Mongols

History

Genghis Khan

under Genghis Khan and subsequent Great Khans]] The Mongols were originally a confederation of tribes in competition with the Tatars|Tatar, Kerait, Merkit and Naiman confederations and therefore only one division of what we call the Mongol nation. Genghis Khan unified the Mongol people by absorbing the other confederations into his own and the word Mongol came to mean the entire people. Though few in number (approximately 200,000 people at the height of their empire), Mongols were important in Eurasian history. Under the leadership of Genghis Khan, the Mongols created the second largest empire in world history, ruling 35 million km² (13.8 million miles²) and more than 100 million people, nearly equal to the British Empire in land area. At its height, the '''Mongol Empire''' spanned from Korea to Hungary, and included most of the lands in between, such as Afghanistan, Georgia (country)|Georgia, Armenia, Russia, Persian Empire|Persia, China, and much of the Middle East. The Mongols were a nomadic people who in the 13th century found themselves encompassed by large, city-dwelling agrarian civilizations. However, none of these civilizations, with the possible exception of the Islamic Caliphate located in Baghdad, were part of a strong central state. Asia, Russia, and the Middle East were either declining kingdoms, or divided city states. Taking the strategic initiative, the Mongols exploited this power vacuum and linked all of these areas into a mutually supportive trade network.

Mongol Empire

In the 1100's Mongols were a small pastoral society on the steppes of Mongolia and spoke a language close to Turkish. They were only a local threat, but much feared by their neighbors. Timujin was born in 1167 and was the son of a minor chieftian. When he was ten his father died and it is thought that his mother taught him to ride and shoot. By the 1180's Timujin had distinguished himself as a good warrior and had many allies. Once he was chieftain, he defeated and incorporated all the rest of the tribes and incorporated them into Mongolia. In 1206 Timujin was proclaimed Genghis Khan (his name was not Genghis Khan as some think). The weapons and tactics of the Mongols developed over many centuries. The Mongols lived in one of the harshest places on earth, and because of this were very resourceful and tough. Their main items of food were milk and some powdered millet. They also drank a powerful fermented milk beverage. War was a normal condition of life for the Mongols and they lived almost constantly at war with each other. Consequently all Mongols were warriors. They wore leather armour and a tightly woven silk undergarment whose purpose was to keep wounds clean. One of the first peoples to use the stirrup, they were excellent horsemen and could jump from horse to horse while riding. Their tactics developed from hunting techniques where they would string out in a wide circle and corral their prey into ever tightening circles, then slaughter them. The Mongols used a composite bow made of layers of wood, bone and sinew, with a string typically made of dried horsehide for strength and durability. Unlike Welsh longbows which were narrower at one end than the other, the Mongol bow was even and symmetrical, also more powerful (with a range of aproximately 350 yards.) The Mongols pulled back the bow string with a ring so that the fingers of a archer did not interfere with the release. Though there is some dispute over the pull of the bows http://www.coldsiberia.org/monbow.htm they likely had at least a 100-pound pull and were quite capable of defeating the best armor available in Europe at the time. Mongol horses were medium sized and very nimble with considerable endurance. The horses were accustomed to extremes of temperature, could subsist on pasturage, and dig for grass under the snow. Therefore the Mongols had little fear of winter campaigns, and frequently attacked when least expected. Each Mongol had four to six horses with him at any time. The horses were reared to run in a herd, so the warrior did not have to worry about his horses wandering off. Their mobility and hardiness made them strategically superior to every other military force yet seen in the world. In 1227, Genghis Khan died; his third son Ogedei Khan was elected by the tribes to succeed him. Ogedei Khan continued the expansion into North-Eastern Asia, conquering Korea and Northern China in the process. The armies of the Mongols, led by the brilliant strategist Subutai, had reached Poland, Hungary, and Egypt by 1241, and were poised to continue. When Ogedei Khan suddenly died, Mongol law required all descendants of Genghis to return to elect a new Khan. The leader of the European expedition rushed back to press his claim. Nearly a decade later, Mongka Khan, grandson of Genghis and nephew of Ogedei, took the throne, through the assistance of his mother Sorghaghtani Beki. By this time, the Western expansion had lost its momentum. These events are credited in several counterfactual historical scenarios with saving nascent European civilization from a second "Dark Age" precipitated by Mongol conquest. However, some historians have recently begun to conclude that the Mongols brought great benefits to European civilization after the period of invasion was over through cultural cross-pollination. By 1230, the Mongols had almost overrun Persia and by the mid-1240s they had conquered Russia, with great loss of life by contemporary reports. The Mongols also sacked and razed Baghdad, which was the greatest city in the world at the time. In destroying Baghdad they are estimated to have killed over 800,000 people, however estimates of actual deaths attributed to the Mongols may have been skewed by contemporary chroniclers, who have been accused of bias. Many histories based on these chronicles established a commonly accepted view of the Mongols as bloodthirsty barbarians, which has recently been shaken by new evidence. Regardless, many historians continue to trace the conservatism and xenophobia of Islamic culture to this defeat. A small portion of the Mongol army was finally defeated at Ain Jalut by the Mamluk Army from Egypt; this marked their point of furthest expansion in the Middle East, and is seen by many as the turning point in their fortunes. With the riches from the new empire, they created a new capital for themselves in Karkaroum, which after Genghis Khan's death, Ogedei (his successor) aggrandized with palaces and permanent structures, turning it into a permanent settlement that his father never would have taken part in. The Mongol leadership promoted religious tolerance, so that the people they conquered would be more docile than they would have been if they had imposed a religion on them. The Mongols encouraged trade and opened up the "silk road". The Mongols were the ones who introduced gunpowder to Europe which they in turn had gotten from the Chinese. They also used and spread the printing press throughout their Empire, though it is uncertain whether the European printing press developed by Johann Gutenberg was a case of separate development or imitation. Regardless, it was centuries before the invention would spark the Renaissance in Europe.

Ethnic, cultural and religious diversity

saddle cover]] The term ''Mongol'' referring to the 12th and 13th century Mongol reign presumably included soldiers and generals in Middle East, China, Eastern and central Europe who all fought under the identity of being ''Mongols'' although not exclusively having a heritage in modern Mongolia. The name probably was very symbolic and powerful concept to those that pledged allegiance to the Mongol Empire, to Genghis Khan and his successor Great Khans, and to themselves. It was probably the genius of Genghis Khan to unify all these different people under one identity as a single and powerful fighting force with superb military strategy, dedication and mobility. The word ''Mongol'' should not be interpreted literally in historical perspective to many of those who identified themselves as being ''Mongols''. Various members of the Mongol Court, including Sorghaghtani Beki, were Nestorian Christians. While the court was nominally Buddhist and maintained a policy of being open to all religions, it was known as particularly sympathetic to Christians (which may have helped contribute to the legend of Prester John). In 1253 the court followed the suggestion of Crusade|Crusader Kingdoms in Syria to attack the Muslim capitals of Baghdad and Cairo. Battle of Baghdad (1258)|Baghdad was conquered and sacked in 1258 with the city's Christians spared, and the Abbasid Caliph killed. However, with the troops on the road to Cairo, Mongka Khan died in 1259 and much of the force returned home for the selection of the new leader. Egyptian troops finally repelled the attack in 1260. This, and the ultimately "gates of Vienna," marked the farthest West the Mongol Empire would progress. Kublai Khan quickly succeeded Mongka Khan, moved the court to Beijing, formed the Yuan dynasty, and re-started the invasion of China, in the first war with guns on both sides. After 18 years, Kublai Khan conquered both Northern and Southern China, forming the largest empire in history (famously described by Marco Polo). However, by the early 14th century, the prominence of trade and a possible cooling of the world's climates led to worldwide outbreaks of plague, which encouraged revolt and invasion. Early Ming Dynasty|Ming Emperors led campaigns into Mongolia and destroyed Harhorin and Khar Khot, but later Ming Emperors resorted to more defensive policies. Meanwhile, various Mongolian tribes fought against each other, usually Western Mongols (Oirat) against Eastern Mongols (Chahar, Tumed, Ordos or Khalkha), and continued to threaten China's borders. The internal struggle gave the emerging Manchu the possibility of assimilating the Mongol tribes bit by bit. In 1636, the Chahar of Inner Mongolia were conquered, in 1691, the Khalkha of Outer Mongolia submitted to the Kangxi Emperor in order to escape from the threat of being conquered by the Oirat, and in the 1750s, the Qianlong Emperor completely destroyed the Oirat Juun Ghar|Jungar Empire in today's Xinjiang.

Timeline of conquest

The Mongols attempted two unsuccessful invasions of Japan (see Mongol invasions of Japan). The first attempt ended in a retreat after the Battle of Bun'ei in 1274. The second attempt was cancelled after many ships had been destroyed by a famous typhoon, called kamikaze (divine wind) in 1281. The Mongols succeeded very briefly in their invasion of History of Vietnam|Dai Viet in the northern part of contemporary Vietnam, but were soon defeated by the Vietnamese general Tran Hung Dao after almost three decades. The attack on the Java (island) |Javanese kingdom of Singhasari in 1293 caused the collapse of that state, but the new empire of Majapahit Empire|Majapahit remained independent. Estimated fatalities from the Mongol campaigns are:

1200, North China and South China|Northern China — unknown

1215, Yanjing China (present-day Beijing) — unknown

1221, Nishapur, Persian Empire|Persia — ~1.7 million killed in assault

1221, Merv, Persia — ~1.4 million killed in assault

1221, Meru Chahjan, Persia — ~1.3 million killed in assault

1221, Ray, Iran|Rayy, Persia — ~1.6 million killed in assault

1236, Bilär, Bulgars|Bulgar cities, Volga Bulgaria — 150,000 or more, nearly half of population

1237-1240, Kievan Rus' — half of population

1241, Battle of Legnica — defeat of a combined Poles|Polish-German people|German force in Lower Silesia (Poland); the Mongols turn back to attend to the election of a new Grand Khan.

1258, Baghdad — ~800,000 people. Results in destruction of Abbasid dynasty and ending of the Caliphate.

See also

Mongolia

Mongol Empire

Outer Mongolia

Inner Mongolia