Pastoral nomad life on the steppe
A steppe is a wide, dry grassland with few trees. The Mongol steppe lies north of China, in what is now Mongolia. Winters are very cold and summers short.
Pastoral nomads are people who live by keeping animals (pastoral) and moving from place to place (nomads). The Mongols herded horses, sheep, goats, cattle and camels. They moved between summer and winter grazing lands. They lived in round felt tents called gers that could be packed up quickly.
Why they needed farmers
The steppe could not grow much grain, and there were few metals. So nomads traded with farming peoples, especially China, for grain, metal tools and cloth. When trade broke down, they sometimes raided. To keep them out, Chinese rulers built walls, which became part of the 'Great Wall'.
Clans and chiefs
Nomads lived in kin groups (families and clans). Chiefs made alliances, often by marriage or friendship. Some groups were Mongols, others Turkic-speaking. These alliances were often short and shifted with drought or a lack of pasture.
Rise of Genghis Khan
Temujin was born around 1162, near the Onon river. His father, a chief, was killed when Temujin was young. His mother raised the family in hard times. Temujin made friends and allies, like his sworn brother Jamuqa and the Kereyit chief Ong Khan. Later he defeated both and other rivals, like the Tatars and Naiman.
In 1206, a great assembly of chiefs, a quriltai, named him Genghis Khan, 'universal ruler' of the Mongols.
Campaigns (in order)
- 1207–1215: attacks on northern China, capture of Beijing (1215).
- 1218–1221: war against the Khwarazm Shah in Central Asia and Iran; cities like Samarqand, Bukhara and Nishapur were taken.
- He followed his enemy to the Indus river (1221) but turned back. He died in 1227.
Army organisation
Genghis Khan changed the army:
- Decimal system: units of 10 (arban), 100 (jaghun), 1,000 (minghan) and 10,000 (tumen).
- He mixed old clans in new units, so soldiers were loyal to him rather than to their old chiefs.
- Brave soldiers and loyal friends (nokar) were rewarded with command.
- Fast horse archers; siege engines learned from the Chinese to take walled cities.
Running the empire
- Yam: a system of relay posts with fresh horses and riders to carry messages fast. Families paid a tax (qubchur) in horses and animals to keep it running.
- Ulus: lands given to each of his four sons: Jochi, Chaghatai, Ogodei and Toluy. Ogodei became the next Great Khan.
- Yasa: a code of laws and rules. Over time it came to mean the Mongols' special identity and law.
Mongol successors
After Genghis Khan died in 1227, his family expanded the empire even more.
- Under Ogodei and Mongke, armies reached Russia, Poland and Hungary (1236–1242) and took Baghdad (1258).
- The capital was Karakorum in Mongolia.
- After about 1260 the family members fought among themselves. The empire split into four parts, called khanates:
- Golden Horde (descendants of Jochi): the Russian steppe.
- Chaghatai khanate: Central Asia (Transoxiana).
- Ilkhanate (descendants of Toluy through Hulegu): Iran and Iraq.
- Yuan dynasty in China, founded by Kublai Khan (1271).
- Over time many Mongol rulers took up the religion and culture of the people they ruled: Islam in Iran and Central Asia, Buddhism in China.
- Their power slowed at a few places: they were stopped by the Mamluks of Egypt in Syria (1260), and they did not conquer India, though they raided the north-west.
Later dynasties proudly claimed links to Genghis Khan. The Mughals of India descended from both Chinggisid and Timurid lines through Babur.
Law, trade and the 'Mongol peace'
After the wars, roads across Asia became safer. Traders got a paiza, a metal pass, to travel under Mongol protection. Silk, porcelain, paper, gunpowder recipes and printing ideas moved west. Travellers like Marco Polo and the Moroccan Ibn Battuta later wrote about these lands. Mongol rulers also used skilled Chinese, Iranian and Muslim officials to run the empire. Religious leaders of many faiths were welcomed at the Mongol court.
Views on Genghis Khan
Who is writing matters. Different people remember Genghis Khan very differently.
- As a destroyer: writers in the cities that were attacked, in China, Iran and Russia, described terrible killing, burnt cities and ruined farms. Their accounts are important, but they wrote as victims.
- As a unifier: in Mongolia today, he is a national hero. He united quarrelling tribes, gave them laws and a proud identity. After Mongolia became free of Soviet control (1990), his image was honoured again.
- As a connector: many historians note that the Mongol empire linked China, Central Asia, Iran and Europe. Safer roads, the yam and the paiza helped trade and the exchange of ideas.
A good historian reads all these sources and asks: who wrote this, when, and why?
Try it: the relay-race test
Ask 4 friends to stand 20 steps apart. First, one friend carries a note all 80 steps alone; time it. Then do a relay: each friend runs 20 steps and passes the note. Which is faster? This is why the yam used fresh horses at every post. Then open step 3 in the 3D and count the units: 10 → 100 → 1,000.
Key formulas and definitions
- Pastoral nomads = herd animals + move with seasons; live in gers
- 1206: quriltai names Temujin 'Genghis Khan'
- Army: 10 arban → 100 jaghun → 1,000 minghan → 10,000 tumen
- Yam = relay post; paiza = safe-travel pass; yasa = code of laws
- Four khanates: Golden Horde, Chaghatai, Ilkhanate, Yuan (Kublai Khan, 1271)
- Views: destroyer / unifier / connector
Worked examples
1. Why did steppe nomads trade with China?
The steppe gave grass for animals but little grain or metal. So nomads traded horses, furs and animal products for grain, metal tools and cloth. When trade stopped, raids sometimes followed.
2. How many soldiers were in 3 tumens?
One tumen = 10,000 soldiers. So 3 × 10,000 = 30,000 soldiers.
3. Why did Genghis Khan mix old clans in new army units?
Old clan loyalty could lead to rival groups. By mixing people from many clans into new units of tens and hundreds, soldiers became loyal to their commanders and to Genghis Khan himself.
4. Why is Genghis Khan seen as a hero in Mongolia but a destroyer in Iran?
In Mongolia he is remembered for uniting tribes and creating a proud nation. In Iran, writers saw their cities destroyed by his armies. The view depends on who experienced what.
Common mistakes
- Thinking nomads wandered aimlessly. They moved on fixed seasonal routes between summer and winter pastures.
- Thinking Genghis Khan himself ruled all four khanates. The khanates formed after his death, under his descendants.
- Mixing up the yam (relay post) with the yasa (code of laws).
- Believing there is only one true view of Genghis Khan. Sources from different sides tell different stories.