Unless You Are the Mongols

What’s the largest piece of land ever ruled by one empire? I’m talking about an uninterrupted stretch of earth that ran all the way from the Pacific Ocean east of China and Korea, all the way into eastern Europe.

I’m talking about an empire that went from essentially nothing to all this in the span of a generation. This empire helped to spread ideas that created the modern world.

I’m talking about the Mongols. You probably already know that, though. You’re smart, and you also read the title.

It all started with Genghis Khan, or rather Timujin as he was called back then. Born in the 12th century in Mongolia, Timujin’s father was killed by a rival tribe. His family was deserted by most of their clan, who figured they needed a different leader to follow.

The child who would one day become the most powerful person on the planet was reduced to a hand-to-mouth existence, foraging, hunting, and even stealing for food when they needed to. His mother, Hoelun, had the immense task of keeping herself and her children alive in a harsh environment, and so she taught her children these skills, along with the importance of political (tribal) alliances in the harsh steppe.

I can’t help but conclude that her incredible resilience was passed down to her son.

Temujin would later memorialize her strength and contributions by making her an advisor to his Empire, and the later The Secret History of the Mongols (a semi-mythical account of Mongol history) features Hoelun prominently, praising her strength and wisdom. Her legacy lived on.

Gradually, young Timujin rose above all of the challenges of his youth, and he began to catch the eye of tribal leaders as he grew into adulthood. Ultimately, his mother’s lessons to forge alliances were what allowed the young leader to consolidate power into his own hands, slowly at first, and then faster and faster as time went on.

Gradually, after uniting all of the tribes (and ruthlessly crushing the weaker ones), Timujin was awarded the title of Genghis Khan, meaning something like “universal ruler.” As soon as the tribes were united under him, they began a rapid period of expansion, the likes of which the world had never seen.

Using incredibly mobile, fast-moving cavalry, the Mongols utilized some of the most highly skilled archers known to exist. They could hit moving targets while riding at a gallop, something inconceivable before that point. They seemed to come out of nowhere, quickly overwhelming any resisting opponents.

The Mongols could be incredibly brutal on the one hand. They would completely destroy any cities that refused to submit, and I mean completely. The city of Baghdad is probably the most notable example of this happening, with the unfortunate consequence of the destruction of the greatest center for knowledge around at the time.

On the other hand, because the Mongols came to control the Silk Road, they facilitated a tremendous amount of trade and exchange. They kept the roads safe so things could make their way all the way from China, which the Mongols controlled completely, to eastern Europe and the Middle East, where their empire brushed up against the likes of the Eastern Roman Empire.

One of the things that traveled west was the invention of gunpowder. Paper and printmaking, too, made their way to Europe along the Silk Road, setting the stage for Guttenberg’s movable type printing press. Even paper money made its way east, thanks to the Mongols.

Perhaps surprisingly, the Mongols were relatively very tolerant of different religions. Christianity, Buddhism, and Islam coexisted and even spread within the new empire.

By connecting the east and the west, the Mongols created an idea exchange that would continue long after the empire's decline. Even though different cultures closed their borders at different times, the world would never go back to the way it was before. The cat was out of the bag, and the ideas were spreading.

There’s a tremendous amount more to be said about the Mongols, but I wanted to introduce a few little concepts today, hoping to make you a little more curious. The title I picked is a running joke on Crash Course World History, where John Green continually jokes about how the Mongol empire often defies easy classification, being the exception to most other empires. I’ll leave you with John’s delightful video history:

Did you know much about the Mongols before today? What’s the most interesting thing about them to you?