Essay about The Mongols

Submitted By ruferh
Words: 1658
Pages: 7
Open Document
Throughout history there have been many great empires that have existed. They rose and fell as time passed, but the impact they had on the world remained. One of these great empires began in the steppes of Mongolia in the thirteenth century and it forever changed the world. An empire of humble beginnings, the Mongolian Empire grew to become the largest contiguous land empire in human history at its peak. Unlike other great empires, the Mongols do not leave the world with any great architecture, books, or art, however they would generate intercontinental trade in Eurasia, revolutionize warfare, give rise to new nations, and affect history in many other ways.
The Mongolian Empire started out as central Asian nomadic tribes that were constantly at odds with one another. It wasn’t until one man, Temujin, convinced these tribes that if they could stop fighting and just join forces that they could not only grow rich, but they would be able to conquer the known world. Temujin was born around 1162 in the Kenti mountains, but by 1206 at the age of 40 he was given the title Genghis Khan, meaning great leader or great warrior. It was because of Genghis Khan’s ideas and military structure, along with the belief that he was truly meant to conquer the world that the Mongols became so successful. By this time he has built four great field armies, totaling 120,000 men. It is with these four field armies that Genghis Khan created a legacy twice the size of Rome, establishing an Empire that would dominate from 1206 to 1368.
Genghis Khan’s military was much like a modern military with the central ideas being speed, rooting out the enemies weak points, and shock. Speed was essential to the Mongols. Their strength, born from their nomadic lives of hunting and herding, lie in riding and archery.The Mongols traveled very light and demonstrated extraordinary endurance, living off the land and often spending several days at a time in the saddle. Living off the land freed Mongol soldiers from supply trains, considerably adding to their speed. Such endurance and speed enabled them to cover greater distances than was ever achieved before by any other army. The revolutionary organization of leadership gave this army an advantage over its opponents. Leadership was not inherited as was common at the time. Instead it was earned, and depended upon ability and merit, making it possible for anyone to rise to the top of the ranks. Leaders also had the ability to make real time decisions to compensate for changing circumstances. No longer were commanders forced to go down with a sinking ship because of standing orders.
Superior communication resulted in a remarkable ability to coordinate over great distances. The Mongols were excellent spies. They sent people ahead of their armies, often up to a year at a time in order to learn about their enemies, about the disposition of the enemy. The Mongols also developed a very sophisticated signaling system to convey weaknesses in the enemy’s front line, often over a ten mile front. It was the use of these signaling systems that allowed them to pinpoint weak point to apply all of their force, breaking through the enemy’s line and spilling through to the back areas. If successful this would result in the panic and cause the enemy to retreat.
Another tactic of the Mongols was to attack during the winter. This not only allowed for their horses to graze all summer so they wouldn’t have to worry about feeding while on the move. But there was another reason for attacking during the winter, and it is simply that no one wanted to fight. This is a psychological fact that the Mongols understood, no one wanted to die in the cold so they didn’t put up the same level of resistance that they would have during the warm summer months.
In addition to their speed, superior communication, and revolutionary distribution of authority, the Mongols were ruthless. This ruthlessness generated fear in their enemies aiding to the ease
Show More

Related Documents: Essay about The Mongols

Cultural Destruction In 'The Mongols' By The Mongols

I think they created cultural destruction. I think this is because the Mongols would cause destruction by capturing people that would not surrender. This shows that this is cultural destruction because my notes show that you lose your individuality in a group. This means that if you have to work together you lose your identity, which means that they cause cultural destruction. I think they caused cultural destruction because everyone should feel like they are important. This is cultural destruction…

Words 388 - Pages 2

Nomads: The Mongols

The Mongols were nomads, migrated according to the climate. Because they did not produce any goods, they needed to trade. Men and women had to work to survive. They lived in nature and harsh conditions, which build a strong character. The Mongols were way smaller pastoral group than the Tatars or the Uyghurs. Genghis Khan united the Mongols, conquered territory from Mongolia to Caspian Sea. The Mongols adopted gunpowder, most likely introducing it to Europeans. They brought cross-Eurasian trade back…

Words 180 - Pages 1

Mongols Influence

The Mongols had many influences on the outside world like alcohol, the kite, the compass, and many more. The Silk Road a huge part of their influence, the inventions that were made in Mongolia were transported and shipped to either Europe or Asia. But they were spread further than just Europe and Asia, they were a impact on the whole world. Alcohol was a huge influence on the Irish and Americans who are known for their famous beers, whisky, and wineries. The kite was inpact in America when Benjamin…

Words 500 - Pages 2

Globalization Mongols

conquering, new religions rising, to the silk roads, the Mongols conquering, and the wide spread of different diseases with exploration. To start off, civilizations like the Greeks were powerful and conquered large amounts of land and once they captured them, the Greeks would influence their new land’s…

Words 1427 - Pages 6

Mongol Dbq

The Mongols are famous for the largest land territory ever conquered. They are even more famous for the tortious acts when conquering land. As one witness the torturous acts, one realizes they performed the definition of terrorism and performed terrorism acts several times throughout their short rule. Therefore, the Mongols guilty of terrorism because they performed several acts of terrorism. The Mongols threatened towns and countries into coercion, one of the definitions of terrorism. One of the…

Words 531 - Pages 3

mongols essay

The Mongols became the largest empire under the rule of Chinggis Khan. However after Chinggis’s death his vast realm was divided into four regional empires by his heirs. Two of the four regional empires was China which was ruled by the Great Khans and Persia, which is in the Middle East, was ruled by the ilkhans. In China and the Middle East, Persia, the Mongols had both a political and economic effect including administration, downfall of the economy and trade. One political effect the Mongols…

Words 857 - Pages 4

Mongol Empire and Mongol Administrative Practices Essay

Centralization and Militarism in East Asia Outline 1200-1500 A. Korea from the Mongols to the Yi, 1231-1500 1. Korea's leaders initially resisted the Mongol invasions but gave up in 1258 when the king of Koryo surrendered and joined his family to the Mongols by marriage. The Koryo kings then fell under the influence of the Mongols and Korea profited from exchange with the Yuan in which new technologies including cotton, gunpowder, astronomy, calendar making, and celestial clocks were introduced…

Words 592 - Pages 3

Mongol Empire Dbq

The Mongols were a nomadic group of people, who relied on agriculture and trade, but the Mongol Empire was one of the strongest and largest in history. It was ruled by Genghis Khan in the 13th century, and they controlled 11 million square miles of land. The Mongols’ success was a result of its large amount of land, acceptingness of other religions, and its promotion of trade that resulted in a strong economy. One significant factor that contributed to the success of the Mongols’, was the vast amount…

Words 981 - Pages 4

Mongols Dbq Analysis

Throughout history, the Mongols have had several opinions that were formulated from others due to experience and interaction towards them. Some may say the Mongols had a successful, luxurious, and organized empire while others will concluded the Mongols as bloodthirsty, brutal, and violent individuals that destroyed lives. There are several primary sources that express the opinions towards the Mongols and what caused to see the Mongols as that. As previously said, the Mongols were seen in a negative…

Words 640 - Pages 3

Mongols Effect On Eurasia

Over the entirety of the Mongol reign, the Mongols committed many atrocities throughout Eurasia and completely made a dent in the world’s population. Genghis Khan had started a conquest of fear in Central Asia, leading to the destruction of cities and the slaughtering of entire civilizations (World History: Patterns of Interaction, 331). Not only did the Mongols kill millions of people, but they also killed them inhumanly. They murdered everybody, from men to even pregnant women and their unborn…

Words 195 - Pages 1