The speed of expansion and success of the Mongol Empire is a result of their strategic actions and sophisticated ideology shown through brilliant and aforethought military strategies, the encouragement of commerce, and acceptance for other religions and cultures, which are all attributes not inherently barbaric. The Mongols had an incredibly disciplined army which was unrivaled for most of the empire’s reign. As shown in Document 1, Genghis Khan, the first Khan of the Mongol Empire, conquered 4,860,000 square miles, which is larger than the continental United States today (Document 1). Conquering such a vast amount of land is a feat only possible with an army created around order and unity, two attributes never found in barbaric societies. …show more content…
In Carpini on Battle Tactics, Carpini explains how they won all their conquests: with non-stop fighting in shifts, weakening the other side, fake surrenders, which makes the other side vulnerable, and beguiling the citizens to come out, keeping those which will be of use to the Mongols and getting rid of the hindrance (Document 3). Their strategies won them territory repeatedly and surely for centuries because they killed to conquer and keep peace. Premeditated, smart tactics used by the Mongols weren’t brutal or barbaric; they were thought-out and deliberate attacks pursuing the conquest of more territory. Moreover, the Mongols didn’t just accrue land, they also encouraged the spread of commerce in all parts of their territory. They improved trade with their increased connections and interests. As Mongol Commerce in China and Persia states, “[The Mongols] built canals to improve transportation and communication…the Persian silk industry also benefitted from the Mongol conquest because of the contacts that opened up with China”(Document 6). The encouragement and added convenience of trading the Mongols increased and strengthened trade networks all over the
Genghis Kahn conquered a total of 4,860,000 square miles. That’s more than two times the amount lassoed by Alexander the Great, the second most successful conquerer. The amount of land that Genghis Kahn conquered is over one million square miles greater than the entire area of the United States, Alaska and Hawaii not included. (doc A) The pain inflicted by Khan and his army during their conquests was unfathomably merciless, demented, and “barbaric.” His victories resulted from actions and inhumane methods. (doc D and doc F) The law code he enforced was ruthless and unyielding. (doc K and doc N) Very few of his successful methods were harmless. (doc L) Enormous inhabitant deaths occurred. (doc E and doc I) The only religions acknowledged were monotheistic. (doc H, doc G, and doc M) The Mongol Empire was infinitely more barbaric than any other empire seen before the thirteenth century.
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.
In document 1 it shows they have conquered the most land with 4,860,000 miles. This concludes that the Mongols were really powerful and for a comparison the United States is 3,036,885 square miles excluding Hawaii and Alaska. Also, in document 1 the map shows they conquered major cities like Daidu (Beijing), Moscow, Baghdad, and Karakorum which was Mongol’s capital at the time. This shows even though the conquered a lot of land, they conquered valuable lands.
The Mongols; a vicious and destructive military force, feared throughout its empire and under the rule of one man, Chinggis Khan. This picture of the Mongols and their empire is one often painted by our modern society. However, much of what we think we know about the Mongols has been exaggerated and biased from the point of view of the people that were conquered. In reality, the Mongols, although at times violent and destructive, bore many similarities in tactics and practices to the classical empires that had preceded them. They were not just simple barbaric savages looking to destroy whatever they could. They were a people united for a common purpose, trying to achieve it the same way that prior civilizations had done so: military force. Even though a Western perspective may find the actions of the Mongols objectionable, it must be understood that this was not a Western society, nor did it house the same values as one. The Mongols were not the destructive barbarians they are often made out to be, but rather an effective military force working for unification.
Another idea for why the Mongols began there conquests has to do with Ghengis Khan again. Maybe he felt he had to prove something to himself or to the gods. He lost his father when he was only nine years old. The thought of being such a great leader would maybe have given Ghengis Khan the belief that he was pleasing his father. These thoughts could have given Ghengis Khan the strength and will power to try to bring the tribes together to begin there conquests.
They pushed along the Danube from Moldavia, across the Carpathian Mountains from Poland, and Czech lowlands to be met in the center of Hungary. The sheer size of the army was enough to destroy any opponent. The Mongolian expansion was based on the blitzkrieg tactic, and was not intended to acquire territory the way it was done by European, Roman, Greece, Persian, or Arabian empires. these empires wanted to create material wealth from taxes imposed on the population, which meant very little to Mongols. the acquisition of the territory meant thorough destruction of land, destroying any possible landmarks, killing entire populations, and even damaging the habitable environment. the environmental damage in Central Asia is still visible to this day. Another effective Mongol tactic was to kill all the ruling elite, as was done in Baghdad. The most convincing reason I can think is their cavalry. In those days’ cavalry played the same role in warfare as air force does in modern world. Not just Mongols, Turks too were extremely successful in medieval era. The triumph ace was abundance of extremely high quality horses in central Asia. These horses gave a distinct
Mongol rule over the Great Khanate in China (1271-1368) and the Golden Horde in Russia (1240-1502) affected both the political and economic aspects of the original empires. Politically, the Mongols enforced their own, new government in order to fit their attitudes toward the conquered people. Economically, actions taken by the Mongol elite were performed with the goal of producing a profit with the help of the resources and people already in the conquered region. The significant political and economic changes brought by Mongol rule to the Great Khanate and the Golden Horde differed, ultimately determining the success of each.
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
The Mongols were a group of nomadic people who were known for not only their ferocity in battle but also their tolerance of other cultures. Over the course of their many empires, the Mongols conquered lands from as far as the Korean peninsula to the Islamic civilizations of the Middle East. The movement of the Mongol people into these areas was met with mixed opinions, as members of some societies respected the braveness of the Mongols while others saw them as destructive. According to Ala-ad-Din Ata-Malik Juvaini, 15th century Korean scholars, and Rashid al-Din, the Mongols were a group of tolerant people who attempted to eradicate injustice and corruptness (1,3,4). However, members of other societies viewed the Mongols as coldhearted and merciless because of the damage they dealt in the conquest of Russian cities and the taxes they forced upon their conquered societies (1,2). Nonetheless, some scholars and historians recognized the Mongols power and braveness, but were indifferent with their views of the Mongol civilization.
Although the Mongols could be seen as barbarians because of the way they used war tactics to both instill fear in people and attain the land that made up their large empire, their acceptance of other customs caused conquered people to have more loyalty for them and their organized army also helped them to quickly gain control of large amounts of land. These are the reasons why the Mongols were successful and civilized. Allyson Persaud
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
Even though the Mongolian Empire did have some form of being civilized through their public works, the fact that they had harsh, strict laws and gruesome military tactics make them truly barbaric. It may seem as though the Mongolian Empire was advanced when looking at their public works, but since their citizens lived in fear, the Mongols did not develop to their fullest extent. In addition, their ruthless military tactics and severe laws suggest that they had no sense of mercy for others. As a result, the Mongols deserve to be referred to as barbaric. Still, it is important to recognize both sides of the story so that the Mongols are given the credit they deserve.
Being led by Chinggis Khan, the Mongol Empire was the largest and most powerful of all time. As shown in the previous examples, these Mongols were also seen as being a barbaric