The Mongols conquered vast swathes of Asia in the 13th and 14th century CE thanks to their fast light cavalry and excellent bowmen, but another significant contribution to their success was the adoption of their enemies’ tactics and technology that allowed them to defeat established military powers in China, Persia, and Eastern Europe. Adapting to different challenges and terrain, the Mongols became adept at both siege and naval warfare, very different pursuits from their nomadic origins on the Asian steppe. In addition, diplomacy, espionage, and terror were used in equal measure to win many a battle before it had even begun. Ultimately, the Mongols would establish the largest empire the world had ever seen, and their ruthlessness in battle would cast a long shadow of fear over those they conquered with generals earning fearsome nicknames such as the ‘hounds of war‘ and their soldiers being labelled ‘the devil’s horsemen.’
Map of the extent of the Mongol Empire at its height in the late 13th century. The Mongol empire covered over 23 million square kilometers (9 million square miles) from modern-day Hungary to the west and China to the east (from Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2023).
A State for War
One of the main sources of legitimacy for a Mongol tribal leader was his ability to successfully conduct warfare and acquire booty for his followers. Under Genghis Khan (r. 1206-1227 CE), the founder of the Mongol Empire (1206-1368 CE), the Mongol people were thus reorganised to specifically gear the state for perpetual warfare. 98 units known as minghan or ‘thousands’ were created (and then later expanded) which were tribal units expected to provide the army with a levy of 1,000 men. The khan also had his own personal bodyguard of 10,000 men, the kesikten, which was the elite standing army of the Mongols and which trained commanders for the other divisions. A third source of troops was the armies raised from allies and conquered states, these outnumbered the Mongol contingents in the campaigns in China and Persia. Later, when Kublai Khan (r. 1260-1294 CE) established the Yuan dynasty in China (1271-1368 CE), Mongol armies there were composed entirely of professional soldiers….
https://www.worldhistory.org/Mongol_Warfare/
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Expansion of the Mongol Empire (c. 1200s)
The Secret History of the Mongol Queens
Book review: Pleasure Domes and Postal Routes – How the Mongols Changed the World
The Forgotten Buddha: Manichaeism and Buddhist Elements in Imperial China
A Medieval Age of Disruption: On Nicholas Morton’s “The Mongol Storm”Christianity, Violence, and the West
After the truth-shower 