Mongol DBQ

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Before the Mongols began to attack Eurasian civilizations in the 1200s, China, Russia, and Persia had developed advanced societies. The Mongols desired power and wealth, and wanted to advance their society. They sometimes attempted to achieve this power and wealth using brutality, but they were not as barbaric as some historians would conclude. There were many positive aspects of their actions. The Mongols were a civilized society because they had an organized military form of warfare, they incorporated early forms of writing, communication, and religious tolerance, and they had key trading partners throughout the region which allowed international trade to safely develop. Although the Mongols were known for their violence, they were very orderly and goal-oriented in their style of military warfare. For example, History of the Mongols by Carpini stated, “Genghis Khan ordained that the army 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...” Another example of their organized army and ingenious battle tactics was the first-hand account that stated, “When … they are going to join in battle, they draw all the battle lines just as they are (about) to fight” (History of the Mongols). Both of these documents represent the structure and order beneath the extreme violence the Mongols were known for. Just because they used uncommon battle tactics, it did not mean they were barbaric.The Mongols had clever leaders who knew what their goal was, and they worked to accomplish it together. Other key aspects of civilization were the presence of a writing and communication system, and religious tolerance. Even though writing was not common among the Mongols, it was used sparingly, an... ... middle of paper ... ...the continent. This document can be considered reliable because it is a map compiled from several, corroborating sources.There is no bias in the map of the Mongol Empire, yet it is evidence of the vast territory that the Mongols secured. The Mongols were civilized because they were orderly and structured in their military system, they had some early forms of communication and religious organization, and they were expert traders who provided security for international trade to flourish. Their leaders were faced with many difficult decisions in the thirteenth century, and their methods were erroneously called barbaric. Mongols were seen as barbaric by other groups because of their unique, violent way of life. However, inside of their culture, it is easy to see that they were actually quite civil.They incorporated some of the most clever tactics that had ever been used.

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