D. THE RISE AND FALL OF THE MONGOLS

The Mongols, the epitome of a nomadic culture, existed as a society for a long time before they became a force on the broader world scene. The Mongols were superb horsemen and archers and probably could have been a world power early on in the development of major civilizations. However, rivalries between tribes and clans kept them from unifying, so for centuries they fought with each other and remained fairly isolated from the rest of the world.

In the early 1200s, all that changed. Using his tremendous military and organizational skills, Genghis Khan (also spelled Chingiss Khan) unified the Mongol tribes and set them on a path of expansion that would lead to the largest empire the world had ever seen.

Genghis Khan unified several nomadic tribes of Mongolia and led the Mongol invasion of China in 1234, which was the beginning of the enormous Mongolian conquests. The Mongol Empire eventually spanned from the Pacific Ocean to eastern Europe. The empire was split into hordes, or small, independent empires. The Golden Horde conquered the region of modern-day Russia. In China, Kublai Khan ruled. Mongols destroyed cities and were ruthless warriors, but once their domain was established, the empire was relatively peaceful, sometimes called the Pax Mongolica. The continuous empire allowed for the exchange of goods, ideas, and culture from one distant region to another. Mongols, who were illiterate, nomadic people prior to their conquests and education reforms brought about by Genghis Khan, eventually became assimilated into the cultures of the people they defeated.

Warning! You Are Now Entering a Golden-Age-Free Zone

One of the most striking things about the Mongols is that their empire was one of territory, infrastructure, and conquest, but not one of “culture.” Because the Mongol Empire was so enormous and conquered so many different kinds of civilizations, it did not attempt to force a unified religion or way of life on its people. That being said, although the Mongols did not make many advances in the arts and sciences themselves, their superior infrastructure allowed for the exchange and spread of ideas. Genghis Khan also established the first pony express and postal system and gave tax breaks to teachers and clerics within his empire. In other ways, however, the Mongol Empire had a profoundly negative impact on conquered cultures, stifling cultural growth rather than contributing to it by having been so brutal in their initial raids.

Contrast Them: The Mongol Empire and All Other Major Civilizations

We’ve seen the golden age of Gupta. The golden age of Shang. The golden ages of Greece, Rome, and Islam. The Mongol Empire was larger than any of the empires that produced those golden ages. Yet rather than imposing their own cultural developments on the areas it conquered, it generally accepted or ignored those of the people they conquered. Unlike the sultans who took over India, the Mongols allowed their subjects to practice their own religions without interference. It should be pointed out that because the Mongol empire was so expansive, it tied much of the world together and served as a conduit across which ideas and culture spread from the Pacific to the Mediterranean and vice versa. It’s just that it wasn’t the Mongols’ ownculture.

Timur Wasn’t Timid

In addition to invading Russia, Persia, Central Asia, and China, the Mongols also found time on their itinerary for a layover in India. They swept in under their leader, the untamed Timur Lang, who destroyed just about everything in sight and massacred thousands, and then just as quickly swept out. The sultanate was destroyed, but after Timur Lang (sometimes referred to as Tamerlane) returned to his capital in Samarkand, the Mongols pulled out as well. Just a few years later, the sultanate was restored. Islam continued to grow in India for the next few centuries under the Mogul Empire, even as many Hindus hung on to their beliefs. Look for more on this later.

How the Mongols Did It: No Rest Until Conquest

Imagine that you live in a village that lies in the path of an advancing Mongol horde. You’ve heard the stories. If you put up a fight, they’ll pummel you. If you retreat to your house, they’ll burn it. If you organize a resistance in your place of worship or civic building, they’ll level it. You’ve also heard that if you just give in, they might spare your city, but they also might not. They’re not really interested in changing your culture. So your only real choice, if you want to stay alive, is to give in. If you do, you may or may not be able to keep your life and your culture, but if you don’t, you’ll suffer a certainly grotesque death. What would you do?

In the 1200s and 1300s, a lot of people gave in. And those that didn’t met their death. The Mongols weren’t called ruthless warriors for nothing. They knew how to fight. But they were more than fierce fighters. They were also highly organized and highly mobile. Unlike the much-feared Roman army, which in its heyday could cover about 25 miles per day, the Mongol horsemen could cover about 90. Their bows, designed to be launched from horseback, had a range of up to 300 yards, way more than anybody else’s. Their armies were divided into units, which were further separated into light and heavy cavalries and scouting units. They were extremely motivated—Genghis Khan punished traitors swiftly and rewarded the courageous generously. They were stealthy—they had an extensive network of spies that scouted their enemies before battle. Finally, their goals were made unmistakably clear—the consequences of putting up a fight against the Mongols meant certain destruction of the entire village, so most learned not to resist.

In short, they were really, really good at what they did: conquering.

The Mongol Impact

As mentioned earlier, the Mongols were great diffusers of culture. Some Mongols were assimilated by those they conquered. In Persia, for example, most Mongols became Muslim. Elsewhere, Mongols either couldn’t absorb those they conquered or intentionally didn’t. In China, for example,Kublai Khan, the grandson of Genghis, dismissed the Confucian scholars, forbade marriage between Mongols and Chinese, and wouldn’t allow the Chinese to learn the Mongol language. Because the Chinese weren’t allowed to Mongolize, they didn’t. They kept their own identity, and when they finally kicked the Mongols out in 1368, the Chinese were able to establish the Ming Dynasty under traditional Chinese practices, which they had never lost.

There were, however, two major consequences of Mongol rule. The first is that Russia, which was conquered by the Golden Horde and treated as a vassal state, didn’t unify or culturally develop as quickly as its European neighbors to the west. The second, and globally more important impact was that world trade, cultural diffusion, and awareness grew. Think about it: The Mongol empire touched Europe and very nearly touched Japan. It stretched southward to Persia and India making possible not only trade but also the transmission of the Black Plague in the fourteenth century. This one empire touched nearly all the major civilizations of the day. So, strange as it sounds, the often brutal Mongols, in their own way, brought the world together. By 1450, as the Mongol Empire was well into its decline, the world would never again be disconnected.