Genghis Khan turned Mongol warriors into the best in the world.
This allowed him to be known as one of the most feared and respected conquerors of all time.
He brought up a culture of genocide producing barbarians that would wipe out any civilization
that stood in their way. While at the same time establishing a lasting peace that shaped history.
Talk about contrasts. This is Nutty History! Today we're going to be talking about what life was like
under Genghis Khan. But before we get started, make sure to subscribe to Nutty History and
let us know in the comments below what historical lives you want to get a glimpse of next.
Contrary to belief, Mongolians had one of the most peaceful and accepting communities
in history. It didn't matter what you looked like or what god you praised
as long as you rooted for Genghis Khan. This means that whether you were Christian,
Muslim, Buddhist or Rajneesh, you had a place in the tribe. Unlike the majority of other times in
history, this wasn't a war about converting people to their own religion. Genghis understood that he
was not going to make huge accomplishments by having internal battles with his own people.
He was wise enough to know that he needed all hands on deck and that religious belief
were nothing but a distraction. In fact, he wanted his closest men to be well-rounded
and practice all faiths so they could have the wisdom of the world and culture on their side
and ruthless killing machines. Well-rounded ruthless killing machines. In only about 25 years,
the Mongols managed to seize more land than the Roman Empire captured in over 400 years.
If you're a villager going about your business and you smell something horrible,
run! The unmistakable Mongol stench announced their arrival. And by the time you saw them it
was too late. You were already dead! Washing clothes or bathing their foul-smelling bodies
was frowned upon by the Mongols. It was not that their odor was used as a defense mechanism against
their enemies but rather Mongols believed water was controlled by dragons and therefore sacred.
Washing their clothes or bathing would contaminate this blessed water and anger the dragons that
controlled it. And the Mongols did not get to where they were by angering dragons. Mongols
wore their clothes until they weren't tattered. In fact, Genghis Khan would often gift his wretched
old clothing to loyal warriors. The clothes and their odor were one of the highest honors a Mongol
could receive. Which is why these loyal warriors held onto the stinking clothes instead of trying
to sell them on ancient Mongol eBay. Anyone caught washing clothes was severely beaten.
If they absolutely had to wash themselves they would fill their mouths with water and let it
trickle from their lips into their hands. Then splash it onto their face and hair. One person
alone living this way would reek of body odor. Now imagine tremendous hoards of individuals all
practicing this hygiene filling the horizon, riding across the countryside for years on
horseback. It's no wonder that their noxious odor paralyzed villages with fear. Fear and stench.
In spite of their fearsome smell, warlike appearance, and reputation for killing and
conquering, the Mongolians were more socially advanced than the so-called civilized world
around them. In the Ming Dynasty, women were low status considered their husband's legal property
and subjected to torturers' beauty standards like mutilating foot binding. But Mongol women
were listened to, valued, and respected. What? Listening to women and valuing their opinion?
Barbarians! In fact, many Mongol leaders were women. Mongol men often went to older women for
advice and ended up marrying them. Which is just one more way that Keanu Reeves is like a modern
Mongol warrior. If a man did not listen to his wife, other Mongols would consider him immature
and look down on him. Mongol women had the right to take their husbands to court if
they weren't performing their husbandly duties in the bedroom. Uh objection overruled! Genghis Khan
solidified his empire by strategically marrying off his daughters to powerful men. And ensuring
that they were treated with respect and their rights were never infringed upon. Mongols may
have appeared uncivilized but they were light years ahead of their time in social aspects.
Life as a Mongol under Genghis Khan was filled with superstition.
They believed that choking during a meal was caused by some sort of demon. Yep,
a big hunk of meat lodges itself in your windpipe and doesn't allow you to breathe, that's a demon!
The alternative to choking to death may have been worse. If someone choked on a piece of food
and spit it out, they had done two wrongs. They wasted food and they polluted the dwelling where
they were eating. Punishment was swift and often fatal. Genghis Khan and his followers did not deal
in subtleties. The worst possible situation was if a warrior was choking and spit out their food
and it went into another Mongol’s mouth and they started choking and they spit out their food
and it went into another Mongol’s mouth and they started choking and they spit out their food.
But something like that is only thought to have happened like 12 times tops. In the Mongol world,
there were only two types of food: white and brown. White food was all dairy, cheeses, yogurts,
and milks. Brown food was meat. All kinds of meat. Mongols would spread an animal in its back like an
enemy soldier and strike through its heart. The flowing blood was used to make sausage. Mongols
enjoyed the taste of blood. They'd sometimes cut a vein on their horse just to drink the
blood that flowed from it. Keep this in mind, if a Mongol ever offers you a Bloody Mary.
Mongol superstitions and fear of demons actually led them to advanced quarantine practices make no
mistake. Genghis Khan and his hordes weren't aware of germ theory but they understood how important
it was to isolate those that were seriously ill. It makes sense if you think about it. Like
see that person sweating profusely, coughing, and throwing up, do not go near them. Anyone
suffering from a debilitating disease was ordered to quarantine and guards were assigned to keep
people from getting near. Mongols believed that if anyone got too close to the sick person, the
evil spirit that caused the sickness could jump out and invade their body too. They used this to
their advantage as well. At the siege of caffeine 1346, Mongols hurled disease-ridden dead bodies
into the city creating massive death, destruction, and illness before their army even invaded.
This was an early use of biological warfare and the inspiration for the song, It's Raining Men.
Not every Mongol medical practice was advanced. These were still vicious, invading barbarians
after all. Mongols believed a wounded warrior could quickly recuperate by taking a breather
inside a large animal. During the Battle of Chiang in 1274, one of infamous Mongol leader Kublai
Khan's most trusted commanders was struck by an arrow. Kublai Khan commanded that a nearby water
buffalo's belly be sliced open and the commander be put inside. The Mongol leader believed that
resting in this warm viscera surrounded by gore and blood would quickly revive his injured friend.
Everyone around Kublai thought it was a good idea so the practice continued. Well, everyone except
the water buffalo. He thought it sucked. Since Mongols herded oxen buffalo and depended on them
for their survival, these important animals would only be slain for healing purposes for the most
elite and highest ranking in Mongol society. For Mongol, rest equals death. Life under Genghis Khan
meant constantly moving and constantly conquering. The nomadic Mongols herded sheep, goats, camels,
and yaks and were on an endless hunt for green pastures in the cold harsh Mongolian climate. This
restless need for the greener grass on the other side is one of the reasons that life as a Mongol
involved so much invading. After all, if a Mongol sees something they need for them to survive,
the fact that it belongs to someone else will not stop them from taking it. After Genghis Khan grew
his empire to a massive size, the Mongols invented a postal system called Yam. Dotting the land won
every 15 to 40 mile radius was a Yam station with a dedicated messenger person that would travel to
deliver any message that needed sending. Including messages that read: “Prepare to be conquered.
Sincerely, Genghis Khan.” In a sense, all Mongol parents homeschool their kids and the curriculum
was brutal. Mongol children learned early in life how to survive and serve Genghis Khan.
As soon as toddlers were barely able to walk they entered into rigorous training.
They started learning how to ride a horse at three and were expected to be riding experts by the age
of five. Before a child celebrated a double-digit birthday they knew how to take charge of a horse,
how to light a fire, how to cook, and how to defend themselves with a bow and arrow.
Mongol Sesame Street was a very different show. This type of schoolwork was of the
utmost importance because receiving a failing grade on any of it meant certain death.
Mongols did not fear much but they were deathly afraid of poison. Genghis Khan's father died from
poisoning. Instilling this fear into the great ruler so much, so that he addressed it in the
Yasa, his De Facto Code of Law. No one was ever to eat food until the person that prepared it
tried it first. Evidently, Mongols were unaware of slow acting poison. And that celebration
Mongols passed around one cup that they all drank from. A typical party involved singing,
dancing, clapping, and passing the cup over and over as it was constantly refilled.
And when it came to you, you had to drink. It was many Mongols, one cup.
In most societies that eat meat, there are certain animals that people don't ever touch.
Not for Mongols. When it comes to meat anything goes, foxes, wolves, rats and even the beloved
horses they traveled on could be slaughtered for a feast without batting an eye. The only dietary
rule the Mongos followed was they could not eat an animal that had been struck by lightning.
Thunderstorms terrified even the most fierce Mongols because they were signs of punishment
brought on by angry spirits. If a starving Mongolian came upon an animal killed by lightning,
it was a bad omen. And eating it would only invite evil. They would rather eat their horse. So,
what do you think? Let us know in the comments below if you would eat any crispy
struck by lightning barbecue. Be sure to like and subscribe and thanks for watching Nutty History.