Mongols

Unit 4

The Mongols were one of the greatest conquerors in the history world. The Mongol conquest of the modern world began with the brilliant warlord and scholar, Chingghis Khan, born as Temujin, who led the Mongols to conquest of Chinese and the Islamic empires. They later campaigned into Russia in the 13th century. The Mongol conquest mainly relied upon their brilliant tactics and well-trained army. The Mongol army was comprised completely of an extremely skilled calvary, this gave them greatly enhanced maneuverability compared to the slow-moving footman that formed the base of other armies. This, combined with their highly advanced bows and cunning tactics, allowed the Mongol armies to virtually obliterate their opponenents. The Mongols had a lot going for them, religious tolerance, adoption of the knowledge and technology of defeated societies, a speedy courier system, and a well-structured military were many of the concepts that the Mongols utilized to maintain their empire. The great Mongol empire eventually split up into smaller empires after the death of Chingghis in 1227, these smaller states survivied for hundreds of years after the division, but never achieved the awesome power of the original Mongol empire.

Sources:
 * Columbia University: http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/mongols/index.html
 * Wikimedia Commons (Image): http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:YuanEmperorAlbumGenghisPortrait.jpg

Created by: Dirk Gadsden (November 11, 2008)