Administration of conquered lands was designed to serve the Mongol interest in continued military expansion. The Mongol logistic effort discussed above was absolutely dependent on efficient management of imperial territories. The Mongols had no experience in administering sedentary populations and so relied on those in their lands who did. Control over both subject populations and officials was ensured through the use of nonnatives as intermediaries. In general, Mongol overlords did little when these officials engaged in oppressive and confiscatory actions. Rebellious locals were forcibly repressed by Mongol forces or recruited auxiliaries.
Mongol rule throughout the empire was marked by heavy demands on both people and resources. The populations were required to perform sometimes onerous work duties, including the construction of bridges, roads, irrigation works, buildings, and walls. Vast numbers of artisans, engineers, and other skilled craftsmen were shifted throughout the empire to wherever the Mongols needed them. Mongol princes and military commanders were supplied with thousands of these craftsmen as slaves. There were also large numbers of Chinese boatmen whose only task was to see to the ferrying of men and supplies along the rivers of China and Central Asia. Locals throughout the empire were responsible for maintaining the immense postal relay system of the Mongols. In Persia and the Caucasian lands, whole villages typically were responsible for the supply and maintenance of one station.
To a significant extent, the Mongols achieved their goal of subordinating the resources of the whole empire to their personal and military needs. Mongol rulers were able to mobilize and transport men, material resources, and technological expertise in whatever quantities they required from one end of their enormous realm to another. Karakorum became the fabulously wealthy and busy capital of this empire, but when the empire collapsed, so did Karakorum. (See the Issues box “The Mongol Legacy.”)
The creation of this empire led to enormous amounts of wealth flowing into Karakorum. Actually, until the creation of the empire, there had been no capital in the steppe lands and few urban centers of any kind. The Mongol rulers still dwelled in tents, which had, however, become elaborate and filled with treasures from China, Persia, India, Europe, and other lands the Mongols had come into contact with. Merchants from throughout Eurasia came to trade at Karakorum.
As with all steppe societies, there was no established succession to the leadership. Chingiz Khan’s decision to anoint Ogodei, his third son, as his immediate successor as Great Khan was only done after gaining the support of his other sons and high officials (see the Sources box on page 243). The next two Great Khans were chosen at a meeting of Mongol chieftains and princes. Until the new khan was chosen, administration was managed by the prior Great Khan’s wife, giving these women a great deal of power to influence the selection. This method of choosing the next leader lasted until the death of Mongke (1251-59), at which point a violent struggle ensued among the claimants for the throne. The victor was Qubilai (1260-94), the last to hold real power as Great Khan. However, even Qubilai never commanded as much power over the far-flung empire as his predecessors had. In effect, the unified Mongol Empire broke into four independent realms, and each of these focused much of its attention on warring with the others. The age of Mongol expansion came to a halt with the death of Qubilai.