What good did Genghis Khan do for the world, and why historians do not like to remember this

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

The Mongol Empire was the largest empire in the history of mankind. Genghis Khan managed to conquer and unite almost all of Asia, including China, Central Asia and the Caucasus, and reached Eastern Europe with his troops. Now, in the minds of many people, the Mongol Empire is inextricably linked with destruction and decline, but at the same time it brought many very positive reforms.

Freedom of religion

The Mongols during the reign of Genghis Khan (1162 - 1227) were pagans, but when conquering new lands for the ruler it did not matter which god or gods the local people worship. Moreover, if the principles of the local religion were consistent with the principles of the Mongols (do not deceive, honor and obey the elder), then local religious leaders received tax exemption and the right to practice their religion further.

Power according to merit

Within the Mongol Empire, both its former territories and the conquered lands, power was given not to those who were born in privileged families, but to those who showed their best side, whether it was managing a settlement or, more often, in battle. The better a person showed himself during the battle, the more chances he had to receive the award, which motivated the men to join Genghis Khan's army.

Loyal attitude to loyal soldiers of foreign armies

Since courage and loyalty were considered the main qualities in Mongolian society, the attitude towards the defeated enemy was also consistent with these principles. After the new territory was conquered and the ruler was killed, his soldiers, who until the last remained loyal to the defeated ruler, were spared and accepted into their army. The choice, in fact, was not so great - the soldier was offered either to die or to join the Mongol army. However, the very existence of such a choice was for that time a rather non-standard behavior of the conquering army. Cowardice and betrayal among the Mongols were considered shameful and punishable by death, so that in the end, only brave and motivated warriors remained in the ranks of the warriors.

Loyalty to those who did not offer resistance

The troops of the Mongol horde were merciless to those who resisted the conquest. It was this cruelty that gave rise to the corresponding glory of Genghis Khan and his army, and it must be said that the glory of the Mongols as an army that sows death to absolutely everyone - both men, women and children, went ahead of the army itself.

However, if the Mongols entered a settlement that did not offer resistance to the conquerors, they left their governors for administrative rule, and they themselves moved on without harming the city. It happened, of course, that the inhabitants of the city intentionally pretended to agree with the new rules, and as soon as the army left the walls of the city, they began to riot. In such cases, as soon as the army of Genghis Khan received news of this, it returned to this city and "correct the disorder" - in fact, they completely destroyed such a city. Such glory saved the forces of the army with the further advance of the troops and helped to move faster further east and north.

Education to the masses

Despite the fact that Genghis Khan himself was not taught writing, it was under him that a common writing system was introduced throughout the Mongol Empire. The Mongolian alphabet was based on the Uyghur characters that are still used today in Inner Mongolia.

General law for the whole empire

It is believed that under Genghis Khan there was an oral set of rules that could not be changed. This vault was called Yasa. According to Yasa, it was ordered: to support the ministers of worship / religions, doctors and body washers and release them; executions by a soldier are prohibited from robbing and looting without orders, relatives marriages are prohibited; adultery in marriage - execution under pain of death is prohibited to pollute water bodies (wash in them and swim) for lying, witchcraft or theft - an execution.

Not all modern historians agree that this set of rules really took place, since documentary evidence has not reached our days, however, Persian and Arab historians, as well as an Egyptian writer of the 15th century, wrote about Yas. al-Maqrizi.

Postal service

On the territory of the Mongol Empire, an innovative postal service system was installed at that time - in cities with a distance of about 40-50 km from each other, there were postal houses, in which the rider-postman could rest and give his horse a rest. Such a postman could cover about 200 km in a day. So, when Genghis Khan died in the territory of modern northern China, the news of this reached Europe in just 4 weeks. In Russia, the Mongolian service system (Yamskaya system) survived even after the collapse of the Golden Horde. It was with the help of it that Moscow, Arkhangelsk, Novgorod and other large cities were then connected.

In our article "10 little-known facts about the great conqueror Genghis Khan" you can read more about the life of the great Mongol conqueror.