The Mongols are an ethnic group of people. They lived as minorities in areas of China and Russia. Their origin can be traced to the 8th century. They were equated with ethnic groups such as Magog and Tungusic. Their ancestry was traced back to the nomadic confederation that had occupied Manchuria and Eastern Mongolia. Mongols indeed lived a nomadic lifestyle in search of mostly food and pasture, also for adventure.
Mongolia received 250 cloudless days in a year. Their only way for survival was mobility hence their nomadic lifestyle. It was a demanding lifestyle to avoid the hazardous environments (Rossabi 6). They used horses mostly to move across the unbroken range of the grasslands - the steppes. The horses are, therefore, ideal for such movement because they are faster and hence efficient. The nomadic lifestyle demanded their physical strength and mental strength so as to fight enemies along the way, and to know the best kind of feed for their animals and the best weather to move to another settlement (Rossabi 7).
The Mongols had an empire that was one of the largest land empires in history. The Mongolian empire originated from the steppes of Central Asia and after many years, it slowly spread to the Sea of Japan, Eastern Asia and many other regions of the West the South and the North. The empire came about from the unification of many nomadic tribes that had Mongolia as their homeland. In 1206, the communities proclaimed Genghis Khan as leader of all the Mongolians. As expected of any other empire the descendants always fight for leaderships, so was the cases in the Mongolian Empire. The empire faced challenged due to wars of succession.
According to the Rossabi text, there are two contemporary observations made by historians Juvaini and Marco Polo. Juvaini brings out the behaviour of the Mongols as savagery and animal-like. He alludes this to the time Genghis Khan attacked the Central Asian cities of Samarkand and Bukhara (Rossabi 1). The Mongol troops surrounded the city and unleashed thousands of arrows including fire arrows. They burnt the mostly wooden buildings in Bukhara; thirty thousand people also lost their lives. In Samarkand, they destroyed the central mosque in the city and worst of all the raped very any women. They also enslaved the remaining ones virtually. Juvaini sees this as animal-like behaviour, which was reinforced by their lifestyle (Rossabi 1). They depended on animals for food, shelter, fuel medicine and so on. They averted washing their clothes. Indeed, they were a primitive people.
On the other hand, unlike Juvaini, Marco Polo is concerned with the leadership of the grandson of Genghis Khan. He portrayed him as a benevolent leader who showed concern for his people. In the summer, he would send agents to go around the country, should they find peasants who had been gravely affected by the winds, pests and so on, he would give the grain from his sores, and he would ensure they get relieved of their tax burdens (Rossabi 2). He appreciated the beauty and hence took a great part in the building of cities like Daidu (modern day Beijing). Khubilai did not entertain negative campaigns and rebel leaders (Rossabi 3). Marco Polo depicts him as a gentle leader, and he brings out the positive side of the Mongol community. Therefore, that is why the writer says these two observations are contemporary due to their differences in the conclusion of the height of the Mongol in the thirteenth century. In essence, despite the fact that Genghis Khan was their first leader; he did not become so much of a role model to his people as compared to his grandson who wanted peace and development in the lands.
Despite the observations from Juvaini, it goes without saying that the Mongol had a great leader in Genghis Khan. One would be tempted to say that he was made to lead his people. He united the different tribes of the Mongols, which significantly contributed to his success as a leader. Genghis Khan was a military commander, and also had political and administrative skills which also made him lead well.
In his youth, he was called Temujin, and he showed significant signs of becoming a great warrior. Temujin was thrust into leadership after the death of his father, Kabul Khan. Temujin was later taken as a prisoner after his camp was raided. He managed to escape, and he took refuge back in his camp. He joined with the leader at that moment for support in avenging the intimidation of his clan. From then on, he gained favor with his people and got allies who wanted to be associated with a great warrior and military commander who had a promising future.
The Mongols under the leadership of Genghis Khan were known to be destroyers. Word had spread all over the lands, of their invasions in many lands. After the conquest of China and the death of Genghis Khan, their invasions spread all over to the west. They believed that every Christian land was theirs for the taking. Russia was added to their list. They were able to defeat Russia because at the time they invaded their lands; there was so much division, and there was no dominant power over the people.
After the attack on Russia, the Golden Horde was formed at around 1223, after combining Turkic and Russian people by Genghis grandson, Batu. It started after a unification of many states but split after some time due to the districts crystallizing into smaller khanates. Therefore, the unity was diluted (Bulliet 322). The capital of the Golden Horde was in Sarai; the Mongolians ruled the Russian domains from afar. They achieved this by enlisting Russian princes as their census takers, agents and primarily as tax collectors. In Russia, the Mongolians starved the local economy of the precious metal, and it caused a shortage of currency. This led to commerce depending on the exchange of goods and services directly and not on currency transactions (Bulliet 323).
In China, the Mongols united the three competing empires of Tangut, Jin and the Song. The Great Khans destroyed all the three and fostered restoration of the numerous features of the government and the society as a whole. The Mongols became their leaders and established a ruling hierarchy as follows; since they were the heads, below them came the Middle Easterners and the Central Asians, then northern Chinese and finally the southern Chinese (Bulliet 326). The Mongols were the warriors, the Middle Easterners and Central Asians became the tax collectors and the census takers (Bulliet 326).
The people of Western Europe learned about the Mongol raids. The merchants, the Pope and the monarchs were quite worried, and they had to find a way to protect themselves. Pope Innocent IV sent two letter to John of Plano Carpini, to implore the Mongols to avert from attacking the Christian lands and to convert to Christianity.
When John approached the Golden Horde’s capital, and Khan Guyug received the message, he was very offended and responded to the pope through letter responding firmly that, “thou in person at the head of the Kings, you must all together at once come to do homage to us and if you do not accept God’s commands and act contrary to Our command We shall regard you as enemies” (Rossabi 91). He was very clear in his message and his people neither converted to Christianity nor did they make peace with the Europeans.
The Europeans got a report that gave them so much information about the Mongolian lifestyle including their military. It also included their barbaric behaviour and too much consumption of alcohol; on the other hand, they were amazed by the women who milked the yaks, which it did not seem as bad.
In the fifteenth century, the Golden Horde declined and at that same time, the Black Death had engulfed Europe (Rossabi 93). It reversed the population growth of the country, and it mostly spread with the Mongolian armies. What happened is that victims developed large boils, the size of eggs on the skin, groins and armpits (Bulliet 364). People developed body odors and in many cases, people would lose their lives in a matter of days. The sickness was related to fleas that infested the fur of many rats.
The Mongolians were keen on maintaining the culture of the lands they invaded. They championed the orders of the Muslim, they acted as playwrights for the Iranian historian; thy also acted as goldsmiths for the Russians and supported the Chinese painters. The Mongol high-class societies valued luxurious and beautiful products (Rossabi 97). They had simple houses, but they made it a point to adorn their homes with sensitive cultural decoration. Mongols valued their horses, and they would always decorate them too. Despite their acts of destroying mosques, imperial tombs and the Russian churches, most sources have put more attention on their destructive nature without considering their culture, which they firmly upheld.
The Mongols are a fascinating group of people with a long history. There is a great deal to talk about the Mongols, but since this is just a brief history, there is only so much to say. Mongols are indeed a barbaric race, and they invaded vast lands in their time. Despite the negative picture seen in their actions, they are a loyal people to their leaders. They are also proud of their identity and their mission too.
Works Cited
Bulliet, Richard et al. "The Earth and Its Peoples: A Global History, Brief Edition, Volume I: To 1550". Google Books. N.P., 2009. Web. 23 Mar. 2016.
Rossabi, Morris. "The Mongols: A Very Short Introduction". Google Books. N.P., 2012. Web. 23 Mar. 2016.
