Born out of the steppes of East Asia now came an empire that would come to dominate over 10 million square miles of land under
Genghis Khan
The United clans of Mongolia conquered more territory in 25 years than the Romans did in 400
His descendants would continue his quest for world domination
This is the story of the Mongols and how they managed to become the largest land Empire in history
Born in 1162 the man who had become genghis khan was born as Temujin his father being the leader of a small clan
When Temujin was 9 his father was poisoned by a rival tribe
Temujin and his family were abandoned by their own tribe as mongols would only follow a strong and respected leader
Eventually Temujin began forming his tribe with the help of his old friend and blood brother Jamukha
Jamukha and Temujin continued to raid and fight together against other tribes
however in time disagreements arose between the two and they separated
Jamukha supported positions of power to the traditional Mongolian aristocracy
whereas Temujin supported positions of power to anyone capable, even if they were of low birth or outside his tribe a
Civil war erupted between the blood brothers lasting six years until temujin emerged victorious
Temujin had United all Mongol tribes for the first time and received the name Genghis Khan or Chinggis, Khan
meaning universal ruler
It was the Jin dynasty to the south that had kept these tribes in constant conflict for many years
They had maintained control and kept them out of their lands by encouraging fighting between themselves
Genghis Khan reformed the Mongols into an elite military force and introduced the decimal system
The army comprised of men aged 14 to 60 promoted through merit and loyalty
10 units made an arban. If a single member deserted his group the rest would be killed
Genghis khan promised all soldiers who joined him a portion of the war spoils in his conquests each victory bought more warriors to their side
10 arbans made a squadron of 100 called a jagun
10 Jaguns made a regiment of 1,000 called a Minggham and ten mingghams made the largest Mongol regiment a Tumen
The head of the Tumen was personally selected by the Great Khan and a typical Mongol campaign would consist of two or more tumen
Groups of Scouts would be assigned to keep the commanders informed of any changes in enemy movements or changes in the environment
When the fights and began large gaps were purposely left open between the jaguns
Leaving room for light cavalry to advance and release a rain of arrows on the enemy
If an enemy's ranks became disorganized or starts to pursue the roof during Mongol horses the Mongols would charge
The charge would consist of screaming soldiers and the sound of thousands of horse hooves galloping
Forward and an all-out charge of heavy cavalry would be the end in
1211 the Jin dynasty demanded the Mongols submit to them which were proved to be a mistake
The Jin dynasty had a massive population and mobilized
800,000 troops, although it was mainly comprised of peasant infantry who were untrained and had low morale
the Mongol army was
90,000 strong with light cavalry Scouts horse archers and heavy cavalry equipped with lances and curved swords
they were highly trained loyal and
Motivated captured Chinese engineers were used to construct siege weapons and surrounding Chinese cities for months forced them to starvation
cities that surrendered had their population murdered and enslaved
useful people like merchants artists teachers
Priests doctors and administrators and most importantly engineers were spared and forced to join the Mongols
Many were taken as human shields to block from enemy arrows and discouraged archers from firing
The jin were conquered fleeing to the south
By 1218 the Mongol Empire had expanded and bordered the Great khwarezm empire Empire, which was wealthy and powerful
Genghis was looking to open trade relations and sent a group of Muslim merchants and a caravan with precious gifts
Having heard exaggerated reports of the Mongols the shah. Muhammad ii have one of his governors openly accused the party of spying
They're rich goods were seized and the he was arrested
trying to maintain
diplomacy Genghis sent three
ambassadors to the Shah to give him a chance to disclaim all knowledge of the governor's actions and hand him over to the Mongols for
punishment under
Genghis Khan's leadership a foundation for a code of law was put into place
Hospitality was sacred guests and ambassadors would be treated with respect and would not be harmed
The Shah executed the ambassadors and then immediately had the Mongol Merchant Party put to death
These events led Genghis to retaliate he gathered information about his enemy from the Silk Road and launched an invasion
his campaign resulted in the complete annihilation of Cosby in cities
The Mongols brought destruction of countless historical artifacts and records and was one of the bloodiest massacres in history
While most of the Mongol forces were in the West the conquered Tonga tell Jin revolted
Genghis Khan returned to subdue these rebellions and while on campaign he died, although it is debated. How exactly
Shortly after his death his heirs gathered their memories into an account of his life the secret histories of the Mongols
according to the secret history Genghis Khan's last words were I
Have conquered for you a large empire but my life was too short to take the whole world
That's I leave to you
He was buried in an unmarked grave with all who participated in his burial killed to keep the secret
Still to this day remains secrets hidden and a mystery
Before his death Genghis khan instructed his third son Ogedei to be the sole heir to his empire
Ogedei proved to be a good administrator
bringing paper currency in change in the mongol empire from a predominantly tributary system to a tax based empire
He founded the capital Karakoram and implemented religious tolerance throughout the empire
Upon ascension alkyd I launched conquest into korea persia and saw the destruction of the Jin dynasty
he then sent two generals West at the head of a
130,000 strong army to launch an invasion into the lands of Europe
After defeating the Bulgars the army shattered and ran over the Russian principalities
After receiving information about the kingdoms in Europe the army split into three and launched an invasion into Poland and Hungary
The Mongols destroyed the Polish army even killing King Henry ii in battle
After regrouping the combined army launched an invasion into Hungary
At the Battle of mohi the Mongols encircled the Hungarians
but not completely just
Like always the Mongols left a gap open for hope of escape and when the soldiers tried to flee they were shot down
The destruction of Europe was clear with their intention to reach the Atlantic
The Holy Roman Emperor gathered a force to defend and there was even a call for a crusade to stop the Mongols
however at a turning point in history the Great Khan ogedei died and all senior members were required to return home to attend a Kurultai
a council to elect the new Khan
The withdrawal of mongol leaders and troops from the outskirts of Vienna saved Europe from Mongol invasion
Otherwise, they might have continued under the next Khan the destruction of Persia and parts of Mesopotamia continued
The sacking of Baghdad the center of science and education led to 800,000 deaths according to Western sources
More over 2 million according to Eastern sources
Hundreds of thousands of books that were saved for centuries were burned. It was the end of the Islamic Golden Age
Over the years the Empire fractured with civil wars and internal struggles the Empire split into four separate entities
Although there were still under allegiance of the Great Khan
with all the Mongol success
There are a few failed campaigns
Such as the battle against the mamluks at the Battle of Ain Jalut which halted the Mongol advance at Egypt
There were also two failed invasions of Japan twice the Mongol fleet were destroyed by typhoons
the last Great Khan was Kublai who conquered the Song Dynasty in
time Kublai Khan
Increasingly shifted his values and interests towards Chinese culture and took the title of Chinese emperor
After Kublai's death the Empire officially split into four separate entities and no one replaced Kublai as Great Khan
The Golden Horde the Ilkhante the Chagatai and the yuan dynasty would not last and over time fouls other powers
The Mongols built their empire with fear and blood they slaughtered millions and were truly the greatest of conquerors
controlling 24 million square kilometers of land
Like all over empires they did horrific acts but also contributed good ideas
The Mongol Empire opened up the Silk Road, which has been dormant for centuries and kept merchants and traders safe
It is said a man could walk from one end of the Mongol Empire to the other with a gold plate on his head without
ever fearing being robbed this
Network allowed the flow of not only goods and produce but also technologies such as gunpowder
Another idea. The Mongols implemented was the idea of religious tolerance
The mongols themselves were Shamanism believing in nature spirits and didn't really expect those. They had conquered to adopt it
So any religion Christian Muslim Buddhist, really whoever could pray in peace within the Empire?
judgment
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