How the Mongol Empire has Affected the World by James Kilton

Introduction          Throughout history there have been great empires that have tried to basically take over the world.  In western schools, these empires usually consist of empires such as Alexander the Great’s, the Roman Empire, and even the British Empire of the Victorian Age.  These empires are all seen as major forces in the field of history, but there is often a great empire that has always been overlooked.  This overlooked empire once amassed about half of the world’s land.  Its territories once included China, Persia, and even Eastern Europe.  The empire is known as an empire that virtually had the world trembling in their boots.  The empire is the Mongol Empire, and the question is how does an empire of nomads end up drastically changing the geography of the world and scaring the living daylights out of those who were in soon to be conquered areas.

Explanation of the Applicable National Standards for Geography     Many of the National Standards for Geography can be seen within the history and geography of the Mongol Empire.  Starting with places and regions, the subject knows and understands the physical and human characteristics of places, it knows and understands that people define regions and use them to interpret the world’s changing complexity, and it also knows and understands that culture and experience influence people’s perceptions of places and experiences.  The subject, or the Mongol Empire, deals with these three standards in the fact that the empire once covered much terrain.  Because of the extensive boundaries, cultures, ethnic groups, religions, and more interacted and changed.  Human Systems are drastically affected by the Mongol Empire.  The subject, or the Mongol Empire, deals with the characteristics, distribution, and migrations of human populations.  It deals with the complexity of the earth’s cultural mosaic and networks of economic interdependence.  It knows and understands the process, patterns, and functions of human settlement, and it also knows and understands the forces for cooperation and conflict that shape the divisions of the earth’s surface.  These National Standards reflect the whole nature of the Mongol Empire.  Everything that the empire deals with somehow drastically changes the people that the empire comes in contact with.
    To be a successful empire, a knowledge of the environments and society that are being contacted is very important.  The Mongol Empire deals with the connection and interaction of the earth’s physical and human systems.  It deals with the consequences of the interactions between human and physical systems, and it knows and understands the changes in meaning, distribution, and importance of resources.  The fact that the Mongol Empire originates from the steppes of Mongolia is why these standards apply.  The empire has to change itself when it enters into different regions that it is not familiar with.
Applying the Mongol Empire to interpret the past is very legitimate.  The massive empire shows how different regions might have been destroyed, changed, or started.  Applying knowledge of the empire to study the present or the future is also very legitimate.  Some of the effects from the empire are still present and living.

The Beginnings of a Great Empire     Before one can see how the Mongol Empire has affected the world, an in depth look at the empires origin must be studied.  The empire needed a strong leader that could  guide his people into conquest and victory.  This leader of the Mongol Empire was Genghis Khan.  Genghis Khan did not originate as a powerful leader to start off with.  His early life was one of insignificance.  His life began in c. 1162 A.D. on the steppes of Mongolia.  His birthplace was often placed in a Mongolian village named Bayan-Ovoo by locals.(1) He was  known as Temujin before given the name Genghis Khan.  Mongolia at this time was an area of feuding nomadic tribes.  Genghis gained his power by defeating these tribes.  He did not allow enemies to live for the enemies might cause insurrection against him.  Part of Genghis’ success came from his appointments of loyal subjects to high positions. The generals were usually his sons and picked men that were absolutely loyal to him.(2) Genghis Khan did not allow tribal hierarchies to influence his army.  The tribes of Kereyits, Merkits, and others were scattered among different military units.  Command of military units was reserved to those who had been proven campaigners.  Not only was Genghis Khan known for giving positions on basis of merit, he was also known for his tolerance of other religions.  He did not persecute people for being Muslim, Buddhist, or even Christian.  This can be seen in Genghis’ vision of his capital of Karakorum, which contained a Muslim mosque, a Buddhist temple, and probably a Christian church.(3) Some more achievements of Genghis Khan include his capturing of Peking in 1215 and conquering of the Muslim empire of Khwarizm in 1221.  August 18, 1227 was the date set for Genghis Khan’s death.  This significant event allowed for his sons and grandsons to rule the empire.   They would soon expand the territory that Genghis was able to establish.(4)

The Strengthening and Declining of an Empire      Another major figurehead in Mongol history is Kublai Khan.  The Mongols always called him Setsen Khan, meaning the Wise Khan.  It is under the rule of Kublai that Marco Polo spent about sixteen years in China.  Kublai is praised by Marco Polo for the use of paper money.  The Chinese actually invented paper money, but under the rule of Kublai money was made the medium of exchange.(5) Under the leadership of Kublai Khan, China was unified.  Along with the unification of China, Kublai was able to receive tribute from vassal states like Burma, Annam, and Champa in Indochina. Even though Kublai had successes in China and Indochina, he was not as successful in invading Japan.  Throughout history, island nations like Japan and Britain have been hard to conquer.  The Japanese were able to pull together their forces and fend off the Mongol forces.  The Japanese also had a little help from some storms which they called the "Divine Wind" or "Kamikaze."(6) Harold Lamb basically summarizes the reign of Kublai Khan in the following statement:

Under Kublai Khan the empire had grown to a massive extent.  This would lead to the disintegration of the empire.  The lower khans were too far away from their central leader of Kublai.  The empire had stretched its limits as it covered all of Asia, Indochina, and even Eastern Europe.

Warfare     Warfare was a great source of the Mongol Empire.  They were ferocious in battle and excelled in combat strategy.  The ferociousness was seen early within the life of Genghis Khan.  Genghis showed his sheer power by deposing those who threatened him.  The Mongol army was well suited for battle.  They were able to travel long distances because of their light uniforms.  In medieval Europe, the concept of knights was still in use.  These knights wore heavy chain mail and this hindered their agility.  In the December 1996 issue of National Geographic, an in detail picture of a Mongol warrior was given:

All of these qualities of the Mongol cavalrymen helped the empire expand beyond belief.  They were fierce warriors, skilled marksmen, and great horsemen.  The Mongols believed that the saddle represented the bringing together of man and horse.  The use of the horse provided the core of Mongol conquest.  As a Mongol, learning to ride a horse was like learning how to  walk.(9)  The Mongols also used weapons of terror to scare their enemies.  They would have several different types of arrows in their quivers that served different purposes.  Along with the arrows for solely killing, there were arrows designed to whistle through the air in effect frightening their enemies.(10)

    The Mongol Empire did not just go around conquering without a plan.  In Genghis Khan, Emperor of All Men, Harold Lamb provided several steps in how the Mongols looked to invading a hostile area.  The first stage of the Mongol plan was to devise a strategy.  They discussed routes to take and they chose which divisions would be going where.(11) The second stage of the Mongol invasion plan was to send out spies and bring informers in to be questioned about areas of strength and weakness.(12) Thirdly, the doomed country was to be entered from several locations at once.(13) The fourth part of the plan consisted of separate divisions that posted corps of observation before the larger fortified towns, while the neighboring district was ravaged.  Supplies were gathered off the country and a temporary base established if the campaign was to be a long one.(14)

    The Mongols also used inventive tactics such as deceit.  There was a reason why the Mongols had such large stirrups strapped to their saddles.  The stirrups were used in their favorite form of deceiving an enemy.  The Mongols would act like they were retreating.  Thus, the enemy would continue after the Mongols.  This plan was called the "feigned retreat."  When the enemy reached the sights of the Mongols, the Mongols would turn around on their saddles using the stirrups as a base to stay stationary.  Then the Mongols pulled out their bows and unleashed a slew of arrows accurately onto their attackers.(15) This attack method was also used to allow the Mongols to mount fresh horses also.  The maneuver brought disaster to the powerful Russians near the Dnieper.(16)
 
    Another way the Mongols were inventive in warfare was the use of siege tactics.  The siege tactics consisted of pontoon bridges, mangonels (catapults), and more.  According to the December 1996 issue of National Geographic, the Mongols borrowed technology from Arabs, Persians, and the Chinese.(17) The Mongols mastered the art of siege warfare and the use of catapults.  For missiles, the Mongols used fiery naphtha bombs and even animal and human corpses.  They especially liked disease ridden corpses to fire into cities.(18)

European Interaction and Fear     The Europeans definitely had a reason to fear the great Mongol Empire.  40,000 refugees from the steppes of Russia fled to Poland and Eastern Europe to escape the onslaught of the incoming Mongol horde.  Along with these refugees went the sometimes exaggerated tales of a barbarian horde with nothing on its mind but destruction.(19) The Russian city of Kiev was a prime example of why the Europeans feared the Mongols in a letter by Papal envoy Giovanni di Plano Caprini:

The Europeans were in constant terror of the Mongol hordes.  Not until the death of the great Ogadei Khan in 1241 in Karakorum were the Europeans somewhat able to relax.(21) Ogadei’s death was a pure strike of luck for the Europeans because the death halted the movement of the Mongol Empire permanently.(22)

Conclusion and Recommendations     The Mongol Empire was somewhat of a short lived empire, but it amassed more land by any empire in the history of man.  The empire did not totally disappear.  Its remnants are still seen in Mongolia, certain parts of Asia, and even in Eastern Europe.  A remnant of the empire in Krakow, Poland is still practiced.  A lone trumpeter sounds an alarm every hour on the hour from the tower of St. Mary’s church.  Tradition says that the same call to arms was heard on Palm Sunday in 1241 to alert townsfolk that Mongols were about to storm their walls.  The trumpeter ends his clarion mid-note, evoking the moment at which a Mongol arrow struck his medieval predecessor in the throat.(23) This empire was sometimes called a barbarian empire of nomads, yet the empire was also ahead in its time.  They revolutionized paper money, saddles and stirrups, archery, armor, and much more.  They struck fear into the hearts of many nations, thus causing many nations like Japan to gather its people and fight against the conqueror as a nation.  It was a ruthless empire in the havoc that it caused, but at the same time the empire assimilated cultures and tolerated all religions.  This empire of nomads should not be looked over for it did in many ways change the face of the world.  Our westernized schooling prevents the teaching of Far Eastern history.  This paper only spoke of the tip of the iceberg of the Mongol Empire.  Learning about topics like this one might actually help the western world understand how eastern cultures affected the world.

Footnotes 1. "The Great Khans" p.27
2. Genghis Khan v.19 p.748
3. Lamb p.101
4. http://www.nationalgeographic.com/features/97/genghis/index.html
5. Kublai Khan v.7 p.23
6. "The Great Khans" p.30-31
7. Lamb p.193
8. "Genghis Khan" p.14
9. http://sfasian.apple.com/Mongolia/Tour/TourA.htm
10. "Genghis Khan" p.15
11. Lamb p.210
12.     "
13.     "
14.     "
15. http://sfasian.apple.com/Mongolia/Tour/TourA.htm
16. Lamb p.211
17. "Genghis Khan" p.15
18.  "
19. http://www.thehistorynet.com/MilitaryHistory/articles/1997/06972_side.htm 
20. http://www.thehistorynet.com/MilitaryHistory/articles/1997/06972_side.htm
21. http://www.thehistorynet.com/MilitaryHistory/articles/1997/06972_side.htm
22. http://www.thehistorynet.com/MilitaryHistory/articles/1997/06972_side.htm
23. http://www.thehistorynet.com/MilitaryHistory/articles/1997/06972_side.htm

Bibliography Apple Computer.  "Mongolia: The Legacy of Chinggis Khan."  Asian Art Museum of San
    Francisco. 1995.  http://sfasian.apple.com/Mongolia/Tour/TourA.htm (April 16, 1998)
Edwards, Mike.  "Genghis Khan." National Geographic. December 1996.  pp. 1-37.
Edwards, Mike.  "The Great Khans."  National Geographic.  February 1997.  pp. 2-35.
Genghis Khan.  The Encyclopedia Britannica.  Chicago.  1988.  v.19,  pp. 746-749.
Hildinger, Erik.  "Mongol Invasion of Europe."  Military History. 1997.
    http://www.thehistorynet.com/MilitaryHistory/articles/1997/06972_side.htm (April 16, 1998)
Lamb, Harold.  Genghis Khan, The Emperor of All Men.  1927.
Kublai Khan.  The Encyclopedia Britannica.  Chicago.  1988.  v.7, pp. 21-23.
Olsenius, Richard.  "The Land of Genghis Khan."  National Geographic.  Feb. 1997.
    http://www.nationalgeographic.com/features/97/genghis/index.html (April 16, 1998
Olsenius, Richard.  "The Land of Genghis Khan."  National Geographic

Created April 16, 1998

<> Return to http://ejw.i8.com/geog/98/plans98.html