East Meets West

The Mongols

Temujin's Rise

Born ca. 1162, d. 1227 After long period of tribal conflict and

intrigue, succeeded in unprecedented feat of unifying all Mongols.

Declared Khan of Khans and given name Genghis (Chinggis) Khan, 1206.

Conquest of North (Kin) China 1211-1214

Why did the Mongols erupt from Mongolia in the early 13th century to begin their conquests of the rest of the world, creating the largest contiguous land empire in

world history? There has been considerable speculation about the reasons for the Mongol eruption from Mongolia, and though there is no scholarly consensus on specific reasons, many have pointed to the causes of:

• Ecology• Trade disruptions• The figure of Chinggis (Genghis) Khan.

War with Persia 1218-1222

War started after Persians put Mongol emissaries to death.

War of annihilation on both sides. Mongol detachment sent to pursue Shah

across his own empire. Following conquest of Persia, Mongol troop

circled Caspian Sea.

The Legend of Prester John

• A Christian King David ruled a great land in the East

• His son, Prester John, would come and rescue Europe from the Islamic threat

• Many Mongols were technically Christians of the Nestorian sect

Rumors of Mongol attack on Muslims reinforced belief in the legend

Mongol Battle Tactics

• Constant practice in riding, archery• Traveled light• Extraordinary endurance and

discipline• Extremely ruthless in battle • Army was 100% cavalry • Practical, readily assimilated

advanced siege technology with the use of swarming to overwhelm the enemy

Mongol Battle Tactics

Remarkable ability to coordinate armies separated by great distances; use of signal flags and flaming arrows

Mobility unheard of by armies of the time--up to 100 miles/day.

Mongol combination of mobility and communication probably not equaled again until W.W. II.; swarming technique still in use today

Genghis Khan’s Value Statement

“The greatest joy a man can know is to conquer his enemies and drive them before him. To ride their horses and take away their possessions. To see the faces of those who were dear to them bedewed with tears, and to clasp their wives and daughters in his arms.”

Legacy in World History

• To the Mongols, Chinggis Khan is a great national hero who united all the Mongol tribes and carved out the largest contiguous land empire in world history.

• Chinggis and his descendants promoted frequent and extended contacts among the civilizations of Europe and Asia, ushering in an era of extraordinary interaction of goods, ideas, religions, and technology.

The career of Genghis Khan defies easy characterization. A man who unleashed terrible destruction and death on his way to conquest, he paved the way for a peaceful era that resulted in the first direct contacts between Europe and China. An illiterate nomad, he ordered the development of the first Mongol written language, supported craft workers and artists, and patronized a variety of religions. A military man prone to use violence, he nonetheless devised rules designed to resolve conflicts peacefully. He was neither a monster, as he is often depicted in the West, nor the greatest military genius of all times, as the Mongols perceive him to be.

Rule in conquered territories Ruthless annihilation of resistance (terror

tactics). General benevolence when no resistance. Cities generally left under native governors. Religious tolerance important in

consolidating rule, gain support of minorities oppressed by Moslems.

• Administration commonly more benign, less corrupt than pre-Mongol government.

Positive qualities of Mongols

Discipline, obedience to own laws Sense of honor and loyalty, respect for

these qualities in others, even opponents High status of women

• These qualities attested even by European observers who generally detested the Mongols

After Genghis Khan• Empire splits into three functionally

independent realms called khanates:

– China and Mongolia

– Russia

– Persia

• In principle, the rulers of Russia and Persia were regents for the Khan in China and were required to pay tribute

Mongols in Russia and

in Eastern Europe• Mongols(Golden Horde) conquer Russia, 1236-1242• A nomadic tribe, the Kumans, asked king of Hungary for

asylum• Mongols attack Hungary, 1241, when king refuses to

relinquish the Kumans• Within three months, Mongols obliterate all military

resistance in Eastern Europe• Mongols break off attack when Khan dies, never return• Isolate Russia• Moscow becomes certain of regional trade• Tribute protects Russian Principalities• Unites Russian

Mongols in the Middle East• Mongol-ruled Persia(Il-Khanate) goes to war against the

Caliph(Abbasid)• Mongols capture, sack, & obliterate Baghdad, 1258• Canal system of Iraq destroyed• Psychological blow from which Islam never recovered• Egypt(Mamluks) saved by battle of Ayn Jalut, 1259;

Mongols fight Mongols for first time:End of Islam’s “Golden Age”

• Assasination of last caliph remembered by Bin-Laden calling Bush(Pres) and Cheney(VP) modern Hugudei Khan after the U.S. led invasion of Iraq in March 2003

Mongols in China• Raid North China 1211 - 1214• Full conquest of North China 1225-1230• Final Conquest of South China 1269 – 1279• Yuan Dynasty rules China (1279 – 1368), the first

time that all China had come under foreign rule• Failed invasions and expeditions to:

– Vietnam– Burma– Indonesia– Japan(Kamikaze)

Mongols in Japan• Invasions in 1279 and 1281

• Mongols unable to advance beyond beachheads

• Japanese unable to drive invaders out

• Both times, a typhoon wrecked the invasion fleet

• Led to Japanese notion of the “Divine Wind” - Kamikaze

Foreign contact and exchange

• The Mongols' receptiveness to foreigners was a critical factor in promoting cultural exchange and a truly "global" history. Their attitude of relative openness toward foreigners and foreign influence led to an extraordinary interchange of products, peoples, technology, and science throughout the Mongol domains.

• From the Mongol period on, then, we can speak about a Eurasian — if not a global — history, in which developments in one part of Europe would have an impact not only in Europe but also in Asia, with the same being true for Asia. And if we remember that Christopher Columbus was actually looking for a new route to Asia when he landed in America — and that one of the few books he had with him was Marco Polo's account of his travels in Asia — we could even say that global history begins with the Mongols and the bridge they built between the East and the West.

The Christian West was not alone in pursuing contact with the Mongols. A century after the first Papal emissaries and fifty years after Polo returned to Venice, the Moroccan Muslim traveler, Ibn Battuta, reached the ports of South China and continued as far north as Peking. Although Battuta's account of his experiences in Mongol China are only briefly described in his book of travels, the Rihla, his account of economic life, cities visited and people encountered, as well as his judgments on China's culture, tell us much about the fourteenth-century world.