At its height in 1279, the Mongol empire spanned from the Pacific Ocean to Central Europe making
it the largest contiguous land empire in history.
Under its ruthless leader, Genghis Khan, the Mongol army slaughtered huge populations and
decimated entire cities, conquering more land in 25 years than the Romans did in 400.
So how did the Mongol Empire eventually dissolve?
Well, before Genghis Khan died in 1227, he divided the empire among his sons who each
went on to conquer their own portion of the world.
These four khanates were ruled by a single leader of the Empire, Genghis’ son, Ogedei
Khan.
When Ogedei died in 1241, it led to a decade long power struggle among Mongol elites.
Ultimately, one of Ghengis’ grandsons, Möngke Khan took power in 1251.
He quickly renewed Mongol expansion, primarily through new conquests in the Middle East and
southern China.
But just 8 years later, in 1259, Mongke died, and Mongol generals gathered in the capital
to choose a successor.
One of these generals, was forced to take much of his army away from his conquests around
what is today Syria and Israel, a move which unintentionally proved to be a turning point
in Mongol history.
While this region was left barely protected, and without its conquering general, the small
remaining army came up against another conquering empire, the Muslim Mamluks.
This standoff, known as the Battle of Ain Jalut was lost spectacularly by the Mongols,
and marked the end of their south-west expansion, as well as their first permanent loss..
Around this time, the Mongol elites in the capital were unable to choose a successor,
escalating into a civil war between Genghis Khan’s descendants.
They broke apart into four autonomous empires: Golden Horde, the Ilkhanate the Chagatai Khanate,
and the Yuan Dynasty.
In 1260 Mongke’s brother, Kublai Khan, took over as Great Khan, however his power was
limited to his own Khanate: the Yuan Dynasty.
The divided Mongol empire gradually grew weaker, as the khanates were disorganized and succumbed
to infighting.
One of the biggest issues was that they failed to create a system to peacefully transition
power.
So, for instance, when the last ruling heir of the Golden Horde died in 1359, the khanate’s
government was left in chaos and ultimately overtaken by a rival Muslim Dynasty.
Similar defeats brought down other khanates throughout the 14th Century.
This gradual collapse was exacerbated by the black plague, which spread along Mongol trade
routes.
Finally, in 1368, the Ming Dynasty overthrew the Yuan Dynasty, which covered most of the
Mongol’s remaining land.
At that point, Genghis Khan’s last descendants retreated to Mongolia, where they ruled until
1635.
Today, more than 600 years later, the Mongol Empire continues to bewilder historians.
The Mongols permanently shifted borders and displaced or eradicated entire populations.
But at the same time, they created a completely new system of free trade, and were exceptionally
tolerant of different religions and ethnicities.
The scope of the Mongols’ unrelenting conquests, and their impact on Central Asia and surrounding
regions, cannot be ignored.
The rise of the Mongol Empire was one of the deadliest conquests in history with fatalities
rivaling those of world wars.
So, how did this great empire come to be?
Find out more in this video.
By the beginning of the 13th century around the age of 44, Temujin had overcome all the
tribes and unified them, establishing the greater Mongol state and himself as the King
of kings or in Western pronunciation, Genghis Khan.
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