I, Marco Polo, am enabling myself to embark on a long journey to Mongolia and the surrounding areas of China. Like any good explorer, I need to do research on the area. I have heard that the Mongolians are a violent group of people who only care for bloodshed and the domination of others around them. They are a brutal bunch, whole cities surrendering before they even arrive. The Mongols, at first, were not a unified group of people. Multiple clans were spaced out amongst the northern asian territory, and they were a nomadic group of people. For the most part, they were happy with a nomadic life and did not care for settling down. Despite that, there was a bit of interaction with the settled areas around the nomads. They traded for basic resources that were unavailable to them in the wilderness. Everything began to change when Genghis Khan fought his way to the top and had a goal to unify all of the Mongolian clans into one, strong nation, and here we are now, preparing to travel through his massive empire. He is thirsty for power with a large first goal of conquering China. The Mongolians do not dawdle in their attempts to dominate China. Genghis Khan is a strict military leader who uses cunning tactics to outwit his opponents. I have heard that he opens up holes in his line so that the few enemies that wanted to could flee. After he kills the remainders, his army tracks down the cowards and murders them as well. Another tactic he uses is to send out a small group of men to attack a much larger army. Seeing that they are clearly outmatched, the small group of Mongols lead their attackers right into the trap of the larger army, which is standing by waiting patiently. I hear that Genghis does not care for human life, and he uses the mantra, “Resist, and you die; cooperate, and you will be better off.” I have been told that after he successfully created a bloody trail through China, Hungary, and Poland, Genghis set his sights on Persia. I hear that Genghis sent spies in a caravan through Persia, which the Shah soon discovered. Not wasting any time, he massacred the spies. When word reached Genghis, he was furious and wanted to get even. Revenge is something that Genghis strongly believes in, and he sent two of his men on a mission to assassinate the Shah. The two men chased the Shah all of the way to the Caspian sea where he finally died on a remote island. Genghis does not have time for anyone that does not want to follow him. If anyone resists his orders, they are as good as dead to him. Genghis Khan, despite the fact that he murders any opposing force on sight, is also a strong leader who many of the Mongolians admire greatly. Genghis is a strong example of how the Mongols are only looking for land to dominate and people to murder along the way. Human life is not valued, and Genghis will not stop until all of China is his.
Despite what scholars may write about him, I believe that Genghis Khan is a fair and noble ruler as well. He is extremely tolerant of the religions of the areas that he conquers. He believes that taking away religious freedom will be counterproductive in his situation, and it is just best to leave the people be. He also uses this tolerance to gain support from the newly conquered people, who otherwise may not support him and his army. Another tactic that he uses to gain support of his people is that he offers tax benefits to the religious leaders of Buddhism, Islam, Daoism, and Nestorian Christianity. Another idea, which is particularly unifying, is trade. His love of trade comes from the Mongol’s old nomadic ways. When they were a nomadic people, the Mongols had to trade with settled towns in order to receive necessary resources. So, later on, that idea of trade is carried on throughout their empire. Not only is trade helpful for the Mongols, it is also beneficial to the Chinese. The Mongols helped the Chinese to see that trade is the proper way to communicate with other empires and connect people of different cultures. Unlike the areas around Mongolia, the women have much more freedom to do what they please. The women are routinely given military training, and the strongest even get the opportunity to fight alongside the men in battle. The working class and lower class depend mainly on the women to work along with the men. The women often drive and repair the carts, make clothes, rugs, and shoes, and process foods such as milk, cheese, and meat. Genghis Khan and the Mongols are not all bad, as many say that they are. Genghis is considered a fair ruler who valued loyalty over anything else. Despite the fact that he is a strict military leader, Genghis Khan and the Mongols care for the religious freedom and rights of people.
Looking back at the two civilizations, Sparta and Mongolia were very much alike in the ways that they were ruthless in battle but cared about their civilizations. Both civilizations relied heavily on an army and army training to carry their way to victory in battles. The men of Sparta joined the military between ages 15-20 and immediately began the appropriate training. Like in Mongolia, the Spartan women were treated in a very different way than many were used to. These women could get a basic education and even train. They would not train alongside the men, but they could still get the military training needed to accomplish basic self defense. They were also valued in their society as people who could do work and run a household while their husbands were away, which is very similar to the Mongolian women in the working class, who had to do just as much as the men. A lot of times, when talking about the Mongols, many people think of the bloodthirsty, conquering people, which is very similar to the way that people think of Sparta. The Mongols have two different reputations because many times, the culture is not researched completely, which leads to a belief that this group of people were only hungry for power. If a historian takes a deeper look into the lives of an adult Mongol, they may find that things are not always what they appear to be. Behind a tough exterior is a group of people who consider the religious needs of others. Only one side of the story is told, and many know it from the side of the civilization who played the victim in the war with their enemies. The Spartans were a highly developed group of people who cared for their women, gave basic education, and built a strong army with strong military leaders. The Mongols were a tough group of people who gave their women basic military training and jobs, and were also promoters of trade around their empire. If anyone took a step back and examined the everyday life of these civilizations, they would find a lot more than they expected.
Sources:
Schiel, Juliane. Crossing Paths between East and West. The Use of Counterfactual Thinking for the Concept of "Entangled Histories" N.p.: GESIS - Leibniz-Institute for the Social Sciences, Center for Historical Social Research, n.d. JSTOR. Web. 9 Jan. 2014.
Gentzel, Michah. "The Mongol Empire." The Mongol Empire. Penn State University, n.d. Web. 10 Jan. 2014.
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Atwood, Christopher Pratt. "The Foreign Conquests." Encyclopedia of Mongolia and the Mongol Empire. New York, NY: Facts On File, 2004. 100. Print.
Rossabi, Morris. "The Mongols in World History." The Mongols in World History | Asia Topics in World History. Columbia University, 2004. Web. 10 Jan. 2014.
Rossabi, Morris. "The Mongols in World History | Asia Topics in World History." The Mongols in World History | Trade. Columbia University, 2004. Web. 09 Jan. 2014.
Pederson, Neil, Amy Hessl, Kevin Anchukaitis, and Baatarbileg Nachin. "Climate & the Rise and Fall of Chinggis' Mongol Empire." Climate & the Rise and Fall of Chinggis' Mongol Empire. Columbia University, July 2012. Web. 12 Jan. 2014.
Rossabi, Morris. "The Mongols in World History | Asia Topics in World History." The Mongols in World History | Asia Topics in World History. Columbia University, 2004. Web. 11 Jan. 2014.
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