Introduction
The creation of the Mongol Empire in the thirteen century was a slow as well as an arduous process. It began with unifying the Turkic and Mongol tribes that lived in the Mongolian plains. Temuchin (1165-1227) rose from the steppes to become a charismatic leader, who slowly gained a following prior to becoming a nokhor (vassal) to Toghril, the Kereits Khan (Lane, 2016). During his service of Toghril, Temuchin used his talents to earn himself a position as one of the key leaders among the Mongol tribes. However, his increasing power sparked jealousy among the supporters of Toghril and as a result, the two parted ways (Lane, 2016). They later clashed in a battle in 1203, which saw Temuchin emerge as the victor. By 1206, He managed to unify the Mongolian tribes into a unit super-tribe called All Mongol State ( Khamag Mongol Ulus ). To achieve this milestone, Temuchin was forced to reconstruct the social structure by breaking up the existing tribal lines and reorganizing them into a decimal system based army, that is, units of 10, 100, 1000, and 10,000). Moreover, he enforced a strong sense of discipline in the various groups of the army (Prawdin, 2017). Despite defeating all his rivals by 1204, the Mongolians came to recognize Temuchin as the sole authority in the territory in 1206. As a result, they gave him the title of Genghis Khan, which translates, to a Fierce, Resolute or Firm Ruler (Pederson et al., 2014).
Expansion of the Mongol Empire
The Mongolians rapidly extended their power behold Mongolia. By 1209, they had managed to conquer the Tangut Kingdom Xixia. In the year 1211, Genghis Khan and his army invaded the Jin Empire in Northern China. Although these campaigns were meant to be raids, the Mongols retained every territory they looted after the residences stopped resisting. Despite the stunning victories and the conquering most of the Jin Empire by 1216, the Mongols faced opposition from the Jins up to 1234, almost seven years after Genghis Khan died (Prawdin, 2017). In 1209, the Mongols started their expansion into central Asia. They began by pursuing tribal leaders who had objected Genghis Khan’s rise to power back in Mongolia for they were a threat to his authority. The Mongols acquired new territories with each new victory. In addition, numerous smaller polities like the Tarim Basin Uighurs sought Genghis Khan Protection as vassals. Eventually, the Mongol Empire expanded to border the Chinese states as well as the Islamic States in Central Asia such as the Khwarazmian Empire. At first, Genghis Khan sought a friendly commercial relationship with the state of Khwarazmian (Pederson et al., 2014).
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However, when the Otrar governor massacred a Mongol sponsored caravan, the relationship became violent. Genghis Khan sent an envoy to Khwarazmian Empire to demand the handing over of the Otrar governor, but Shah, the ruler of Khwarazmian, interpreted this diplomatic gesture as an insult and killed all the emissaries (Prawdin, 2017). Annoyed by this deed, Genghis Khan declared war against Shah and in 1218 marched against the Khwarazmians. Once he captured Otrar, he subdivided his arm and launched attacks on Khwarazmian Empire from different points. Unable to match the Mongol forces, Shah fled to an island in the Caspian Sea and Genghis Khan took over the empire. His son’s (Jalal al-Din) effort to rally the empire in Afghanistan were met with a brutal force from Genghis Khan’s army who defeated him in 1221 near Indus River (May, 2015). They completed their final conquest of China between 1267 and 1279 by attacking the Sichuan and Yunnan in southwest China. The Mongols were special in that they had an army that had unmatched skills at the time. They fought in a total war manner and only focussed on defeating their enemies via any means necessary.
Why did the Mongols succeed to conquer China?
The Mongols had a well-trained army whose tactics were natured by their natural lifestyle. Between their traditional clan and nomadism warfare, they gained continuous training in archery and horse riding. They also had a great ability to coordinate army’s miles away from each other using dispatch rider (May, 2015). The Mongol had an unmatched combination of communication and mobility. The Mongol army also had very innovative war tactics. They could launch an attack and then create a hole in their lines to allow the frightened enemy forces to flee before wiping out the remaining ones. They could also launch a stiff attack, then retreat and lead the enemy into an ambush (Lane, 2016). The combination of ruthlessness and extraordinary military discipline gave them an upper hand in each battle.
The Mongol ruled the conquered territories differently. Rebellion and resistance dealt with ruthless annihilations. However, when the populace was cooperative, the Mongol rule was exceptionally benevolent. Conquered territories were left under native governors except for China where foreigners were often used because they could be trusted (Komaroff, 2012). Religious tolerance was also embraced, as it was paramount in garnering the support of the oppressed minorities as well as consolidating rule.
Upon acquiring a new territory, the Mongols established economic means to finance the government. The leaders supported agriculture and preserved food in drought-affected areas. The tax collection system was also very organized. The people paid taxes once to the central government that then paid the nobles (Komaroff, 2012). The Mongols were welcoming to foreign traders such as Arabs, Russians, Venetians, Genoese, and Jews. As a result, both maritime and overland trade excelled. The Mongols refrained from caravan trade but encouraged others to participate. In exchange for security provision, the caravans were used to collect intelligence (Komaroff, 2012). For these reasons, the conquered populace saw the Mongols as their friends and pledged their allegiance to them.
Conclusion
The combination of charismatic leaders and tactically unmatched army contributed immensely to the expansion of the Mongols. Constant battles allowed the soldiers to gain experience on how to subdue their enemies. On the other hand, their ability to govern the conquered territories by use of native leaders earned them the support of the oppressed minorities. They also subdued any rebellion or resistance with brutal force that enabled them to establish control. The Mongol’s economic activities such as trade, agriculture, raiding and favorable tax policies generated enough revenue for them to fund their expansion and their conquest of China.
References
Komaroff, L. (Ed.). (2012). Beyond the legacy of Genghis Khan (Vol. 64). Brill.
Lane, G. (2016). Mongol Empire, Great. The Encyclopedia of Empire .
May, T. (2015). The Mongol Art of War and the Tsunami Strategy. Золотоордынская цивилизация , (8), 31-37.
Pederson, N., Hessl, A. E., Baatarbileg, N., Anchukaitis, K. J., & Di Cosmo, N. (2014). Pluvials, droughts, the Mongol Empire, and modern Mongolia. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences , 111 (12), 4375-4379.
Prawdin, M. (2017). The Mongol Empire: Its rise and legacy . Routledge.
