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Mongol Empire
In 1206 an assembly of steppe tribes proclaimed Temüjin their supreme ruler, Genghis Khan. Within seventy years Mongol armies had created the largest contiguous land empire in history, from Korea to the Danube and the Persian Gulf. The conquests destroyed cities and cost millions of lives, but they also tied China, Persia and Europe together by trade and travel as never before.
Genghis Khan
THEME ONE
Temüjin, born around 1162, grew up in poverty after his father was poisoned, and fought his way to the leadership of all the Mongol and Turkic tribes of the steppe. He broke up the old clan loyalties by organising his people into units of ten, a hundred, a thousand and ten thousand, and promoted men for loyalty and talent. Before his death in 1227 he had conquered northern China, Central Asia and eastern Persia.
Horse and bow
THEME TWO
Every Mongol warrior rode with several horses, so an army could cover great distances at speed. Their composite bows shot far and hard from the saddle, and feigned retreats lured enemies into traps. Engineers from China and Persia built siege machines, and a network of relay stations, the yam, carried orders across the empire. Cities that resisted were often destroyed and their people killed, as a warning to others.
The great campaigns
THEME THREE
Under Genghis Khan's son Ögedei, Batu led a campaign west: between 1237 and 1240 the Mongols destroyed Ryazan, Vladimir and Kiev, and in 1241 they defeated Polish and Hungarian armies. In 1258 Hulagu sacked Baghdad, but in 1260 the Mamluks of Egypt stopped the Mongols at Ain Jalut. Kublai Khan completed the conquest of Song China in 1279, while two invasion fleets sent against Japan were wrecked by storms.
The Pax Mongolica
THEME FOUR
Once the wars were over, merchants, envoys and missionaries could travel safely from the Black Sea to China under Mongol protection, carrying a metal tablet, the paiza, as a passport. Kublai Khan founded the Yuan dynasty in 1271 and built a new capital, Khanbaliq, today's Beijing, where the Venetian Marco Polo said he served him for seventeen years. The same routes later carried the plague west in the 1340s.
Periods
Genghis Khan's conquests
1206 – 1227
The steppe is united, the Western Xia and the Jin state in northern China are attacked, and the Khwarazmian empire in Central Asia is destroyed.
The united empire
1227 – 1260
Under the great khans Ögedei, Güyük and Möngke the empire reaches Europe and the Middle East. Möngke's death in 1259 leads to a war of succession.
Four khanates
1260 – 1368
The Yuan, the Golden Horde, the Ilkhanate and the Chagatai Khanate go their own ways. The Ilkhanate collapses in 1335 and the Yuan are driven out of China in 1368.
Key dates
- 1206Temüjin is proclaimed Genghis Khan.
- 1219The Mongols invade the Khwarazmian empire.
- 1240Batu's army takes and destroys Kiev.
- 1258Hulagu sacks Baghdad.
- 1279Kublai Khan completes the conquest of China.
- 1368The Ming dynasty drives the Mongols out of China.
Questions and answers
How big was the Mongol Empire?
At its height, around 1270, it covered about 24 million square kilometres - the largest contiguous land empire in history. Only the British Empire, spread across oceans, was larger.
Did the Mongols conquer Rus?
Between 1237 and 1240 Batu's armies destroyed Ryazan, Vladimir and Kiev. The Russian principalities then paid tribute to the Golden Horde, and their princes needed the khan's patent, the yarlyk, to rule. The dependence ended in 1480 with the Great Stand on the Ugra River.