Who was the founder of the Mongolian state. Conquest of Northern China and other states. Military structure of the Mongol Empire
The formation of the Mongol state and the Mongol conquests
1. Mongolia before the formation of the state.
2. Creation of the Mongolian state.
3. The main directions, reasons for success and consequences of the Mongol conquests.
1. Mongolia before the formation of the state
By the end of the 12th century, several large unions of Mongol tribes roamed over a vast area from the Great Wall of China to Southern Siberia, from the upper reaches of the Irtysh to the Amur.
Ethnonym " Mongol" in the shape of « mengu", "mengu-mo", "mengu-wa" - first found in the Chinese chronicles of the Tang Dynasty. So the Chinese called a group of "barbarians" (all the steppe peoples) who roamed their northern borders, which obviously reflected their self-name. The Chinese called the northern Mongolian tribes "black" Tatars , and the nomads adjacent to the Great Wall of China "White" Tatars . There is also such a concept as "wild" Tatars, applicable to peoples engaged in hunting and fishing and living in the most remote northern regions of Mongolia. From this it can be assumed that during this period the Tatars dominated the steppe. The steppe peoples included nomads three tribes (Manchu, Mongolian, Turkic), but all these nomads called themselves the general concept of "Tatals", hence the "Tatars". As they moved away from China, the influence of settled peoples on nomadic peoples had a weaker effect or was completely absent.
The natural conditions of Mongolia (steppes, mountain pastures) from ancient times determined the main occupation of the Mongols - nomadic cattle breeding, that is, the Mongols - nomads nomads. In the steppes of Central Asia, nomadic pastoralism emerged from the primitive complex agricultural-cattle-breeding-hunting economy.
Chinese Chan Chun described the habitats of the Tatar-Mongol as "a giant valley, the dimensions of which are 7-8 months of travel in length and width, ... abounding in water and grass," where people and herds "today go, tomorrow they stand, where there is water and grass." In the XI century. a long period of drought has ended. This contributed to the shift of the boundaries of the steppe zone to the south to the Gobi desert, the growth in the number of livestock and especially the population.
The main element of Mongolian society was the clan headed by the steppe aristocracy (bagaturs, noyons3). The clan jointly owned nomadic lands, performed religious rites. In the minds of most of the Mongols, the idea of collective responsibility for each member of the family. Joint farming and nomadism was called smoking (the camp-kuren was arranged around the yurt of the tribal elder and could number up to a thousand wagons, i.e. families)
Natives of the clan, who did not want to accept the rules of behavior and life within the team, became "people of long will." These people united in organized detachments under the leadership of military leaders. "People of long will" along with the Mongolian clans were a powerful force in the steppe.
The Mongols had tribal associations, which by the indicated time were not so much ethnic as political communities. Each of these associations had its own leader - Khan . As a rule, the khans at the indicated time were already hereditary rulers, although the electoral system of the era of military democracy continued to exist, when the khan as a military leader was chosen by representatives of the tribal aristocracy. Sources indicate that in the XI-XII centuries. in Mongolian society, the steppe nobility stood out - “noyons”, people of the “white bone”. They bore special titles: "Bogatyr", "Sharpshooter", "Strongman", "Wise", etc.
From the second half of the XII century. the rivalry of individual aristocratic families for power, for the distribution of pastures, the removal of other people's herds and the kidnapping of brides of "foreign bone" intensified. Iranian scientist, vizier of the Mongolian Ilkhans, Rashid ad-Din (12471318) reports: “Each tribe had a sovereign and an emir. Most of the time they fought and fought each other, quarreled and robbed each other.”
As a result of tribal enmity, as well as China's traditional policy of pitting nomads against each other to prevent their unification, robbery, theft, arbitrariness, lawlessness, and adultery have become commonplace. Thus, the need for political unification became obvious.
Even at the end of the XII century. Temujin (1154/1162(?) -Aug. 25, 1227), the son of Khan Yesugei, stood out among the Mongols, who experienced many disasters after the death of his father: childhood in the struggle of small nomads; in his youth, he was a prisoner in China, where he learned a lot, including learning about the weaknesses of the Middle Kingdom. He gathered young warriors ("people of long will"), who formed horde(team) and lived on military booty. They fought with their neighbors and accepted into their ranks everyone who was ready to submit to their way of life. Soon all the peoples of the Mongols submitted to the horde, and Temujin was proclaimed at the kurultai in 1206 (the year of the Tiger / Leopard) kaan , i.e. Genghis Khan ("Ocean Khan" - "Lord of the World"; in Turkic - Tengis Khan).
In the issue of unification, 2 trends emerged:
Most of the aristocracy preferred to unite at the level tribal confederation while maintaining their real power on the ground. But this could not ensure socio-political stability, because. tribal unions in Mongolia fell apart as quickly as they arose. This trend was driven by Jamukha , supported by the Tatars.
trend towards a highly centralized state the supporter of which was Genghis Khan, supported by the Mongols.
AT hard war Genghis Khan defeated the Tatars, almost completely exterminating them. Jamukha was executed. He persuaded the steppe aristocracy to create a state. Then Genghis Khan began the unification of the steppes. The internal struggle was very fierce and more difficult for the Mongols than subsequent external conquests.
These were typical steppe wars, after which the prisoners were boiled in cauldrons, "equated to the axis of the cart", pregnant women were ripped open. In Mongolian legends about this struggle it is written: “The starry sky used to turn. They didn’t lie down on the bed here, the mother wide earth shuddered - that’s what a pan-lingual strife was going on. Genghis Khan himself said that "the highest pleasure for a man is to defeat his enemies, drive them in front of him, take everything from them, see the faces of their loved ones in tears, squeeze their daughters and wives in the arms."
2. Creation of the Mongolian state
From 1206, the history of Mongolian statehood begins, which initially had an imperial tendency. The military character of the state was manifested in the oath taken to the Great Khan. The power of the Khan was also figuratively manifested in the rituals that accompanied the accession to the power of the Great Khan: the nearest nobles laid a sword in front of him, and he asked: “Is each of you ready to do what I command, go where I send, kill whom I will I order?" The nobles answered: "Ready." Then the Khan said to them: "From now on, let the word of my mouth be my sword."
The power of the Great Khan was also manifested in the fact that he was the ruler over life, death and property of each subject.
Factors hindering the peaceful development of the state:
During the process of centralization, nomadic pastoralism fell into decline, i.e. the basis of the economy. This pushed them to seize new herds and pastures from their neighbors.
The entire male population was mobilized into the army, trained in the art of war, aimed at war as the most effective means of acquiring material well-being.
Carrying out plans for aggressive campaigns, Genghis Khan, first of all, took up the military-administrative structure of the state.
The territory of Mongolia was divided into two parts: the left wing and the right wing, between which was the territory of Genghis Khan's own nomad camp. Such a division of the territory dates back to the time of the Huns and other tribal associations - the ancestors of the Mongols. Their experience greatly influenced the process of organizing the Mongol Empire.
Each of the three large districts (right and left wings and the center) was divided into "darkness" (10 thousand people), "thousands", "hundreds" and "tens". The territorial division corresponded to the principle of manning the army, headed by tenth, sotsky, thousandths and temniks. of the best warriors, which played a huge role in strengthening the combat capability of the army. Companions of Genghis Khan were at the head of the territories, nukers and noyons .
Thus, Genghis Khan, having shown himself earlier as an outstanding commander, now showed himself as a talented organizer and political figure. He turned the earlier warring tribes into a single powerful horde, placing it on a solid foundation. His domestic and foreign policy was aimed at protecting the interests of the noyonism. The administrative system also served these purposes. Under Genghis Khan, the city of Karakorum, the center of crafts and trade, became the capital of the empire.
Such a military-administrative structure of the state reflected the process of replacing former kinship ties with new administrative-territorial ones. Members of the former tribal collectives turned into vassals dependent on military leaders.
The positions of noyons (temniks, thousanders, centurions) were hereditary, but they did not have the right to own the nomad camp and the population that roamed on this land (they could not transfer or sell).
Relatives and closest associates of Genghis Khan received destinies and subjects for personal use. The latter were not included in the thousands and carried duties only in favor of their masters.
Such a mobile system of government was brought to life by the peculiar conditions of the aristocracy, which was looking for enrichment through military adventures and made it possible for Genghis Khan to mobilize the required number of soldiers at any time.
In addition to the power of the Khan, the Mongols were still subject to the harsh ancient law Great Yasa , which prescribed to each of the Horde members the observance of the basic rules of behavior and attitude towards their neighbors: deceit, failure to help a comrade in war, discord between friends and any quarrels were especially severely punished.
Thus, the principles of the Mongol state laid down by Genghis Khan became the basis of the Mongol Empire. You can talk about " the dual nature of the "steppe empires" . Outwardly, they looked like despotic conquering states, because. were created to extract a surplus product outside the steppe. From the inside, these empires remained based on tribal ties without taxation and exploitation of pastoralists. The strength of the ruler's power was based on his ability to organize military campaigns and redistribute income from trade, tribute and raids on neighboring peoples.
3. Main directions, reasons for success and consequences of the Mongol conquests.
The history of the Mongolian state is the history of conquests. Reasons for the Mongol conquests:
The nomadic nobility lived by robbing their own people and neighboring peoples. Thus, robbery, primarily of non-Mongolian peoples, is the main source of enrichment for the nobility and the main reason for the Mongol conquests. From the Great Wall of China to the Hungarian border - a grassy-steppe space;
Genghis Khan was faced with the task of distracting the nobility from separatist tendencies, and keeping the created empire from rapid collapse. This could be achieved by plundering Eurasia;
In the conditions of the Mongolian state, it was necessary to divert the attention of the masses from the deteriorating situation. So, from the sources you can find out that many Mongol warriors and cattle breeders did not have horses. A nomad without a horse in the conditions of the XIII-XIV centuries was neither a warrior nor even a shepherd. The impoverishment of the vast majority of the Mongols was a widespread phenomenon. At times, vagrancy was not only widespread among them, but also took on a huge scale.
In terms of the scale of expansion and the consequences of the Tatar-Mongol invasion, it can only be compared with the invasion of the Huns.
With a relatively small army, the Mongol expansion was carried out like a fan in 3 directions:
southeastern - China, Korea, Japan, Indochina, Java.
southwestern - middle Asia, Iran, Caucasus, Arab Caliphate.
northwestern - Russia, Europe.
The first blow Genghis Khan brought down southbound , on the state of the Tanguts, Xi-Xia and Jin. The first blows against the Tangut state were delivered in 1205; in 1207 and 1209 - the second and third campaigns against the Tanguts. As a result of the victories of the Mongols, the Tanguts were forced to make peace with them and pay a large indemnity. Since 1211 campaigns against the Jurchens (in 1215 Beijing was taken).
In 1218 it was announced western hike, which was preceded by victories over the Kara-Khitans and the tribes of Southern Siberia. The main goals of the western campaign were the rich territories and cities of Central Asia (the state of Khorezmshah, Bukhara, Samarkand), which was conquered in 1222. The development of this direction led the Mongols to the Caucasus, to the southern Russian steppes.
Thus, Northern China (1211-1234) and Central Asia were hit hardest when Mongol expansion was on the rise. Northern China literally turned into a desert (a contemporary wrote: “Traces of terrible devastation were visible everywhere, the bones of the dead made up whole mountains: the soil was loose from human fat, the rotting of corpses caused diseases”).
AT Central Asia everything that resisted was subjected to a "general massacre" ("katliamm"). Rashid ad-Din wrote that Genghis Khan gave the order to kill anything creature from any kind of people and any breed of cattle, wild animals and birds, they did not take a single captive and no prey. Here, most of the cities were subjected to a "general massacre."
By 1233, some areas were conquered Iran and about the same time -
1236 - completed the conquest Caucasus;
1256 The Mongols re-invaded Iran as a result of which the valleys of Western Asia turned into a desert;
1258 - fell Abbasid Caliphate and Baghdad was taken, the most Big city on earth, which also suffered a "general slaughter".
Only the Mameluks managed to defeat the Mongol detachment in Palestine (1260), thereby protecting Egypt from the Mongol invasion. It was a victory comparable to the victory of Charles Martel over the Arabs at Poitiers, because. it marked a turning point in repelling the wave of invasion.
Starting with the conquest of Russia (1237), we can talk about the gradual attenuation of the Mongol expansion. At the turn of the expansion, between 1237 and 1241. The Mongols invaded Europe. Their onslaught, as in Asia, was cruel and intimidating. Having devastated Russia, southern Poland and a significant part of Hungary, in Silesia they destroyed the army of German knights (1241) near the city of Legnica, west of the Oder River.
From Western Europe the Mongols began to retreat in 1241/42, despite the fact that all the battles of 1241-1242. have been won. Khan Batu (Khan of the Golden Horde from 1243 to 1255; grandson of Genghis Khan) did not meet powerful organized resistance in Europe. Apparently, only the problems associated with the choice of a successor to Genghis Khan (after the death of Khan Ogedei) forced the leaders of the Mongols to turn east after this victory. Khan Batu understood that he could not keep Poland, Hungary and the lands of the southern Slavs under his rule. By 1243, all the Mongol armies were withdrawn beyond the Carpathians. From Hungary, they managed to collect tribute only once.
In the 40s. 13th century Batu Khan created the Tatar-Mongolian state Golden Horde (Western Siberia; northern Khorezm; Volga Bulgaria; Crimea; steppes from the Volga to the Danube). Capital Cities : Sarai-Batu ( Old Barn; modern Astrakhan region); Sarai-Berke (from the 1st half of the 14th century; New Saray; modern Volgograd region). The Russian principalities were in vassal dependence on the Golden Horde. From the 15th century the empire broke up into Siberian, Astrakhan, Kazan, Crimean and other khanates.
The extreme western limits of the invasion turned out to be the German city of Meissen and countryside in Austria, where the Mongol detachment killed up to a hundred peasants.
Under Khubilai (1278-1294; 5th Great Khan), Mongol expansion reached extreme southern and eastern points: prolonged conquest of Vietnam, unsuccessful campaigns in Japan, unsuccessful invasion of the island of Java (resolute resistance of the people). Thus, the Mongol Empire could only exist as long as it was at war:
only conquests held it together.
Reasons for the success of the Mongol conquests: Reasons for internal order:
The military and diplomatic talent of Genghis Khan. Genghis Khan himself was remarkable for his amazing ability to adapt to unfamiliar conditions and willingly used Chinese and Muslim-Turkic "specialists" in his army. He organized a magnificent "service of informers", and merchants of all nationalities and religions delivered a lot of information to him, whom he encouraged in every possible way. Genghis Khan also succeeded in the cold-blooded, thoughtful use of diplomatic measures and military force according to circumstances. All these qualities allowed Genghis Khan, his gifted sons, grandchildren and military leaders to continuously win over the next enemy.
ideological justification the conquests of Genghis Khan was the idea of his being chosen by the Eternal Sky as the khan of all peoples;
The social homogeneity of Mongolian society and the relative weakness of antagonism within it;
The presence of cavalry. In the steppe, a man is inseparable from a horse and a saber (“human centaur”). Horses were decorated with blankets made of human skin, and the skulls of dead enemies were hung from the saddles. In the steppe you have to kill first - otherwise they will kill you → you need to train in the ability to kill every day.
Under the command of Genghis Khan was an excellently organized and disciplined army; it consisted of horse archers and had exceptional mobility (up to 150 km per day) combined with superiority in long-range weapons. (Army of Genghis Khan≈129 thousand, Batu≈142 thousand); if a warrior fled from the battlefield, a dozen were punished; 10 people retreated - a hundred were punished. The army created by Genghis Khan was a decisive factor in the success of the relatively small ethnos of the Mongols.
The Mongol conquests, which crushed the civilization of the Middle Ages, became possible thanks to a fundamental discovery - Mongolian bow("saadak"). It was a complex killing machine, glued together from bone and wood of various kinds. An arrow from this bow pierced any armor for 400 meters. The Mongols taught children 3 years to the bow, gradually increasing its size.
A variety of tactics used depending on specific conditions:
mercy tactics in surrender; the tactics of encircling a large area with several detachments and moving towards their center, surrounding and squeezing the enemy;
The empire of Genghis Khan united the military forces of the largest part of the nomads of Central Asia (not only Mongolian, but also many Turkic, Manchu, Tungus, etc.).
Numerous, solidarity, submission to the power of one khan, who was the sovereign ruler over life and death, the person and property of all his subordinates.
Causes of the external order
The fragmentation of the conquered territories, the rulers of which were afraid to arm the people against the Mongols;
The betrayal of the merchants, which was a cosmopolitan force (informers, spies, guides for military detachments);
Crowd tactics (forward civilians, then Mongol warriors).
Consequences of the Mongol conquests
Describing the consequences of the Mongol conquests, Yelü Chutsai, who literally saved China from extermination, wrote: "The heavenly network was torn, the earth's axis was broken, human justice disappeared."
As a result of the conquests by Genghis Khan, his sons and grandsons, an empire was created, unprecedented in size (from Korea in the East to Syria in the West; including the territory of Central Asia, China, the Caucasus, Afghanistan, Iran). The cities of Russia were burned and taxed; devastating raids were made on Hungary, Drake, Moravia and Poland.
The consequences of the invasions were different for different regions: they were the most severe for Central Asia (huge human losses, destruction of the irrigation system). They were heavy for China, especially northern. But here we can also talk about assimilation:
Khubilai's heirs learned the basics of Chinese culture, including language and writing. In particular, the whale. lang. the biography of Genghis Khan was translated (only this translation has survived to this day). But for the indigenous population, they remained strangers;
In the XIV century. the rulers of various parts of the Mongol Empire adopted Buddhism or Islam. This meant that in fact they were subjugated by the cultures in which they lived - Chinese, Persian or Arabic.
If we talk about Russia, then here we should talk, first of all, about the grave consequences in terms of spirituality. In present time there is a controversy: “Was there a yoke?”. Most major historians are supporters of the traditional view that Mongol invasion played a completely negative role in the history of the Russian people. Others: Consequences both negative and positive. Thirdly, the consequence was the formation of an empire and an imperial space.
Metaphor: nomads are not only children, but also fathers of the desert. This fully applies to the Mongols, especially in relation to Northern China, Central Asia.
The territory of Mongolia was largely affected (after the creation of the empire, the population of Mongolia decreased sharply; the color of the Mongolian population settled throughout the continent). The aggressive policy slowed down not only progressive development conquered countries, but also the development of the productive forces and culture of Mongolia itself. The Mongol Empire, created by fire and sword, on the blood of enslaved peoples, torn apart by internal contradictions, did not have a single economic base, in the end, fell under the blows of the conquered peoples.
Tului (youngest son; ruler of central and western Mongolia).
17 ticket. The Mongol Empire - the causes and consequences of the collapse.
Geography
Mongolia is mainly a plateau, raised to a height of 900-1500 m above sea level.
Important objects
Ridge Mongolian Altai in the west and southwest of the country for 900 km
Gobi Desert - south, southwest and southeast
rivers - Selenga (flows into Baikal), Kerulen, Onon, Khalkin-gol
Sharply continental (harsh winter, dry hot summer). Rainfall 230-500 mm
Mongolian group of the Altaic macrofamily of languages
shamanism
Natural resources
Furs, fish, brown coal, hard coal, tungsten and fluorspar, Copper-molybdenum ores, phosphorites
Location 1227-1405 (maximum limits)
The northern part of Asia, from the Black Sea in the West to the Yellow and South China in the East, the border in the north - between Baikal and the mouth of the Irtysh, in the south - to the Arabian Sea
Neighbors: west - Poland, counterclockwise - Hungary, Black Sea, Byzantium, Mediterranean Sea, Arabia, Persian Gulf, Indian Ocean, India, Siam (Indo_China), South China Sea, Pacific Ocean, Yellow Sea, Pacific Ocean. In the north -
The formation of the Mongol state and the Mongol conquests
By the end of the XII - the beginning of the XIII century. the Mongols occupied a vast territory from Baikal and Amur in the east to the upper reaches of the Irtysh and Yenisei in the west, from the Great Wall of China in the south to the borders of Southern Siberia in the north. the largest tribal unions The Mongols who played the most important role in subsequent events were the Tatars, Taichiuts, Keraites, Naimans and Merkits. Some of the Mongol tribes (“forest tribes”) lived in the wooded regions of the northern part of the country, while the other, larger part of the tribes and their associations (“steppe tribes”) lived in the steppes.
In the past, in the era of the domination of the primitive communal system, when cattle and pastures were the collective property of the tribal community, the Mongols roamed with the whole clan, and in the camps they were usually located in a ring around the yurt of the head of the clan. Such a camp was called a kuren. But the transformation of the main wealth of nomads - livestock into private property led to an increase in property inequality. Under these conditions, the method of nomadism by the whole kuren became an obstacle to the further enrichment of the wealthy elite of the nomadic pastoralists. Owning vast herds, they needed more grazing territory and more frequent migrations than the poor - the owners of a small amount of livestock. The place of the former way of nomadism was taken by the aiyl (ail - a large family).
1. The Mongols even before the XIII century. early feudal relations developed. Already in the XII century. in each Mongol tribe there was a powerful layer of nomadic nobility - noyons. The khans, who were at the head of the tribes, from simple tribal leaders became kings, expressing and defending the interests of the feudalizing nomadic nobility. Lands, pastures, and after the transfer of herds into private ownership, were considered the collective property of the tribe for a long time. But by the beginning of the thirteenth century this main means of production was in fact at the disposal of the nobility, who formed the class of feudal lords. Having seized the right to dispose of nomad camps and distribute pastures, the nobility made a lot of direct producers dependent on themselves, forcing them to perform various kinds of duties and turning them into dependent people - arats. Already at that time, the Mongolian nobility practiced distributing their herds for grazing to arats, making them responsible for the safety of livestock and for the delivery of livestock products. This is how labor rent was born. The mass of nomads (kharachu - “niello”, harayasun - “black bone”) actually turned into feudally dependent people.
2. The largest role in the formation and development of feudalism in Mongolia was played by nukerism (nuker - friend, comrade), which began to take shape, apparently, as early as the 10th-11th centuries. Nukers were originally armed warriors in the service of the khans, later they became their vassals. Relying on the nukers, the noyons strengthened their power and suppressed the resistance of ordinary nomads. For his service, the nuker received a certain reward from the khan - khubi (part, share, share) in the form of a certain number of dependent arat families and territories for their nomadism. By its nature, khubi was an award, similar in type to a beneficiation.
Prerequisites for the formation of the Mongolian state
End of the 12th century was a period of intense struggle within clans and tribes, as well as between tribal associations headed by the nobility. At the heart of this struggle lay the interests of the strengthened and wealthy families of the nobility, who had vast herds, a large number of slaves and feudal dependent people. Persian historian of the early 14th century. Rashid ad-din, speaking of this time, notes that the Mongol tribes before “never had a powerful despot-sovereign who would be the ruler of all tribes: each tribe had some kind of sovereign and prince, and most of the time they were each other. they fought with each other, were at enmity, bickered and competed, robbed each other.
The associations of the tribes of the Naiman, Kerait, Taichiut and others constantly attacked each other in order to seize pastures and military booty: cattle, slaves and other wealth. As a result of wars between tribal associations, the defeated tribe became dependent on the victorious, and the nobility of the defeated tribe fell into the position of vassals of the khan and the nobility of the victorious tribe. In the process of a long struggle for predominance, relatively large associations of tribes, or uluses, were formed, headed by khans, relying on numerous squads of nukers. Such associations of tribes attacked not only their neighbors inside Mongolia, but also neighboring peoples, mainly China, penetrating into its border areas. At the beginning of the XIII century. the multi-tribal nobility rallied around the leader of the steppe Mongols Temuchin, who received the name of Genghis Khan.
Formation of the Mongolian state. Genghis Khan
Temuchin was apparently born in 1155. His father, Yesugei baatur (Mongolian baatur, Turkic bakhadur (hence the Russian hero) is one of the titles of the Mongol nobility.) came from the Borjigin clan of the Taichzhiut tribe and was a rich noyon. With his death in 1164, the ulus he created in the valley of the Onona River crumbled. Various tribal groups that were part of the ulus left the family of the deceased baatur. The nukers also parted.
For a number of years, Yesugei's family wandered, dragging out a miserable existence. In the end, Temuchin managed to find support from Wang Khan, the head of the Keraites. Under the auspices of Wang Khan, Temujin began to gradually build up strength. Nukers began to flock to him. With them, Temujin made a number of successful attacks on his neighbors and, having increased his wealth, made them dependent on him. Talking about the crushing blow that Temujin inflicted in 1201 on the militia of the leader of the steppe Mongols Jamugi, the Mongolian chronicle of the first half of the 13th century. - "Secret Tale" conveys a curious episode that depicts the class face of Temujin. When Jamuqa's militia was dispersed, five arats seized him, tied him up and handed him over to Temuchin, hoping to earn the favor of the victor. Temujin said "Is it conceivable to leave alive the arats who raised their hand against their natural khan?". And he ordered them to be executed together with their families in front of Jamugi. Only after that was Jamuga himself executed.
As a result of the wars, the ulus of Temujin continued to expand, becoming at least equal in strength to the ulus of Van Khan. Soon a rivalry arose between them, which grew into open hostility. There was a battle that brought victory to Temuchin. In the autumn of 1202, as a result of a bloody battle between the militias of Temujin and Dayan Khan of Naiman, the army of Dayan Khan was also defeated, and he himself was killed. The victory over Dayan Khan made Temujin the only contender for power in all of Mongolia. In 1206, a khural (or khuraldan - congress, meeting) was held on the banks of the Onon River, which brought together the leaders of all the tribal groups of Mongolia. Khural proclaimed Temujin the Great Khan of Mongolia, giving him the name Genghis Khan (The meaning of this name or title has not yet been clarified.). Since then, the Great Khan has also been called a kaan. Until that time, the Mongols titled the Chinese emperor in this way. Thus ended the process of formation of the Mongolian state.
1. The charisma (or passionarity) of Genghis Khan, who possessed the necessary qualities in troubled times for the Mongols, skillful diplomacy and the devotion of his generals made it possible to develop the Mongolian ulus at the end of the 13th century.
2. Allies. The Mongolian steppe was torn apart by contradictions for centuries, but nevertheless, powerful sobzes constantly arose locally, leading to the emergence of large states. In this case, at the time, the alliance with the Nestorianamikerites allowed Genghis Khan to successfully balance on the contradictions between the Mongol tribes
a) Genghis Khan and the Keraites destroyed the Merkits
b) thanks to the support of the state of Jin, the Tatars were destroyed.
c) discord in the camp of the Keraites led to their weakening and subjugation by Genghis Khan.
3. Weak neighbors. Often strife and underestimation of the forces of the enemy led Genghis Khan to victory. Initially, this happened to the Keraites, after which the Naiman Khan Tayan, having underestimated Genghis Khan, was destroyed.
Since the empire of Genghis Khan had already acquired a certain weight, to them in 1206-1207. the forest peoples, the Uighurs and the Tanguts join.
4. Wrong tactics. The armies of the state of Jin and Khorezm were much superior to the army of Genghis Khan, but the wrong tactics, which amounted to the lack of proper command and exclusively defensive strategy, gave trump cards during the offensive of Genghis Khan
a) China. The decisive battle took place, however, due to the strife of the generals, not everyone took part in it against the Mongols, as a result, the main forces were defeated.
b) Khorezm. The strategy is the defense of cities, there was a dispersion of troops, as a result of which the troops of Genghis Khan defeated the groups one by one.
These are the main 4 reasons that led to such a successful emergence
Mongol Empire.
By the time of Genghis Khan's death, the Mongol Empire was the greatest conquest of all time - his empire was four times the size of Alexander the Great's.
The main stages in the formation of the empire before its collapse:
Territories included in the composition under Genghis Khan (1206-1227):
Mongolia, Transbaikalia, Altai, Siberia, Primorye, Northwestern and large part
North China, East Turkestan, Dzungaria, Semirechye, Central Asia and Central Kazakhstan.
Territories included in the composition under Ogedei (1229-1241):
remnants of the lands of Northern China, Korea, Iran, the Caucasus, the Urals, Western Kazakhstan, the Volga region. And also on special relations (vassalage with wide autonomy) Russian principalities, Bulgaria and Serbia.
Territories included in the Möngke (1251-1259):
Central and South China, Asia Minor, Cilician Armenia, Iraq, Syria
Territories included in the composition under Khubilai (1260-1294):
Southeast China, Burma, Indochina, principalities of Indonesia (on a special relationship).
The collapse of the Mongol Empire and its aftermath
In 1259, the death of Mungke, the great-grandson of Genghis Khan, caused unrest, which the Mongol Empire had not yet known, a 40-year civil war began. 1260 is considered the actual beginning of the collapse of the Mongol Empire.
The Mongol Empire by that time consisted of five uluses:
2. Ogedei, later joined with the ulus of Chagatai;
3. Chagatai (Chaghadai), later known as the Chagataids;
4. Jochi (Batu, Berke, Orda), known as the Golden Horde, the Kypchan kingdom;
5. Hulagu, later called the state of the Hulaguids.
After the start of civil strife, the uluses of Chagatai, Jochi and Hulagu began to pursue an independent policy. A century after its founding, the empire actually turned into a Federation, and a little later into a confederation of Uluses, united only by economic interests. After another 100 years, Timur tried to change the situation, uniting the Jagatai, Ogedei and Khulaguid Uluses, making the Ulus of Jochi - the Golden Horde - dependent, thus subjugating the entire Western part of the Mongol Empire, and preparing for a campaign against the Eastern (to China and Mongolia). After his death, the state collapsed, and the children and grandchildren continued the civil war.
In 1368, the Mongol rule in China fell as a result of the Red Turban Rebellion. In 1380, the Battle of Kulikovo took place, which weakened the influence of the Golden Horde on the territory of the Moscow principality.
The period of feudal fragmentation and internecine wars in Central Asia led to the fall of the Chagatai ulus by the beginning of the 16th century.
The main states of the Genghisids in the 15th century and their fate:
1) Mongol khanate (former ulus of the khan) - the house of Toluids continues to rule here. From time to time the western - Oirat - part of the state acquires complete independence from the eastern.
2) The new Mongol state of Timur (Tamerlane) - breaks all ties with the Mongolian tradition, ceases to exist with the death of Timur in 1405.
3) Mogolistan. After the defeats suffered from Timur, by the beginning of the 15th century. it finally splits into two: the territories south of the Balkhash latitude remain part of Mogolistan, and the Kyrgyz (Eastern Kipchak) region north of it and up to the Altai mountains forms special state- "Kyrgyz" khanate.
4) Ulus Jochi by 1380 splits into two uluses - the senior ulus of the descendants of Orda-Ichen, and the younger Siberian ulus of the descendants of Sheiban. In the course of new strife, this system is falling apart.
Thus, on the site of Ulus Jochi by the end of the 15th century. 8 independent states are formed.
As a result, by the end of the 15th century, there were 11-12 states on the territory of Eurasia that continued the tradition of the Mongol Empire: Crimea, the Great Horde, the Kazan Khanate, the Astrakhan Khanate, the Nogai Horde, the Siberian Khanate, the Uzbek Khanate, the Kazakh Khanate, the Kyrgyz Khanate (on the Irtysh), Mogolistan, Oirat Khanate, Toluid Khanate (Khalkha-Mongolian).
Causes of the collapse of the Mongol Empire:
1. The culture was multi-ethnic and the state too, there was an active assimilation with the indigenous (conquered) peoples, who often had a higher culture.
2. The economy and way of life of the uluses of Mongolia were different (agricultural, semi-nomadic and trading, nomadic).
3. There was no single people (ethnos) on the territory of the Mongol Empire. They were beaten by different ethnic, economic and religious groups.
4. Heavy internecine wars, undermining the economy.
5. Rivalry with new young states ( Moscow state, China, Mamluks)
Genghis Khan became the founder of the Mongol Empire - the largest continental empire in the history of mankind.
He is the most famous Mongol in the entire history of the Mongolian nation.
From the biography of the great Mongol Khan:
Genghis Khan or Genghis Khan, this is not a name, but a title that was bestowed on Temuchin at the end of the 12th century at kurultai.
Temujin was born in the family of an influential leader of one of the Mongol tribes, Yesugei, between 1155 and 1162, since the exact date of his birth is unknown. When Temuchin was nine years old, his father was poisoned by enemies, and the family had to look for a livelihood. His mother and children had to wander for a long time in complete poverty, and then live in a cave. The family was so poor at that time that, according to legend, Temujin killed his brother because he ate the fish caught by Temujin.
After the death of his father, the future commander, along with his family, was forced to flee, as the rivals of his deceased parent wanted to destroy them all. The family of the future khan had to roam from place to place so that they would not be found by enemies who had taken away from the family the lands that belonged to them by right. Subsequently, Temujin had to make a lot of efforts to become the head of the Mongol tribe and, from time to time, avenge the death of his father.
Temujin was betrothed at the age of nine to eleven-year-old Borte from the Ungirat clan, and the wedding took place when the young man was sixteen. From this marriage were born four sons and five daughters. One of these daughters of Alangaa, in the absence of her father, ruled the state, for which she received the title "princess-ruler". It was the descendants of these children who had the right to claim supreme power in the state. Borte was considered the main wife of Genghis Khan and had a title equivalent to that of an empress.
The second wife of the Khan was the Merkit Khulan Khatun, who bore the Khan two sons. Only Khulan-khatun, as a wife, accompanied the khan in almost every military campaign, and she died in one of them.
Two other wives of Genghis Khan - Tatars Yesugen and Yesui were the younger and older sister, and the younger sister herself offered her older sister as the fourth wife in the first wedding night. Yesugen gave birth to her husband a daughter and two sons.
In addition to four wives, Genghis Khan had about a thousand concubines, who came to him as a result of conquests and as a gift from allies.
Genghis Khan used dynastic marriages very profitably - he gave his daughters in marriage to allied rulers. In order to marry the daughter of the great Mongol Khan, the ruler drove out all his wives, which made the Mongol princesses first in line for the throne. After that, the ally went to war at the head of the army, and almost immediately died in battle, and the daughter of the khan became the ruler of the lands. Such a policy led to the fact that by the second half of the XIII century his daughters ruled from the Yellow Sea to the Caspian.
The great Mongol Khan died in 1227 during a campaign against the Tangut state, the exact cause of his death is not known. Scientists are inclined to several versions: 1) exacerbation of the injury received in 1225, received during a fall from a horse; 2) a sudden illness associated with the unfavorable climate of the Tangus state; 3) was killed by a young concubine, whom he stole from her lawful husband.
Dying, the great khan appointed his third son from the main wife of Ögedei as his heir - he, according to the khan, had a military strategy and a lively political mind.
The exact burial place of the khan remains a mystery to this day. Possible places of burial are Burkhan-Khaldun, Mount Altai-khan, slope of Kentei-khan. The Khan himself bequeathed to keep the place of his grave a secret. To fulfill the order, the body of the deceased was taken deep into the desert, the slaves accompanying the body were killed by the guards. During the day, the soldiers rode horses over the grave of the khan to raze it to the ground, and upon returning to the camp, all the soldiers participating in the funeral of Genghis Khan were killed. The secret hidden in the 13th century remains a real mystery even today.
The conquests of Genghis Khan and his cruelty:
About the great Mongol conqueror, it is known that he terrified the endless steppes. Genghis Khan, also called Temuchin or Temujin, went down in history as the most successful Mongol commander of all time. He created a real empire that covered most of Asia and part of Europe, and his troops were a nightmare for the inhabitants of many other lands. One can relate to Genghis Khan in different ways, but one cannot but admit that he was a very outstanding personality.
Many bloody battles of the great khan occurred only because of revenge. So at the age of twenty, he decided to take revenge on the tribe that was responsible for the death of his father. Having defeated them, Genghis Khan gave the order to cut off the head of all the Tatars, whose height exceeded the height of the axis of the cart wheel (about 90 cm), thus only children under the age of three survived.
The next time, Genghis Khan avenged the death of his son-in-law Tokuchar, who died from the arrow of one of the warriors of Nishapur. Attacking the settlement, the Khan's troops killed everyone in their path - even women and children did not escape revenge, even cats and dogs were killed. By order of the daughter of the Khan, the widow of the deceased, a pyramid was built from their heads.
Genghis Khan did not always seek only to conquer foreign lands, sometimes he wanted to establish relations through diplomacy. So it happened with the kingdom of Khorezm, where an embassy was sent on behalf of the great khan. However, the ruler of the kingdom did not believe in the sincerity of the intentions of the ambassadors and gave the order to behead them, their fate was repeated by the next embassy sent by the Mongols. Genghis Khan brutally avenged the murdered diplomats - the two hundred thousandth army of the Mongols killed the entire population of the kingdom and destroyed every house in the region, moreover, by order of the khan, even the river bed was moved to another place so that the river flowed through the area where the king of Khorezm was born. Genghis Khan did everything to wipe the kingdom off the face of the earth and any mention of him disappeared.
During the conflict with Khorezm, the neighboring Tangut state, the kingdom of Xi Xia, which had already been conquered by the Mongols, also suffered. Genghis Khan asked the Tanguts to send an army to help the Mongol army, but was refused. The consequence of this was the complete destruction of the Tangut kingdom, the population was killed, and all the cities were destroyed to the ground. Only mentions in the documents of neighboring states remained about the existence of the kingdom.
The largest military operation of Genghis Khan was the campaign against the Jin Empire - the territory of modern China. Initially, this campaign seemed to have no future, since the population of China was over 50 million, while the Mongols were only one million. However, the Mongols were victorious. In three years, the Mongol army was able to reach the walls of Zhongdu, present-day Beijing, the city was considered impregnable - the height of the walls reached 12 meters, and they stretched for 29 km around the city. The city was under a Mongol siege for several years, famine began to rage in the capital, which led to cases of cannibalism - in the end, the city surrendered. The Mongols plundered and burned the whole of Zhongdu, the emperor had to conclude a humiliating treaty with the Mongols.
25 interesting facts from the life of Genghis Khan:
1. The exact date of birth of Genghis Khan is unknown. It is assumed that he was born between 1155 and 1162.
2. What was his appearance is not known for certain, but the surviving evidence suggests that he had green eyes and red hair.
3. Such unusual appearance Genghis Khan was due to a unique mixture of Asian and European genes. Genghis Khan was 50% European, 50% Asian.
4. Mongolian legends claim that the newborn Genghis Khan squeezed a blood clot in his palm, which was regarded as a symbol of the future conqueror of the world awaiting him.
5. At birth, he was named Temujin - this was the name of the military leader who was defeated by his father.
6. The name "Genghis" is translated as "lord of the boundless, like the sea."
7. Genghis Khan went down in history as the creator of the largest continental empire in history.
8. Neither the Romans nor Alexander the Great could achieve such a scale.
9. Under him, Mongolia rapidly expanded its territories. Genghis Khan created the Mongol Empire by uniting disparate tribes from China to Russia.
10. The Mongol Empire went down in history. His empire became the largest united state in history. She is in the territory Pacific Ocean stretched to eastern Europe.
11. According to the studies of individual scientists, Genghis Khan is responsible for the death of more than 40 million people.
12. Genghis Khan cruelly avenged his close associates. When the Persians beheaded the Mongol ambassador, Genghis went berserk and massacred 90% of their people. Iranians still see Genghis Khan in nightmares. According to some estimates, the population of Iran (former Persia) until the 1900s could not reach the pre-Mongolian level.
13. At the age of 15, Genghis Khan was captured and fled, which subsequently brought him recognition.
14. The matured Genghis Khan began to gradually conquer the entire steppe, uniting other tribes around him and ruthlessly destroying rivals. At the same time, unlike most other Mongol leaders, he always tried not to kill the enemy soldiers, but to save their lives in order to subsequently take them into his service.
14. Genghis Khan believed that the more offspring a person has, the more significant he is. There were several thousand women in his harem, and many of them bore children from him.
15. In the modern world, there are many direct descendants of Genghis Khan.
16. Genetic studies have shown that approximately 8% of Asian men have Genghis Khan genes in their Y chromosomes, that is, they are descendants of Genghis Khan.
17. The dynasty of the descendants of Genghis Khan in his honor was named Genghisides.
18. Under Genghis Khan, for the first time, scattered tribes of nomads united into a huge single state. Having completely conquered the steppes, the commander took the title of kagan. The khan is the leader of a tribe, albeit a large one, and the kagan is the king of all khans.
19. Many nations understood the greatness of the horde and paid tribute to it. Many peoples swore allegiance to Temuchin, and he became their ruler, or khan.
20. Then he changed his name to Genghis, which means "Right."
21. Genghis Khan replenished the ranks of his army with captives from the tribes he conquered, and thus his army grew.
22. No one knows where the grave of Genghis Khan is. Many archaeologists have been unsuccessfully searching for it so far. According to some reports, the grave of Genghis Khan was flooded by the river. Presumably, he demanded that his grave be flooded by the river so that no one could disturb it.
23. Some historians call Genghis Khan the father of "Scorched Earth", that is, such military technologies that can destroy almost any trace of civilization.
24. In modern Mongolia, the cult of Genghis Khan flourishes. Everywhere there are huge monuments to this commander, and the streets are named after him.
25. His portrait began to be printed on Mongolian banknotes in the 90s of the last century.
Huge statue of Genghis Khan in Ulaanbaatar
photo from internet
The Mongol feudal empire was formed as a result of the conquests of Genghis Khan and his successors in the 13th-14th centuries.
At the beginning of the XIII century. On the territory of Central Asia, as a result of a long intertribal struggle, a single Mongolian state arose, which included all the main Mongolian tribes of nomadic pastoralists and hunters. In the history of the Mongols, this was a significant progress, a qualitatively new stage of development: the creation of a single state contributed to the consolidation of the Mongolian people, the establishment of feudal relations that replaced communal-tribal ones. The founder of the Mongolian state was Khan Temuchin (1162-1227), who in 1206 was proclaimed Genghis Khan, that is, the Great Khan.
Spokesman for the interests of combatants and the emerging class of feudal lords, Genghis Khan carried out a number of radical reforms to strengthen the centralized military-administrative system government controlled suppression of any manifestations of separatism. The population was divided into "tens", "hundreds", "thousands" of nomads, who immediately became warriors in wartime. A personal guard was formed - the support of the khan. In order to strengthen the positions of the ruling dynasty, all the closest relatives of the khan received large inheritances. A set of laws (“Yasa”) was compiled, where, in particular, arats were forbidden to arbitrarily move from one “ten” to another. Those guilty of the slightest violations of the Yasa were severely punished. There were shifts in the sphere of culture. By the beginning of the XIII century. refers to the emergence of common Mongolian writing; in 1240 the famous historical and literary monument "The Secret History of the Mongols" was created. Under Genghis Khan, the capital of the Mongol Empire, the city of Karakorum, was founded, which was not only an administrative center, but also a center of crafts and trade.
Since 1211, Genghis Khan began numerous wars of conquest, seeing in them the main means of enrichment, satisfying the growing needs of the nomadic nobility, asserting dominance over other countries. The conquest of new lands, the seizure of military booty, the imposition of tribute on the conquered peoples - this promised rapid and unprecedented enrichment, absolute power over vast territories. The success of the campaigns was facilitated by the internal strength of the young Mongolian state, the creation of a strong mobile army (cavalry), well equipped technically, soldered with iron discipline, controlled by skillful commanders. At the same time, Genghis Khan skillfully used internecine conflicts, internal strife in the enemy camp. As a result, the Mongol conquerors succeeded in conquering many peoples of Asia and Europe, capturing vast regions. In 1211, the invasion of China began, the Mongols inflicted a number of serious defeats on the troops of the Jin state. They destroyed about 90 cities and in 1215 took Beijing (Yanjing). In 1218-1221. Genghis Khan moved to Turkestan, conquered Semirechye, defeated Khorezm Shah Mohammed, captured Urgench, Bukhara, Samarkand and other centers of Central Asia. In 1223, the Mongols reached the Crimea, penetrated Transcaucasia, devastated part of Georgia and Azerbaijan, marched along the Caspian Sea to the lands of the Alans and, having defeated them, entered the Polovtsian steppes. In 1223, the Mongol detachments defeated the united Russian-Polovtsian army near the Kalka River. In 1225-1227. Genghis Khan undertook his last campaign - against the Tangut state. By the end of Genghis Khan's life, in addition to Mongolia itself, Northern China, East Turkestan, Central Asia, the steppes from the Irtysh to the Volga, most of Iran and the Caucasus were part of the empire. Genghis Khan divided the lands of the empire between his sons - Jochi, Chagadai, Ogedei, Tului. After the death of Genghis Khan, their uluses more and more acquired the features of independent possessions, although the power of the All-Mongol Khan was nominally recognized.
Genghis Khan's successors Khan Ogedei (reigned 1228-1241), Guyuk (1246-1248), Mongke (1251-1259), Khubilai (1260-1294) and others continued their wars of conquest. Grandson of Genghis Khan Batu Khan in 1236-1242. carried out aggressive campaigns against Russia and other countries (the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Dalmatia), moving far to the west. A huge state of the Golden Horde was formed, which at first was part of the empire. The Russian principalities became tributaries of this state, having experienced the full burden of the Horde yoke. Another grandson of Genghis Khan, Hulagu Khan, founded the Hulagid state in Iran and Transcaucasia. Another grandson of Genghis Khan, Kublai Khan, completed the conquest of China in 1279, founding the Mongol Yuan dynasty in China in 1271 and moving the capital of the empire from Karakorum to Zhongdu (modern Beijing).
The aggressive campaigns were accompanied by the destruction of cities, the destruction of priceless cultural monuments, the devastation of vast areas, and the extermination of thousands of people. In the conquered countries, a regime of robbery and violence was introduced. Local population(peasants, artisans, etc.) were subject to numerous taxes and taxes. The power belonged to the governors of the Mongol khan, their assistants and officials, who relied on strong military garrisons and a rich treasury. At the same time, the conquerors sought to attract large landowners, merchants, and the clergy to their side; obedient rulers from among the local nobility were placed at the head of some lands.
The Mongol empire was internally very fragile, it was an artificial conglomeration of multilingual tribes and nationalities that were at different stages of social development, often higher than those of the conquerors. Internal contradictions intensified more and more. In the 60s. 13th century the Golden Horde and the Hulagid state actually separated from the empire. The entire history of the empire is filled with a long series of uprisings and rebellions against the conquerors. At first, they were brutally suppressed, but gradually the forces of the conquered peoples grew stronger, and the capabilities of the invaders weakened. In 1368, as a result of mass popular uprisings, the Mongol rule in China fell. In 1380, the Battle of Kulikovo predetermined the overthrow of the Horde yoke in Russia. The Mongol Empire collapsed, ceased to exist. A period of feudal fragmentation began in the history of Mongolia.
The Mongol conquests caused innumerable disasters to the conquered peoples and delayed their social development for a long time. They had a negative impact on historical development Mongolia and the position of the people. The plundered riches were used not for the growth of productive forces, but for the purpose of enriching the ruling class. Wars divided the Mongolian people, depleted human resources. All this adversely affected the socio-economic development of the country in subsequent centuries.
It would be wrong to unequivocally assess the historical role of the founder of the Mongol Empire, Genghis Khan. His activities were progressive in nature, while there was a struggle for the unification of disparate Mongolian tribes, for the creation and strengthening of a single state. Then the situation changed: he became a cruel conqueror, the conqueror of the peoples of many countries. At the same time, he was a man of extraordinary abilities, a brilliant organizer, an outstanding commander and statesman. Genghis Khan is the largest figure in Mongolian history. In Mongolia, much attention is paid to the elimination of everything superficial, which was associated either with the actual silence or with one-sided coverage of the role of Genghis Khan in history. The public organization "The Hearth of Genghis" was created, the number of publications about him is increasing, the Mongolian-Japanese scientific expedition is actively working to search for the place of his burial. The 750th anniversary of the Secret History of the Mongols, which vividly reflects the image of Genghis Khan, is widely celebrated.