Mongols Dbq Essay

Many people associate the word “mongols” with “barbarians” but that was not the case back in the classical era. Ancient Greeks used to call Mongols “barbados” which simply meant “foreigner”. But by the 1200s, “barbarian” received a much more negative atmosphere, referring to people who lived beyond the hands of civilization; people who were savage, cruel, brutal. Another reason that could factor into Mongols receiving such a bad reputation is that they were illiterate, meaning that most of the evidence came from neighbors or conquered places who were upset and furious that “barbarians” took over their land. However, according to some of the documents presented, Mongols were simply strategic and thorough rather than brutal seeing as they had

conquered so much land with their battle tactics, high morals, and strategic planning.
Mongols were known for their strong military, which had astounding numbers. The Mongol military was said to have over 100,000 soldiers.

With that many soldiers, it can be complicated keeping them together, and organized when it comes to battle. Nevertheless, the Mongols figured out a way to have an organized military. According to Document C, Genghis Khan ordained that the army should be organized in a way so that one man looks over ten, which are called captain of tens, another man looks over ten captains of ten, which is named captain of hundreds, while another man looks over ten captains of hundreds, and the pattern keeps making its way until there are two to three chiefs in command, but ultimately, one is holding the complete power over the army. The information from this source, History of the Mongols, by John of Plano Carpini, implies that not only the Mongols, or Genghis Khan, had to be organized but also thorough. Which could be an indication of just how prepared the Mongols were. However, when it comes to attacking lands or peoples, there is bound to be injuries, despite the fact of how grand and numerous the military was. According to Document B, the soldiers prepared themselves in order to avoid injuries in the first place. Nonetheless, when injuries occurred, the soldiers had a silk undershirt, a novelty learned from the Chinese.

The reason behind the silk undershirt was for when the arrow pierced through the body of a soldier, the silk would get dragged into the wound, making it easier for the physician to remove the arrow without “ripping further flesh” (Doc. B). Also, each soldier was equipped for travel with a saddlebag made from a cow’s stomach, which was waterproof and inflatable, which proved as a useful float for crossing rivers. Finally, the soldiers would carry weapons depending on the ranks; light cavalry would carry a small sword and two or three javelins while the heavy brigade would carry scimitar, 12-foot lance. Once again, although they did indeed kill thousands, Mongols did not just randomly attack, they did this with careful consideration and thought. When they attacked, not only would it be astounding, it would thorough and organized.
With an army so numerous and careful, there had to be cautious planning when attacking/conquering peoples and lands.

According to Document D, they were very exhaustive when it came to it. Some battle tactics that were used was to have the soldiers’ family surrounding the land of battle to make it seem like an audience as a way to weaken the opposing army (intimidate them or catch them off guard). As the chiefs would wait in the back with the women and children, there would be figures of men on horses, making it seem there is even a larger crowd of men waiting to fight. They would take shifts when fighting as to not tire out the entire military at the same time. Another important strategy they would utilize constantly was to spread out, while being hidden, before the battle began, so when it did, the Mongolian Army would have surrounded the opposing army making them surrender almost immediately. With these battle tactics, it is not surprising how much land they conquered in such a short amount of time. According to Document A, which was written by various sources, Genghis Khan conquered more than the United States’ area. To be specific, Genghis Khan conquered 4,860,000 square miles in a span of 40 years. That’s more what Alexander the Great and Tamerlane, two famous rulers/conquerors, conquered

combined!
Seeing as how strategic and thorough the Mongols were with conquering, it is implied that they had high morals and did not really judge people on their beliefs. According to Document K, Mongols had strict laws on no murdering, robbery, war, strife, and bodily harm. Seeing as no one wanted to test if they were true or not, there were no locks or bolts in houses and carts. Animals could be left unattended and would not be stolen. Finally, it has been said that someone could walk down the Silk Road with a gold plate on their head and reach their destination without a hair out of place. Another reason, the Mongols were more strategic and through with high morals rather than brutal is that the Mongols did not force their conquered people to converge into a certain religion, they could make their own decision (Doc. G). In the Mongolian capital, it was divided into two parts. Apart from these districts, there are large temples. There are twelve pagan temples belonging to different nations, two mosques, and one church for the Christians. Not only does this imply that they did not care for the religion, they also did not change the nationality of their people, instead they learned from the conquered ones and adapted it into their culture.
In conclusion, while the Mongols constantly received a bad reputation, that even the Chinese erased that part of their history, they were considerate to the conquered people. The Mongols had high morals, strategic planning which lead to much of land being conquered according to the documents presented.