In the ranking of the largest states in history, the first place is, of course, the British Empire, whose total territory by 1921 ranged from 31 to 36.6 million square kilometers. On the honorable third place of the rating — the Russian Empire, which at the time of its greatest prosperity (1895) occupied 22.8 million square kilometers. km.
But the second place rightfully belongs to the giant Mongol Empire, which covered up to 33.3 million square kilometers. km. At the same time on the adjacent territory this state was the largest in the world, because the lands of colonial Britain were very fragmented. How did the mighty Mongol Empire arise and why did it fall into oblivion so quickly?
Formation of Genghis Khan
The founder of the state was a man whose name is known to everyone since school: the warlike Khan Temujin, aka Genghis Khan. Temujin was born in about 1155 in the tract of Delun-Boldok. At the age of ten he lost his father — he was poisoned by the Tatars — and the following years he spent in need and wandering with his mother, brothers and sisters.
But later the purposeful young man managed to find worthy supporters and won many victories over the Mongol tribes of Tatars and Kereits. In the winter of 1203-1204 Temujin carried out reforms that laid the foundation of the future Mongol Empire. Another year and a half later he defeated the Naiman and Merkit tribes and united the disparate peoples under his rule.
In March 1206 a historical congress of all Mongol and Turkic princes took place: the Kurultai. On it Temujin was declared the great khan and the head (kagan) of the new Great Mongolian state. From that moment he began to be called Genghis Khan. And then he also set a goal: to annex as much land as possible.
Capture of the Jin Empire and Central Asia
The first serious opponent of Genghis Khan as Khagan was the Jin Empire, a Jurchen state in what is now Northern China and the Far East. The war with Jin lasted a total of 33 years. Its result was the destruction of the Jin power and the occupation of Northern China by the Mongols.
Mongol warriors
But the main part of the Jin Empire was conquered much faster — already by 1216. And then Genghis Khan turned his gaze to Central Asia. The borders of the Mongol Empire by that time approached the Central Asian state of Khorezm, located in the lower reaches of the Amu Darya River. Khorezm was ruled by Shah Mohammed Ala ad-Din (yes, like in a fairy tale). Genghis Khan sent ambassadors to him with a proposal of union, but the shah did not take it seriously and executed the envoys. This was the occasion for military aggression.
The beginning of conquest of Central Asia by Mongols began in 1219. Genghis Khan’s troops defeated many prosperous cities, including Samarkand and Bukhara. The state of Khorezm fell, and the hapless Shah Mohammed was forced to flee, but he didn’t get far.
Muhammad’s death
After death Khorezmshah warlords Genghis Khan Djebe and Subedei continued capture of the grounds, have ruined Transcaucasia. Then Russian princes of Kiev, Chernigov and Galich tried to unite to resist Mongol expansion. In 1223 there was a famous battle on the river Kalka, which ended in defeat of Russian armies.
Invasion on Russia
In 1227 at the age of 65 years Genghis Khan himself died — probably after an unfortunate fall from a horse. But the grandiose empire created by it has not fallen with his death. The successor of the great conqueror became his third son Ugedei (Ogadai). And in the spring of 1235 the new Kurultai has gathered, defined directions of foreign policy: the West (against Polovtsians, Bulgars and Russians) and the East (against the state Koryo).
The Mongol empire was divided into several ulus — areas, appanages. And campaign to Russia has headed the governor of Ulus Dzhuchi (Golden Horde) Batu, as exactly in his ulus should enter the western grounds. Batu collected the huge army, and in the summer of 1236 the Mongolian army has approached to Volga. Batyi’s commander Subedei defeated the Volga Bulgaria, and meanwhile Batyi himself fought against the Polovtsians, Circassians and Mordovians.
The Mongol Empire at the height of its power
In the next few years, the Mongols took Ryazan, Kolomna, Moscow, Vladimir, Torzhok, Tver, then — Murom, Pereyaslavl, Chernigov, Kiev, Galich and other cities. Hungary fell next under the onslaught of the Mongols. The conquerors even reached Vienna, but were unable to resist the combined forces of the Czechs and Austrians. In any case, a campaign to the west was for invaders successful; by 1241 over Russian principalities the Mongol-Tarar yoke was established.
Decay and disappearance of the Mongol Empire
The period from 1242 to 1251 in the Mongol Empire was accompanied by dynastic struggles among the Genghisids — descendants of Genghis Khan. In 1253 the Mongols continued military expansion to the East: they defeated the Nizarite Ismaili state, took Baghdad, which led to the fall of the Abbasid dynasty; there were also campaigns to Southern China.
But it wasn’t long before the empire collapsed. And the reason for this was, strange as it may seem, its huge size. The gigantic territory stretched from Poland to Korea, from Siberia to Vietnam. It consisted of 110 million people — a quarter of the entire population of the Earth at that time! It is not easy to manage such a giant as a centralized state.
After the death of the fourth great kagan of the Mongol Empire — Khan Munkhe — a power struggle began between his brothers Khubilai and Arig-Buga. Their enmity led to the collapse of the empire in 1269. The Khan of each ulus declared himself independent. As a result of disintegration four huge “splinters” of the Mongol Empire were formed: the Yuan Empire, the Golden Horde (Ulus Dzhuchi), the Khulagid State and the Chagatai ulus.
The ruler of the Yuan Empire was Khan Khubilai, who took the title of emperor. He claimed dominance over all ulus and moved the capital to Khanbalik (modern Beijing). In the beginning of XIV century formally managed to unite uluses, having created confederation of actually independent states.
Khan Khubilai
But in 1368 the Yuan Empire fell as a result of internal unrest and a crushing defeat inflicted on it by the Ming Empire. This event is considered the moment of complete disappearance of the Mongol Empire. In the same period fell and Chagatai ulus. The Golden Horde still existed for some time as a single state, but in 1459 it did not become and her.
Results
The legacy of the Mongol Empire can not be assessed unequivocally. On the one hand, its policies led to the unification of other major regions (Russia, China), and its founder Genghis Khan promoted writing, culture, trade, technology, practiced religious tolerance and meritocracy (bringing people to rule according to their personal qualities and merits, not because of origin or wealth). Some peoples welcomed the Mongol armies as their liberators rather than invaders.
Monument to Genghis Khan in Mongolia
But the Mongol invasions resulted in the devastation of vast territories and the deaths of millions through extermination and starvation, economic ruin, and the sale of people into slavery. In military campaigns of Genghis Khan alone from four to 60 million people died. The spread of plague in Europe could also have been the result of Mongol expansion. Finally, many cultural monuments were destroyed during the conquests of Genghis Khan and his successors.