Reviews - Books I Read

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MONGOL EMPIRE: A HISTORY

FROM BEGINNING TO END

(HISTORY OF MONGOLIA),

HOURLY HISTORY.

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Good attempt.

But quite confusing that author extolls Mongol rule as promoting of peace and trade, respectful of women and giving them equal rights, while simultaneously mentioning not only wholesale massacres of civilians, but also mass rapes.

Are those the values of yhe author, the Hourly History publications, church, West?

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"One of the most consistent tactics used by Mongol armies was terror. If a city attempted to hold out, when it was finally taken, every occupant regardless of age or sex would be killed afterward (in some cases, even domestic animals and pets would be killed). A few would be allowed to live so that they could spread the word of the atrocity and ensure that other cities in the area were less likely to resist. Prisoners were routinely executed after a battle, and many were mutilated, with Mongol warriors taking ears and other body parts as macabre souvenirs. In a few cases, prisoners were used as human shields, being driven in front of the advancing Mongol army to absorb the volleys of arrows and spears from the enemy."

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"During the twelfth century, many parts of the world experienced rapid technological and social change. The innovation of cast iron in Europe led to the creation of armies of soldiers wearing chain-mail body armor. In agriculture, the introduction of the three-field system and the emergence of new technologies such as artesian wells and vertical windmills transformed agriculture and irrigation. In terms of science and learning, great strides were also being made in Europe with universities being founded in several major cities.

"Little of this progress affected the area now known as Mongolia, located between present-day Russia and China. Covering over 600,000 square miles (1.5 million square kilometers), Mongolia is both the world’s second-largest landlocked country and the country with the second-sparsest population. In the twelfth century, the population of this area numbered somewhere around 800,000 people, most living a nomadic or semi-nomadic lifestyle. Harsh climate involving long, cold winters and short, wet summers limited agriculture. Instead, tribes wandered over the open grasslands, grazing vast herds of sheep, cattle, camels, and goats.

"There were few permanent towns or cities in Mongolia, and most of the population lived in family clans in yurts, portable dwellings made of wood and lined with hide and felt. The tribes, linked by marriage or blood relationships, were the focal point of Mongolian society. As grazing became exhausted, tribes regularly moved together en masse in search of better land. It was a way of life that had changed little for hundreds of years."

Has it, since?

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"The army perfected by Genghis Khan and used in the field by him and his successors was one of the most effective in the world in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Few enemies were able to fight it with any real hope of success. The morale of the Mongol army was extremely good. As a noted military historian has noted: “They believed themselves to be invincible, and most of the vanquished believed it too, regarding them as a visitation from heaven and a punishment for sin.” "

Incorrect and untrue, and sheer propaganda.

"With such a seemingly invincible army at his command, it wasn’t long before the new khan of khans began looking beyond Mongolia for new lands to conquer."

Again, incorrect.

People do not go burning whole villages and towns from Mongolia to beyond Moscow just because they have an army.

But they do do so due to less than subsistence level of productivity of their homeland.

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"Having secured his position as leader of all the Mongol tribes, Genghis Khan looked for other areas into which he could send his army. His ideas were entirely pragmatic: he doesn’t seem to have appreciated notions of glory or prestige but to have seen conquest as the logical means of extending his power by creating vassal states that would provide tribute and natural resources.

"Genghis Khan also claimed to have divine inspiration to extend the power of the Mongols. How far he personally believed this or whether it was simply an excuse for aggressive expansion, we cannot know. One of the most famous quotes attributed to Genghis Khan certainly reflects the view that he had been divinely selected to conquer: “I am the flail of God. If you had not committed great sins, God would not have sent a punishment like me upon you.”

"His first target outside Mongolia would be the Western Xia kingdom (also known as the Xi Xia), part of present-day northwestern China. This kingdom was wealthy and powerful and had the misfortune to share a border with the newly unified Mongolia. Small Mongol raids into Xi Xia territory had been ongoing long before Genghis Khan became the leader of a unified Mongolia, but almost as soon as he came to power, he increased the size and tempo of these raids and gave them very specific missions of gathering intelligence about the strength of Xi Xia military power. This would become typical of his approach to combat: he would almost always spend time gathering information about enemy dispositions and the terrain on which he might have to fight before committing himself to a major campaign.

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"The raids also led to the capture of the son of a Xi Xia leader. This man was given the Mongol name Chagaan and eventually became a trusted aide to Genghis Khan and the leader of his personal guard. This, too, would become a notable feature of the campaigns of Genghis Khan. If members of enemy nations could be persuaded to join his army, they provided valuable intelligence on the military capability of that enemy as well as a better understanding of its society and culture. Doing this also made it more likely that the enemy would defect to the Mongol side because they could see that others had already done so and attained positions of power and importance. The recruitment of enemy combatants meant that the Mongol political and military leadership had a cultural diversity that was very unusual at that time. This made it stronger, more flexible, and more able to deal with and understand threats from a range of enemies.

"Satisfied with the information gained from these raids, Genghis Khan ordered a full-scale invasion of Xi Xia territory in 1209. Within a short time, his army had besieged the capital city, Yinchuan. The city surrendered, and the emperor of the Xi Xia was forced to agree on terms, allowing his small empire to become a vassal state to the Mongols and agreeing to pay hefty and regular tribute. This was the first foreign territory captured by the Mongols, but not the last.

"One of the most powerful Chinese dynasties was the Jin, ruling much of what is now northern China. The Jin had a long history of conflict with the Mongols, dating back more than one hundred years. While the Mongol tribes had been divided, the Jin were safe. With a unified Mongolia under Genghis Khan, suddenly they were vulnerable to attack. The Jin were allied to the Xi Xia, but when that dynasty was attacked by the Mongols, the Jin refused to help. Angered by what they saw as a betrayal, the Xi Xia agreed to provide Genghis Khan with troops when he next attacked the Jin."

Are jinn and Chin related to Jin?

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"The next major move by the Mongols was to the west, against the Qara Khitai (or Western Liao) dynasty in central Asia. The excuse for war was provided by the Qara Khitai when they attacked the Karluks, a small state that had declared itself to be a vassal of the Mongols. Genghis Khan responded by sending an army into Qara Khitai territory in 1216, though he did not lead this army himself. Despite being outnumbered, the Mongols were able to defeat the forces of the enemy, and by 1218, the war was over, and the Mongols were in complete control of all the lands formerly ruled by the Qara Khitai. This gave the Mongols a new border with the Muslim Khwarazmian Empire.

"This powerful empire (covering much of present-day Iran, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan) was ruled by Shah Ala ad-Din Muhammad II. Initially, it seems that Genghis Khan had hoped to establish trade and diplomatic links with this empire: the Mongols now controlled much of the Silk Road, the main trade route between east and west. Genghis Khan sent an envoy to the Khwarazmian leader carrying a message: “I am master of the lands of the rising sun while you rule those of the setting sun. Let us conclude a firm treaty of friendship and peace.”

"When his offer of a trade agreement was refused, the Mongols launched their largest military operation to date: an invasion of the Khwarazmian Empire with an army of over 100,000 men. The Mongol invasion was devastatingly effective and stunningly brutal. The armies of Khwarazmian were defeated with relative ease, and the occupants of any city, town, or settlement that showed signs of resistance were massacred without mercy. It is estimated that anything up to 1.2 million people may have died during the Mongol conquest.

"The huge Mongol army did not end its operations in the territory of the Khwarazmian Empire. They ranged across present-day India, Armenia, Georgia, the Crimea, and even conquered large areas of Russia. By the time that Genghis Khan finally returned to Mongolia in 1225, the Mongol Empire was one of the largest and most powerful in the world. However, a new threat soon emerged in the east when the Xi Xia allied with the Jin dynasty and rose against Mongol rule. On August 18, 1227, Genghis Khan led his army to confront the Xi Xia. Eight days later, he was dead.

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"Although he is now chiefly remembered for the brutal efficiency of his military conquests, Genghis Khan also left a lasting legacy in the way in which he reorganized Mongol society and those of the territories he conquered. For those who resisted, the outcome was swift death. For those who submitted and accepted Mongol rule, there was the Yassa (meaning “order”) code of law.

"The Yassa code seems to have originated as a series of military decrees during the reign of Genghis Khan, and it was formally declared by him to be the law of the Mongol Empire in the city of Bukhara. The creation of this law was overseen by Genghis Khan himself, assisted by his step-brother, Shikhikhutag. Responsibility for administering and enforcing this law was given to his second son, Chagatai. No written record of this law survives, if indeed it was ever written down: it may have been an entirely oral code. What we know about the Yassa code comes from references in surviving documents from other cultures.

"The most important basis for this code was absolute loyalty and obedience to the Mongol leader. It also specifically required respect for all religions and ordered that no preference be shown to any. This was particularly important: the Mongol Empire was one of the most culturally diverse the world had ever seen, and to ensure that subjugated people were willing to accept its authority, it was important that they would not be discriminated against."

That's very unlike the later degenerate descendants, from Babar to a couple of generations after Akbar, when his - Akbar's - great-grandson Aurangzeb persecuted nonmuslims, not only via taxes, but with massacres and other atrocities, and deliberate destructions of temples. Babar had done it, of course, and in fact the only exceptions possibly were Akbar and Jehangir.

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"The code applied to virtually every aspect of everyday life. It covered everything from not putting one’s hands into drinking water but instead using a drinking cup all the way up to obeying the orders of the leader. For a frightening list of offenses, the punishment was death. This included failing to do one’s duty in a community hunt, not answering a summons from the khan, adultery, and sodomy all the way down to a soldier who failed to pick up an item dropped by the man in front."

Didn't Changez Khan rape all fresh battle widows of enemies, every night? Central Asia is supposed to have over forty million descendants of his, with every resident in a village boasting of descent from him in several villages.

"For most people, death took the form of beheading, though very senior members of a tribe might instead be put to death by having their backs broken, which avoided the spilling of blood (which was thought to be shameful). This code was also notable for defining tax exemptions for certain classes of workers who were deemed of particular value to the community at large, including doctors, scholars, lawyers, and religious practitioners.

"One of the most interesting aspects of the Yassa code was the way in which it treated women. In an age when many societies seemed to regard women simply as property, this code gave them particular rights. The kidnapping of women (previously a relatively common event in Mongol tribal warfare) was made an offense punishable by death. Genghis Khan permitted his wives to eat at his table and to talk and give their opinions. At the time, that was seen as something startling, as was the fact that under his rule, women seem to have been given de facto powers if their husbands were involved in fighting with the army or otherwise forced to be away from their homes. The Yassa code also made sexual assault against a woman an offense punishable by death."

What about women of enemies?

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"The thing that defined Mongolian society and made their nomadic lifestyle possible was the horse. Horses were used to control large flocks of several thousand domestic animals as well as for hunting and travel. Horses even provided sustenance. Mare’s milk was used on its own as a drink and could be fermented to create airag, a mildly alcoholic beverage. In an emergency, even a horse’s blood could be drunk. Mongol herders and soldiers would make a small cut in the neck of their horse and lap the blood from the wound.

"There was relatively little trade. A few Mongol tribes did establish trade routes with the Chinese to the east and south, but the truth was that Mongolia had little in the way of natural resources or goods that were suitable for trade. Most people produced enough just to subsist, with little left over for trade or luxury. This situation was made worse by a state of almost constant warfare.

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"Within tribes, there were often battles for succession or leadership. In addition, there was almost constant feuding between tribes, with raids organized to steal slaves, horses, other animals, or resources. One tribe would briefly become dominant before being subdued, but no one tribe was powerful enough to rule all of the others. Moreover, on Mongolia’s southern and eastern borders, there were frequent clashes with the Chinese. At this point, there wasn’t a single Chinese nation but rather an ever-changing succession of individual dynasties that fought amongst themselves and with the Mongolians.

"Life in twelfth-century Mongolia was brutal, harrowing, and frequently short. This was not a place that one would naturally associate with the emergence of a leader who would come to build a mighty empire. But that is just what happened."

Flawed logic, there.

Whether Mongol or British, empires were established by a people from a poor land incapable of sustaining them, so they were vicious in their hunger - unlike the content population of a rich land, for example India, who went on to establish a great civilisation and gathered a tremendous treasure of knowledge by thought and scholarship.

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"“If you’re afraid, don’t do it. If you’re doing it, don’t be afraid!”

"—Genghis Khan"

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"Most of what we know about the man who would become Genghis Khan comes from a work called The Secret History of the Mongols. This book seems to have been written after the death of Genghis Khan, and it was probably commissioned by surviving members of his family, so it is at the least very sympathetic to his story if not hagiographic.

"This work seems to have been originally written in Mongolian, and it is the oldest known literary work created in the Mongolian language. Sadly, none of the original Mongolian versions have survived, and what we have instead are versions of this story transcribed into Chinese characters on the instructions of the Ming dynasty at the end of the fourteenth century, almost two hundred years after the death of Genghis Khan and after he had become virtually a legendary character. What all this means is that we cannot be certain how accurate the information from the Secret History is, but given that there are simply no other sources to use, it’s all we have that provides any record of this man’s early life.

"We do not even know what he looked like: the only portrait purporting to show Genghis Khan was painted more than 30 years after his death. It shows an elderly and rather frail-looking Chinese gentleman. Contemporary accounts suggest that Genghis Khan was a tall, powerfully-built Mongol with a long, thick beard, so it seems unlikely that this painting resembles him at all. With these caveats, here is what the Secret History tells us about Genghis Khan’s early life.

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"One of the most powerful tribes in twelfth-century Mongolia was the Borjigin. One of their leaders, Khabul Khan, managed to create an alliance of tribes that successfully resisted an invasion by troops of the Chinese Jin dynasty. When Khabul Khan died circa 1148, that certainly didn’t mean that he was forgotten. Many Mongol tribes practiced an ancient religion known as Tengrism which, amongst many other tenets, promoted ancestor worship. Although they were a nomadic people, the Borjigin had an important religious shrine in the Khentii Mountains in northeastern Mongolia. This was the place from which it was believed that the first members of the tribe had originated.

"Around 1162, the new leader of the Borjigin, a man named Yesügei, had a son with his chief wife Hoelun (Mongolian leaders took more than one wife, but only offspring from the chief wife could inherit the title of leader). The boy was named Temüjin, meaning “ironworker.” This wasn’t because Yesügei expected his new son to become a blacksmith but rather to commemorate the fact that Yesügei had once captured a member of a rival clan, the Tartars, of that name.

"Although we have very little information about the early life of Temüjin, a number of sources suggest that he was brought up with three younger brothers, two half-brothers, and a sister. As the son of a tribal leader, he would have been expected to quickly master the art of horsemanship and hunting. Some accounts suggest that male children as young as three years old were trained to ride.

"At the age of nine, Temüjin was betrothed to marry a girl from another tribe, the Khongirad. Such marriages were common and provided a good way to forge alliances between clans. Temüjin was left with the Khongirad by his father. However, on his way back to his own tribe, Yesügei was attacked and killed by the Tartars, with whom the Borjigin were involved in an ongoing feud.

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"Although he was barely ten years old, Temüjin returned to his tribe only to discover that his mother Hoelun and his siblings had been exiled from the tribe when a member of another family, Taychiut, had taken advantage of Yesügei’s death to stake his claim as the new leader of the Borjigin. Temüjin and his family found themselves scraping an existence by foraging for nuts and fruits. As the oldest male, Temüjin became head of the family.

"The next few years were very difficult for the whole family. At one point, Temüjin was captured by his former tribe and made a slave, though he was able to escape after some months in captivity. At the age of thirteen, he married Börte, the girl from the Khongirad tribe whom his father had arranged for him to marry. Börte would become his chief wife (Temüjin would eventually have more than 500 wives and concubines), and the two would remain married for the rest of their lives. Because she was his chief wife, Börte would eventually become empress and the only wife who produced children who would be Temüjin’s legitimate heirs.

"Despite this, married life did not get off to a good start. Börte was kidnapped by members of yet another tribe, the Merkit. Temüjin’s mother, Hoelun, had originally come from that tribe and had herself been kidnapped by his father, Yesügei. Even though this was many years before, the Merkit remembered this insult and regarded the kidnapping of Börte as an act of vengeance.

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"Although he was still young, Temüjin had already gained a reputation for strength and determination and as a capable fighter. He gathered a few friends and attacked the Merkit. This was the first time (as far as we know) that Temüjin had been involved in any military action and certainly the first time that he had acted as a military leader. Although Temüjin and his small band were outnumbered, they somehow managed to defeat the Merkit and rescue Börte.

"This daring mission led to the creation of an alliance that would be very important to Temüjin. Toghrul, the ruler of the Keraite tribe, had been a blood brother to Temüjin’s father. Toghrul hated the Merkit, having once been kidnapped and used as a slave by that tribe. When he heard of the kidnapping of Börte, he sent a few of his soldiers to assist Temüjin. With the success of this raid, Toghrul seems to have been impressed by Temüjin’s ability as a leader and agreed to provide troops to allow the young man to win back leadership of his tribe and to seek revenge against the Tartars who had killed his father.

"Toghrul also persuaded the leader of the Jadaran tribe, Jamukha, to provide an army to support Temüjin. Temüjin’s will and determination soon won him many more followers, and he was able to create alliances between some of the most important tribes. In around 1185, he was elected as khan (leader) of the Borjigin at the age of just 23. This was an astonishing achievement for a young man who, just ten years before, had been an outcast supporting his family by gathering fruits and roots. Still, not everyone was happy with Temüjin’s meteoric rise to power."

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"“A leader can never be happy until his people are happy.”

"—Genghis Khan"

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"Rulers in Mongol society came exclusively from powerful families. Leadership was hereditary, and no one not born to an aristocratic family could become a leader. ... "

But - what exactly is 'aristocracy' in a nomadic, tribal society subsisting in a land where neither weather nor land is conducive even to agriculture enough for survival, and as author stated before, there was nothing to trade in possession of Mongols?

So was this aristocracy based on descent from erstwhile warriors and conquerors? Looking at era post this, it'd seem so.

" ... This had been the system for hundreds of years, but it was one that Temüjin ignored. Within the armies that he controlled, leaders were chosen not by reason of their family connections but solely on the basis of their ability and commitment. Within Temüjin’s army, this policy was extremely popular because it allowed men who would otherwise have been barred from leadership to rise to the highest levels. It also meant that his armies were led by men of proven ability. However, some Mongols saw this as a direct threat to the very foundation on which their society was based. One of those who was most concerned was Jamukha, leader of the powerful Jadaran tribe and Temüjin’s former ally.

"The antagonism between Temüjin and Jamukha increased until 1187, when the two met in battle at Dalan Balzhut (Seventy Marshes). Jamukha fielded an army that included 30,000 mounted men. There are no surviving records of the size of Temüjin’s army, but we do know that he was comprehensively defeated. Jamukha reportedly behaved with great brutality towards the defeated army, having some prisoners boiled alive and many others executed. Temüjin was forced to flee, and his sponsor Toghrul was exiled.

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"We know almost nothing of what Temüjin did for the next eight years (some historians refer to this time as the “lost years”). He may have worked as a mercenary or as a vassal to a Mongol leader. Some sources suggest that he may even have served in the Chinese army fighting against the Tartars. What we do know is that when he re-emerged, Temüjin seemed to have a much better grasp of leadership in all its forms and of military tactics in particular. He had also amassed a small but well-trained and equipped army.

"The Chinese of the Jin dynasty were at this time involved in an ongoing war with the Tartars. They allied themselves with the Keraite tribe, with Toghrul once again their leader. Temüjin joined forces with the Keraite and other tribes, and in 1196, he served as one of the main military leaders at the Battle of Dalan-Nemurges against the Tartars. This time, Temüjin was victorious. After the battle, Temüjin ordered that all captured Tartars who were less tall than the axle of a wagon (around three feet or one meter) were to be killed. This killing of those who had stood against him would become a characteristic of the tactics of Temüjin.

"Success against the Tartars cemented Temüjin as one of the most capable Mongol warriors. Still, his continued refusal to accept the notion of hereditary right to rank and privilege continued to cause some Mongols to oppose him. Even Toghrul gradually turned against Temüjin, forming an alliance with his most bitter enemy in Mongolia, Jamukha, leader of the Jadaran tribe.

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"Mongolia gradually became divided into two opposing camps: those who supported Temüjin with his new ideas of meritocracy and those who supported Jamukha and traditional, aristocratic rule. In 1201, Jamukha was appointed “universal leader” by the Chinese Qara Khitai dynasty. On paper, this meant that he was the leader of all the Mongol tribes, but in practice, it simply increased the existing divisions.

"It seems that Toghrul had by this time become disenchanted with the leadership of Jamukha and created a third faction of tribal alliances. Toghrul then led his army against Temüjin but was defeated and killed while fleeing the field. His son, Senggum, became the new leader of the Keraite tribe and quickly re-formed the alliance with Jamukha.

"In 1202, Temüjin faced the combined armies of Jamukha and Senggum at the Battle of Kalakalzhit. With his army outnumbered by more than ten to one, Temüjin was defeated. Nevertheless, he survived and retreated to Balzhun Aral, where he focused on rebuilding his army. Many men joined him, partly because he was the only Mongol leader who would allow men of low birth to serve in his army. Jamukha continued to insist that only aristocrats were permitted to fight for him.

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"The following year, Temüjin attacked the Keraite army and defeated them completely. In the summer of 1204, he then launched an assault on the powerful Naiman tribe, who had allied themselves with Jamukha. Near Mount Naqu, Temüjin’s new army faced the combined forces of the Naiman and Jamukha.

"Although his forces were once again outnumbered, this was the first battle in which Temüjin’s grasp of strategy and tactics would become apparent. The usual course of any battle between Mongol forces involved an uncontrolled melee, with both sides simply hurling their whole army against the other. At the Battle of Mount Naqu, however, Temüjin used a very different approach. Mounted messengers relayed his orders to different parts of his army. Formations were deployed not in a single rush but carefully, individually, and where they would cause most damage to the enemy. The result was a complete victory for the army of Temüjin. Huge numbers of the opposing army were killed in battle or executed afterward. Jamukha initially escaped but was handed over to Temüjin and executed in 1205.

"In the spring of that same year, Temüjin called a kurultai (tribal gathering) at the source of the Onon River. By that time, he had defeated all his enemies within Mongolia, and when he declared himself khagan (khan of khans) at the kurultai, no one dared to object. Temüjin had achieved what no one had been able to do before: establish control over all the Mongol tribes. He also gave himself the title by which he would be best remembered: Genghis Khan, or “universal ruler.”"

It's not "Genghis", any more than the most revered river of India is "Ganges". Both are twisted versions, deformed by West, of correct names.

Correct names are Changez Khan for the leader, and Gangaa for the river.

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Author proceeds to sing pens of the man who went on to burn whole towns alive through Central Asia, Persia and Russia - well beyond Urals and Caucasus.

"This was an amazing achievement. Starting from almost nothing, Genghis Khan had conquered all of the Mongolian tribes, something that no other leader had been able to do. He was clearly a charismatic leader, and his new ideas of meritocracy appealed to a wide sector of Mongolian society. He was clearly also a capable military leader who had learned through more than one defeat that success in battle went not necessarily to the largest army but to the army that was wisely led and directed during the battle. He would soon use these skills to extend his power well beyond the borders of the Mongolian steppe."

What else can one expect from a series that extolls Rome but forgets to mention crucifixion in the context, although the era is well covered, and Roman circus is mentioned, as is Constantine.

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"The most notable point was that this was almost entirely a mounted army. Horses were an integral part of Mongol society, and most Mongol men learned to ride at a very early age. By the time that they were old enough to serve in the army, most were very skilled and experienced horsemen. This made the Mongol army more mobile than any other in the world at that time, where most armies moved at the speed at which a man could march. Mongol armies were capable of covering 60, 80, or even 100 miles (100-160 kilometers) in a single day. This mobility would not be matched until the German Blitzkrieg of World War II.

"Mongol horses were, by European standards, rather small. Nevertheless, they were hardy and capable of surviving on very little grazing. Most members of the Mongol army had several horses, so they could frequently switch to a fresh horse to maintain speed. Mongol soldiers did not use the metal armor that was beginning to be used in other armies of this period. Instead, they relied on speed and mobility for protection, though some used light leather or felt armor.

"Virtually all mounted Mongol warriors were armed with the compound bow. The bow was made with layers of wood or bamboo, horn, and sinew bound together with a glue made from fish bladders. This produced a weapon that was light but capable of great accuracy and power over long range. Most Mongol warriors carried two bows, one for short range and the other for long. Up to 60 arrows with bone or tempered steel tips were carried by each man, and these projectiles were capable of penetrating even chain-mail armor at ranges of up to 350 yards (320 meters). These bows were also used for hunting, and most Mongol men were familiar with them before joining the army. Mongol mounted archers were capable of firing arrows in any direction, even behind, and at a high rate of fire. A fast-moving Mongol formation shooting salvoes of deadly arrows from a distance was a formidable foe for any army of the period.

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"The use of horses also allowed Mongol armies to scout effectively. Small groups of riders were sent out anything up to 80 miles (130 kilometers) from the main army to gather intelligence and to ensure that the army was not surprised in an ambush.

"Genghis Khan also introduced a new system of organization based on multiples of ten. The smallest unit was a group of ten horsemen, the arban. Ten arban formed a jagun, and ten jagun formed a group of 1,000 riders, a minghan. Ten minghans could be combined to create a division, or tumen. Each of these units was capable of fighting separately or in combination with others.

"Each unit had a leader, and all leaders were chosen according to their proven ability and courage. Mongol armies rarely exceeded 10,000 riders, though, on rare occasions, one or more tumen were combined to create a larger army. There were virtually no Mongol infantry units. In some battles where the Mongols fought with allies, these might provide infantry formations, but these often struggled to keep up with mounted troops.

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"Service in the army was expected of all Mongolian men from the ages of 14 to 60. Serving in the army was popular, mainly because of the scope for acquiring booty. The Mongols did not have a money-based economy, and soldiers in the Mongol army were not paid. Instead, Genghis Khan insisted that any booty taken from the enemy be shared amongst every member of the army, down to the lowest horse-soldier. A specialized unit, the jarqu, was even created specifically to ensure the fair distribution of booty. Higher ranks were given a larger share, but every man who fought in a successful battle knew that he would receive a reward."

No wonder the army of hungry from poor land was rapacious through two continents.

"This system of reward brought its own problems: unless new lands were being conquered, there would be no booty to share. The men of the Mongol army would prosper only if that army was continually seeking new offensives. If the army was static or on the defensive, its members would not be rewarded. This had a positive aspect as it kept the army and its members focused on aggression, but it also placed pressure on the Mongol leadership. The Mongol army was a fearsome weapon, but if it was allowed to become idle, its men might become dissatisfied and disaffected.

"Mongol armies trained incessantly when they weren’t involved in a campaign. They practiced massed maneuvers that included diversionary attacks and feigning retreat to persuade an enemy to leave prepared defenses. Discipline in the army was strict and applied to every member, from the most senior general to the lowest soldier. Flogging was the punishment for any dereliction of duty, while the punishment for desertion, retreating in the face of the enemy, or sleeping while on watch was death.

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"Genghis Khan also introduced changes specifically intended to reduce the power of the tribes. Previous Mongol armies had comprised large tribal formations that fought loosely under the command of a single leader. When Genghis Khan came to power, he deliberately ensured that units down to the level of the arban did not comprise men from a single tribe. Instead, men from different tribes were scattered throughout the army. In this way, he intended to reduce tribal loyalty and instead replace it with loyalty to a unit and, ultimately, to him.

"Tactics varied according to circumstances and terrain, but a favored approach was the tulughma, a modified version of a hunting technique used by Mongols. This involved an assault by heavy cavalry on the main mass of the enemy while light cavalry units surged to either flank, sometimes completely surrounding the enemy. Heavy cavalry units were kept in reserve to be used once the main enemy formation had broken and was fleeing. These reserve units would then mercilessly pursue and kill the retreating troops, often keeping up the pursuit for several days after a battle. This prevented the enemy from reforming and preparing for another battle.

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"The policy of instilling terror was extremely successful, especially when it was combined with the offering of clemency and fair treatment to those who surrendered without a fight. The ferocious reputation built up by the Mongol armies ensured that many enemies gave up rather than fought.

Incorrect and untrue, and sheer propaganda.

"With such a seemingly invincible army at his command, it wasn’t long before the new khan of khans began looking beyond Mongolia for new lands to conquer."

Again, incorrect.

People do not go burning whole villages and towns from Mongolia to beyond Moscow just because they have an army.

But they do do so due to less than subsistence level of productivity of their homeland.

................................................................................................

"“The greatest happiness is to vanquish your enemies, to chase them before you, to rob them of their wealth, to see those dear to them bathed in tears.”

"—Genghis Khan"

And church, sponsor of Hourly History, approves thereof?

................................................................................................

Are jinn and Chin related to Jin?

................................................................................................

"Previously, the Jin had demanded tribute from the Mongolian tribes near the border. When a new Jin leader, Wanyan Yongji, came to power just after the Mongol conquest of the Xi Xia, he made a serious and eventually fatal mistake: he demanded tribute from Genghis Khan and an agreement that the unified Mongolia would become a vassal of the Jin. Genghis Khan responded to this grievous insult by immediately attacking Jin territory and beginning a Mongol-Jin war that would continue for more than 20 years."

Took that long for the supposedly superior army?

"The war began with a series of Mongol raids into Jin territory. As before, these gathered intelligence and spread terror. A wave of Jin refugees moved away from border areas and toward larger cities. There, they spread the news of the frightening Mongols as well as straining an already stretched food supply chain. A lack of food led to riots in some Jin cities and to the massacre of several thousand Jin citizens by their own troops. Genghis Khan chose this moment to launch a full-scale invasion of Jin territory.

"The Mongols made good progress, and by 1213, they had laid siege to the principal Jin city, Zhongdu (present-day Beijing). The Jin were soon forced to make peace and to agree to accept the hegemony of the Mongols and to pay a parge tribute. However, this turned out not to be the end of this war but only a temporary cessation.

"The defeat of both the Xi Xia and the Jin dynasties sent a clear message to other nations in the area that the Mongols were powerful and seemed to have an unstoppable army. Several small provinces as well as the Uyghur Buddhist Qocho Kingdom sought to make peace with the Mongols, even though they were not under immediate threat. These areas submitted to Mongol control and agreed to pay tribute to Genghis Khan.

................................................................................................

"Like so many aspects of the life of this man, we are certain of little except the date of his death. Some accounts suggest that he died in battle with the Xi Xia or died afterward of an infection arising from an arrow wound. Other accounts claim that he died after a hunting accident or even after being assassinated by a Xi Xia princess he had taken as a wife. More recently, scholars have suggested that he may have died after exposure to bubonic plague which was present in Xi Xia lands at that time.

"We do not even know where he was buried. According to Mongolian tradition, he was buried without religious ceremony in an unmarked grave. Some accounts suggest that the loyal retainers sent to bury him somewhere in Mongolia killed anyone they met on the way in order to keep the location of his burial site a secret. A mausoleum to Genghis Khan was later built in the Mongolian town of Xinjie, but this is a memorial rather than the site of his tomb.

"The death of Genghis Khan, the man who had single-handedly created the Mongol Empire and made it what it was, represented a serious blow to the Mongols, but it was far from the end of their empire."

................................................................................................

"“All Mongol women are born to the horse and the bow.”

"—Zhu Zhu"

................................................................................................

What about women of enemies?

................................................................................................

"Although Mongol society remained largely patriarchal, this code did give women more freedom and more power than in other contemporary cultures. In Europe, for example, it would be more than 600 years before women were given rights comparable to those in the Yassa code. Various sources have suggested that, at the time of his death, Genghis Khan was working on a revision to the Yassa code that would have given something approaching complete equality to women, though no direct evidence has been discovered to prove this claim.

"As the empire grew, the numbers of Mongols as a proportion of the total population of the empire grew relatively small. Realizing that the nomadic Mongols knew little about administering and controlling large urban centers, Genghis Khan often appointed local leaders from the resident population. Mongols often became assimilated into the cultures they conquered, though most remained recognizable by their unique style of dress.

"Mongol men and women wore a long, ankle-length robe, the caftan. Depending on the wealth and status of the wearer, these might be made of silk, fur, felt, or wool. The colors of caftans were strictly limited: particular colors were reserved for officials and for special ceremonies. There were severe punishments for anyone wearing a caftan of an inappropriate color. Footwear was generally distinctive boots or sandals made from cowskin (and said to smell strongly of cow).

"Although strict discipline was enforced throughout Mongol society, this does seem to have been a culture that embedded diversity, tolerance, and equality in its laws."

................................................................................................

"“With Heaven’s aid I have conquered for you a huge empire. But my life was too short to achieve the conquest of the world. That task is left for you.”

"—Genghis Khan"

................................................................................................

"Before his death, Genghis Khan had designated his heir: his third son by Börte, Ögedei. Ögedei was said to have been a large, jovial, charming, and charismatic man. He had been his father’s favorite from an early age, and there seems to have been little resistance to his inheritance of leadership.

"In 1229, at the kurultai following the death of Genghis Khan, Ögedei was formally elected as the new supreme khan. His first priority was the subjugation of the Xi Xia, who had by this time formed an alliance with the Jin and rebelled against Mongol rule. Ögedei does not appear to have shared his father’s military genius, but he seems to have understood this and was willing to delegate control of Mongol armies to more capable military leaders.

"The war against the Xi Xia and Jin was not concluded until 1234, but it ended with the complete subjugation of those dynasties and the imposition of Mongol control over their lands once again. The following year, Ögedei ordered a new war, this time against the Southern Song dynasty. Although he personally led his armies on this campaign, he simultaneously gave his military leaders permission to continue their advance to the west as far as the “Great Sea” (the Atlantic Ocean). Under Ögedei’s rule, the Mongols would make their greatest conquest in the west, with his armies fighting in Germany and Austria by the time of his death.

................................................................................................

"There were also plans for the invasions of Italy, Spain, and France, and only Ögedei’s death may have prevented most of Europe from becoming a part of the Mongol Empire. During his reign, Mongol armies also successfully invaded and occupied Armenia, Georgia, Korea, and parts of northern India (where they would later form the basis of the Moghul Empire).

"Between 1235 and 1238, Ögedei Khan had constructed what would become the new capital city of the Mongol Empire, Karakorum, in the northwest of present-day Mongolia. The city was notable for the incorporation of places of worship for Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, Confucians, and Taoists, in line with Genghis Khan’s notions of religious tolerance and diversity.

"Under the rule of Ögedei Khan, the Mongol Empire reached its greatest limits of expansion to the west and south, but his death in 1241 caused a crisis within the empire. We don’t know how he died: some accounts suggest a lingering illness, others the outcome of an excessive late-night drinking session.

"At any rate, Ögedei had originally nominated his son Kuchu as his heir, but Kuchu died in 1236 under unknown circumstances. Ögedei then nominated his grandson, Shiremun, to be his successor. Still, the khan’s nomination was not binding on the Mongol tribes: a supreme khan could only be appointed by election. The council of tribes proved unwilling to appoint a young child as supreme khan, and instead, one of Ögedei Khan’s wives, Töregene Khatun, became regent and the de-facto leader of the Mongol Empire.

................................................................................................

"When Ögedei died, power had initially passed to another of his wives (and a former concubine of Genghis Khan), Möge Khatun. However, with the support of her five sons by Ögedei and of Genghis Khan’s son Chagatai, Töregene was able to seize power and install herself as regent of the Mongols until a new ruler could be elected.

"Somehow, she was able to maintain her grip on the empire for a period of five years, all the while continuing foreign wars and fighting off internal challenges to her assumption of power. She was able to persuade the majority of Mongol leaders that the most suitable candidate for the role of supreme khan was her eldest son, Güyük. One important leader, Batu, ruler of the Golden Horde (an important khanate in the northwest of the Mongol Empire), opposed this suggestion. It was his opposition that delayed the election of Güyük as the new supreme khan for the five years that Töregene Khatun ruled.

"It was only when Genghis Khan’s youngest son, Temüge, showed an interest in becoming the new leader that the council of tribes finally agreed to elect Güyük in 1246. Unfortunately, by the time he took the role of khan, Güyük was ill and possibly suffering from alcoholism. During his brief reign, Güyük had Temüge executed, and Töregene Khatun died suddenly and unexpectedly, possibly poisoned on his orders.

"In 1248, Güyük ordered Batu of the Golden Horde to come to Karakorum. It was clear that Güyük was not convinced of Batu’s loyalty, and when the leader of the Golden Horde approached the city at the head of an army, Güyük set out with his own army to meet him. A major confrontation was expected, but instead, Güyük died soon after leaving the city. There are several versions of his death, including as a result of a drunken brawl, illness, or even assassination. What we do know is that the Mongol Empire was once again plunged into chaos as the result of the death of the supreme khan.

................................................................................................

"The main contenders for this role were Batu and Möngke, a grandson of Genghis Khan. Many Mongols expected conflict between these two, but instead, they formed an alliance and effectively ruled the empire together. There was still opposition to Möngke’s assumption of power, but it came from other descendants of Genghis Khan: the Ögedei and Chagatai families. After he was declared supreme khan in 1251, Möngke took swift and merciless action against this opposition by having up to 300 members of these aristocratic families executed and their lands and wealth seized.

"With his position secure, Möngke Khan turned his attention to expanding the empire further. The new leader led a Mongol invasion of the kingdom of Dali (present-day Yunnan) and Indochina (present-day Vietnam). Other Mongol armies meanwhile invaded Tibet, additional areas of India, and a region in the Middle East that included large parts of present-day Iran and Syria.

"In late 1258, Möngke led a major Mongol assault on the Southern Song dynasty. While directing an attack on the Song fortress of Diaoyu (present-day Chongqing) the following year, Möngke Khan died. As with so many other leaders of the Mongol Empire, the precise circumstances of his death are uncertain, but we do know that this event plunged the Mongol Empire into a long and costly civil war."

................................................................................................

"“Wolves come during rain.”

"—Mongolian proverb"

................................................................................................

"At the time of his death, Möngke Khan had not formally chosen his successor. Many people assumed that his brother, Kublai, would inherit the role of supreme khan. Still, Möngke had seemed to favor his younger brother, Ariq Böke, who he had appointed as commander of the city of Karakorum. Most of Möngke’s immediate family supported Ariq Böke, including members of the powerful Ögedei, Chagatai, and Jochi families. Kublai, who was leading a Mongol army against the Song dynasty when he heard of Möngke’s death, immediately returned to the Mongol homeland to meet the challenge from his brother.

"Mongolia was now split into two factions, one supporting Ariq Böke and the other Kublai. Both men claimed that they had been elected as supreme khan. Ariq Böke held the city of Karakorum and had powerful allies, including the new khan of the Golden Horde and Alghu, leader of the Chagatai Khanate. Kublai’s most significant ally was Hulagu, leader of the Ilkhanate. The conflict between these two brothers was more than a simple battle for the role of supreme leader. Ariq Böke was seen as a traditionalist, supporting the old Mongol values, while Kublai appeared more interested in China and in integrating Chinese values and ideologies. For many of their supporters, this was a battle not just for leadership but to decide the future direction of the Mongol Empire.

"For four years, from 1260 to 1264, the two factions fought a series of battles. None were conclusive, but the majority of victories were won by Kublai, who gradually pushed the forces of Ariq Böke further into the wilderness of northern Mongolia. As the balance of power shifted towards Kublai, allies began to desert Ariq Böke until, in 1264, he found himself unable to raise an army large enough to challenge his brother.

"In that year, he traveled alone to the city of Shangdu and surrendered to Kublai. This is usually taken as marking the end of the Mongolian Civil War, though the Golden Horde continued to fight until its leader’s death the following year. Ariq Böke died mysteriously in prison two years later, with many people assuming that he was poisoned on the orders of his brother.

................................................................................................

"Even that was not the end of internal opposition to Kublai. Kaidu, a grandson of Ögedei Khan and a nephew of Kublai, ruled a Mongolian province in present-day Xinjiang. He never seems to have accepted Kublai’s election as great khan and refused to come to Karakorum to pay homage to the new leader. Like Ariq Böke, Kaidu seems to have supported a return to traditional Mongol values and culture, and many of those who had previously given their backing to Ariq Böke now sided with Kaidu. In 1268, enmity turned into open war between Kaidu and his supporters and Kublai and his successor. This second civil war would continue intermittently until the death of Kaidu in the early 1300s.

"Despite internal opposition to his rule, Kublai Khan embarked on a number of ambitious foreign campaigns even while still fighting with first Ariq Böke and then Kaidu. He personally led another campaign against the Song dynasty that finally resulted in its complete defeat in 1276. This made Kublai Khan the first Mongol leader to achieve the total defeat and occupation of China. Kublai Khan also became the first Mongol emperor to identify strongly with the Chinese people.

"In 1271, he renamed the Mongol Empire the Dai Yuan dynasty. He also announced that the new dynasty’s capital would not be Karakorum but the city of Dadu (present-day Beijing), a decision that angered many of the more traditionally-minded Mongol leaders. Kublai Khan understood that he needed the support of the Han Chinese to rule China effectively, but his seeming to favor Chinese culture appeared to many of his followers as a betrayal of Mongol traditions. As a result, there was a rebellion in Karakorum that was only suppressed by the use of brutal force. Even then, Kublai’s Mongol critics sent him an angry message: “The old customs of our Empire are not those of the Han Chinese laws. What will happen to the old customs?”

"Despite these internal conflicts, Kublai Khan also ordered successful (though costly) invasions of present-day Myanmar and Sakhalin. By the time that Kublai Khan died at the age of 78 in 1294, the empire was larger than it had ever been. However, arguably, it was no longer the Mongol Empire. Kublai Khan had essentially become a Chinese emperor, the first emperor of the Yuan dynasty. While this dynasty was still the most important and powerful part of the former Mongol Empire, that once united confederation was starting to break apart."

................................................................................................

"“Conquering the world on horseback is easy; it is dismounting and governing that is hard.”

"—Genghis Khan"

................................................................................................

"The civil war between Kublai Khan and Ariq Böke led to the split of the formerly unified Mongol Empire into four separate and relatively autonomous khanates: the Yuan dynasty ruled by Kublai Khan in the east, the Ilkhanate in the southwest, the Chagatai Khanate in Central Asia, and the Golden Horde in the northwest. Nominally, Kublai Khan was the ruler of all four khanates which formed the Mongol Empire, but in truth, each began to act as a separate entity around 1270.

"Part of the reason for this division was Kublai’s increasing identification with the Han Chinese and his establishment of a new capital at Beijing. The rebellion by Kaidu was supported at various times by each of the three other khanates. This ongoing civil war was not finally ended until 1304, when the three other Khanates finally accepted the supremacy of the Yuan dynasty, then under the rule of Kublai Khan’s successor, Temür Khan. Nevertheless, this was little more than a nominal arrangement, and each of the four khanates acted effectively as a separate state.

"The Yuan dynasty continued under the rule of nine more khans after the death of Temür in 1307. During this period, Chinese opposition to this dynasty increased and culminated in a major rebellion, the Red Turban Rebellion, which began in the 1350s. The Yuan dynasty was finally defeated and overthrown by the Ming dynasty in 1368. The last Yuan emperor, Toghon Temür, died in 1370. The Mongol survivors of the Yuan dynasty retreated to the Mongolian Plateau, where they formed the Northern Yuan dynasty, ruled by the Mongolian Borjigin tribe. This was little more than an isolated rump-state, though it survived until its final destruction by the Later Jin dynasty in the seventeenth century.

................................................................................................

"At the beginning of the fourteenth century, the Golden Horde controlled territory in the Volga region, the Ural Mountains, the northern Black Sea, the Caucasus Mountains, and western Siberia. A number of Rus kingdoms were vassal states. However, a series of internal conflicts over succession eventually led to the division of this khanate into eight relatively small autonomous khanates during the fifteenth century. These individual states were unable to resist the growing power of the unified Rus (later the Russian Empire), and by the end of the eighteenth century, all had been conquered.

"The Chagatai Khanate occupied lands in present-day Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and southern Xinjiang. This khanate split into two parts in the thirteenth century: the more settled Transoxania in the west and the largely nomadic Moghulistan in the east. Moghulistan became dominant in the fourteenth under the rule of Timur, a highly effective Mongolian military leader. Timurid leaders continued to rule Moghulistan, and in the sixteenth century, they invaded and occupied much of India, leading to the creation of the Moghul Empire. This empire continued to be a significant power in India until it was overthrown by the British Empire in the nineteenth century.

................................................................................................

"The Ilkhanate, ruled by descendants of Hulagu, controlled territory in present-day Iran, Iraq, the Transcaucasus region, and western Turkestan. This was the shortest-lived of all the khanates of the former Mongol Empire, disintegrating into several smaller states after the death of the ninth ruler of the Ilkhanate, Abu Sa’id, in 1335.

"All the Mongol khanates were badly affected by a bubonic plague pandemic that ravaged Europe and Asia in the period from 1346 to 1353. This pandemic, known as the Black Death, had a profound effect on almost the whole civilized world in the fourteenth century and may have killed up to 200 million people. It is believed to have originated in the Crimea, controlled at that time by the Golden Horde. The Black Death caused enormous social dislocation and was a factor in the disintegration of the former Mongol Empire."

................................................................................................

"“I believe it was God’s will that we should come back, so that men might know the things that are in the world.”

"—Marco Polo"

................................................................................................

"The single most obvious legacy of the Mongol Empire probably lies in the estimated 16 million people worldwide who carry Genghis Khan’s DNA. Still, this empire has left us much more than this genetic inheritance.

"Despite its reputation for the brutal repression of anyone who dared to stand against it, the Mongol Empire was also responsible for the Pax Mongolica (Mongol Peace), a period of stability within the 12 million square miles (31 million square kilometers) that this empire controlled at its peak. At the time of the death of Genghis Khan, the empire extended from the Pacific coast of China to Eastern Europe. Within this area lay the Silk Road, the main network of trade routes that connected east and west.

"Before, travelers on these routes had been forced to navigate a dangerous network of rival and competing regions which made trade between China and Europe costly and risky. With the stability that the Mongol conquest brought, banditry was virtually eliminated. It was said that even “a maiden bearing a nugget of gold on her head could wander safely throughout the realm.” With safety assured by Mongol control, these trade routes flourished.

................................................................................................

"Not just silk but other commodities, including porcelain, rice, horses, and gunpowder, traveled the Silk Road, as did some of the first international tourists. When Marco Polo made his famous trip to China via the Silk Road in the late thirteenth century, he was able to do so because the Mongol Empire controlled the territory he crossed. Journeys such as this led to a greater understanding by both east and west of the other. New ideas traveled in both directions, and knowledge of emerging sciences such as astronomy and medicine improved as a direct result. Arguably, this trade and the exchange of knowledge represents the first true instance of globalization, which was made possible by the stability imposed by the Mongol Empire.

"However, it wasn’t just trade and tourists that traveled via the Silk Road and the other efficient and reliable road systems created by the Mongol Empire. When the Black Death first appeared in the Crimea, it spread with bewildering and terrifying speed. Ironically, the spread of this disease that did so much to undermine the Mongol Empire and hasten its disintegration was also facilitated by the same efficient road network.

"When the Mongol Empire fragmented, its control over these vital trade routes diminished. It is no coincidence that, for almost 300 years after the disintegration of the Mongol Empire, China became increasingly isolated from the west, and trade was reduced to a trickle.

................................................................................................

"Mongol influence also helped to shape many subsequent cultures. Although the Mongols themselves produced little art or literature, many Mongol leaders were patrons of the art. They commissioned works from local people, encouraging a melding of the various styles they had encountered. For example, the Mongol Empire had a profound influence on Iranian and Islamic culture, leading to a vibrant phase of Islamic art that combined traditional styles and motifs with a new visual language imported from Asia by the Mongols. This new style lasted well beyond the period of domination by the Mongol Empire, and its legacy may still be seen today.

"In terms of administration and the exercise of effective control, the Mongol Empire has left many lasting legacies. When Russia first emerged, it copied many of the traditions and codes of the Golden Horde, particularly in terms of state control and ownership of land. Subsequent Iranian dynasties and the Ottoman Empire used traditions and parts of the Yassa code that they copied from the Ilkhanate. The later Moghul Empire combined the cultural and culinary traditions of Mongolia and India to produce something entirely new, some aspects of which persist to the present day."

................................................................................................

"The Mongol Empire was the second-largest the world has ever seen, only being eclipsed in the nineteenth century by the British Empire. Probably the most remarkable fact is that this empire was created by one man: Genghis Khan. By the time of his death in 1227, his forces controlled lands from the Pacific to Eastern Europe, and his army had become virtually invincible.

"History provides many examples of people who make a difference, for good or ill, solely through the power of their personality and will. Few have had a more profound effect on the world than this Mongolian warlord. He was clearly a combination of many characteristics and a military leader of great ability, perhaps even of genius. He recognized the power of mobility that Mongol armies possessed and combined this with detailed control over his forces during battle to defeat almost every enemy he encountered. He combined religious tolerance and a willingness to accept women as equals with utter ruthlessness. The terror inspired by Mongol hordes still echoes today, and even the name Genghis Kahn resonates with echoes of mass killings and rapes.

................................................................................................

"Still, no one man lives forever. His immediate successors—Ögedei, Güyük, and Möngke Khan—all attempted to continue his campaigns of conquest, but while they did expand the borders of the empire even further, none were able to exercise the same iron control as Genghis Khan. The civil war between Kublai and Ariq Böke following the death of Möngke Khan effectively destroyed the Mongol Empire, though that was not immediately obvious at the time. Kublai’s increasing identification with the Han Chinese and his creation of the Yuan dynasty was a significant change. Although Kublai was nominally still the Mongol emperor, he was also a Chinese emperor, and that helped to bring about the ultimate fragmentation of the Mongol Empire.

"As the empire first divided into four autonomous khanates, and then each of those was either defeated or further fragmented into even small entities, its power and influence dwindled to insignificance. The process of disintegration was hastened by the mass deaths and social dislocation caused by the Black Death.

"Within seventy years of Kublai Khan’s creation of the Yuan dynasty, the Mongol Empire was no more. It was destroyed not by a final confrontation with a powerful enemy but by internal dissent leading to fragmentation. The very diversity of the many cultures conquered and assimilated by the Mongol Empire helped to bring about its downfall, not through a single cataclysmic event, but due to a gradual disintegration into smaller entities. Still, the legacy of Genghis Khan and the Mongol Empire lives on."

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Table of Contents

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Introduction

Temüjin, a Boy from the Steppe

The Conquest of Mongolia

The Mongol Army

Creating an Empire

Mongol Society

Further Expansion

The Mongol Civil Wars

Division and Decline of the Mongol Empire

Legacy

Conclusion

Bibliography

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REVIEW

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Introduction

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Has it, since?

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Flawed logic, there.

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December 31, 2022 - December 31, 2022.

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Chapter 1. Temüjin, a Boy from the Steppe

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"“If you’re afraid, don’t do it. If you’re doing it, don’t be afraid!”

"—Genghis Khan"

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December 31, 2022 - December 31, 2022.

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Chapter 2. The Conquest of Mongolia