The vast expanses of this rocky land give the impression of coldness and hostility, but only by looking closely, you can appreciate their pristine beauty. Mongolia is a state with a very bright history and a great heritage, which at one time managed to conquer the territories of many peoples, which were significantly ahead of it in development. The Tanguts and Chinese, Khitans and Jurchens, Koreans and Tibetans, Turks and Persians, the peoples of Transcaucasia, Russians, Hungarians, Poles and others submitted to him. In less than 80 years, the Mongols conquered lands from the Pacific Ocean to the Danube, but later they themselves became the cause of their own defeat.
Homeland of nomads
The state that today is known as Mongolia was home to nomadic tribes long before the world met the Mongols. It is located in a strip of steppes of the Northern Hemisphere that stretch from Hungary to Manchuria, where from the south it is limited by the Ordos desert plateau and the lands of China (Henan Province) in the middle reaches of the Yellow River. The territory of the Mongolian state is divided into three regions: the northern one is adjacent to the Sayans, Altai and mountain ranges near Baikal; centralcovers the hot Gobi desert; the southern region is a flat area crossed by two small mountain ranges north of the Yellow River.
Except for the extreme northern regions, the climate of Mongolia is very arid, and winter and summer temperatures have a fairly large difference. It is assumed that it was the peculiarities of the climatic conditions of Northwest Asia that caused the formation of the Mongoloid type, which later dispersed to many other regions.
Rise of the Mongolian state
According to some historians, the nomadic places of the Mongol tribes of the 7th-9th centuries passed along the southern bank of the Amur or in the lower reaches of the Argun and Shilka rivers. By the 10th-11th century, they began a gradual migration to the west, to the Khalkha region, expelling the Turkic-speaking peoples living there. In the middle of the XII century, according to the "Secret History of the Mongols", the first Mongolian state was formed - Khamag Mongol Ulus (State of all Mongols) - from the united 27 tribes of the Nirun-Mongols, among which the Khiad-Borjigins and Taijiuts occupied the leading position. By about 1160, as a result of an internal struggle for power, the state collapsed. There were also tribes of the Darlekin Mongols, who were not part of the Khamag Mongols, they lived in areas near Three Rivers.
As such, the history of the Mongolian state dates back to the 13th century, when, under the leadership of Temujin, the Mongol tribes merged between Manchuria and the Altai mountains. By uniting his supporters, sonYesugei managed to subdue the most powerful tribal unions in the Mongolian lands: the Tatar ones in the east (1202), the Kereit tribes in Central Mongolia (1203) and the Naiman unions in the west (1204). At the congress of the Mongolian nobility held in 1206, Temujin was declared the Khan of all Mongolia and received the title of Genghis Khan. At the same congress, the structure of the young state and its laws were determined.
Organization and arrangement
The newly minted ruler carried out radical transformations to strengthen the centralized system of state government and suppress all forms of manifestation of separatism. The nomads were divided into groups of "ten", "hundred" and "thousand" people, who instantly became warriors during the war period. Khan issued a code of laws (Yasa), which de alt with all issues of the state mechanism and social system. Those guilty of any violations, even minor ones, were severely punished in the Mongolian state. Genghis Khan, in order to strengthen his dynasty, distributed large portions of land to his closest relatives and associates. The Khan's personal guard was also formed.
Serious changes took place in the sphere of culture of the Mongolian tribes. General Mongolian writing appeared only at the beginning of the 13th century, but by 1240 the well-known historiographical monument “The Secret History of the Mongols” was compiled. Under the rule of Genghis Khan, the capital of the empire, Karakorum, was erected, a city that became the center of trade and crafts.
Invincible Army
The Mongolian state has chosen the path of an aggressive aggressive policy as the main means of easy enrichment and satisfaction of the growing needs of the nomadic aristocracy. The success of subsequent military campaigns was well facilitated by organizational strength and a technically equipped mobile army, controlled by skillful commanders.
In 1211, the army of Genghis Khan went to China, as a result, 90 cities fell, and by 1215 the capital Yanjing (modern Beijing) was captured. In 1218-1221. the Mongols moved to Turkestan, conquered Semirechye, Samarkand and other centers of Central Asia. In 1223, they reached the Crimea, Transcaucasia, captured part of Georgia and Azerbaijan, and after the victory over the Alans, they marched into the Polovtsian steppes, where they defeated the combined Russian-Polovtsian army near the Kalka River.
By the end of Genghis Khan's life, the Mongol Empire included: Northern China (Jin Empire), East Turkestan, Central Asia, lands from the Irtysh to the Volga, the northern regions of Iran and part of the Caucasus.
Invasion of Russia
The predatory campaigns of the conquerors turned the once flourishing lands into deserts and had devastating consequences for the defeated peoples, including in Russia. The Mongol state, heading for Western Europe, in the autumn of 1236 ravaged the Volga-Kama Bulgaria, and in December 1237 its troops invaded the Ryazan principality.
The next target of the Mongol invasion was the principality of Vladimir. Troops of Batu (grandson of Genghis Khan)defeated the prince's squad in Kolomna, after which Moscow was burned. In the first days of February 1238, they began the siege of Vladimir, and five days later the city fell. On the City River on March 4, 1238, Vladimir Prince Yuri Vsevolodovich was brutally defeated, and the Vladimir-Suzdal principality was destroyed. Further, the Mongols moved to Novgorod, unexpectedly encountering desperate two-week resistance in the town of Torzhok. However, before reaching the glorious city of a hundred miles, Batu's troops turned back. What prompted them to make this decision is still unknown.
The Mongol invasion of South Russia is celebrated in the early spring of 1239. The city of Pereslavl was taken in March, Chernigov fell in October, and in the early autumn of 1240 Batu's advanced troops besieged Kyiv. For three months, the people of Kiev managed to hold back the onslaught of the Mongols, but due to the huge losses of the defenders, they were still able to capture the city. By the spring of 1241, the Mongol army stood on the threshold of Europe, but, being drained of blood, was forced to return to the Lower Volga.
The collapse of the empire
An important feature of the Mongolian state was that it was held solely with the help of military force, which led to the precariousness of the entire formation, since the large size of the power did not allow control of its numerous provinces. Meanwhile, the great conquests could not continue indefinitely, human and organizational resources were exhausted, the offensive fervor of the Mongol troops began to fade. Furious resistance from Europe, the Middle East and Japanforced the khans to abandon their ambitious goals (world domination).
Starting from the second half of the 13th century, the descendants of Genghis Khan, who ruled individual uluses, began to weaken the empire in their internecine wars, which contributed to inciting separatist sentiments. As a result, the endless struggle led to the loss of control over the conquered lands. By the end of the 14th century, the great empire ceased to exist, and a period of feudal fragmentation began in the history of Mongolia.
A legacy for the world
Considering the role of the Mongolian state in world history, it would be fair to state not only the destructive consequences of its domination, but also constructive moments. Global conquest contributed to large-scale migration processes, religious and cultural contacts, the formation of fashion and new tastes, and the emergence of the idea of cosmopolitanism. But the most important thing was that the Mongols closed the chain of interethnic trade relations into a single ensemble of sea and land routes. Thus, Marco Polo in the second half of the 13th century could safely pass the imperial roads and get a job at the service of Kublaikhan. Through travelers like him, knowledge, science, art, various goods and new inventions (gunpowder, compass, printing press) got to the West, which later played a huge role in the development of European civilization.
With the collapse of the empire, relations between East and West began to wane. Only by the 15th century was trade able to resume: European navigators discovered a newsea route to the East.
Interesting facts
- Torture of prisoners was not welcomed in the Mongolian state, but from time to time they were resorted to, and in such cases they acted in the most cruel way. Celebrating the victory over the Russian troops near the Kalka River, the captured princes were placed under wooden decks and feasted on them until they died.
- The famous Mongol cavalry moved faster than any other available troops. She could travel more than 80 kilometers a day.
- In Russian chronicles, the term "yoke" is absent. It was first mentioned by the Polish chronicler Jan Długosz in the 15th century. According to some researchers, Russian princes and Mongol khans preferred negotiations and concessions rather than ruining the lands.
