The Mongols emerged from the Steppes of Central Asia that stretched from Central Europe, Siberia, India and Arabia, expanding some 33,000,000 square kilometers (22% of the Earth's total land mass). As Janhunen (2000) asserts, “The Mongols were the descendents of a variety of tribes that inhabited the Steppes of Central Asia for over 850,000 years, spanning as far back as the prehistoric period” (as cited in Hildinger, 2001, p. 40). During the early 13th century, Genghis Khan (born Temüjin) united the different tribes, forming tribal alliances under his control to establish the Mongol Empire. From these tribal alliances, Genghis Khan was able to form an effective military force which enabled the Mongol Empire to conquer nearly all of continental …show more content…
101) as a result. Genghis Khan demanded unwavering loyalty from his generals, and granted them a great deal of sovereignty in making command decisions that included effective military strategies. This essay will identify and explain three military strategies that the Mongols utilized and why these strategies were effective and successful for the Mongols military force during the 13th and 14th centuries. First, the process of group battle arrangements through the enforcement of the law of ‘Yassa’ which was introduced by Genghis Khan and his generals. Second, their arms, an effective form of bow weaponry used to take possession of the world. And third, the Mongols prized horses, used primarily for the advantages of flexibility and speed which was an extension of the nomadic lifestyle of the Mongols. Genghis Khan was the first to capitalize fully on these strengths in battle and the efficiency these strategies offered in warfare were unrivalled during his reign as the Great …show more content…
470). A method in how Genghis Khan achieved this feat was through group battle arrangements. Genghis Khan established a secret written code of law called, ‘Yassa’ (order or decree), which ensured loyalty to him. Field (2014) demonstrates that, “This law made it a capital offence to abandon a colleague during battle and also involved the severe punishment of any wrongdoing”. As a result, group battle arrangements became an integral part of the Mongol military force through the enforcement of Yassa. For example, Genghis Khan ordered one man to be a captain over ten men; over ten of these, one man was to be a captain over a hundred; at the head of ten captains of a hundred is a captain of a thousand, and over ten captains of a thousand is one captain of ten thousand. Two or three generals are in command of the whole army, yet Genghis Khan holds the supreme command. When the Mongols are in battle, if one or more out of a group of ten run away, all are put to death, and if a whole group of ten run away, the rest of the group of a hundred are put to death. Likewise, if one or more go boldly into battle, then the rest of the ten are put to death if they don’t follow and, if one or more of the ten are captured, their companions are put to death if they do not rescue them (Chaliand, 1994). However, the secret law of Yassa may also be
To start, the mongols were able to used brutal and strategic military tactics that helped them conquer more than 4,800,000 miles of land. The Mongols leader “Genghis Khan” was a very smart and strategic leader. He organized his army into groups of ten, hundred, and one thousand. If such groups runs away or flees, the entire group was put to death. Genghis Khans army was able to succeed in conquering land due to horses. His army
The Mongol empire was the largest land empire the world has ever seen. First began as a nomadic group of tribes. Mongols were united and emerged into an empire that conquered lands stretching from Europe to Central Asia under the rule of Genghis Khan. The Mongol empire was able to succeed in expanding, and conquering was due to their ability to adapt to any living conditions, their sheer brutality force, and their strong military organization. To begin, one factor that supported the Mongols in their conquests was their capacity for foraging, allowing them to survive under harsh living conditions.
The Mongols were nomadic people who didn’t know much about mining, and didn’t farm. They mostly lived off of meat and milk. They used hides from horses and wools from sheeps for their clothes and materials. The Mongols first conquered land, when Temuchin was given the title Genghis Khan. The Mongols were barbaric, they conquered a lot of land, and they were smart.
The most important constituent to the Mongols success was ‘a ruthless use of two psychological weapons, loyalty and fear’ (Gascoigne 2010). Ghengis Khan, the Mongol leader from 1206-1227, was merciless and made a guileful contrast in his treatment of nomadic kinsfolk and settled people of cities. For instance, a warrior of a rival tribe who bravely fights against Ghengis Khan and loses will be r...
The Mongols' politics were affected by the horse. According to Morris Rossabi, The Mongols valued the horse for the advantages it presented in warfare. The horse was fast and flexible in battle (All Khan's Horses).These characteristics of the horse helped the Mongols attack and to dodge enemy arrows. Morris Rossabi goes on to state that the great Mongolian general Genghis Khan used the horse to conquer central Asia. Khan was said to have used the horse to facilitate hit-and-run raids on sedentary agricultural societies and to mobilize his army(All Khan's Horses). After the raid, the horse a...
The military exploits of the Mongols under Ghengis Khan as well as other leaders and the ruthless brutality that characterized the Mongol conquests have survived in legend. The impact of the invasions can be traced through history from the different policies set forth to the contributions the Mongols gave the world. The idea of the ruthless barbarian’s intent upon world domination will always be a way to signify the Mongols. Living steadfast upon the barren steppe they rode out of Mongolia to pursue a better life for their people.
The Mongol Empire was a very powerful which conquered more land in two years than the Romans did in 400 years. Also, they controlled more than eleven million square miles. The Mongols were very important because they created nations like Russia and Korea, smashed the feudal system and created international law, and created the first free trade zone. In the beginning of the Mongol Empire, they mostly lived in foothills bordering the Siberian forests mixing heroing and hunting. They also became really good at archery and riding horses. The main reason the Mongols came to be so powerful was all because of a man named Genghis Kahn. Genghis was born around 1162 with the name Temujin. Due to the death of his father, Temujin was left under the control of his older brothers. Soon enough, he was married to a woman named Borte. Borte was later kidnapped, in which Temujin proved his military skills when saving her. Not to long after this, Temujin became the leader of his tribe. Yet, to unite the Mongol confederations it required a civil war, which Temijun ended up winning. After proving his skills and loyalty, Temijun was declared the Gr...
Genghis Khan, as it is well-acknowledged, is renowned for governing the extensively immense Mongol Empire. Despite the common argument that he indiscriminately (done at random or without careful judgement―by definition) slaughtered millions of people, Genghis Khan aspired to conquer new territories and, in accordance to their religion, animism, “the sky god made it their goal to unite the land under one sword.” How else would he have done the preceding? Just as the Mongol Government Official stated, “war is inevitable,” especially when capitulation is refused. Moreover, Genghis Khan noted that peace usually follows surrender. Though Prince Kiev attempted to confute the aforementioned, he was mistaken when he said that “war sparked between the two peoples” as a result of an attempt at peace. In response, Genghis Khan’s negation included that war arose as a consequence of their mistrust of him and the denial of a viable peace
Genghis Khan’s leadership, the Mongols were simply a group of diverse tribes. Constantly hostile towards China, the Mongols went through the Bronze Age and Iron Age as separate tribes. However, during the 12th and 13th centuries, this would change. Thought to be born in 1155 or 1162, Temujin (later known as Chinggis and Genghis Khan) was one of six siblings and a violent nomad. Coincidently, he had a blood clot in his arm - to the Mongols, this was a sign meaning he was destined to become a great leader.
Between the early 1200's and the mid 1300's the Mongol Empire, led by Genghis Khan, took control of around 9,300,000 square miles of Eurasia. Genghis Khan first started conquering neighboring clans before setting his sight on the rest of the world. When they would conquer a city, the Mongols would give the city a chance to surrender and if they declined and the Mongols succeeded in conquering them, then all of the citizens would be slaughtered. Under Genghis Khan, the Mongol Empire grew to encompass Central Asia, parts of the Middle East, and east to the borders of the Korean Peninsula. In 1227, Genghis Khan died, which led to the empire being divided into four khanates that would be ruled by his sons and grandsons. Genghis Khan's descendants
... were positive, one may argue that these individuals only saw the tolerant and fair-minded side of the Mongols, and not the relentless warrior part of the society who was known for its “dirty” tactics of war, which went as far as launching diseased-ridden corpses over the walls of castles during sieges. Alternatively, one may argue that the scholars who provided negative documentation of the Mongols only saw the destructive side, not the open-minded side of the society who were known for their cultural acceptance. Although these accounts allowed for an adequate idea of the nature of the Mongols, a record from a peasant who was not a member of the upper class in their society, as all reports presented were from historians, scholars, and political leaders. This would allow for a different perspective on the issue and would produce a better understanding of the topic.
In the 13th century BC, the Mongols rose to power and conquered an empire whose size still has yet to matched. The Mongols conquered lands such as China, leaving such a lasting influence on them that their legacy still lives on. However, despite the Mongols success, their actions have left a constantly ongoing debate on whether they were barbarians, seen and portrayed by different societies of their time as people with no morale or modern civilities, or civilized people who were just feared by other societies. Although the Mongols are generally now seen as Barbarians because of their violent and barbaric war tactics they used to instill fear in people, they are actually civilized because they had a strategically organized army, and because they were accepting of the customs of other peoples. These two elements would eventually lead them to their success.
Firstly, they were taught and trained from a very young age. All men over the age of fourteen were expected to undertake military duty (DOC B). By training their soldiers so young, by the time they were ready to fight, they were amazingly fast and strong which helped to conquer other lands. Second, the Mongols were very well organized which helped with communication. Organization flourished under Genghis Khan, the leader of the Mongols, control because he instituted new rules. For example, “Genghis Khan ordained that the army should be organized in such a way that over ten men should be organized in such a way that over ten men should beset one man and he is what we call a captain of ten” (DOC C). By instituting standardized methods and rules of battle to create organization, they were able to work together, as one, as a team. Everybody was on the same page, and nobody left people behind and fled. This organization united them and brought them to move like each other, learn from one another. Lastly, the Mongols were always prepared, another characteristic that added to why they were able to conquer so much land. When soldiers are prepared, they can be confident and brave. The Mongol army needed that advantage. So soldiers were equipped for travel. They were expected to carry cooking pots, dried meat, a water bottle, files for sharpening arrows, a needle ad thread and other
They struck fear into their enemies eyes with their gruesome affect and fierce actions. They showed no mercy. The Mongols were also known for their surprise attack which spread to other armies making it a keen warfare used all around the world. This battle tactic consisted of a group of men who are fighting out on the battlefield and they begin to retreat only to draw the enemy into a trap. The enemy runs into a rain of arrows as the rest of the men are hiding off to the side with loaded weapons, and fierce ground fighters ready for combat. This is one key that the Mongols had to help them conquer
This story can be summarized by dividing the story into three major sections that represent a genealogy of the Genghis Khan ancestors, the lifestyle of Genghis Khan and the story of Genghis son and Ogodei his successor. This piece of early time’s literature was translated and edited by Jack Weatherford and it was not released until 16th February, 2010. The piece of work restores early history’s most prominent figures to the positions they rightfully deserves. It clears the picture of the nomadic lifestyle of the Mongols and it is rich with information regarding the society of the Mongols in the 12th and the 13th centuries” (Kahn, 2005).