The Great
Mongolian
EmpireBy: Nicholous Rucker
There once was a great society of people
named the Mongols. Their land spanned all the
way from China to the Caspian Sea. They were
able to conquer millions of miles of territory. This
is the story of how that happened.
The Mongolian People lived in the Foot Hills of
Northern Asia. They were a Pastoral Society
who herded for a living. During this time they
mastered the art of Archery and horse riding.
This would come on handy later.
Around 1162 a special boy was
born in Northern Mongolia. His
name was Temujin. At the age of
ten he lost his father and was
abandoned by his tribe. This
taught Temujin toughness from a
young age and shaped him as
an adult. Temujin would grow up
to be the ruler of the largest
Empire in History.
Fun fact: Temujin means Iron Worker
Legend says, When Temujin was a
little older he married a woman
named Borte. However, she was
kidnapped and Temujin had to
rescue her. On His travels he met
and aligned with different tribes
earning a reputation as a leader
and warrior. He used this
reputation to become the leader of
his tribe and went to war with
opposing tribes. Fun fact: This style of dress
became popular among “Affluent”
Mongolian women at the time.
Shortly after rescuing his wife Tenujin
used his new influence to go to war
with neighboring tribes. Temujin won
the Civil War and was able to unite all
of Mongolia under his rule. Temujin
won because he was a military
expert. He promoted people in his
army based on Merit and work as
opposed to family ties. This meant he
had the best people working in his
military unlike the other sides.
Once Temugin united all
of Mongolian he was
proclaimed Ghengis
Khan. This meant
“Universal Ruler of the
land between the sea”.
He would go on to take
this name literally.
Ghenis khan’s greatest ambition
was to conquer. He first proved
this, outside of Mongolia, in the Xi
Xia Kingdom of North West China.
The Mongols laid siege to the
capital Yinchuan in 1209 by using
smart tactics and their superior
archery skills. After Conquering the
city the leader was left to pay hefty
tribute.
Next Gehingis Khan and the
Mongols moved to the Jin Empire.
The Mongols showed their ability
to adapt by changing their style of
warfare to accommodate the
fortresses of the empire. They
used weapons such as batter
rams, catapults, and rockets in
order to conquer the new enemies.
This adaptation was common for
the Mongolian Empire and helped
them in conquest.
For the next years the Mongols used
their nomadic background to their
advantage. They traveled vast
expanses of land, conquering as they
went. Cities that were resistant were
often toppled once conquered.
however peaceful surrender was
rewarded with leniency. After
conquering Northern China the
Mongols moved west to Kara Khitai
and it too fell.
In 1225, Genghis Khan returned
back to Mongolia after conquering
Kara Khitai. however this did not
last long. Shortly after his return
he went back to Xi Xia in order to
deal with disobedience from the
area. While there he suffered an
injury from an horse incident and
could not recover. He died in
1227. Fun fact: Genghis Khan forbade
any painting of himself. The
paintings seen of him today
came after he died.
Epilouge
Genghis’ was succeeded by many capable descendants
who continued his legacy of leading and expanding. His
Grandson Conquered the great Abbasid Empire
spreading the Mongol reign to the far west. Another
Grandson Kubali Khan became the the most important
Mongol ruler of China by defeating the Song dynasty and
creating the famous Yaun dynasty. At the empires peak it
spread from the sea of Japan all the way to eastern
Europe. It was so vast that it had to be broken up into
Khanites. These were the Yuan dynasty, IL khanate,
Chagatai khanate, and the Golden Horde.