Elite Facts Presents
8 Fascinating Facts About Mongol Warriors
8.
The Silk Road Without a doubt one of Genghis Khan’s most
ruthless and yet efficient parts of his reign was his brutal conquest of the Silk Road,
the main trade route between Asia and Europe, and one of the largest sources of income for
the Mongol empire.
After realising that even his huge army couldn’t completely takeover and keep the 4,000 mile
route, he decided to adopted a secondary strategy.
Genghis Khan had the brilliant idea of destroying every single Arabic and Turkish settlement
on the road, until every city and oasis on the whole stretch was either in ruins or on
their knees before him.
The plan itself took a long time to execute.
So long in fact that Genghis Khan himself didn’t live to see it completed.
However once the Mongols finally gained control of the route, they hung onto it.
The Silk Road was entirely under Mongol control for the majority of the 14th and 15th centuries.
Surprisingly, Mongol rule was not a death knell for the road.
They treated traders well and managed to not only encourage, but actually invigorate, caravan
trade between the Mediterranean and China.
That being said however, passing through the Mongol-era Silk Road was not cheap as it was
said that most of the revenue its trade created went straight into the deep pockets of the
Mongols, in the form of various tolls and taxes.
7.
Weaponry So it should be common knowledge that Mongols
would fight on horseback whenever they could.
The horse’s own impressive power was recognized, and the horse was often considered a weapon
in and of itself.
So with their main method of transport as well as their main method of attack being
horseback, many Mongol weapons are designed for riding.
Their swords were curved sabers, easy to handle both on horseback and on foot.
Lances, maces, and daggers were also commonly used.
Some Mongols used gunpowder as explosive bombs and grenades.
The most common long-distance weapon was the composite bow, a small but sturdy weapon that
had twice the range of the English longbow.
They used several types of arrows depending on the situation: Some were ideal for piercing,
while others were iron-headed and could fly particularly long distances.
The most famous weapon they created was the whistle arrow, a hollow arrow that made a
loud whistling sound when it was fired.
Because of it’s hollow shaft, it made the arrow that extra bit more aerodynamic and
was really handy for scaring off opposing forces as well as signalling other mongol
warriors.
Fire arrows were also used, as were scare-tactic trap arrows that caused terrifying wounds,
leaving the enemy wailing on the battlefield.
6.
Tactics The one thing many people remember The Mongols
for was for their effective and terrifying battle tactics.
These warriors honed their skills by fighting a lot.
Even famous historical commanders, like Alexander the Great and Hannibal Barca, start to look
a lot less impressive when their achievements are compared to lesser Mongol generals.
These warriors relied heavily on shock tactics.
As previously stated, they used weaponry that not only could harm an enemy greatly, but
could also be used as a scare tactic such as the whistling and fire arrows.
Other tactics would include Fake withdrawals, surprise attacks, psychological warfare, and
even hostage-taking and human shields were classic Mongol moves.
They were also experts at siege technology and were deliberately brutal to people who
didn’t submit to their rule.
This tactical combination made them the premier fighting force of their era.
5.
Could Live Without Food Rations for Days So considering all of the daily tests of hardships
they had to face on a daily basis, a Mongol was also capable of surviving without food
rations for days on end.
They were provided rations from their military and these rations were frugal to begin with.
These rations would include dried milk curd that was mixed with water and drank as a thin-watery
yogurt, cured meat and ‘kumis‘ which was an alcoholic beverage made from fermented
mare’s milk.
Eventually when the rations would run out, the Mongol wouldn’t shy away from trying
other exotic ‘dishes’ that ranged from hunted dogs, wolves to rats and even new-born
foals.
Giovanni Da Pian Del Carpini, the Franciscan friar who was sent to the Mongol Empire on
a diplomatic mission by Pope Innocent IV, cited that the Mongols also engaged in what
was a very rare case of cannibalism with one notable incident of siege in which they had
to kill one out every ten soldiers for food.
4.
Mongols were taught to ride horses at the age of 3
At the young age of 3 year old, it was his mother’s responsibility to teach their children
how to ride horses.
One of the preliminary exercises involved the child to be tied to the horse’s back.
These kids were tied down as a way to prevent injury which certainly gives us an indication
on how fast the horse was trained to run.
After a year or two, the Mongol child was finally presented with his bow and arrow,
and his lifelong pursuit as a hunter and a warrior effectively started from that period.Upon
receiving their own bow and arrow, they are expected to join in military campaigns by
a very early age.
He was also expected to sleep in his saddle when the need arose, thus alluding to stoical
hardship of the nomadic equestrian society
3.
Pax Mongolica As rare as it sounds, when countries go to
war and fight hard enough, on a very rare occasion, the result is peace.
I know it sounds crazy but there was a period of time where this act of peace actually came
true.
The Pax Mongolica was a period of peace and prosperity that followed the Mongol conquests
in the 13th and 14th Centuries.
At that point, Mongols were at the height of their powers.
It was said that their empire stretched approximately over 15 million square kilometers and contained
over 100 million people.
That is insane!
Because this vast land was under a common government, with an efficient communication
system and booming international trade, the empire thrived and everyone was happy.
Who honestly would have thought the Mongols who were well known for being feared and destructive
would create one of the most peaceful periods in history?
2.
Mongols were among the last people to successfully defeat the russians during winter.
The Mongols not only dared to invade Russia during the winter season of 1237-38 AD, but
were also successful in turning the bitter conditions to their advantage To that end,
the frozen rivers and lakes allowed crucial junctures of unbroken communication paths
for the mobile bodies of troops, while the hardy Mongol pony also had the remarkable
capacity to forage in snow.
As of right now, No other military force has been able to take on russian in drastic winter
conditions.
Subutai
1.
Subutai Subutai was one of the biggest reasons why
Genghis Khan was able to form the Mongol Empire.
He was known by many for being one of Genghis Khan’s “Four Dogs of War” and was given
the role of chief strategist within the mongol empire.
Subutai is considered one of the most brilliant military tacticians in history, and easily
the most skilled general in an army already full of insanely skilled and fearless leaders.
Subutai was a pioneer when it came to the usage of siege weaponry and military intelligence
and always found out what tactics opposing armies were using before devising his own
tactics, which would allow him to come up with the most effective counterattacks.
He constantly taught himself new things by consulting with engineers and wise men alike,
until he became a whirlwind of military knowledge that was thought to be completely unstoppable.
When Genghis Khan died during the conquest of China and his son Ogedai replaced him,
Subutai continued to serve him, showing his loyalty towards the mongol empire.
Together, Ogedai and Subutai turned their attention toward Europe.
They were able to defeat a few armies and were just gearing up to invade Central Europe
when Ogedai died in 1241.
In a massive stroke of luck for Europe, his successor, Guyuk Khan, removed Subutai from
the European front for political reasons and sent him to China.
Subutai, 70 years old at the time, obliged, battling in China for a year before returning
back home to die of old age.
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