More than 700 years ago, a group of nomads were living in east central Asia. Like most barbarians, these nomads had never been united. They had always fought with outsiders. Yet they fought just as bitterly among themselves. Then suddenly, for a short time, they were united.
In the thirteenth century, they fought as one nation. They became the most terrifying military force the world had ever known. They swept across Asia on horseback, conquering most of the continent. Quickly, they built the largest land empire in the history of the world.
These barbarians were the Mongols. Their conquest of civilized society was frightening. They tore down scores of great cities. They slaughtered hundreds of thousands of people. Civilized people lived in terror of them. Some believed that Mongols ate humans. Some believed that Mongol ponies were big enough to eat trees. It seemed that no story about the Mongols was too fantastic to believe.
How were the Mongols able to conquer civilized societies? How did it all begin? Let us try to answer these questions by looking at the Mongols and their homeland.
These people live in round tents called "yurts," (or sometimes called “gers”)much as the Mongols did centuries ago. A yurt is made of wool felt stretched over wooden frames. The yurt can be taken down easily and set up again in another place
The Land of the Mongols
A steppe (step) is land where short grasses grow. Across Asia lies a steppe that stretches for hundreds upon hundreds of miles. The poorest part of this vast area is Mongolia. Two-thirds of Mongolia is poor steppe land with a few mountain ranges. The other third is the great Gobi Desert. This desert is a barren, rocky area. It has little vegetation. Few people live on it.
Mongolia is a very dry land. It gets little rain. Moist air coming from the Indian Ocean is blocked by high mountains to the south. Temperatures in Mongolia run to extremes. Summers are short and very hot. Winters are long and bitterly cold. There are few trees and valleys to provide shelter from winter blizzards. Mongolia is one of the world's least attractive places to live.
The land of Mongolia has always been poor. The population has always been scattered. Yet people have lived in Mongolia for thousands of years. They have had to be tough. The early Mongols had to develop a way of life that would let them survive. This way of life did not have the marks of a civilized culture. The Mongols did not settle in one place and farm the land. They did not build cities or make permanent homes. Instead, they followed a nomadic way of life. They always moved from place to place with all their belongings.
Find the steppeland on the map. Find the Gobi Desert. From what you have just read, see if you can locate the area where the Mongols were living.
The Childhood of Temujin
Into this fierce and restless land was born one of the greatest military leaders of all time.In the year 1162, a boy was born to the chief of the Yakka Mongols. The baby was named Temujin (tern/a jin). His name meant "iron." Temujin's father was not in camp the day his son was born. He was off raiding another tribe. That was a perfectly normal thing for a Mongol man to be doing. Mongol children grew up quickly. Temujin learned the ways of Mongol men at an early age. He was one of the best wrestlers in his tribe. Wrestling was popular among Mongol boys. It was a very rough sport. Bones were often broken during wrestling matches.
For several hours every day, Temujin practiced shooting his bow and arrow. Temujin spent a great deal of time riding his pony. He wanted to become expert on horseback like his father. Temujin loved to take his pony out for a race. Sometimes he and his friends would race as far as 50 miles. When Temujin was 13, tragedy struck his family. His father, chief of the Yakka Mongols, lay dying. He had probably been poisoned by members of another tribe.
