How many years did the Mongol Empire rule? The emergence and stages of development of the Mongol Empire
as an indicator of Mongolian-Chinese cultural interference
The capital of a state is always more than just a city. A provincial city, be it a rich trade and craft center or a distant outpost forgotten by God and people, develops according to completely understandable, natural laws - its size, shape, quantity and quality of public buildings depend, first of all, on the capabilities and ideas of the local administration and population, from the functions that the city performs and the surrounding landscape. The capital, in addition, is designed to embody the very essence of the state, which leaves a special imprint on it. The capital is often not only the seat of the ruler and the court, not only a showcase for foreign ambassadors, who, having visited it, must take back to their rulers stories about the power and greatness of their neighbor. The capital is often perhaps the only place that is equally alien to all subjects of the empire, a node that unites the provinces into the empire - both administratively and economically, as well as ideologically. Therefore, the capital may not be the most interesting city for studying a particular civilization and culture - but the most productive for studying the state and the political ideology that its rulers tried to follow.
In the early years of the Mongol Empire, during the reign of Genghis Khan (1162-1227, proclaimed Great Khan in 1206), the residence of the Great Khan, apparently, was a typical headquarters of a nomadic ruler - he was not inclined to commit himself to the construction of buildings, and , probably did not consider this necessary and worthy of the ruler of the Mongols. In addition, the founder of the empire did not have many quiet years when he was not busy with wars and campaigns. However, already during the reign of his son Ogedei (1186-1241, Great Khan from 1229), the influence of representatives of sedentary peoples who became part of the empire on the ruling stratum of nomads increased significantly, which resulted, in particular, in the beginning of construction in 1235 . the city of Karakorum, proclaimed the capital of the empire (see).
The vast Orkhon valley on which the Karakorum is located, fed by many rivers and streams flowing from the forested slopes of Khangai, provides highly favorable conditions for nomads. These places, which the Turks called Otyuken (or Otyuken mob), were the ritual and economic center of a number of nomadic empires. According to dynastic history Zhou shu周書 (“History of [Northern] Zhou”), the Kagan of the First Turkic Khaganate (551-630) constantly resided here, and here, under his leadership, regular sacrifices and prayers were carried out to the ancestors of the Kagan family and to Heaven (see); here was the headquarters of the ruler of the Eastern Turkic Khaganate (689-745) (see) and the capital of the Uyghur Khaganate that replaced it, Ordu-balyk, destroyed by the Kyrgyz in the middle of the 9th century.
The origin of the name of the first Mongolian capital is a separate scientific problem (for more details, see), however, the most probable, it seems, is the assumption that it came from a Uyghur toponym (in Turkic “Kara-korum” means “black mountains/stones”). apparently denoting the Khangai Mountains, from which the river flows. Orkhon. The word Karakorum is not of Mongolian, but of Turkic origin, which, most likely, is evidence of the enormous influence that Uyghur advisers had at the court of Ogedei, who convinced him that the capital should be located near the ruins of Ordu-Balyk, and not in the native places of Genghis Khan, near Onon and Kerulen.
Despite its location in the heart of traditional nomads, Karakorum was not only the palace of a khan who wanted to join the settled comfort, surrounded by the dwellings of the guards and the necessary servants, but also a fairly large trade and craft center, which was finally proven by excavations in 1948-1949. expedition led by S.V. Kiseleva. Low city walls (the shaft did not exceed 2-2.5 m in thickness, a wattle palisade covered with clay stretched on top, all together they hardly exceeded 4-5 m in height; see), designed to mark the city border rather than provide the city with a real protection, enclosed a significant territory, which was an irregular quadrangle, oriented along the cardinal points, slightly tapering to the south. From north to south, the length of the city exceeded 2 km, from west to east it was about 1.5 km (see). Ogedei's palace was located in the southwestern corner of the city, was surrounded by the same low walls as the entire city, and was a regular square 255 by 225 m (see), i.e. occupied not too significant part of the city area. The rest of the city, judging by the results of excavations, was quite densely populated. At the eastern gate, to which the suburb adjoined, fragments of millstones and threshing stones were found, which indicates that people engaged in agriculture lived here; plows and millstones were found in different parts of the city (see). The creators of the city clearly wanted it to at least partially provide itself with food, however, we know that the city was still heavily dependent on grain supplies from China. A street lined entirely with houses led from the city center to the eastern gate. Judging by the particularly frequent finds of coins in this area of the city, trading shops were located here (see). According to Guillaume Rubruk, the city had two main streets, along one of which lived Muslims, mainly merchants, and along the other - Chinese, who were mainly engaged in crafts; it had twelve pagan temples of different nations, two mosques and one Nestorian church (see). According to excavations, in the center of the city, at the intersection of two main streets, there were khan’s workshops, which functioned very actively. In this place, during its short history, the city managed to form an unusually rich cultural layer, up to 5 m thick. The lower horizon, corresponding to the time of the founding and highest prosperity of the city, is very rich in finds indicating active metalworking production; up to ten metallurgical forges were found in a relatively small area and many products, especially a lot of massive bushings for the axles of carts, camp cauldrons with legs, arrows and sabers (see. ). All this indicates that the industrial capacities of Karakorum were actively used in preparation for long-distance campaigns of the Mongol armies. Laboratory studies showed that the cast iron used in a number of products required very high temperatures for melting, about 1350°, which were achieved using a complex system of mechanical bellows driven by water coming through canals from the river. Orkhon, the remains of this system were found in a large metallurgical workshop in the city center (see). In the upper layers, when the city has already lost its capital functions, traces of very diverse ceramic production predominate (see). Throughout the Karakoram territory, many finds of imported items (porcelain, mirrors, silk) have been made, which, like the large number of coins found, indicate widespread trade (see). The remains of buildings are grouped mainly along two main streets; the rest of the city is almost undeveloped - apparently, there were yurts there (see). Despite its significant population, palaces and workshops, Karakorum was still a city of nomads, with all the contradictions that this somewhat paradoxical status gave rise to.
However, being in the heart of the steppe, Karakorum was very dependent on grain supplies from China, which its population, of course, could not provide for themselves on their own, and this was destined to play a fatal role in its fate. In 1260, Kublai Kublai (1215-1294) was proclaimed Great Khan (see). His younger brother Arig-Buga, also proclaimed Great Khan with the support of part of the Mongol nobility, dissatisfied with Kublai's obvious inclination towards Chinese culture, occupied Karakorum, but this did not help him: Kublai ordered a stop to supplying grain to the capital, so famine soon began there (see. ), Arig-God left Karakorum and was soon defeated.
After losing its status as the capital, Karakorum began to rapidly lose population and deteriorate. It housed the headquarters of the military governor of the northern provinces, xuan-wei si宣慰司 (General Calm Office) (see). During the war between Kublai Kublai and Kaidu (1230-1301) and the associated turmoil, Karakorum repeatedly changed hands, in 1295 it was plundered and burned by the imperial army (see), and in 1312 it was renamed Hanin 和寧 ( Harmony and Peace) (see): probably by this time the Turkic name was no longer used, the renaming was based on the Chinese version, Helin 和林. After the fall of the Yuan dynasty in 1368, the son of the last emperor Togon Temur, who died in 1370 in southeastern Mongolia, tried to gain a foothold in Karakorum, but did not succeed - the city, most likely almost abandoned, was taken by Ming troops and burned (cm. ).
The beginning of changes in the state ideology of the Great Mongol State, which increasingly began to move away from nomadic steppe traditions and turn into a Chinese-style bureaucratic empire - the Yuan Empire (for more details, see), is inextricably linked with the name of Khubilai.
Around 1251-1252, Khubilai was put in charge of governing the northern Chinese provinces of the empire (see). In 1256, he decided to acquire his own residence closer to China and instructed his adviser Liu Bing-chung 劉秉忠 (1216-1274) to find, based on the principles of Chinese geomancy ( feng shui風水), a favorable place, develop a city plan and build it, which was done. The new city, called Kaiping 開平 (The Beginning of Tranquility), was built in the steppes 275 km north of modern. Beijing, near Lake Dolon-nor (25 km northwest of the modern city of Dolun in the southeast of Inner Mongolia). Shortly before the capital was transferred from Karakorum to Dadu (see below), in the summer of 1263, the city was renamed Shangdu 上都 (“Upper Capital”) and retained the status of a summer capital until the end of the dynasty. Spending the hottest summer months there or roaming in its environs, the emperor received representatives of the Mongolian nobility in their familiar nomadic surroundings, albeit fabulously luxurious ones.
Both versions of the city's name were used by the Mongols, which is noted at least in the chronicles of the 17th century. (cm. ). There is a composite version of Keibting-Sangdu GEUbdieit seeIdO, but most often only the second name is used, perhaps because it did not sound completely alien to the Mongolian ear - shand ZeeIda , according to dictionaries, it is translated as “a hollow where the subsoil water is very close to the surface of the earth, a spring, a well in a hollow.”
We know much more about Shandu than about Karakorum. The population of the city, according to data Yuan shi(“History of the Yuan”) was very large and amounted to 118,191 people (41,062 families) (see); The palaces of Shangdu were described in detail by Marco Polo, who, apparently, visited there several times (see). In 1359, the city was plundered and burned by rebel Chinese peasants; in 1369, it was taken by Ming troops and left in ruins. The city has been very well preserved to this day, since after the fall of the Yuan dynasty and destruction by Ming troops it fell into decay and was finally abandoned in 1430 - the city remained in territory not controlled by China, and the Mongol nomads, for whom the 15th century. turned out to be one of the most difficult periods of chaos and the absence of almost any form of statehood in their history; a city in the steppe was not needed. The first archaeological studies of the city were carried out by Japanese scientists during the existence of Manchukuo (see), subsequently large-scale work was undertaken by scientists from the University of Inner Mongolia in 1956 and 1973. (cm. ).
Shandu (see rice. 1) is oriented according to the cardinal points, consists of two wall contours, with the smaller contour located in the southeastern corner of the larger one. The outer contour is a regular square with a side length of approx. 2200 m, the width of the adobe walls at the base was approx. 10 m, towards the top they narrowed to 2 m, the height reached 5 m. There were 7 gates in the city - two each in the northern, eastern and southern walls, one in the western wall, outside the gates were protected by additional fortifications, in the north-western and south - in the western corners traces of a city ditch with a width of approx. 25 m.
The internal circuit is also a square with a side length of 1400 m; six gates are cut into the walls - two each in the western and northern walls and one in the southern and eastern walls (these gates are common with a large circuit). All gates are equipped with external fortifications. The thickness of the walls at the base is approx. 12 m, at the top - approx. 2.5 m, height - approx. 5-6 m. Corner towers were erected at the four corners of the small contour; every 150 m there were platform extensions on the walls, on which perhaps there were wooden towers where the shooters could hide.
Inside the small circuit there was its own internal division. In the center of it, closer to the north, there are another adobe walls - a rectangle 570 m (E-W) by 620 m (N-S), lined with brick on the outside. These walls were as powerful and high as those in the outer contours; towers were erected at the four corners of the rectangle. Gates were cut into all the walls, except the northern one. This outline of the walls represented the emperor's palace itself. The western and eastern gates are connected by a wide street, the same street runs from the southern gate, they form a T-shaped intersection in the center of the complex. To the north of the intersection, an adobe platform measuring 60 by 60 m and 3 m high was discovered. On all sides except the south, an eight-meter strip of the territory adjacent to the platform was paved with brick; from the south, two smaller buildings adjoined the corners of the platform. Apparently, this was the throne room, the main palace building. On both sides of the street leading from the southern gate, two platforms 50 m (E-W) by 20 m (N-S), 5 m high, were discovered - apparently, these were a kind of entrance pavilions flanking the main entrance to the palace.
The smaller circle of walls, a kind of “city of officials” adjacent to the palace, housed religious and official buildings. The main transport arteries were two wide streets - one of them, approx. 25 m, led from the southern gate to the southern gate of the palace, the second, approx. wide. 15 m, connected the southern pair of gates on the eastern and western walls and crossed the first one slightly south of the front gate of the palace. Similar highways departed from the northern gates of the eastern and western walls, but they abutted against the walls of the palace. Between these widest “avenues” there was a fairly frequent network of narrower, straight streets intersecting at right angles.
The largest circumference of the city walls was not uniform - the part of it located north of the “city of officials” was separated by an adobe wall, and it was possible to get to this northern part only from the “city of officials”. No traces of buildings have been found throughout this area, except for a large stone-paved courtyard (350 m along the E-W axis by 200 m along the N-S axis) in the center. Archaeologists suggest that in the north of the city there could be an imperial park, in which the emperor, if desired, could install yurts for himself and his entourage. Parks of this size are not noted in any of the Chinese capitals known to us.
The rest of the city, slightly less than a quarter of the total area, was the habitat of the townspeople. In this part there were three main, widest (approx. 20 m) streets, two of them went in the east-west direction and went out - one to the western city gate, the other to the southern gate of the western wall of the “city of officials”; the third “avenue” went north from the southern city gate. These streets formed large blocks, cut through by narrower streets; in this part of the city, the locations of houses of common people, as well as workshops, were found. Traces of craft production and markets were also found outside the city walls.
Thus, Shangdu did not deviate too much from the Chinese urban planning tradition, although, to a large extent, it was a palace with support systems attached to it, in which the part in which the townspeople lived did not represent a very large part of the urban area. The only element that stands out from the framework of tradition can be considered a huge park in the northern part of the city, which occupied almost a third of the city - a kind of tribute to the steppe past of the rulers. Apparently, Khubilai, despite his interest in Chinese culture and taste for sedentary comfort, could not imagine life without the opportunity to roam, albeit in a park surrounded by walls. In addition, such empty spaces inside city walls are characteristic of later cities that the Mongols built - often there were no permanent buildings in them, except for the walls themselves, temples and a few modest palaces, and the rest of the space was allocated for the installation of yurts for non-permanent - and accustomed to this way of life - the urban population. There are entire blocks of yurts in modern Ulaanbaatar. One way or another, Shandu is a good illustration of the gradual transformation that the Mongol Empire was undergoing at this time: its rulers could no longer imagine their lives without the comfort of urban sedentary life, but, at the same time, they could not yet completely break away from their nomadic roots . In 1260, Kublai Kublai was proclaimed Great Khan in Kaiping (see), in 1264 the capital was officially moved from Karakorum to China, to the area of modern Beijing, and was named Dadu 大都 (Great Capital).
Ch ingiskhan- one of the greatest conquerors and rulers in history. Under him, the Mongol state extended from the Pacific Ocean to the Caspian Sea and from the southern edge of Siberia to the border with India, and his heirs included within its borders the great civilizations of China and Iran. By the middle of the 13th century, the rulers of the steppes, having almost completely subjugated the Russian land, reached the territories of modern Poland and Hungary. History has preserved stories of the terrifying cruelty of the Mongol horsemen, but it is worth noting that they were no less characterized by courage, and their ruler was distinguished by remarkable organizational abilities and was an excellent strategist and politician.
The Mongols belong to the group of Altai peoples, which also includes Tungus-Manchu and Turkic ethnic-national groups. The ancestral home of the Mongol tribes was the lands lying southeast of Lake Baikal. In the steppes south of the Mongols lived the Tatar tribes, further on were the territories of the Onguts, and even further south was Jin, the state of the Tungus Jurchens who ruled Northern China. In the southwest, beyond the Gobi Desert, was located Xi Xia- a power founded by the Tanguts, a people related to the Tibetans.
To the west of the Mongol nomads extended the territory of the Kereits, a Mongolized Turkic people. To the northeast of the Mongol lands lived related tribes of the Merkits. Further to the north were the lands of the Oirots, and to the west, in the region of the Great Altai Mountains, were the lands of the Naiman. The basis of the economy of the Mongols, who led a nomadic lifestyle, was cattle breeding and hunting. Shepherds lived in portable yurts made of wood and felt, and northern Mongols, who hunted, built dwellings from wood. Attempts to unite disparate tribes were made repeatedly - most often to repel attacks by the Tatars. The first was probably Kabul Khan, but only his great-grandson achieved success, who became the creator of one of the greatest empires in world history.
Genghis Khan was born in the Delpun-Boldan tract, on the right bank of the Onon River. His father, Yesugei-bagatur, named his son Temujin, in memory of the victory over the ruler of the Tatars, who bore this name. Having reached the age of 9, the boy was engaged to 10-year-old Borte, the daughter of Dai-Sechen from the Ongir tribe. After the solemn ceremony, his father was returning home alone and, having stopped by to visit the Tatars, was poisoned. With the last of his strength, Yesugei-Bagatur was able to get home and before his death he wished that power over the clan would pass to Temujin. However, members of the clan immediately rebelled against Yesugei’s wife and children, and they were actually abandoned to their fate.
They were in need and starved, feeding on plant rhizomes and hunting small animals; Their situation was so difficult that quarrels began between family members over food. As a result of one of the quarrels, Temujin and Kasar killed Bekter, who, in all likelihood, took the loot from them. Soon, during one of the attacks of former fellow tribesmen on their camp, Temujin was captured and taken to the enemy camp. However, he managed to escape. Already as a young man, the future great ruler went to Dai-Sechen for Borte, promised to him in childhood.
The son-in-law was received warmly, and soon he entered the Uyghur family; Now he was considered a real warrior and had his own family. But Temujin decided to regain all the influence and power that once belonged to his father. For help and protection, he turned to his brother-in-law, the Kereit leader Togrul, who promised him protection and support. Temujin attached particular importance to the attack on the Merkits, who had shortly before kidnapped his wife Borte. With the help of Toghrul, as well as with the support of one of his vassals and childhood friend Jamukha, he organized a campaign that ended in a brilliant victory (Euro fence price).
And although after some time Jamukha and Toghrul became enemies of Temujin and were defeated by him, that time participation in the campaign on the side of famous commanders brought the first loud glory to the future creator of the great empire. Temujin at the Teb-Tengri kurultai was elected khan of the Mongols and received the name Genghis Khan, which can be translated as “Sovereign of Sovereigns.” However, for several years he did not take full advantage of it: Temujin was neither the only nor the strongest candidate for this title, and many were ready to challenge this decision of the Magi. For almost six years, he had to fight both with hostile steppe peoples and with his former allies - with his brother-in-law Jamukha, with whom they were once bound by an oath of eternal friendship.
He conquered the Tatars, then ordered to kill all men taller than the axle of the cart, Merkits, Naimans, as well as Kereits, led by his long-term patron Toghrul. When Genghis Khan subjugated all the peoples of Central Asia - some with weapons, others with the help of diplomacy - a new kurultai of steppe leaders gathered at the sources of the Onon River. It was then that Temujin-Genghis Khan was proclaimed kagan - great khan. Having become the ruler of the steppe peoples, Genghis Khan began to strengthen his power by actively taking up government and military reforms. Taking into account the large number of peoples and tribes, as well as the huge area of territories that were now in his power, the Kagan began to strengthen the existing clan ties with vassalage.
Military power in the state of Genghis Khan was placed above civil or economic power: thus, the ruler of the Mingan - a group of thousands of warriors - was at the same time the administrative head of the tribes that fielded these warriors, as well as the lands on which they lived. It is not surprising, therefore, that one of the first decisions of the new supreme ruler of the Mongols was to appoint the heads of 95 mingans, who were chosen from among his tried and true warriors. The army was divided into detachments according to the tens system: the smallest detachment, numbering a dozen warriors, was called arban, the larger one - dzhaun - consisted of a hundred people, the next was the already mentioned mingan, and the largest military unit, which had the opportunity to act independently on the battlefield, was called Tumen and numbered 10 thousand people. A separate tumen, the head of which was Genghis Khan himself, became something like an imperial guard. Both in the army and in the state administration, iron discipline reigned, and the death penalty for misconduct was by no means uncommon.
In the huge steppe power of Genghis Khan there was no uniform legislation: customs and laws of individual clans or tribes reigned here, and relations between the tribes were regulated by their leaders. However, the Mongol ruler realized that uniform laws would help truly unite and strengthen his state, and ordered the creation "Blue Book", in which all decisions made by his trusted advisor Shigei Kutuk began to be recorded. By that time, Mongolian speech was being transferred to paper using an alphabet based on the Uyghur script; There was also a special office that dealt exclusively with state affairs.
In the system of business administration, the principle of reward for special merits was of particular importance: this could be, for example, exemption from tribute, the right to take part in feasts in the khan’s tent, and for slaves - liberation. Having put the affairs of the state in order, Genghis Khan sent his troops to the south and west. Here the steppe warriors had to face urban, sedentary civilizations. The preparation for the conquest of Northern China, which was ruled by the Jurchens, was the conquest of the Tangut state of Xi Xia.
The actual campaign against the Jurchen state began in 1211. As usual in large campaigns, the Mongol army advanced in several directions at once, and in a small number of battles the Jurchen troops were defeated and the country was devastated. However, Genghis Khan was interested not so much in the conquest of new territories as in rich booty, and immediately three Mongol armies again attacked Northern China; they captured most of these territories and reached the city of Zhongdu. As a result of the negotiations, it was decided that the vanquished would pay Genghis Khan a huge indemnity.
A year later, another war with the Jurchens broke out. At first, Genghis Khan personally led the Mongol army in China, but then returned to his native steppes, entrusting further leadership of the successful campaign to his generals. Around the same period, the Mongols also occupied the territory of the Korean Peninsula. Even before the attack on China, Genghis Khan headed west. The Uighur tribes submitted to him, and two years later - the Karluts. He captured the state of that part of the Kitans, who at one time, under pressure from the Jurchens, moved from China to the west. Thus, the Mongol ruler and commander reached the borders of the state of Khorezm, which, in addition to Western Turkestan, also occupied the territories of modern Afghanistan and Iran. The Khorezm state, which was actively influenced by Persian culture, was formed at the end of the 12th century and was not much older than the empire of Genghis Khan; it was ruled by the Shah Muhammad II.
It came to war, the immediate cause of which was the murder of merchants and ambassadors of Genghis Khan in the border city of Otrar. The Mongol army, the total number of which is estimated at 150 - 200 thousand soldiers, was much smaller than the Khorezm army, but better organized and trained; In addition, Shah Mohammed oriented his troops towards defense, dividing them into garrisons and placing them mainly near border fortresses. Mongol troops moved simultaneously along the border and deep into Khorezm - and won victory everywhere. Genghis Khan took Bukhara and Samarkand; He expelled the surviving local residents and destroyed the cities after the plunder. A similar fate befell Urgench, the capital of Khorezm, in the spring of next year. By the end of the campaign, most of the Khorezm lands were in the hands of Genghis Khan, and the ruler of the steppe empire returned to Mongolia, leaving his garrisons on the conquered lands.
During this war, Genghis Khan allowed two of his generals - Jebe And Subedei- go on a reconnaissance trip to the west. An army of approximately 30 thousand warriors set out along the southern coast of the Caspian Sea, reached the Caucasus and attacked Georgia, and then turned south to Baghdad, the capital of the caliphate ruled by the Abbasid dynasty. Once again heading towards the Caucasus, the conquerors successfully crossed it and defeated the united Polovtsian-Russian army on the Kalka River. After this, Genghis Khan’s warriors devastated Crimea, and from there they turned back to Mongolia.
Returning after the end of the Khorezm campaign, Genghis Khan divided the lands of his empire between his four sons; these parts began to be called uluses. The eldest of the sons - Jochi- received the Western Ulus, Çağatay father gave away lands in the south. Ogedei, who, thanks to his balanced character, was declared heir - the eastern part of the state. The youngest of the sons, Toluyu, the Kagan designated the ancestral lands of the Mongols above the Onon River. Genghis Khan set out on his last military campaign, wanting to punish the Tangut state of Xi Xia for insufficient support during the war with Khorezm.
4 761
The Golden Horde was part or Ulus of the Mongol Empire, which occupied 5/6 of the territory of Eurasia. The foundation of this Empire was laid by tribes that roamed north of the borders of China and were known from Chinese sources as the Mongol-Tatars. The Mongol-Tatar tribes made up part of the population that roamed the steppe spaces of the flat strip, starting at the Sea of Okhotsk, stretching across all of Asia, the continuation of which was the Black Sea steppes of Eastern Europe, and ending at the river. Dniester This vast steppe strip provided excellent pastures for livestock, and hordes of nomadic herders with herds of livestock moved along it from time immemorial.
According to Chinese chroniclers, for centuries the borders of China were subject to attacks by the Mongol-Tatars, who lived mainly along the river. Orkhon. The life of nomads is the past of all humanity, a relic of the past, when man was at the stage of a primitive state, closely connected with nature. The means of subsistence of the nomads were cattle breeding, hunting, fishing and natural resources. Nomads could not produce complex household products, did not engage in agriculture, but obtained the missing items from settled peoples, either by exchanging for livestock products or by robbery. The production of pastoralists was limited to the processing of wool and leather goods.
In the half of the 12th century. The Mongol-Tatars were united under the rule of the leader Yesugai-Bogatur. After his death, the hordes under his control disintegrated and turned into separate tribes, losing their belligerence. The Bogatura family was abandoned even by its closest related tribes. The eldest son in the family was thirteen-year-old Timuchin, who had to take care of the existence of his widowed mother and family. In addition, he had to take action against his relatives, who saw in him a future contender for power among the Mongol tribes. He was subjected to their threats, and was even captured by one of his more ardent opponents. Timuchin miraculously escaped, and having matured, began to fight against his tribal enemies.
During the difficult struggle, Timuchin united more related tribes under his rule, after which he began the struggle to unite all the Mongol-Tatar tribes, and then all the nomadic peoples of East Asia.
Having united the Mongol-Tatar and other nomadic tribes, Timuchin set out with them to conquer China and the settled peoples of Central Asia. He conquered Northern China and moved into Central Asia against the vast Muslim state of Khorezm, and against the very significant semi-sedentary, semi-nomadic state of Kara-Kitaev. The lands of the conquered peoples formed a vast Empire, occupying territories from the Sea of Okhotsk in the east to the Ural Mountains in the west, including Northern China, Central Asia and part of Persia. At a meeting of his comrades, Timuchin was proclaimed Genghis Khan or a protege of Heaven.
The basis of the state structure was based on laws written at the direction of Genghis Khan called Jasak or Yasa. All power in the conquered countries belonged exclusively to his family and their successors. At the head of the Empire was the Supreme Khan: the Empire was divided into Uluses, headed by ulus Khans. Management was built on aristocratic selection and strict hierarchy. The country was divided into topics, thousands, hundreds, dozens, and at the head of each division were the corresponding chiefs. In peacetime, these units constituted administrative units; with the outbreak of war, they turned into military units, and their commanders became military commanders. With the outbreak of war, the entire country turned into a military camp; All physically fit male population were required to perform military service.
The main unit of the Mongol state was the “Kibitka”, which consisted of a separate family. Ten Kibitki fielded three warriors. All property and extracted products were common property. Land for grazing livestock was determined for individual Uluses by boundaries indicated by the Khans. The main branch of the Mongol army was cavalry, divided into heavy and light. According to the Mongol, the battle could only be fought with cavalry. Genghis Khan said: “Whoever falls from his horse, how will he fight? If he gets up, how will he go against the horse and maybe be the winner?
The core of the Mongol army was the Khan's guard or the "Nuker" squad. Nukers were selected from the families of the Mongolian nobility: the sons of noyons, temniks, thousanders, centurions, as well as from people of free status, from whom the strongest, strongest and most capable were selected. Nukers made up a corps of ten thousand.
The Mongol armament consisted of a bow, which was coated with a special varnish that protected the wood from dampness and drying out. Each horseman had several bows and quivers of arrows. What was needed were spears with iron hooks at the ends to pull the enemy off the horse, curved sabers and light long pikes. Each warrior had a lasso, which he wielded with great skill both in hunting and in war.
Protective equipment was leather helmets with iron plates, and for the commanders, chain mail.
Light cavalry was made up of conquered peoples and in battles played the role of advanced troops, the first to start battles. She had no protective equipment.
The Mongols borrowed siege weapons from the Chinese and Persians and used them by specialists recruited from among them.
For the peoples subjected to the Mongol invasion, they were a terrible destructive force, the “scourge of humanity.” The conquered countries established their own power, and the entire country was placed under the brutal control of the victors. The population that survived the destruction was subject to tribute - a tenth of all property, and the following was taken to replenish the army: a tenth of the young population; the same number of women were also taken. Masters of all specialties were selected and assigned to work at the Headquarters of the Khans.
During the course of external conquests, the Mongol army grew rapidly. The Mongol army consisted of military units of all conquered peoples. The Mongols were a tiny minority among the conquered peoples, but they had all the highest military and administrative command and control. Khans were placed at the head of the conquered countries, and Baskaks were placed for administrative control and management, and a complex network of officials collected all kinds of taxes and taxes. The highest command of the units formed from the conquered peoples belonged to the Noyons and the Mongols.
According to information left by the historian of Genghis Khan, Abulhazi, Genghis Khan at the beginning of his conquests had 40,000 warriors, dying, he left his sons 120,000 Mongols and Tatar troops. These troops served as the main forces in the further conquests of the resulting vast Empire, divided into several Uluses.
In terms of culture, the Mongols were incomparably lower than all conquered peoples. They did not have a written language or firmly established religious ideas and used the writing of one of the people of the Uyghur tribe they conquered. Their religious ideas were limited to fortune telling and primitive ritual dances of shamans, which is why among the Mongolian nobility there were many people who professed the cults of other peoples, which explained their tolerance for the religions of the conquered peoples.
Having conquered Eastern Siberia, Northern China and Central Asia, Genghis Khan did not limit himself to these conquests. According to Mongol custom, despite the unlimited power of the Supreme Khan, all issues related to general policy were resolved at meetings of the entire khan's family and the Mongol nobility, who gathered at the "Kurultai", first assembled by Genghis Khan, where plans for conquest were drawn up. It was assumed that China, Persia, Egypt, and the peoples of Eastern Europe living west of the Urals would be conquered.
During the life of Genghis Khan, a cavalry detachment of 20,000 was sent from Central Asia for the purpose of reconnaissance of the Caucasus and Eastern Europe under the command of the best commanders Subutai and Jebi. The preliminary task of this detachment was to pursue the Shah of Khorezm, who, with a detachment of 70,000 more devoted warriors, hid in Mezederzhan. The Shah and his troops were driven to one of the islands of the Caspian Sea, where he died.
Subutai and his detachment walked through the southern possessions of Khorezm, caused destruction everywhere and entered the Caucasus. He was met by troops of Georgian knights, who, numbering 30,000, took up an advantageous position. Unable to envelop the Georgian troops, the Mongols used their characteristic tactics. They rushed to run, which caused the Georgians to leave their positions and begin pursuit. Having left their strong position, the Georgians were attacked by the Mongols and suffered complete defeat. Having defeated the Georgian detachment, the Mongols turned to the east, and, moving along the coast of the Caspian Sea, reached the Polovtsian steppes. Here they met resistance from the Polovtsians, Lezgins, Circassians, Alans, Rus of the Azov region and Brodniks. The Mongols used their characteristic tactics - weakening the enemy, acting on their tribal discord. They convinced the Polovtsians that they had come to fight not against them, but against peoples alien to them by blood. The Russians were told that they had come to fight against the “grooms” of the Polovtsians. This tactic was successful, and the Mongols entered the borders of Tavria, where they spent the winter within the Russian possessions, in which, in all likelihood, they found allies. In the spring, a Mongol detachment entered the Don steppes and attacked the Polovtsians. Some of the Rus with their leader Plaskiney were already with the Mongol detachment. The Polovtsians, under pressure from the Mongols, rushed to flee to the west, and their khan, Kotyan, whose daughter the Galician prince Mstislav Udaloy was married to, began to ask the Russian princes to help him against the emerging common enemy, the Mongols. In 1223, the Russian princes, who had just completed campaigns in the lands of Vladimir-Suzdal and Novgorod in order to pacify the princely civil strife, gathered in Kyiv for a meeting.
At Kotyan's request, the Russian princes decided to oppose the Mongols. This was the first meeting of Russian troops with the Mongols.
At this time, Genghis Khan with his main forces remained within Samarkand and continued the further conquest of Khorezm.
After the death of Shah Mohammed, his son continued the war against the Mongols. He defeated the Mongol detachment. Genghis Khan opposed him, drove him to India, and decided to attack the possessions of Kara-Kitay. He moved against the ruler of the Kara-Kitaev, who had insulted him, who, in response to Genghis Khan’s request for help against the Shah of Khorezm, replied: “If you are strong, then you do not need my help, but if you are weak, then do not come out.” The lands of Kara-Kitai were conquered, but in 1227 Genghis Khan died; according to information, he was killed by a woman sent to him for this purpose.
The empire was divided into Uluses between his sons. His third son, Ogedei, was appointed his successor, who received Mongolia with the eastern part of Siberia, with the lands of the Neumanns and Kyrgyz. The northern part of China, the lands of the Uyghurs and Kara-Kitay, as well as Manchuria, were received by the youngest son, Tulu. The lands of the former Khorezm were received by the second son, Jaghatai. The western part of Siberia, inhabited by Kipchaks and Kazakhs, was assigned by Genghis Khan to his eldest son, who was slandered by envious brothers and killed by order of his father. These possessions went to the next son, Batu.
In 1237, further conquests of the Mongols began and Batu moved to conquer Russian lands.
There are a large number of unique people in world history. They were simple children, often brought up in poverty and did not know good manners. It was these people who radically changed the course of history, leaving behind only ashes. They were building a new world, a new ideology and a new outlook on life. Humanity owes its present life to all these hundreds of people, because it was the resulting mosaic of past events that led to what we have today. Everyone knows the names of such people, because they are constantly on people’s lips. Every year, scientists can provide an increasing number of interesting facts from the lives of great people. In addition, many secrets and mysteries are gradually being revealed, the disclosure of which a little earlier could have led to terrifying consequences.
Acquaintance
Genghis Khan is the founder of the first great khan of which he was. He united various scattered tribes located on the territory of Mongolia. In addition, he carried out a large number of campaigns against neighboring states. Most military campaigns ended in complete victory. The empire of Genghis Khan is considered the largest continental empire in all of world history.
Birth
Temujin was born in the Delyun-Boldok tract. The father named Temujin-Uge in honor of the captured Tatar leader, who was defeated just before the birth of the boy. The date of birth of the great leader is still not known exactly, since different sources indicate different periods. According to documents that existed during the life of the leader and his biographer witnesses, Genghis Khan was born in 1155. Another option is 1162, but there is no exact confirmation. The boy's father, Yesugei-bagatur, left him in the family of his future bride at the age of 11. Genghis Khan had to stay there until he came of age so that the children could get to know each other better. The little girl, the future bride named Borta, was from the Ungirat clan.
Father's death
According to the scriptures, on the way back home the boy's father was poisoned by the Tatars. Yesugei had a fever at home and died three days later. He had two wives. Both of them and their children were kicked out of the tribe by the head of the family. Women and children were forced to live in the forest for several years. They managed to escape by a miracle: they ate plants, the boys tried to fish. Even in the warm season, they were doomed to hunger, since they had to stock up on food for the winter.
Fearing revenge from the heirs of the great khan, the new head of the Targutai tribe, Kiriltukh, pursued Temujin. The boy managed to escape several times, but was eventually caught. They put a wooden block on him, which absolutely limited the martyr's actions. It was impossible to eat, drink, or even get the annoying bug off my face. Realizing the hopelessness of his situation, Temujin decided to escape. At night he reached the lake, where he hid. The boy was completely submerged in the water, leaving only his nostrils on the surface. The head of the tribe's bloodhounds carefully looked for at least some traces of the escapee. One person noticed Temujin, but did not give him away. Later it was he who helped Genghis Khan escape. Soon the boy found his relatives in the forest. Then he married Bort.
The making of a commander
Genghis Khan's empire was created gradually. At first, nukers began to flock to him, with whom he carried out attacks on neighboring territories. Thus, the young man began to have his own land, army and people. Genghis Khan began to form a special system that would allow him to effectively manage the rapidly growing horde. Around 1184, Genghis Khan's first son, Jochi, was born. In 1206, at a congress, Temujin was proclaimed Great Khan by God. From that moment on, he was considered the complete and absolute ruler of Mongolia.
Asia
The conquest of Central Asia took place in several stages. The war with the Karakitai Khanate ended with the Mongols receiving Semirechye and Eastern Turkestan. In order to gain the support of the population, the Mongols allowed Muslims to perform public worship, which was prohibited by the Naiman. This contributed to the fact that the permanent settled population completely took the side of the conquerors. The population considered the arrival of the Mongols to be “the mercy of Allah,” in comparison with the harshness of Khan Kuchluk. The residents themselves opened the gates to the Mongols. It is for this reason that the city of Balasagun was called the “meek city”. Khan Kuchluk was unable to organize a strong enough resistance, so he fled the city. Soon he was found and killed. Thus, the way to Khorezm was opened for Genghis Khan.
The empire of Genghis Khan absorbed Khorezm, a large state in Central Asia. Its weak point was that the nobles had complete power in the city, so the situation was very tense. Muhammad's mother independently appointed all her relatives to important government positions, without asking her son. Having thus created a circle of powerful support, she led the opposition against Muhammad. Internal relations became greatly strained when the threat of a Mongol invasion loomed. The war against Khorezm ended with neither side gaining a significant advantage. At night, the Mongols left the battlefield. In 1215, Genghis Khan agreed with Khorezm on mutual trade relations. However, the first merchants who went to Khorezm were captured and killed. For the Mongols, this was an excellent reason to start a war. Already in 1219, Genghis Khan, together with the main military forces, opposed Khorezm. Despite the fact that many territories were taken by siege, the Mongols plundered cities, killed and destroyed everything around them. Muhammad lost the war even without a fight, and, realizing this, he fled to an island in the Caspian Sea, having previously given power into the hands of his son Jalal ad-Din. After lengthy battles, the khan overtook Jalal ad-Din in 1221 near the Indus River. The enemy army numbered about 50 thousand people. To cope with them, the Mongols used a trick: after carrying out an outflanking maneuver along the rocky terrain, they struck the enemy from the flank. In addition, Genghis Khan deployed a powerful guard unit of bagaturs. Ultimately, Jalal ad-Din's army was almost completely defeated. He and several thousand soldiers fled from the battlefield by swimming.
After a 7-month siege, the capital of Khorezm, Urgench, fell and the city was taken. Jalal ad-Din fought against the troops of Genghis Khan for 10 long years, but this did not bring significant benefit to his state. He died defending his territory in 1231 in Anatolia.
In just three short years (1219-1221), the kingdom of Muhammad bowed to Genghis Khan. The entire eastern part of the kingdom, which occupied the territory from the Indus to the Caspian Sea, was under the rule of the Great Khan of Mongolia.
The Mongols conquered the West through the campaign of Jebe and Subadei. Having captured Samarkand, Genghis Khan sent his troops to conquer Muhammad. Jebe and Subedei passed through all of Northern Iran and then captured the South Caucasus. Cities were captured through certain treaties or simply by force. The troops regularly collected tribute from the population. Soon, in 1223, the Mongols defeated the Russian-Polovtsian military forces. However, retreating to the East, they lost. Small remnants of the huge army returned to the Great Khan in 1224, and he was in Asia at that time.
Hiking
The Khan's first victory, which occurred outside of Mongolia, occurred during the 1209-1210 campaign against the Tanguts. Khan began to prepare for war with the most dangerous enemy in the East - the state of Jin. In the spring of 1211, a great war began, which claimed many lives. Very quickly, by the end of the year, Genghis Khan’s troops controlled the territory from the north to the Chinese Wall. Already by 1214, the entire territory covering the north and the Yellow River was in the hands of the Mongol army. In the same year, the siege of Beijing took place. Peace was obtained through an exchange - Genghis Khan married a Chinese princess, who had a huge dowry, lands and wealth. But this step by the emperor was only a ruse, and as soon as the khan’s troops began to retreat, after waiting for the right moment, the Chinese resumed the war. For them, this was a big mistake, because in the speed of the Mongols they destroyed the capital to the last pebble.
In 1221, when Samarkand fell, the eldest son of Genghis Khan was sent to Khorezm to begin the siege of Urgench, the capital of Muhammad. At the same time, the youngest son was sent by his father to Persia to plunder and seize territory.
Separately, it is worth noting what happened between the Russian-Polovtsian and Mongol troops. The modern territory of the battle is the Donetsk region of Ukraine. The Battle of Kalka (year 1223) led to the complete victory of the Mongols. First they defeated the Polovtsian forces, and a little later the main forces of the Russian army were defeated. On May 31, the battle ended with the death of about 9 Russian princes, many boyars and warriors.
The campaign of Subedei and Jebe allowed the army to pass through a significant part of the steppes occupied by the Cumans. This allowed military leaders to evaluate the merits of the future theater of operations, study it and think over a reasonable strategy. The Mongols also learned a lot about the internal structure of Rus'; they received a lot of useful information from prisoners. Genghis Khan's campaigns were always distinguished by the thoroughness that was carried out before the offensive.
Rus
The Mongol-Tatars invasion of Rus' took place in 1237-1240 under the rule of Genghisid Batu. The Mongols actively attacked Rus', struck strong blows, waiting for opportune moments. The main goal of the Mongol-Tatars was to disorganize the warriors of Rus', sow fear and panic. They avoided fighting with large numbers of warriors. The tactic was to disunite a large army and break up the enemy piece by piece, wearing him down with sharp attacks and constant aggression. The Mongols began battles by throwing arrows in order to intimidate and distract their opponents. One of the significant advantages of the Mongol army was that battle management was organized in the best possible way. The managers did not fight next to ordinary warriors, they were at a certain distance, so as to maximally cover the viewing angle of military operations. Instructions were given to the soldiers using various signs: flags, lights, smoke, drums and trumpets. The Mongol attack was carefully planned. For this purpose, powerful reconnaissance and diplomatic preparation for battle were carried out. Much attention was paid to isolating the enemy, as well as fanning internal conflicts. After this stage, it concentrated near the borders. The offensive took place along the entire perimeter. Starting from different sides, the army sought to get to the very center. Penetrating deeper and deeper, the military destroyed cities, stole livestock, killed warriors and raped women. In order to better prepare for an attack, the Mongols sent special observation units that prepared the territory and also destroyed the enemy’s weapons. The exact number of troops on both sides is not reliably known, since information varies.
For Rus', the invasion of the Mongols was a severe blow. A huge part of the population was killed, the cities fell into decay, as they were thoroughly destroyed. Stone construction ceased for several years. Many crafts simply disappeared. The settled population was almost completely eliminated. The empire of Genghis Khan and the Mongol-Tatar invasion of Rus' were closely connected, since for the Mongols it was a very tasty morsel.
Khan's Empire
The Empire of Genghis Khan included a huge territory from the Danube to the Sea of Japan, from Novgorod and to Southeast Asia. In its heyday, it united the lands of Southern Siberia, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, China, Tibet and Central Asia. The 13th century marked the creation and flourishing of the great state of Genghis Khan. But already in the second half of the century, the huge empire began to split into separate uluses, which were ruled by the Chingizids. The most significant fragments of the huge state were: the Golden Horde, the Yuan Empire, the Chagatai ulus and the Hulaguid state. And yet the empire's frontiers were so impressive that no general or conqueror could achieve more.
Capital of the Empire
Karakoram city was the capital of the entire empire. The word literally translates as “black stones of the volcano.” It is believed that Karakorum was founded in 1220. The city was the place where the khan left his family during campaigns and military affairs. The city was also the residence of the khan, in which he received important ambassadors. Russian princes also came here to resolve various political issues. The 13th century gave the world many travelers who left notes about the city (Marco Polo, de Rubruck, Plano Carpini). The city's population was very diverse, since each quarter was isolated from the other. The city was home to artisans and traders who came from all over the world. The city was unique in terms of the diversity of its inhabitants, because among them there were people of different races, religions and thoughts. The city was also built up with many Muslim mosques and Buddhist temples.
Ögedei built a palace which he called “The Palace of Ten Thousand Years of Prosperity.” Each Genghisid also had to build his own palace here, which, naturally, was inferior to the building of the son of the great leader.
Descendants
Genghis Khan had many wives and concubines until the end of his days. However, it was the commander’s first wife, Borta, who gave birth to the most powerful and famous boys. The heir of Jochi's first son, Batu, was the creator of the Golden Horde, Jagatai-Chagatai gave the name to the dynasty that ruled over the central regions for a long time, Ogadai-Ogedei was the successor of the khan himself, Tolui ruled the Mongol Empire from 1251 to 1259. Only these four boys had a certain power in the state. In addition, Borta gave birth to her husband and daughters: Khodzhin-begi, Chichigan, Alagai, Temulen and Altalun.
The khan's second wife, Merkit Khulan-Khatun, gave birth to a daughter, Dayrusun, and sons, Kulkan and Kharachar. Genghis Khan's third wife Esukat gave him a daughter, Charu-noinonu, and sons, Chakhur and Kharkhad.
Genghis Khan, whose life story is impressive, left behind descendants who ruled the Mongols in accordance with the Great Yasa of Khan until the 20s of the last century. The Emperors of Manchuria, who ruled Mongolia and China from the 16th to the 19th centuries, were also the direct heirs of the khan in the female line.
Decline of a great empire
The fall of the empire lasted 9 long years, from 1260 to 1269. The situation was very tense, as there was a pressing question about who would receive all the power. In addition, it should be noted the serious administrative problems faced by the management apparatus.
The fall of the empire occurred for the reason that the sons of Genghis Khan did not want to live according to the laws established by their father. They could not live by the main postulate “On the good quality and severity of the state.” Genghis Khan was shaped by a cruel reality that constantly demanded decisive action from him. Temujin was constantly tested by life, starting from the early years of his life. His sons lived in a completely different environment; they were protected and confident in the future. In addition, we should not forget that they valued their father’s possessions much less than he did.
Another reason for the collapse of the state was the struggle for power between the sons of Genghis Khan. She distracted them from the pressing affairs of the state. When important issues had to be resolved, the brothers were engaged in sorting things out. This could not but affect the situation in the country, world status, and the mood of the people. All this led to a general deterioration in the state in many aspects. Dividing their father's empire among themselves, the brothers did not understand that they were destroying it by dismantling it into stones.
Death of a Great Leader
Genghis Khan, whose story is impressive to this day, returned from Central Asia and marched with his army through Western China. In 1225, near the borders of Xi Xia, Genghis Khan was hunting, during which he fell and was seriously hurt. By the evening of the same day he developed a severe fever. As a consequence of this, a meeting of managers was convened in the morning, at which the question of whether or not to start a war with the Tanguts was considered. The council also included Jochi, who did not enjoy much confidence at the top of the government, since he regularly deviated from his father’s instructions. Noticing this constant behavior, Genghis Khan ordered his army to go against Jochi and kill him. But due to the death of his son, the campaign was never completed.
Having recovered his health, in the spring of 1226 Genghis Khan and his army crossed the Xi Xia border. Having defeated the defenders and left the city to be plundered, the khan began his last war. The Tanguts were completely defeated on the approaches to the Tangut kingdom, the path to which became open. The fall of the Tangut kingdom and the death of the khan are very connected, because the great leader died here.
Causes of death
The scriptures say that Genghis Khan's death occurred after he accepted gifts from the Tangut king. However, there are several versions that have equal rights to exist. Among the main and most probable causes are the following: death from illness, poor adaptation to the climate of the area, consequences of a fall from a horse. There is also a separate version that the khan was killed by his young wife, whom he took by force. The girl, fearing the consequences, committed suicide that same night.
Tomb of Genghis Khan
No one can name the exact burial place of the Great Khan. Different sources disagree on the hypotheses for a number of reasons. Moreover, each of them indicates different places and methods of burial. Genghis Khan's grave can be located in any of three places: on Burkhan-Khaldun, on the northern side of Altai Khan or in Yekhe-Utek.
The monument to Genghis Khan is located in Mongolia. The equestrian statue is considered to be the largest monument and statue in the entire world. The opening of the monument took place on September 26, 2008. Its height is 40 m without the pedestal, the height of which is 10 m. The entire statue is covered with stainless steel, the total weight is 250 tons. Also, the monument to Genghis Khan is surrounded by 36 columns. Each of them symbolizes the khan of the Mongol Empire, starting with Genghis and ending with Ligden. In addition, the monument has two floors and houses a museum, an art gallery, billiards, restaurants, a conference room and a souvenir shop. The horse's head serves as an observation deck for visitors. The statue is surrounded by a large park. The city authorities plan to develop a golf course, an open theater and an artificial lake.
How empires arise and where they disappear. The Mongol Empire was nothing outstanding compared to its predecessors, such as the Turkic Khaganate, the Tang Empire, and the Hunnic Empire, which were many times larger than the Roman Empire at the peak of its power.
Everything that the Mongols might need: a nomadic lifestyle, bows and weapons, tactics of cavalry attacks, siege of fortresses, education and maintenance of troops had already been developed and tested over thousands of years by successful conquerors like the Huns, Turks, Khitans, Jurjens, etc. It was not the Mongols who came up with the idea of including conquered peoples in their horde, even the word horde was borrowed; it was not the Mongols who began to use Chinese defectors in government.
The Mongols were a kind of Romans who absorbed all the best from the surrounding peoples and lived by conquering and plundering the surrounding countries, brutally and decisively suppressing any resistance.
The Mongols, like the Romans or the same Chukchi (the most brutal aggressors of the north), sincerely did not understand why their racial and military superiority was being disputed; in their minds, God created the earth so that they would own it, and the rest would serve him. Just like previous empires, the Mongols fell victims of their own ambitions, the struggle for power of the pampered descendants of cruel and uncompromising conquerors and the hatred of conquered peoples.
Temujin (name, Chinggis Khaan - his position) was born in the Delyun-Boldok tract, neither the year nor the date of birth is known. After the death of their father, for several years the widows and children, robbed by their fellow tribesmen, lived in complete poverty, wandering in the steppes, eating roots, game and fish. Even in the summer, the family lived from hand to mouth, making provisions for the winter. At this time, Temujin lived in the family of his bride (betrothed to him at the age of 10; he was supposed to live in his father-in-law’s family until he came of age) and then another relative took over the camp.
Temujin was put in the stocks, but he escaped and united with his family, acquiring future associates through friendship with noble families and successful predatory raids, distinguished by the fact that he included the uluses of his opponents into his own. In 1184, Temujin defeated the Merkits and founded his first small ulus two years later, having 3 tumens (in fact, the tumens were not necessarily 10,000 people, it was quite possible that they were tumens of 600 people each, but for that time this figure was impressive), with It was with them that he suffered his first defeat.
The Tatars fought with China and in 1196 Temujin defeated the Tatars, and the Chinese awarded him the title of “Jauthuri” (military commissar), and Tooril - “Wan” (prince), from that time he became known as Wang Khan. Temujin became a vassal of Wang Khan, whom Jin saw as the most powerful of the rulers of Eastern Mongolia. In 1200, Temujin set out on a joint campaign against the Taijiuts, and the Merkits came to their aid. In this battle, Temujin was wounded by an arrow. The sharp shooter Jirgoadai, who admitted that he was the one who shot, was accepted into Temujin’s army and received the nickname Jebe (arrowhead).
Having won numerous victories over the Tatars and Kereits, and subjugated the east of the Great Steppe, Temujin began organizing his people-army. In the winter of 1203-1204, a series of reforms were prepared that laid the foundation of the Mongol state. In March 1206, a kurultai met near the sources of the Onon River, where Temujin was elected great khan with the title Genghis Khan. The creation of the Great Mongol State was proclaimed.
The war with the Jin Empire was considered by the Mongols as sacred, as an act of blood feud and as Temujin’s personal vendetta against the Tatars, Jurchens, Chinese and others who managed to annoy him. The conflict with the Jin was preceded by serious military and diplomatic preparations; campaigns were undertaken to eliminate the interference of potential Jin allies in the conflict. In 1207, two tumens were sent to the northern border under the command of Genghis Khan's eldest son Jochi and Subedei.
Many Siberian tribes, who were tributaries of the Kyrgyz, swore allegiance to the Great Khan. Having conquered many nations without a fight and secured the northern border of the state, Jochi returned to his father’s headquarters. At the beginning of 1208, a battle took place in the Irtysh valley, the Mongols defeated the Merkit princes, the Tunguts were conquered in 1209, the Mongol troops gained experience in capturing fortresses with the help of siege weapons and operations against a Chinese-style army, and at the same time the Uyghurs joined without firing a shot.
The Mongols were well prepared, and the Qin fought a war on three fronts: in the south - with the Song Empire, in the west - with the Tanguts, and within the country - with the popular movement of the “Red Caftans”. Since 1211, the Mongols invaded Jin, besieged and captured fortresses and the passage in the Great Wall of China, in 1213 they invaded directly into the Chinese state of Jin, despite resistance (months of fierce sieges, garrisons reached the point of cannibalism, but did not surrender), and a pestilence epidemic. , captured the capital in 1215.
While still at war with the Jin Empire, Genghis Khan sent ambassadors to the Khorezmshah with a proposal for an alliance, but the latter decided not to stand on ceremony with the Mongol representatives and ordered their execution.
For the Mongols, the execution of ambassadors was a personal insult and 1219 marked the beginning of the conquest of Central Asia. Having passed Semirechye, the Mongol army attacked the flourishing cities of Central Asia. The cities of Otrar and Sygnak on the Syr Darya, Khojent and Kokand in the Fergana Valley, Jend and Urgench on the Amu Darya, and finally Samarkand and Bukhara fell under the blows of Genghis Khan’s troops.
The state of Khorezm collapsed, Khorezmshah Muhammad fled, and a pursuit was organized after him under the leadership of Jebe and Subedei. After the death of Muhammad, Jebe and Subaday were given a new task. They ravaged Transcaucasia, then the Mongols managed to defeat the Alans by bribing their ally, the Polovtsian Khan Kotyan, who himself soon had to ask the Russian princes for help against the Mongols.
The Russian princes of Kyiv, Chernigov and Galich joined forces to jointly repel aggression. On May 31, 1223, on the Kalka River, Subedey defeated the Russian-Polovtsian troops due to inconsistency in the actions of the Russian and Polovtsian squads. The Grand Duke of Kiev Mstislav Romanovich the Old and the Prince of Chernigov Mstislav Svyatoslavich died, and the Galician Prince Mstislav Udatny, famous for his victories, returned home with nothing.
During their return to the east, the Mongol army was defeated by the Volga Bulgars in the Samara Luka area (1223 or 1224). After a four-year campaign, Subedei's troops returned to join the main Mongol forces.
Approximately sixty-five years old (no one knows the date of his birth), Temujin died in 1227 on the territory of the Tangut state immediately after the fall of the capital Zhongxing (the modern city of Yinchuan) and the destruction of the Tangut state. There is a version that Genghis Khan was stabbed to death at night by his young wife, whom he forcibly took from her husband. It is useless to look for the khan’s grave - they were buried secretly by relatives, they plowed up the ground and drove a herd of horses from above, so there is no point in looking for any mounds or the graves of khans (unless they stumble upon it by chance).
According to the will, Genghis Khan was succeeded by his third son Ogedei, he became khan, but many were against it (if not for disagreements in the Mongol ranks, they would have conquered the whole world). In the spring of 1235, a great kurultai was convened in the area of Talan-daba to sum up the results of the difficult wars with the Jin Empire and Khorezm.
It was decided to conduct a further offensive in four directions. Directions: to the west - against the Polovtsians, Bulgars and Russians; to the east - against Koryo (Korea); to the southern Chinese Song Empire; Significant reinforcements were sent to Noyon Chormagan, who was operating in the Middle East.
In the photo: The hidden legend of the Mongols, document from the 13th century.
The lands that were to be conquered in the west were supposed to be included in the Ulus of Jochi, so Batu, the son of Jochi, stood at the head of the campaign. The most experienced Subedey, an expert in Eastern European conditions, was assigned to help Batu. Military contingents from all Mongol uluses came under the supreme command of Batu: Baydar and Buri, the son and grandson of Chagatai, commanded the army of the Chagatai ulus, the sons of the Great Khan Guyuk and Kadan - the army of the Ogedei ulus; son of Tolui Munke - with the army of the Tolui ulus (indigenous yurt), the western campaign became an all-empire event.
In the summer of 1236, the Mongol army approached the Volga. Subedey destroyed the Volga Bulgaria, and for a year Batu waged war against the Polovtsians, Burtases, Mordovians and Circassians. In December 1237, the Mongols invaded the Ryazan principality. On December 21, Ryazan was taken, after the battle with the Vladimir troops - Kolomna, then Moscow. On February 8, 1238, Vladimir was taken, on March 4, in the battle on the Sit River, the troops of Grand Duke Yuri Vsevolodovich, who died in battle, were defeated.
Then Torzhok and Tver were taken, and a seven-week siege of Kozelsk began. In 1239, the bulk of the Mongol army was in the steppe, in the region of the lower Don. Small military operations were carried out by Mongke against the Alans and Circassians, Batu - against the Polovtsians.
About forty thousand Polovtsians, led by Khan Kotyan, escaped from the Mongols by fleeing to Hungary.
The uprisings in the Mordovian land were suppressed, Murom, Pereyaslavl and Chernigov were taken.
In 1240, the Mongol army began to attack the south of Kievan Rus. Kyiv, Galich and Vladimir-Volynsky were taken.
The Military Council decided to launch an attack on Hungary, which gave shelter to the Kotyan Polovtsians. There was a quarrel between Batu and Guyuk and Buri, who returned to Mongolia.
In 1241, Baydar's corps operated in Silesia and Moravia. Krakow was taken, the Polish-German army was defeated at Legnica (April 9). Baydar moved through the Czech Republic to join the main forces.
At the same time, Batu destroyed Hungary. The Croatian-Hungarian army of King Bela IV was defeated on the river. Chaillot. The king fled to Dalmatia, and Kadan's detachment was sent to pursue him.
In 1242, the Mongols captured Zagreb and reached the shores of the Adriatic Sea near Split. At the same time, the Mongol reconnaissance detachment reached almost Vienna.
In the spring, Batu received news from Mongolia about the death of the Great Khan Ogedei (December 11, 1241) and decided to retreat back to the steppes through Northern Serbia and Bulgaria.
In the summer of 1251, a kurultai was assembled in Karakorum (one might say a huge yurt city, the capital of Mongolia) to proclaim Mongke the great khan, since Khan Guyuk, who had usurped power from the legitimate Shiramun, died trying to start a civil war with Batu and was engaged in the execution of opponents. To support him, Batu sent his brothers Berke and Tuk-Timur with troops.
The conquest of the Middle East began in 1256 with Hulagu's campaign in the Middle East, in 1258 Baghdad was taken and destroyed, in 1260 the Mongols were defeated in the battle of Ain Jalut by the Egyptian Mamluks, the conquest of Southern China began, however, the death of Mongke in (1259 ) delayed the fall of the Song state.
After the death of the Great Khan Mongke (1259), a struggle for supreme power developed between his brothers Kublai and Arig-Buga. In 1260, Kublai was proclaimed great khan at the kurultai in Kaiping, Arig-Buga in Karakorum. Hulagu, who fought in the Middle East, declared support for Kublai; the ruler of the Ulus, Jochi Berke, supported Arig-Buga.
As a result, Kublai defeated Arig-Bug and founded the Yuan Empire (by tradition, copying the earlier empires of nomads who ruled China with the help of Chinese officials). Khubilai's Empire was in normal relations with the Jochi Ulus, which occupied the European part of modern Russia, fought with the Chagatai Ulus (roughly the territory of modern Kazakhstan-Turkmenistan-Uzbekistan) and was in allied relations with the Khalugid state (conditionally the territory of Persia), and the rest fought among themselves, sometimes joining forces.
The Yuan included Mongolia, China, Korea, Tibet, twice unsuccessfully invaded Japan (1274 and 1281), and tried to capture Burma and Indonesia. The Middle Eastern campaign of the Mongols under the command of Hulagu (1256-1260) even took part to some extent in the Seventh Crusade.
The warring Mongol Empire in 1304 was recreated as a federation of independent states under the nominal leadership of the Great Khan, the Yuan Emperor, which did not prevent them from constantly waging a civil war, vying for power. In 1368, the Mongol Yuan Empire collapsed as a result of the Red Turban Rebellion in China.
In 1380, the Battle of Kulikovo took place, weakening the influence of the Golden Horde on the territory of the Moscow Principality. Standing on the Ugra River in 1480 led to the final refusal of even symbolic tribute to the Horde. The period of feudal fragmentation and internecine wars in Central Asia led to the fall of the Chagatai ulus by the beginning of the 16th century.
Paiza (not to be confused with a label), made of gold or silver, ranked by images and functions, a kind of identification card, shoulder strap, pass and travel tickets.
Thus, the Mongols, having dissolved into the conquered peoples and cut off each other’s remnants for power, disappeared in a fairly short period of time, because even if we consider the existence of the Mongol Empire to be 280 years old, by historical standards this is negligible.
And considering that 143 years passed from the time of the invasion of the Ryazan principality in 1237 to the Battle of Kulikovo in 1380, we are not talking about any “thousand-year yoke.” Yes, this is an unpleasant episode of history, but they invaded before (for a much longer period), and invaded after that (for a shorter time).
From the benefits of the Mongols for Rus': the scale of state thinking of the Chinese model, the ceased strife of the princes and the creation of a large unified state; developed advanced weapons; orderliness of transport and mail; tax collection and census, stemming from a developed Chinese-style bureaucracy; cessation of the knights' crusades and their conservation in the Baltic states.
Of the harm: in addition to destruction and killings during raids, a large loss of population from the slave trade; impoverishment of the population from taxes and, consequently, inhibition of sciences and arts; strengthening and enriching the church - essentially the agent and conductor of Mongolian decisions. The Mongols did not leave any traces in the genetics of the Russians, since there were few ethnic Mongols even in 1237; they were mainly conquered peoples from the neighboring principality or nearby lands.
It makes no sense to consider the Mongol invasion a worldwide disaster, it’s something like the Gallic War for Rome - an episode of history, in France or Britain they are also proud of the fact that they were conquered by the Romans, and the capitals are Roman bathing and laundry plants for legionnaires.
Banknotes of the Mongol Empire - yes, even then the preserved imprint, naturally paper, circulation of the coin was prohibited.
The “Mongol-Tatar yoke” was invented by the Polish chronicler Jan Dlugosz (“iugum barbarum”, “iugum servitutis”) in 1479; for Poland, even such a brief acquaintance with the gigantic Mongol Empire was so terrible that it made one shake, and a year later the Russians fired their guns drove the Mongols on the Ugra River.
Where did the Tatars come from? The Mongols destroyed their enemies the Tatars, but the Tatars were known, so the mixture of different peoples preferred to be called by a revered name, and the Mongols did not interfere. And then the Mongols and Tatars gradually turned into Tatars and Mongols, and since there were no Mongols left at all, soon there were only Tatars who had no relation at all to the ethnic Mongols, much less to the Tatars.
Looking for “Mongolian” roots in modern Mongols is about the same as looking for “Roman” roots in modern Italians. It is pointless to somehow equate the way of life of modern, rather peace-loving Mongols with those Mongols, any Mongol reveres Genghis Khan, there is a huge monument in Mongolia, Temujin looks out from portraits on 5000 tugriks, but conquests are not launched, although they may gather to make a fuss.
Looking for genetic traces of the then Mongols in modern Russians or Tatars is as stupid as looking for genetic traces of ancient Egyptians in modern Egyptians.
Speculation on the Mongols and Tatars only allows one to get rich from books and programs of dubious content, fanning interethnic conflicts that are absolutely unnecessary for anyone. There is no need to look for burial mounds and graves, it is pointless to look for the burial places of real Mongols, since they buried noble Mongols so that there would be no graves to be found, the field was plowed up and a herd was allowed through, and the ordinary ones could simply be laid in a row, taking off their clothes. There are also Mongolian swords in museums; these sabers had a great influence on the armament of China, Korea and Japan, the Mongolian bow is world famous, as are the hardy, shaggy, unpretentious Mongolian horses.
This is the brief history of the Mongol Empire.
