Wait For It...The Mongols!: Crash Course World History #17

Summary

This Crash Course World History episode explores the Mongol Empire's complex legacy, challenging the stereotype of brutal barbarians while acknowledging their rapid conquests and vast territories. It highlights Genghis Khan's rise, military innovations, and the empire's contributions to trade, communication, and cultural exchange. However, it also addresses the Mongols' brutality, the impermanence of their rule, and their potential role in spreading the Black Death, offering a nuanced view of their historical impact.

Takeaways

• 😀 The Mongols are often stereotyped as brutal and bloodthirsty warriors, but this view is an oversimplification.
• 🌍 The Mongol Empire rapidly conquered vast territories, surpassing the Roman Empire's land acquisition in a much shorter time.
• 🔍 Recent historical perspectives highlight the Mongols' role in shaping nations like Russia and Korea, and their contributions to international law and trade.
• 🐎 Nomadic herders, like the Mongols, migrate based on climate conditions to sustain their flocks and often live near settled communities for trade.
• 💪 Pastoralists tend to be resilient and egalitarian, with women having more social equality compared to agricultural societies.
• 🤴 The rise of the Mongols to world dominance began with Temüjin, who would become Genghis Khan, and his innovative leadership strategies.
• 🏆 Genghis Khan's military success was built on meritocracy and integrating conquered peoples into his own tribe, winning loyalty and expanding his empire.
• 🏰 Despite their nomadic lifestyle, the Mongols adapted quickly to siege warfare and adopted technologies like gunpowder to aid in their conquests.
• 🛣️ The Mongols revitalized trade along the Silk Road and established a safe and efficient communication network through the yam system.
• 🍽️ The empire facilitated the spread of cuisine and cultural practices across Eurasia, influencing the diets and lifestyles of conquered peoples.
• 🕊️ The Mongol Empire was known for its religious tolerance, allowing followers of various faiths to coexist and prosper within their territories.
• ⚔️ However, the Mongols were also ruthless conquerors, with Genghis Khan's definition of happiness reflecting a brutal approach to warfare.
• 💔 Their empire was short-lived and eventually assimilated or replaced by local cultures and practices, including adopting agriculture.
• 🤖 Lack of interest in artistic patronage or permanent architecture meant the Mongols left less of a lasting cultural impact beyond their administrative and military achievements.
• 🦠 The Mongols' extensive trade networks may have inadvertently facilitated the spread of the Black Death, impacting Europe and other regions.

Q & A

What is the common stereotype of the Mongols?

The common stereotype of the Mongols is that they were brutal, bloodthirsty, and humorously mustachioed warriors riding the plains, wearing fur, and eating meat directly off the bone.

How did the Mongols' conquests compare to the Romans in terms of speed and scale?

The Mongols conquered more land in 25 years than the Romans did in 400 years, controlling more than 11 million contiguous square miles.

What is one claim made by a historian about the Mongols' impact on the feudal system and international law?

One historian claimed that the Mongols 'smashed the feudal system' and created international law.

What are the three key things to remember about nomadic herders?

Nomads migrate according to climate conditions to feed their flocks, they generally don't produce manufactured goods and thus need to trade, and they tend to be tougher due to living in harsh conditions.

Why were Mongol women relatively more egalitarian compared to other societies?

In pastoral societies like the Mongols, when both men and women must work for the social order to survive, there tends to be less patriarchal domination of women.

What was significant about Genghis Khan's rise to power and the unification of the Mongols?

Genghis Khan rose to power by proving his military mettle and uniting the Mongol confederations through a civil war, promoting people based on merit and bringing lower classes of conquered people into his own tribe.

How did the Mongols choose their rulers?

The Mongols chose their rulers through a general council called a kurultai, where supporters of a candidate would show up on their horses, effectively voting with their presence.

What were the four major Khanates that emerged after Genghis Khan's death?

The four major Khanates were the Yuan Dynasty in China, the Il-Khanate in Persia, the Chagatai Khanate in Central Asia, and the Khanate of the Golden Horde in Russia.

How did the Mongols adapt to siege warfare and the use of gunpowder?

The Mongols adapted to siege warfare by interrogating prisoners to learn techniques and adopted gunpowder, likely introducing it to Europeans, and even built ships for naval warfare.

What are some of the positive impacts the Mongols had on cross-Eurasian trade and communication?

The Mongols reinvigorated the Silk Road, developed a system of way stations and riders for quick communication known as the yam system, and facilitated travel with bronze passports.

What are some of the criticisms and negative impacts of the Mongols' conquests?

Criticisms include their brutal conquest methods, destruction of entire cities, the short-lived nature of their empire, lack of interest in artistic patronage or architecture, and potential responsibility for the spread of the Black Death.

Outlines

00:00

🌏 The Mongol Empire: Barbarians or Pioneers?

This paragraph introduces the complex image of the Mongols, traditionally seen as brutal and bloodthirsty warriors, yet also recognized for their rapid and extensive conquests, surpassing those of the Romans. It discusses the Mongols' significant impact on the creation of nations like Russia and Korea and their role in establishing international law and a vast free trade zone. The script also touches on the Mongols' nomadic lifestyle, their need for trade, and their egalitarian social structure, especially regarding women. The rise of the Mongols is attributed to Genghis Khan, who united the Mongol tribes through meritocracy and strategic alliances, ultimately becoming the Great Khan.

05:04

🎉 The Legacy and Descendants of Genghis Khan

This section delves into the legacy of Genghis Khan, highlighting the fact that despite the collapse of their empire, his descendants continue to thrive, with an estimated 16 million direct descendants alive today. The Mongols' political fragmentation post-Genghis is also discussed, leading to the formation of four major Khanates: the Yuan Dynasty in China, the Il-Khanate in Persia, the Chagatai Khanate in Central Asia, and the Golden Horde in Russia. The paragraph further explores the Mongols' military prowess, their adaptability in siege warfare, and their psychological warfare tactics that often led to cities surrendering without a fight due to fear. It also presents arguments for the Mongols' 'awesomeness', including their reinvigoration of cross-Eurasian trade, the establishment of communication systems, the spread of cuisine, the relocation of skilled individuals, and their religious tolerance.

10:09

🏰 The Mongols: Conquerors and Catalysts of Change

The final paragraph presents a balanced view of the Mongols, acknowledging both their positive contributions and the darker aspects of their conquests. It starts by listing reasons why the Mongols might not be considered great, such as Genghis Khan's brutal definition of happiness, the destruction of entire cities, the short-lived nature of their empire, their lack of interest in artistic patronage or architecture, and their potential role in spreading the Black Death. The paragraph concludes by posing thought-provoking questions about the Mongols' legacy, inviting viewers to consider the complexities of their impact on history and the moral implications of their actions. It also provides information about the production team behind Crash Course and encourages viewer engagement through comments and the suggestion of future content.

Keywords

💡Mongols

The Mongols were a Central Asian ethnocultural group that in the 13th and 14th centuries created one of the largest contiguous empires in history. In the video, they are portrayed as both brutal conquerors and as catalysts for significant cultural and economic exchange across Eurasia, challenging the stereotypical view of them as merely barbaric.

💡Genghis Khan

Genghis Khan, born as Temüjin, was the founder and first Great Khan of the Mongol Empire. The script discusses his rise to power through merit-based promotions and unifying the Mongol tribes, which ultimately led to the rapid expansion of the Mongol Empire. His leadership and military strategies are central to the video's exploration of Mongol history.

💡Conquest

The term 'conquest' refers to the act of conquering or subduing a country or people. In the context of the video, it highlights the Mongols' rapid territorial expansion and their ability to control vast lands within a short period, emphasizing their military prowess and the scale of their empire.

💡Nomadic Herders

Nomadic herders are people who move from place to place to find pasture for their livestock. The script explains that unlike random wanderers, they migrate based on climate conditions and often live near settled communities for trade. This lifestyle is integral to understanding the Mongols' background and their adaptability.

💡Khanate

A Khanate refers to a state ruled by a Khan, especially one of the Mongol Empire's divisions after Genghis Khan's death. The video mentions four significant Khanates that emerged, illustrating the fragmentation of the Mongol Empire and the regional differences in its governance.

💡Yam System

The Yam system was a Mongol Empire's communication and transportation network, which included way stations with horses and riders for rapid information relay. The script highlights this system as a key innovation that facilitated efficient communication across the vast empire.

💡Religious Tolerance

Religious tolerance refers to the acceptance of different religious beliefs and practices. The Mongols, being shamanists themselves, did not impose their beliefs on conquered peoples, allowing for a diverse religious landscape within their empire. This concept is highlighted in the video as a significant aspect of Mongol rule.

💡Silk Road

The Silk Road was an ancient network of trade routes that connected the East and West. The video discusses how the Mongols reinvigorated these routes, promoting trade and cultural exchange, which had a profound impact on Eurasian commerce.

💡Siege Warfare

Siege warfare involves the tactics and strategies used to attack or defend a fortified location. The script mentions the Mongols' adaptability in becoming experts in siege warfare, despite their unfamiliarity with castles, by learning from prisoners and adopting new technologies like gunpowder.

💡Black Death

The Black Death, or the Bubonic Plague, was one of the most devastating pandemics in human history. The video suggests a link between the Mongols' expansion of trade routes and the spread of the disease, although it also acknowledges the complexity of the factors involved.

💡Imperialism

Imperialism is the policy or practice of extending a nation's power and influence through colonization, use of military force, or other means. The video raises questions about the moral and historical implications of the Mongols' imperialism, comparing it to other empires and prompting viewers to consider its long-term effects.

Highlights

The Mongols are often imagined as brutal and bloodthirsty warriors, but this view is not entirely accurate.

Recent world history textbooks highlight the Mongols' rapid and extensive conquests, surpassing the Romans in land acquisition.

The Mongols are credited with creating nations like Russia and Korea, and some claim they established international law.

Mongols are known for their religious tolerance and are said to have created the first great free trade zone.

Nomadic herders, unlike hunters or agriculturalists, migrate based on climate conditions to feed their flocks.

Pastoral nomads tend to be more egalitarian, especially in terms of gender roles, due to shared labor and survival needs.

Genghis Khan's rise to power was marked by innovations in leadership and military strategy, including merit-based promotions.

Genghis Khan's military success was built on speed, archery, and the integration of conquered people into his tribe.

The Mongols' empire expanded significantly under the rule of Genghis Khan's successors, including Ögedei Khan and Kublai Khan.

Despite their military prowess, the Mongols failed to create a unified political entity, leading to the formation of four Khanates.

Mongol military strategy was characterized by adaptability, including the quick mastery of siege warfare and the use of gunpowder.

The Mongols are said to have reinvigorated cross-Eurasian trade and made the Silk Road safe for travelers.

The Mongols developed a communication system, the yam system, which included way stations and bronze passports for travel.

Cultural exchange was facilitated by the Mongols' practice of relocating useful individuals, such as artists and administrators, throughout their empire.

The Mongols' religious tolerance allowed for a diversity of beliefs to flourish within their empire, contrasting with their reputation for brutality.

Contrary to their positive contributions, the Mongols were also responsible for widespread destruction and the deaths of millions.

The Mongol empire's legacy is complex, with both positive impacts on trade and cultural exchange and negative consequences such as the spread of the Black Death.

The Mongols' approach to conquest and governance raises questions about the value of different types of imperialism and the ethics of warfare.

Transcripts

Hi I’m John Green; this is Crash Course World History and today we’re gonna discuss…

wait for it… THE MONGOLS.

So you probably have a picture of the Mongols in your head. Yes, that’s the picture: brutal,

bloodthirsty, swarthy, humorously mustachioed warriors riding the plains, wearing fur, eating

meat directly off the bone, saying, "Bar bar bar bar bar bar bar". In short, we imagine

the Mongol empire as stereotypically barbarian. And that’s not entirely wrong.

But if you’ve been reading recent world history textbooks like we here at Crash Course

have, you might have a different view of the Mongols, one that emphasizes the amazing speed

and success of their conquests — how they conquered more land in 25 years than the Romans

did in 400. How they controlled more than 11 million contiguous square miles. And you

may even have read that the Mongols basically created nations like Russia and even Korea.

One historian has even claimed that the Mongols, “smashed the feudal system” and created

international law. Renowned for their religious tolerance, the Mongols, in this view, created

the first great free trade zone, like a crazy medieval Eurasian NAFTA. And that’s not

entirely wrong either. Stupid truth, always resisting simplicity.

[theme music]

So remember herders? We talked about them back in episode one as an alternative to hunting

and gathering or agriculture. Here are the key things to remember:

1. Nomads aren’t Jack Kerouac: They don’t just go on like random road trips. They migrate

according to climate conditions so they can feed their flocks.

2. Nomads don’t generally produce manufactured goods which means they need to trade, so they

almost always live near settled people.

And 3. Because they live in generally live close to nature and in harsh conditions, pastoralists

tend to be tougher than diamond-plated differential calculus. Like, think of the Huns, or the

Xiongnu. Or the Mongols. Okay, Stan. That’s enough. Back to me. Stan. I AM THE STAR OF

THIS SHOW NOT THE MONGOLS!!! Hi. Sorry about that.

Right, so one last thing: pastoral people also tend to be more egalitarian, especially

where women are concerned. Paradoxically, when there’s less to go around, humans tend

to share more, and when both men and women must work for the social order to survive,

there tends to be less patriarchal domination of women. Although Mongol women rarely went

to war. I can’t tell your gender. I mean you’ve got the pants, but then you also

have the floopity flop, so… That’s the technical term, by the way. I’m a historian.

If you had to choose a pastoral nomadic group to come out of central Asia and dominate the

world, you probably wouldn’t have chosen the Mongols. Because for most of the history

we’ve been discussing, they just hung out in the foothills bordering the Siberian forest,

mixing herding and hunting, quietly getting really good at archery and riding horses.

Also, the Mongols were much smaller than other pastoral groups like the Tatars or the Uyghurs.

And not to get like all Great Man History on you or anything, but the reason the Mongols

came to dominate the world really started with one guy, Genghis Khan. Let’s go to the Thought Bubble.

The story goes that Genghis or Chingus Khan was born around 1162 with the name Temüjin

to a lowly clan. His father was poisoned to death, leaving Temüjin under the control

of his older brothers, one of whom he soon killed during an argument. By 19 he was married

to his first and most important wife, Börte, who was later kidnapped. This was pretty common

among the Mongols, Temüjin’s mom had also been kidnapped. In rescuing his wife, Temüjin

proved his military mettle and he soon became a leader of his tribe, but uniting the Mongol

confederations required a civil war, which he won, largely thanks to two innovations.

First, he promoted people based on merit rather than family position, and second, he brought

lower classes of conquered people into his own tribe while dispossessing the leaders

of the conquered clans. Thus he made the peasants love him. The rich hated him — but they

didn’t matter anymore, because they were no longer rich.

With these two building block policies, Temüjin was able to win the loyalty of more and more

people and in 1206 he was declared the Great Khan, the leader of all the Mongols. How?

Well, the Mongols chose their rulers in a really cool way. A prospective ruler would

call a general council called a kurultai, and anyone who supported his candidacy for

leadership would show up on their horses, literally voting with their feet.

Past John: Mr. Green, Mr. Green! But horses don’t have feet they have hooves.

I hate you, Me From the Past. Also, NO INTERRUPTING THE THOUGHT BUBBLE!

After uniting the Mongols, Genghis Khan went on to conquer a lot of territory. By the time

he died in his sleep in 1227, his empire stretched from the Mongol homeland in Mongolia all the

way to the Caspian Sea. Thanks, Thought Bubble.

So that’s a pretty good looking empire, and sure a lot of it was pasture or mountains

or desert, but the Mongols did conquer a lot of people, too. And in some ways with Genghis’

death, the empire was just getting started. His son Ögedei Khan expanded the empire even

more. And Genghis’ grandson Möngke was the Great Khan in 1258 when Baghdad, the capitol

of the Abbasid Empire, fell to the Mongols. And another of Genghis’ grandsons, Kublai

Khan, conquered the Song Dynasty in China in 1279. And if the Mamluks hadn’t stopped

another of Genghis’ grandsons at the battle of Ain Jalut, they probably would have taken

all of North Africa. Genghis Khan sure had a lot of grandkids… It must be time for the open letter.

An Open Letter To Genghis Khan’s Descendants. But first, let’s check what’s in the secret

compartment today. Oh. A noisemaker and champagne poppers? Stan, you know I suck at these. What's

all this for? Ohhh, it’s because it’s a BIRTHDAY PARTY!! YAY. Happy birthday to Genghis Khan’s descendants.

How do I know it’s your birthday, Genghis Khan’s descendants? Because every day is

your birthday. Because right now on the planet Earth, there are 16 million direct descendants

of Genghis Khan, meaning that every day is the birthday of 43,000 of them. So, good news,

Genghis Khan: Your empire might be gone, but your progeny lives on. And on, and on, and

on. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

Best wishes, John Green

Unfortunately for the Mongols, those guys weren’t always working together, because

Genghis Khan failed to create a single political unit out of his conquests. Instead, after

Genghis’ death, the Mongols were left with four really important Empires called Khanates:

The Yuan Dynasty in China, the Il-Khanate in Persia, the Chagatai Khanate in Central

Asia, and the Khanate of the Golden Horde in Russia.

If you remember all the way back to the Hellenistic period, this is similar to what happened to

another good general who wasn’t much for administration, Alexander the Great. Also,

neither of them ever conquered India.

The Mongols succeeded primarily because of their military skill. Genghis Khan’s army,

which never numbered more than 130,000 was built on speed and archery. Just like this

guy. Mongol mounted archers were like super fast tanks, compared to the foot soldiers

and knights they were up against.

But wait, all the military history nerds are saying, once people knew that the Mongols

were coming, why didn’t they just hole up in castles and forts? It’s not like the

Mongols had flying horses. EXCEPT THEY DID. They didn’t? Stan, why are you always making history boring?

So the Mongols apparently didn’t have flying horses, but they were uncommonly adaptable.

So even though they’d never seen a castle before they started raiding, they became experts

at siege warfare by interrogating prisoners. And they also adopted gunpowder, probably

introducing it to Europeans, and they even built ships so they could attack Japan. That

might have worked, too except there happened to be a typhoon.

Also, people were terrified of the Mongols. Often cities would surrender the moment the

Mongols arrived, just to escape slaughter. But of course, that only happened because

there were occasions when the Mongols, did, you know, slaughter entire towns.

So with all that background, let us return to the question of Mongol awesomeness. First,

five arguments for awesome. 1. The Mongols really did reinvigorate cross-Eurasian

trade. The Silk Road trading routes that had existed for about 1000 years by the time the

Mongols made the scene had fallen into disuse, but the Mongols valued trade because they

could tax it, and they did a great job of keeping their empire safe. It was said that

a man could walk from one end of the Mongol empire to the other with a gold plate on his

head without ever fearing being robbed. 2. The Mongols increased communication throughout

Eurasia by developing this pony express-like system of way stations with horses and riders

that could quickly relay information. It was called the yam system and also included these

amazing bronze passports, which facilitated travel.

3. Another thing that travelled along the Mongol trade routes was cuisine. For example,

it was because of the Mongols that rice became a staple of the Persian diet. Which I mention

entirely because I happen to like Persian food.

4. The Mongols forcibly relocated people who were useful to them, like artists and musicians

and, especially administrators. As you can imagine, the Mongols weren't much for administrative

tasks like keeping records, so they found people were good at that stuff and just moved

them around the empire. This created the kind of cross-cultural pollination that world historians

these days get really excited about. And 5. The Mongols were almost unprecedentedly

tolerant of different religions. They themselves were shamanists, believing in nature spirits,

but since their religion was tied to the land from which they came, they didn’t expect

new people to adopt it and they didn’t ask them to. So you could find Muslims and Buddhists

and Christians and people of any other religion you can think of prospering throughout the

Mongol empire. And it’s that kind of openness that has led some historians to go back and

re-evaluate the Mongols, seeing them as kind of a precursor to modernity.

But there’s another side to the story that we should not forget, so, here are five reasons

why the Mongols might not be so great. 1. Here is Genghis Khan’s definition of

happiness: “The greatest happiness is to vanquish your enemies, to chase them before

you, to rob them of their wealth, to see those dear to them bathed in tears, to clasp to

your bosom their wives and daughters." Off-topic, but if that quote rings a bell, it might be

because Oliver Stone blatantly plagiarized Genghis Khan in the movie Conan the Barbarian.

2. Is an extension of one. The Mongols were seriously brutal conquerors. I mean, not uniquely

brutal, but still: the Mongols destroyed entire cities, and most historians estimate the numbers

they killed to be in the millions. 3. Their empire didn’t last. Within 80 years

they’d left China and been replaced by a new dynasty, the Ming. And in Persia they

blended in so completely that by the 15th century they were totally unrecognizable.

I mean, they’d even taken up agriculture! Agriculture, the last refuge for scoundrels

who want to devote their lives to working instead of skoodilypooping.

4. They also weren’t particularly interested in artistic patronage or architecture. I mean,

your palace may last forever, but my yurt can go anywhere.

5. The Mongols were probably responsible for the Black Death. By opening up trade they

also opened up vectors for disease to travel, in the case of the Plague via fleas infected

with Yersinia pestis. And at least according to one story, the Mongols intentionally spread

the plague by catapulting their plague-ridden cadavers over the walls of Caffa in the Crimea.

While this primitive act of biological warfare might have happened, it’s unlikely to be

what actually spread the plague. More likely it was the fleas on the rats in the holds

of Black Sea ships that were trading with Europe. But that trade only existed because of the Mongols.

All right Stan, one last time- cue the Mongol-tage.

So the Mongols promoted trade, diversity, and tolerance, and they also promoted slaughter

and senseless destruction. And what you think about the Mongols ends up saying a lot about

you: Do you value artistic output over religious diversity? Is imperialism that doesn’t last

better or worse than imperialism that does? And are certain kinds of warfare inherently

wrong? If you think those are easy questions to answer, than I haven’t been doing my job.

Regardless, I look forward to reading your answers in comments. Thanks for watching and I’ll see you

next week. Crash Course is produced and directed by Stan Muller. Our script supervisor is Danica Johnson.

The show is written by my high school history teacher Raoul Meyer and myself, and our Graphics

Team is Thought Bubble. Last week's Phrase Of The Week was "Hawaiian Pizza". If you want

to suggest future phrases of the week or guess at this week's, you can do so in comments,

where you can also ask questions about today's video that can be answered by our team of

historians. By the way, if you want to wear your love for Crash Course there's a Mongols

shirt, link in the video info.

Thanks for watching Crash Course. Nobody can beat Crash Course viewers. Well, except for the Mongols.