The Mongols

On Monday the 19^th in World History class, we discussed Chapter 12 in Ways of the World, called, “Pastoral Peoples on the Global Stage.” This chapter is about the Mongol Movement and their impact they had on the classical era. As the class was conversing over the Mongol’s way of living during 1200-1500, we were asked the questions of what makes up a civilization. After minutes of debating the answer in our heads we verbally spoke them aloud to our fellow classmates. The answers we came up with were: complex economy, trade, common language/culture/religion, city/city-states, a system of government, technology, agricultural base, specialization/surplus, social hierarchy, and military. Now since we came up with quite few answers our Professor Andrews left us to discuss whether the Mongols were a civilization. They indeed held more than half of these characteristics to be considered a civilization. The only unclear point about the Mongols being a civilization is that they had no true land to themselves, they owed none of their own property. Also, the Mongols were very brutal and violent to the civilization they conquered and took over their land. When the lecture was over Professor Andrews left us to come to a conclusion about whether or not historians think that the Mongols symbolize barbarians?

            At first this questions was easy for me to answer. The more I thought about it the more complicated the question became. Historians often described barbarians as being brutally violent, which I absolutely true. The evidence that can proof this statement is the fact that they wipeout China, Russia, and Persia. They killed people in a horrible fashion, and were not very stable, although, the Mongols did have a wonderful military. As the more I started elaborating on this question of the representation of the Mongols symbolizing barbarians the more I started to believe that historians just state it how they believe it, which made me second guess myself. Due to the violence they used to destroy the other civilization causes people to think they acted like barbarians; however, I would agree. By slashing and killing other groups just to inherit their land was a way that they resembled barbarians. By the way they traveled and road horses showed how developed they were in technology. The saddle for the horse was a huge significance in the world because it brought a time of change and trade for across the Eurasian continent. Also it brought warfare to the lands because it was a huge advantage for them to conquer their enemies. Another aspect to proof that they were not barbarians it the fact on how organized the Mongols were on how they went about their military force. As soon as they would destroy the civilizations they were capturing they would take over the land but absorbed the lands original religion and culture. Though the Mongols were barbaric, the one’s they conquered, such as the Chinese, Persia, and Russia still easily influenced them. When the Mongols overtook china they became interested in their poetry and calligraphy. In Persia when the Mongols destroyed their civilization they became farmers instead of nomadic people. Also, when the Mongols conquered the Russian, they allowed the Russian rulers to still be in charge and they eventually evolved into Kipchaks- a Russian confederation. All in all, the Mongols did have barbaric characteristics in the way they destroyed other civilizations, they had more of a civilized way of life.