Who were the Mongols?
The Mongols were nomadic groups that lived in the steppes of Mongolia. They lived in tents called yurts and raised goats, sheep, and horses. They were excellent horse riders, a skill learned at an early age.
How was the empire created?
The Mongol empire was created or unified by one man whose name was Genghis khan. He was born into a noble family but grew up in poverty when his father was killed by rivals. Genghis khan was brilliant and ruthless. He first began with uniting all of the Mongols. The Mongols were an extremely loyal group of people; he would offer gifts to tribes ensuring that he had the support of the tribe. In order for him to have continued support from these tribes he continued to conquer other places after he had united all of the Mongols. The Mongols were fierce fighters, able to shoot arrows with remarkable accuracy while riding at full speed. Their reputation exceeded them making people fear them so that would surrender without a fight. If they surrendered without a fight, they would be spared. After he united all of the Mongols he then turned his attention to the surrounding areas such as china and Russia. The Mongol empire reached from the pacific coast of china to the western parts of Russia.
What was the organization of the empire?
During the rule of Genghis khan, the organization of the government centralized on a capital city. This place symbolized the control of the Mongol empire. He made it so that the high ranked military and the political officials were people with whom he knew had absolute loyalty. This did not necessarily mean that they were of a noble family. This ensured that the Mongol state was unburdened by conflicts between tribes. He mainly ruled the Mongols through his army. In the areas that he conquered he left the governing body continue to govern but with Mongol overlords and an extraction of tributes for use by the Mongol. After his death his empire was divided into four khanates which were ruled by his sons and grandsons, there was always tension among the khanates.
How did the empire facilitate movement of peoples?
After the death of Genghis khan and the empire was divided into khanates, each region developed a different set of ruling. But what was common with them is that they encouraged travel between these khanates, especially when it dealt with trade. Even though there was tension among the khanate they ensured that the trade routes were safe, because they depended on the trade with agriculturally settled places. Because the routes were safe for merchants, they were also safe for the diplomats who traveled in and out of the mongol empire, with dealing of the Mongols with different places. Not only those, the Mongols encouraged different religions and so missionaries of different religions also traveled these same routes to convert and spread religion. The Mongols also moved people themselves among their empire; they moved people of specialized trades to places in the empire that need these trades.
What was the impact of the Mongol empire on the places it conquered?
The Mongols not only brought in destruction from warfare it also brought in other things. It brought in new religions, ideas, and cultural adaptation. The Mongol empire in its vastness brought travel and trade, introduced new political ideas, allowed for the integration of cultures, introduced religions that mold that world today. On the downside, it also brought the spread of diseases which wiped out mass populations in areas with which people. The mongol empire had massive impacts on the places it conquered and the places it came in contact with; impacts that had both positive and negative impacts.