Positive And Negative Effects Of The Mongol Empires

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Trade and interaction between empires in the early 1200s was limited and extremely dangerous. Asia was mostly made up of small clans and nomadic tribes. These tribes constantly fought and had little communication with the west. There was little unification and interaction. In the 13th century, a Mongol leader named Genghis Khan began to unite the nomadic tribes and clans, thus beginning the short, but great, Mongol Empire. Khan was a ruthless invader who was able to bring together the clans and put together one of the most successful empires in world history. At its height, the Mongol empire spanned from the Pacific Ocean to Baghdad and up to modern day Hungary (Mongol Empire, 1294). Many believe that the Mongols had mostly negative impacts …show more content…

As previously mentioned, the Mongol Empire covered a lot of land. Because of this, there were people of many different cultures and religions that lived in the empire. Unlike other large empires, the Mongols tolerated and even encouraged trade with foreigners and people of other religions and cultures. This tolerance encouraged more foreign merchants and travelers to come to the Mongol Empire, further increasing the amount of trade and interaction between Europe and Asia. The Mongols “were some of the most open-minded people of the Middle Ages [...] This in turn made possible a degree of communication and trade between East and West that had not existed since the glory days of Rome” (Knight). The Mongols were extremely open-minded and this is seen by the accounts in Marco Polo’s Travels of Marco Polo. Polo was a Venetian merchant and explorer who traveled across Eurasia and documented these travels in his travel narrative, Travels of Marco Polo (Maraini). He spent a lot of time in Mongol-ruled China and wrote about the culture and lives of the Mongols. Polo said in his travel narrative that the Mongols “treat the foreigners who visit them for the sake of trade with great cordiality, and entertain them in the most winning manner, affording them every help and advice on their business” (“Marco Polo”). The Mongols knew that treating foreigners with respect and helping them would boost trade and therefore allow them to gain money. This way of thinking is what interested foreign merchants and made people start traveling again. The tolerant attitude of the Mongols also encouraged people of different religions to begin trade around Eurasia. This attitude “allowed merchants of all religions and ethnicities to use the trading routes of the Silk Road. As a result, many Jewish, Muslim, and Christian trade

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