Mongols

The Mongols are an ethnic group that originated in what is now Mongolia, Russia, and China, particularly Inner Mongolia. They currently number about 8.5 million and speak the Mongol language. There are approximately 2.3 million Mongols in Mongolia, 4 million Mongols living in Inner Mongolia, and 2 million Mongols living in neighboring provinces. In addition, there are a number of ethnic groups in North China and Russia related to the Mongols: the Daur, Buryat, Evenk, Dorbod, Tuvans and Kalmyk.

History

The Mongols were originally a confederation of tribes in competition with the Tatar, Kerait, Merkit and Naiman confederations and therefore only one division of what we call the Mongol nation. Genghis Khan unified the Mongol people by absorbing the other confederations into his own and the word Mongol came to mean the entire people.

Related Topics:
Tatar - Kerait - Merkit - Naiman - Genghis Khan

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Though few in number (approximately 200,000 people at the height of their empire), Mongols were important in Eurasian history. Under the leadership of Genghis Khan, the Mongols created the second largest empire in world history, ruling 35 million km² (13.8 million miles²) and more than 100 million people, nearly equal to the British Empire in land area. At its height, the Mongol Empire spanned from Korea to Hungary, and included most of the lands in between, such as Afghanistan, Georgia, Armenia, Russia, Persia, China, and much of the Middle East.

Related Topics:
Empire - British Empire - Korea - Hungary - Afghanistan - Georgia - Armenia - Russia - Persia - China - Middle East

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The Mongols were a nomadic people who in the 13th century found themselves encompassed by large, city-dwelling agrarian civilizations. However, none of these civilizations, with the possible exception of the Islamic Caliphate located in Baghdad, were part of a strong central state. Asia, Russia, and the Middle East were either declining kingdoms, or divided city states. Taking the strategic initiative, the Mongols exploited this power vacuum and linked all of these areas into a mutually supportive trade network.

Related Topics:
Nomadic people - 13th century - Caliphate - Asia - Russia - Middle East

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The Mongols were largely dependent on trade with the city-dwelling peoples, but resorted to raiding villages when times were particularly hard. As nomads, they could not accumulate a surplus against bad times, or support artisans. When trade was reduced by the northern Chinese kingdoms in the 1200s, shortly after Genghis Khan became Khan of the Mongol tribes, the Mongols repeated their tradition of getting their goods by looting Northern China.

Related Topics:
1200s - Genghis Khan - Khan

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But the military expansion of the Mongols was not merely part of their long-held tradition of raiding. Rather, it's the unification of the Mongol tribes by Genghis Khan made this both a possibility and a necessity. In the Mongol culture of the time people became respected political leaders by, among other things, demonstrating their martial virtues in combat. This was more often than not done by raiding and fighting other Mongol tribes. The booty of such raids was then distributed by the leaders in order to consolidate their political position. This is clearly attested by Genghis Khan's own personal history: Before he became the Great Khan, his own wife was kidnapped in a raid by another tribe, and he had to organize a counter-attack to rescue her. Once he had unified the Mongols, however, he naturally had to forbid (or at least drastically curb) these raids that contributed to the poverty and instability of the Mongol people. But no more raids meant no more prizes to distribute. Consequently Genghis Khan had to turn outward for military targets in order to consolidate and maintain his own political position.

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Conquest, in the Khan's initial viewpoint, did not consist of subordination of competing cultures to the nomadic way of life. Rather, if there was resistance, it took the form of looting and destruction. If there was no resistance, Mongols usually left the town unharmed and demanded that the townspeople pay them tribute. As a nomad, Genghis Khan is supposed to not have understood or cared about the supposed benefits of the city dwellers' way of life. This contrasts with their dependence on trade with the cities. However, theories on the economics of these relationships still lay seven centuries in the future.

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The Khan's initial plan of conquest if there was resistance was to sack all that was valuable, and then raze the city killing the resisters and leaving only artists and human shields (for future campaigns) to survive. Genghis Khan himself was extremely supportive to people that were loyal to him, even his former enemies. Different theories exist as to why the Mongols initially behaved in such an extreme manner. From a military perspective, the Mongols were often far from home territory and greatly out-numbered, and therefore it was unwise to leave enemies at their rear. Terror also served as a useful weapon in reducing an opponent's ability to rally support against Mongol invasion. Economically, destroying population centers gave the Mongols more room to graze their herds.

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One such example is the capture of Zhongdu (中都 Zhōngdú) (roughly on the site of modern Beijing) in 1215. Rather than adding the city to the Mongol Kingdom, it was instead thoroughly sacked for silk and other valuables.

Related Topics:
Beijing - 1215

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As the Mongols grew more powerful, advisers convinced Genghis Khan to start building a vassal empire. If the city-dwelling peoples were allowed to continue their way of life, they could produce a surplus of food and goods, a portion of which could be paid to the Khan as taxes. Given the Khan's extraordinary success in his aggressive foreign policy, this wealth could be equally extraordinary. The Khan agreed, taking his tribute in tax of 10%, and saving countless lives and cultures in the process. Until 1225 they continued their invasions through Western Asia, into Persia and Russia.

Related Topics:
Vassal - 1225 - Persia - Russia

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In 1227, Genghis Khan died; his third son Ogedei Khan was elected by the tribes to succeed him. Ogedei Khan continued the expansion into North-Eastern Asia, conquering Korea and Northern China in the process. The armies of the Mongols had reached Poland, Hungary, and Egypt by 1241, and were poised to continue. When Ogedei Khan suddenly died, Mongol law required all descendants of Genghis to return to elect a new Khan. The leader of the European expedition rushed back to press his claim. Nearly a decade later, Mongka Khan, grandson of Genghis and nephew of Ogedei, took the throne, through the assistance of his mother Sorghaghtani Beki. By this time, the Western expansion had lost its momentum. These events are credited in several counterfactual historical scenarios with saving nascent European civilization from a second "Dark Age" precipitated by Mongol conquest. Such scenarios must be viewed keeping in mind knowledge of their origin.

Related Topics:
1227 - Ogedei Khan - Korea - Poland - Hungary - Egypt - 1241 - Mongka Khan - Sorghaghtani Beki

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The term Mongol referring to the 12th and 13th century Mongol reign presumably included soldiers and generals in Middle East, China, Eastern and central Europe who all fought under the identity of being Mongols although not exclusively having a heritage in modern Mongolia. The name probably was very symbolic and powerful concept to those that pledged allegiance to the Mongol Empire, to Genghis Khan and his successor Great Khans, and to themselves. It was probably the genius of Genghis Khan to unify all these different people under one identity as a single and powerful fighting force with superb military strategy, dedication and mobility. The word Mongol should not be interpreted literally in historical perspective to many of those who identified themselves as being Mongols.

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Various members of the Mongol Court, including Sorghaghtani Beki, were Nestorian Christians. While the court was nominally Buddhist and maintained a policy of being open to all religions, it was known as particularly sympathetic to Christians (which may have helped contribute to the legend of Prester John). In 1253 the court followed the suggestion of Crusader Kingdoms in Syria to attack the Muslim capitals of Baghdad and Cairo. Baghdad was conquered and sacked in 1258 with the city's Christians spared, and the Abbasid caliph killed. However, with the troops on the road to Cairo, Mongka Khan died in 1259 and much of the force returned home for the selection of the new leader. Egyptian troops finally repelled the attack in 1260. This, and ultimately the "gates of Vienna," marked the farthest West the Mongol Empire would progress.

Related Topics:
Nestorian - Buddhist - Christian - Prester John - 1253 - Crusader - Syria - Baghdad - Cairo - Baghdad was conquered and sacked - 1258 - Abbasid - Caliph - 1259 - 1260

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Kublai Khan quickly succeeded Mongka Khan, moved the court to Beijing, formed the Yuan dynasty, and re-started the invasion of China, in the first war with guns on both sides. After 18 years, Kublai Khan conquered both Northern and Southern China, forming the largest empire in history (famously described by Marco Polo).

Related Topics:
Kublai Khan - Beijing - Yuan dynasty - Guns - Marco Polo

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However, by the early 14th century, the prominence of trade and a possible cooling of the world's climates led to worldwide outbreaks of plague, which encouraged revolt and invasion. Early Ming Emperors led campaigns into Mongolia and destroyed Harhorin and Khar Khot, but later Ming Emperors resorted to more defensive policies. Meanwhile, various Mongolian tribes fought against each other, usually Western Mongols (Oirat) against Eastern Mongols (Chahar, Tumed, Ordos or Khalkha), and continued to threaten China's borders.

Related Topics:
14th century - Plague - Ming Emperors - Mongolia - Harhorin - Khar Khot - Oirat - Chahar - Tumed - Ordos - Khalkha

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The internal struggle gave the emerging Manchu the possibility of assimilating the Mongol tribes bit by bit. In 1636, the Chahar of Inner Mongolia were conquered, in 1691, the Khalkha of Outer Mongolia submitted to the Kangxi Emperor in order to escape from the threat of being conquered by the Oirat, and in the 1750s, the Qianlong Emperor completely destroyed the Oirat Jungar Empire in today's Xinjiang.

Related Topics:
Manchu - Chahar - Inner Mongolia - Khalkha - Outer Mongolia - Kangxi - Oirat - Qianlong - Jungar - Xinjiang

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