Genghis Khan would not allow portraits of himself to be made during his lifetime, causing many interpretations concerning his appearance. The warriors guarding Genghis Khan's burial did not allow for trespassing, further contributing to a lack of information. The previous statement is supported in the following sentence by Weatherford: "After the secret burial in [Khan's] homeland, soldiers sealed off the entire area for several hundred square miles." The Soviet Union also played a part in the mystery concerning Genghis Khan and his demise. The use of strategic discourse continued to delay the gathering of information about the Mongol Empire and Genghis Khan. Weatherford shows the secrecy in the following quote: " The Soviets further sealed it off by surrounding one million hectares of the Highly Restricted Area..." Mongol loyalty to secrecy also restricted the gathering of information until
When the word “Mongol” is said I automatically think negative thoughts about uncultured, barbaric people who are horribly cruel and violent. That is only because I have only heard the word used to describe such a person. I have never really registered any initial information I have been taught about the subject pass the point of needing and having to know it. I felt quite incompetent on the subject and once I was given an assignment on the book, Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern Age, I was very perplexed for two reasons. One I have to read an outside book for a class that already requires a substantial amount of time reading the text, and secondly I have to write a research paper in History. I got over it and read the book, which
The empires of the Mongol empire and the Ming empire are different from some things and similar in other ways the way they were established was very different, but the way they came to an end were somewhat similar. There are many comparisons between the two empires and what they did. The way the two empires the Mongols and the Ming where establishes are very different, but the way they were maintained are very much alike. The Mongol empire was established by Genghis Kahn in 1206 AD and he built the empire to be one of the largest empires ever.
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.
For example, if one Mongol soldier ran away during battle, all ten soldiers in his group would be killed. This no doubt brought down the number of escapes quite successfully. John of Plano Carpini’s book, History of the Mongols, states that during war, if one man becomes cowardly and runs away all of the men in his group of ten will be put to death (Doc 2). This policy enforced complete participation in Mongol wars, and it caused the soldiers to put their peers into the wars as well lest they be put to death.In Mongol cities there was absolutely no theft. This was due to the extremely harsh theft punishments. Paul Ratchnevsky, in his book Genghis Khan: His Life and Legacy... states that “[t]hese could be left unattended because of the severity of (Mongol) laws against theft" (Doc 7). The Mongol people were so fearful of these punishments that there was essentially no theft at all in their cities. Another example from Paul Ratchnevsky’s book Genghis Khan: His Life and Legacy: He says horses that were taken from travelers were also returned 20 days later (Doc 7). These punishments helped project a barbaric image on the Mongols as well, since, anyone tried to avoid the punishments, regardless of who they were, were punished harshly. Lastly, the Mongols enacted very harsh punishments on prisoners. In the Persian manuscript, The Shah Namah, one can seean illustration of a prisoner being executed, as well as several other men being buried alive, upside down (Doc 5). The Shah Namahagain shows the severity of Mongol punishments and how barbaric these punishments
2) Why do you believe the early Mongol leaders did not want their burial sites known?
“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.”
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.
Soon after conquering all the Turks and Persians, Genghis Khan looked north, to Russia. “He and the Mongols attacked Novgorod, again striking so much fear into the Russians that they called the Mongols “Tartars”, (people from Hell).” (Adler and Pouwels, 239-41). While Genghis Khan started the subjugation of the Russians, his
One of the greatest rulers, Genghis Khan, had a dramatic impact on history due to his brutal leadership and military tactics. He was a vicious ruler who successfully conquered and expanded his empire. “Genghis Khan was a warrior and ruler of genius who, starting from obscure and insignificant beginnings, brought all the nomadic tribes of Mongolia under the rule of himself and his family in a rigidly disciplined military state” (Bawden, 2017). Genghis Khan’s military armies swept through most of Asia’s powerful civilizations leading to the spread of Mongolian teachings. He brutally conquered areas by killing any opposing civilizations. However, he forced no religion on the conquered, which allowed the spread of new religions across the continent. With these new religions, new ways of thinking, learning, and teaching developed. Once Genghis Khan
In this book, Jack Weatherford starts by portraying Temujin and the numerous hardships he faced as a young boy, from his father’s death and Temujin’s upcoming rivalry with the Tatars to his sudden responsibility for his family following his half-brother’s murder. Weatherford then went on to explain the inception and evolvement of Genghis Khan and the Mongolian Empire. Subsequently, he illustrates the positive influences the Mongol Empire had over countries they gained control of ranging from advances in cultural communication to expansions in trade and religious freedom. In the final analysis, the story follows the Mongol Empire and the descendants of Genghis Khan following his death. Weatherford shows the different types of rulers the
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.
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
The start of the Mongol Empire began as a system of nomadic pastoralists who were extremely well experienced horsemen and traveled with their flocks of sheep, goats, cattle, and horses over the vast steppes of the prairielands of Central Asia. At the start of the Mongols rise to supremacy was the formation of tribal coalition known as “All the Mongols” (Saunders 1971) While the early tribal coalition was successful at establishing itself as a power in Manchuria and North China, it wasn’t until the rise of a well-known figure did the Mongols ascend to a force to fear and respect. That
Genghis Khan, our leader who forged an empire stretching from the east coast of China to the west of the Aral Sea, died in camp during a campaign against the Chinese kingdom of the Xia. The great Khan, who was over 60 years old and in declining health, succumbed to injuries he suffered during a fall from his beloved horse a year before. He died peacefully in 1227 August the 18th. The whole Mongolia mourned the majestic king for weeks. Never before has the nation mourned someone for so long, he was truly an honourable khan, a leader that shall forever be immortal.