After reading Genghis Khan, Part 2, share FIVE specific insights you gleaned about the ancient Mongols, and the role they had in shaping the history of greater Asia.
Please use 2-3 sentences for each observation, and cite page numbers, so we can all follow your thinking.
Post your reading response below, as part of this blog thread.
Xie Xie,
Dr. W
1. Page 83: Genghis Khan used a khuriltai to form a public discussion regarding the act of war upon the Jurched. By doing so he created a democracy by giving his people the option to veto the act of war and therefore understanding the reasons behind the potential fight.
ReplyDelete2. Page 86: The Mongols army differed from other traditional armies in two distinct ways. Unlike other armies that were composed mainly of foot soldiers, the Mongol army consisted of sixty-five thousand cavalry riders. Other than their reserve pack of horses, the Mongol army traveled without supply train and instead lived off the land.
3. Page 88: The Mongols organized their camps identically in order to avoid confusion and create a type of mobile city. Each unit was equipped with necessary provisions and was labeled accordingly to ensure its purpose was commonly known throughout the camp.
4. Page 89 – 91: In contrast to most historic warriors, Genghis Khan did not require his men to die for him in battle. This is demonstrated in his fighting tactics. By applying unconventional warfare tactics to confuse and frighten his enemies, Genghis Khan would attempt to “win the battle before the first arrow was shot”(89).
5. Page 92: Yaks!
6. Page 99 – 101: Genghis Khan regrouped and redirected the various channels of the Silk Route in order to bring new trade goods into Mongolia. In providing for his people Genghis Khan created one of the wealthiest and most consumptive nations.
1) pg 82: You really could not tell Genghis what to do or what was his or wasn't. He was either given whatever he was after or he would devise a way to take it. Pay the man or get destroyed!
ReplyDelete2) pg 87: The Mongol army wasn't just physically superior to their enemies, but mentally stronger as well. They could survive off of very little food or water, sometimes going meal less for a day or two. When hunger sets in, it's difficult to keep a steady head but the Mongols had conquered conscious as well.
3) pg 101: By now, Genghis and his army have defeated and captured a lot of objectives. The goods they loot after pillaging were stocking up in abundance in steppe so Genghis allowed buildings to be built. He didn't believe buildings could host spirits but they definitely could host his treasures.
4) pgs 106-107: Mongol representatives were mangled in Otrar by the sultan. When Genghis learned of this he rode horseback to a mountain and payed for three days, asking the Eternal Blue Sky for vengeance. Genghis never did just attack, he confronted his God to see if countering would be just and to see if he will receive victory.
5) pg 109: "No city could withstand the onslaught. No citadel survived untaken..." This is a pretty graphic description of how much force the Mongols actually moved with. It didn't matter who you were, where you were from or what your purpose was, if the Mongols wanted what you had, you better have kissed it goodbye.
1) pg 97: Chinese tradition claimed that victory in battle came because Heaven wanted it. Ergo, since Genghis Khan had so many successes, it was clear that Heaven favored him and that going against him would be foolish.
ReplyDelete2) pg 116: The Mongols, despite being painted by history as savage thugs, were far less cruel than other civilizations at the time. Their terror came from their speed and efficiency. Other countries utilized torture and grotesque killings to terrorize their enemies.
3) pg 124-125: In Genghis Khan's waning years, he became aware of how ill prepared his sons were to take over the empire. He tried every tactic he could think of, but he was not a skilled teacher. Unfortunately, most of his lessons were ultimately ignored by his sons.
4) pg 128: Despite suffering serious injuries and illness, Genghis Khan still rode out to conquer the Tangut. The name of the king was so sacred to him that he ordered the king's name changed before he was executed. Genghis Khan died not long after conquering the Tangut.
5) pg 141: Three Russian princes were tricked into believing that the Mongols were pushovers. The Mongols utilized a tactic of silence and long-range warfare that left the Russians at a disadvantage, compounding when they could not retreat without crashing into their own, slower soldiers. Despite being grossly outnumbered, the Mongols had a clear upper hand.
1. (pg. 85) Genghis Khan and his army set out to fight the war against the Jurched that effected the entire world. He did so with his Mongol army overrunning everything from the Indus River to the Danube, for the Pacific Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea. In only 30 years the Mongolian army captured everything in the cities they encountered. This was unheard of at the time and still is. This certainly helped shape the history of the Mongols.
ReplyDelete2. (pg.92) The Mongols had a great tactic of conquering neighboring cities and using those people/animals as bate for their attack. They would round up their enemies herds and stampede them to their owners homes. This would be very confusing and then the soldiers would race in to attack. This is an interesting thing to do but also very clever.
3. (pg. 108) The Mongols had taken every major city in the Khwarizm empire and in a four year campaign they conquered the cities of central Asia too. This is astonishing to me because they could do everything so efficiently and quickly.
4. (pg. 109) Although very close in page number the these two posts needed to be separate because they are both so empowering. Genghis Khan attacked a village that was only 12 years older than his and not only did he attack the empire but also the entire ancient civilization! This is NUTS. He conquered some of the richest countries and they were very sophisticated. The mongol invasion cause more damage here than anywhere else.
5. (pg 117) This was a surprising page because I never thought that the Mongols would be so cruel or want to be. When Khan's daughters husband got murdered he allowed her to make the call on what to do with the citizens of that city. She wanted everyone killed and then their heads stacked in pyramids of men, women, and children. Thats disgusting. Then she wanted all the animals killed. Khan was then sad because his favorite grand son had been killed so he set out with the mentality "kill, dont mourn".
Hen Hao on the posts here, Mojo colleagues!
ReplyDeleteMissing:
Colin
Katrina
Ryan
Skyler
Rob
Don't wait!
W
(Pg 96) After the first year of the Jurched campaigns, the Mongols found that their largest obstacle would not be fighting but the unfamiliar climate. As the Mongols traveled south, closer to the great rivers and oceans, the weather got warmer with increasing humidity. This made travel difficult for the Mongols and their horses; to avoid this displeasure they decided to travel during the colder months.
ReplyDelete(Pg 112) Once the Mongols took over a city, they would kill all of the soldiers then sorted the rest of the villagers up by profession. A professional person was someone anyone who could read and write in any language like doctors, teachers, priests and engineers. The Mongols were highly skilled at fighting, herding and hunting, but they needed these skilled workers maintain their growing empire.
(Pg 139) Each city that Genghis concurred carried a story with it. One story that I found interesting was the capture of the small Christian kingdom of Georgia. The Georgians believed that their skilled army could hold off the Mongols as they have previously done with the Turkic and Muslims. It only took a few hours for the Mongols to completely destroy the army and the nations aristocracy.
(Pg 141) The Mongols were skilled at making powerful bows that allowed them to stay outside the range of their enemies range. They also purposefully made their arrows in a certain way so that their enemy would not be able to use the arrows. But it also allowed them to be able to use their opponent’s arrows against them. This simple show engineering allowed the Mongols to win many battles with their foe own weapons.
(Pg 182) The Mongols showed their ingenuity by finding ways to adapt with the resources around them. They had changed the formula of gunpowder in order to make it more explosive giving them the ability to use projectiles and increase their distance between themselves and the enemy. Some of these projectiles were small enough for one person to carry; others were larger and were mounted on wheels.
1) 100 In all the centuries of raiding and trading, no leader had brought back to his homeland nearly the amount of goods as Genghis Khan. He distributed this to his people showing that he was compassionate to his people.
ReplyDelete2) 102-104 The incident with the Siberian tribes that were united under Botohuitarhun. Even though she slighted Genghis Khan by killing his emissaries. Rather than kill her for her insubordination he give her as a while to the emissary that she might have already taken as a husband.
3) 111 Genghis Khan plays to the Muslims religious superstition during the campaign in Khwarizm by playing into the idea that he was sent by God to punish the wicked.
4) 119 Genghis Khan or his advisers were very shrewed at figuring out trade logistics, by funneling all the trade to a few key cities across Asia he could more effectively control his empire and the goods that entered it.
5)141 Even in the 13th century the Slavs seem not very adept at mustering an army that is beyond relying on sheer numbers of untrained presents to do the fighting.
On page 80 there is a map showing the Mongol empire in the year 1260. I find it incredible how much territory they actually ruled. It’s impressive that with primitive forms of communication a ruler so far away could control these lands.
ReplyDeleteOn page 87 we get an interesting insight as to why the Mongol warriors were so strong. Their diet consists of dairy products and meat containing high amounts of protein making them strong and surprisingly healthy considering their lifestyle.
On page 145 we learn how the Mongols absorbed information from the Chinese and Muslims giving them an upper hand against the Europeans. From years and years of experience the Mongols could just continue getting more invincible from everything they can pick up from the countries they took over.
On page 159 I find it interesting how they sold prisoners to the Italians for slaves and they sold the slaves to Egypt.. Ironically enough the prisoners of war they once took would be fighting back against them as a part of an Egyptian slave army. The worst part of this for the Mongols is that in captivity they were able to learn the Mongol techniques and some of their language.
165- The Mongols seemed to be unbelievably cruel in ways not just killing, but torturing people too. Although they were impressively innovative and progressive in organizing society it is clear that they still have very primitive thinking. On page 165 they tortured Fatima by sewing shut all the orifices of her body so that her soul does not escape when the kill her.
Page 114- Genghis utilized the skills of people he came in power of, in this example they talk about how the muslim's had a higher literacy rate and were used to spread written stories and keep records.
ReplyDeletePage 115- Despite the Mongols unprecedented killing rate they never mutilated or tortured enemies, unlike the other rulers of the time.
Page 116- German Fredrick Barbossa used captured living children as catapult ammo. F*CKED.
Page 117- The city of Nishapur revolted and Genghis Khan's son-in-law Tokuchar was killed by an arrow. He let his widowed pregnant daughter decide the fate of the town. She ordered everyone be killed.The Mongols carried out the orders and made piles of heads separated by Man, woman and children. They also killed all the animals " so that no living creature would survive the death of her husband.
Page 118- According to ancient records 15 million were killed during the central Asia conquest. This number is believed to be extremely inflated, perhaps for tactical fear instilling purposes. This would equate to 350 deaths to every Mongol death. The human remains would of been preserved very well in the climate and there has never been evidence of this many bodies.
"destroyer of cities than a slayer of the people."
Page 119- Genghis chose cities to conquer by how they affected the trade routes. he would conquer to reroute trade to areas where he could control it. If he wanted to shut down trade in an area he would demolish it. Genius.
Page 119-121 - Genghis planned on separating his empire into states so each of his sons could rule as a Khan with on Great Khan as a central government. Jochi the eldest son of Borte (his wife) was the child from when she was kidnapped but remained in the highest regards to Genghis , but not to his other sons because of Jochi's half blood.Chaghatai the second son held resent towards Jochi and they broke into a fight. After his death there would surely be turmoil. Genghis gave an analogy in a family meeting about a multiple headed snake with one tail and a single headed snake with multiple tails in order to persuade cooperation between his sons.
Page 127- Jochi fell ill and refused to see Genghis when directly summoned. He didn't ever return to Mongolia, he stayed in his newly captured land, never to speak to his family again. He soon died there. This was probably best for Mongol politics.
Page 128 After defeating the Tangut King whom was named Burkham which meant "God" Genghis orderd his name be changed prior to his execution.
Genghis Khan Died six months after the complete victory over Tangut at the end of summer.
1. The Tangut raids had spurred Genghis Khan to learn a new type of warfare against walled cities, moats, and fortresses. Genghis Khan had to invent his own methods. He quickly learned the simple tactics of cutting off the Mongols’ enemies from the surrounding food supply, but he soon attempted more unorthodox methods, such as when he attacked the fortified Tangut capital by diverting a channel of the Yellow River to flood it. The Mongols succeeded in diverting the river, but they wiped out their own camp instead of the Tangut. In the future the Mongols used this method again, but made it better and more successful each time. (page 85)
ReplyDelete2. The Mongols showed their traditional ability to improvise and use whatever material presented itself as a possible weapon. The Mongols chopped down tall date palm trees and turned the trunks into lethal missiles that they fires at the city. Lacking the sufficient wood to encircle the large city of Baghdad as the Mongols had done with the cities of Russia, Hulegu nevertheless surrounded the city with a deep ditch and rampart and began the assault with a terrifying bombardment of the city. The Arabs knew of the use of flamethrowers in combat, but until this point had not encountered the military power of gunpowder. (page 182)
3. Instead of attacking the walls of Riazan, the Mongols used their massive number of conscripted laborers in a project that confused and terrified the citizens even more. The workers cut down trees, hauled them to the Mongol lines outside the city, and rapidly began building a wall completely surrounding the already walled city. The Mongol wall formed a strong stockade that surrounded the city completely, sealed off the gates, and prevented the city’s defenders from sending out forays of troops to attack the Mongols or to destroy their siege machines. The Mongol wall cut off routes for reinforcements to arrive in the city or to bring food or supplies. Probably the most horrifying effect of the wall was that it sealed the people into their own city without the hope of escape. (page 147)
4. Instead of attacking, the Mongols started singing and beating their drums, and then, just as suddenly, the Mongol rank fell into an erie but absolute quiet. Since it was a clear spring day without too much dust, the Mongols had chosen a Silent Attack to be controlled and coordinated by the waving flags, at which signal the mounted Mongol archers raced silently forward toward the Russian infantry lines. The Mongol horsemen halted just beyond the reach of the Slav’s hand weapons, and from there, the Mongols fired their arrow straight into the Russian infantry ranks. In their angry frustration, all the Russian soldiers could do was break the fallen arrows to make sure that the Mongols could not retrieve them to use again. (page 141)
5. Genghis Khan had learned much from his campaigns against the Jurched cities: not only how to capture heavily fortified cities, but how to treat them afterward, in particular how to most efficiently plunder them. He did not want to repeat the mistakes of the chaotic plunder of Zhongdu. In Khwarizm, he introduced the new and more efficient system of first emptying the city of all people and animals before beginning to loot, thereby minimizing the danger to his men as they plunder.