Genghis Khan

The Mongol Empire

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Mongol Empire

Source: https://www.worldhistory.org/Mongol_Empire/ 

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The Mongol Empire (1206-1368) was founded by Genghis Khan (r. 1206-1227), first Great Khan or 'universal ruler' of the Mongol peoples. Genghis forged the empire by uniting nomadic tribes of the Asian steppe and creating a devastatingly effective army with fast, light, and highly coordinated cavalry. Eventually, the empire dominated Asia from the Black Sea to the Korean peninsula.

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Expert horsemen and archers, the Mongols proved unstoppable in Central Asia and beyond, defeating armies in Iran, Russia, Eastern Europe, China, and many other places. The descendants of Genghis each ruled a part of the empire - the four khanates - the most powerful of which was the Mongol Yuan Dynasty in China (1271-1368), established by Kublai Khan (r. 1260-1279). Eventually, the Mongols became part of the sedentary societies they had so easily overwhelmed and many converted from traditional shamanism to Tibetan Buddhism or Islam.

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This was a general symptom of the Mongols not only losing part of their cultural identity but also, too, their famed military prowess, as the four khanates all succumbed to damaging dynastic disputes and the armies of their rivals. Although not famed for creating any lasting architectural wonders or political institutions, the Mongols did make the significant contribution to world culture of finally connecting the eastern and western worlds via expanded trade routes, diplomatic embassies and the movement of missionaries and travelers from Eurasia to the Far East.

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Nomads of the Steppe

The Mongols were pastoral nomads of the Asian steppe who herded sheep, goats, horses, camels, and yaks. These tribes moved according to the seasons and lived in temporary camps of circular felt tents or yurts (gers). The climate of Mongolia is often harsh and, reflecting this, clothing was warm, durable, and practical. Felt from sheep's wool and animal furs were the most common material to make clothing which was remarkably similar for both men and women: heelless boots, baggy trousers, a long jacket-robe (deel) worn with a leather belt, and a conical hat with earflaps, while underclothes were made from cotton or silk.

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Religious Beliefs

The Mongols' religion had no sacred texts or particular ceremonies but was, rather, a mix of animism, ancestor worship, and shamanism. Instances of the elements of fire, earth, and water, impressive geographical sites like mountains and natural phenomena such as storms were considered to possess spirits. Shamans, who could be both men and women, were thought able to, in a state of trance, communicate with these spirits and travel in their world, helping to find lost souls and divine future events.

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Other religions were present amongst the Mongols, notably Nestorian Christianity and, from the 14th century, Tibetan Buddhism (Lamaism) became popular, perhaps thanks to its shamanistic elements. Islam was also widely adopted in the western khanates. Above all, though, there was a widespread belief in the principal two deities: the Earth or Mother goddess, known as Etugen (Itugen), who represented fertility, and Tengri (Gok Monggke Tenggeri), the 'Blue Sky' or 'Eternal Heaven.'

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This latter deity was seen as a protector god and, crucially, he was thought by the tribal elites to have given the Mongol people a divine right to rule the entire world. Genghis Khan and his successors would put this idea into devastating practice by conquering almost the entire continent of Asia and creating the largest empire ever seen up to that time in history.

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Foundation By Genghis Khan

The Mongol nomadic tribes were then, used to a tough life, were highly mobile by nature and were trained from childhood to ride horses and shoot bows. These qualities would make them into excellent warriors able to endure long and complex campaigns, cover vast amounts of territory in a short space of time and survive on only the absolute minimum of supplies.

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Even the role of women and their chores of camp-making and transportation helped the Mongol army as they provided the vital logistic support for their husband warriors. Genghis Khan was perhaps the first Mongol leader to realise that if only the various tribes and clans could be united, the Mongols could master the world.

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The Khanates & Decline

While the Great Khans had been preoccupied with the eastern part of the Mongol Empire, the central and western parts largely went their own way. The Golden Horde, centred on the western Eurasian steppe, was founded by Batu Khan (d. 1255), grandson of Genghis, around 1227. It would outlast all the others, officially terminating in 1480, but from the mid-14th century, the Russians and Lithuanians were resurgent in the area.

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The Ilkhanate, centred on Persia, was founded by Hulegu (d. 1265), another grandson of Genghis around 1260. It would be constantly threatened by its southeastern neighbour the Mamluk Sultanate (1261-1517) and disintegrated due to dynastic disputes in 1335. The Chagatai Khanate was established by Chagatai (1183-1242), the second son of Genghis and would remain the most truly Mongol state where nomadic roots proved difficult to shake off. Again, dynastic disputes brought its collapse in 1363.

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All three western khanates would constantly fight each other in border disputes. Each would eventually adopt Islam as their state religion, itself yet another bone of contention between elites. The territories of the Ilkhanate and Chagatai Khanate were eventually taken over by Timur (Tamerlane), founder of the Timurid Empire (1370-1507).

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Even Yuan China succumbed to the all-too-familiar civil wars from rival groups and, with a weak economy and beset by famines and localised rebellions, the Ming Dynasty was able to take over China in 1368. In the end, the Mongols had become a part of the sedentary societies they had so easily conquered which made them just a susceptible as any other state to a takeover by those willing to embrace new ideas and technologies.

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The Mongol Legacy

The Mongols may not have troubled many modern museum curators with their art or left fine buildings to admire but they did leave a lasting legacy in other ways. Perhaps their greatest effect on world culture was to make the first serious connections between the East and West. The Mongol Empire, the largest contiguous land empire up to that point, stretched across one-fifth of the globe and their soldiers were obliged to fight Teutonic knights at one end while at the other they faced samurai warriors, neither of which enemy had any notion of the other's existence.

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Hitherto, the Chinese and Europeans had each viewed the other's lands as a semi-mythical place of monsters. As ambassadors, missionaries, merchants, and travellers like Marco Polo (1254-1324) were encouraged to freely cross Asia, so contact increased, and ideas and religions were spread. Gunpowder, paper, printing, and the compass all became familiar in Europe.

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The Mongols spread ideas in cuisine, too, such as making their sulen (shulen) broth-come-stew a popular dish across Asia even today. There were, alas, less advantageous consequences, like the Black Death (1347-1352), first transferred from a pocket of remote China to the Black Sea and from there to Venice and the rest of Europe. In Mongolia, though, the empire is remembered fondly as a golden era and Genghis Khan, the starter of it all, continues to be honoured with regular ceremonies in the Mongolian capital of Ulaanbaatar.