Destruction under the Mongol Empire

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Drawing of Mongol siege of Baghdad in 1258.

Destruction under the Mongol Empire refers to the widespread killing and destruction during the Mongolian invasions of the 13th century. Mongol raids and invasions are generally regarded as some of the deadliest to human life. As a result of the age of sources for data regarding the events surrounding the Mongolian invasions, and because they are primarily from sources that suffered under Mongol invasions, the corresponding point of view of these sources should be taken with the appropriate judgment.

Background

Mongol style of warfare came from their history and from the warring experiences between the various tribes like Naimans, Keraits, Uyghurs, etc. Plus there was historical distrust between Mongolian nomads and Chinese empires. Historically the Xiongnu and China fought with each other to the point where China decided to build the Great Wall to stop Xiongnu attacks. Mongolian nomads were depicted as "barbarians" by China. For instance, Mongols tried to pillage the Chinese cities and towns and while the Chinese tried to incite internal warfare between the Mongolian nomads by supporting certain tribes that fought with the other. Mongols also thought China was "rich" and the Chinese on the other hand thought Mongols were poor and uncivilized. For instance the Mongols called the Jin Dynasty, the nation in northern China, as "Altan Ulus" or "Golden Nation" that they invaded under Genghis Khan. Also the Goryeo Dynasty called the Mongols the "most inhuman of northern barbarians"^[1].

Strategy

Generally in military strategy, Genghis Khan, his successors and generals preferred to offer their enemies the chance to surrender to their rule without resistance and become vassals by sending tribute, accepting residents, and contributing troops to avoid a large war. The Khans guaranteed the populace protection only if they submitted to Mongol rule and the populace was obedient. Sources record massive destruction, terror and death if there was resistance.

For example, David Nicole notes in The Mongol Warlords, "terror and mass extermination of anyone opposing them was a well-tested Mongol tactic." If the offer to submit was refused, the Mongol leaders would not give an alternative choice but would order massive collective slaughter of the population of resisting cities and destruction of their property such as happened during the invasion of Khwarezmid Empire, Kievan Rus', Baghdad, China, Armenia, Georgia, Poland, Hungary, northern Iran, etc.

Invasion of Japan against samurai Takezaki Suenaga using arrows and bombs, circa 1293.

Terror

The success of the Mongol conquests hinged on fear to induce capitulation amongst enemy populations. Although perceived as mindlessly bloodthirsty, the Mongol strategy of "surrender or die" recognized that conquest by capitulation was--by virtue of being essentially free--far more desirable than being forced to continually expend soldiers, food and money to fight every army and sack every town and city along the campaign route.

The Mongols frequently faced states with armies and resources much greater than their own, and simply invading everyone was out of the question. A surrendered nation was also infinitely more desirable than a sacked one, since they both provided the same territorial gain, but with the former able to continue providing taxes and conscripts long after the conflict ended, whereas once the readily available goods and slaves were seized from the latter, it was depopulated and rendered economically worthless. Thus, by using merely the promise of wholesale slaughter whenever possible instead of the actual act, Mongolian forces made efficient conquests, allowing them to attack in more places at once, and redirect their soldiers and goods where they were most needed.

Drawing of Mongols outside Vladimir presumably demanding submission before its sacking

The linchpin of the Mongols' success was the widespread perception amongst its enemies that they were facing an insurmountable juggernaut that could only be placated through surrender. The Mongols counted on the spread of reports of horrifying massacres and torture to universally terrify their foes. However, the "or" in "surrender or die" provided an alternative. The goal was to convince everyone that the costs of surrendering were not nearly onerous enough to risk an unwinnable war and the absolute guarantee of complete annihilation if they lost. Thus, as the Mongol conquest spread, this form of psychological warfare proved chillingly effective at suppressing resistance to Mongol rule. There were tales of lone Mongol soldiers periodically riding into surrendered villages and executing peasants at random as a test of loyalty, as it was widely known that even a single act of resistance would bring forth the whole of the Mongol army to completely obliterate the town and its occupants, thus ensuring obedience through fear.^[2]

Populations

Only the skilled engineers and artists were spared from death and maintained as slaves if they agreed to surrender. When a kingdom resisted the Mongol army it was conquered by force. Documents written during or just after Genghis Khan's reign say that after a conquest, the Mongol soldiers looted, pillaged and raped while the Khan got the first pick of the beautiful women. Some troops who submitted were incorporated into the Mongol system in order to expand their manpower; this also allowed the Mongols to absorb new technology, manpower, knowledge and skill for use in military campaigns against other potential opponents. These techniques were sometimes used to spread terror and warning to others (see above). He also passed a decree exempting all followers of the Taoist religion from paying any taxes. Genghis Khan was by and large tolerant of the multiple religions and there are no cases of him or the Mongols engaging in religious war against people he encountered during the conquests as long as they were obedient. However, all of his campaigns caused wanton and deliberate destruction of places of worship if they resisted.^[3]

Drawing of Mongols inside Suzdal under Batu Khan with a sword and burning a building.

Many ancient sources described Genghis Khan's conquests as wholesale destruction on an unprecedented scale in their certain geographical regions, and therefore probably causing great changes in the demographics of Asia. For example, over much of Central Asia speakers of Iranian languages were replaced by speakers of Turkic languages. According to the works of the Iranian historian Rashid al-Din, the Mongols killed more than 700,000 people in Merv and more than a million in Nishapur. China reportedly suffered a drastic decline in population during the 13th and 14th centuries. Before the Mongol invasion, Chinese dynasties reportedly had approximately 120 million inhabitants; after the conquest was completed in 1279, the 1300 census reported roughly 60 million people. Genghis was known to have killed millions of people in northern China, but precisely how many of these deaths are directly attributable to Genghis Khan and his forces is unclear and speculative.^[4] About half of the Russian population may have died during the Mongol invasion of Rus.^[5] Colin McEvedy (Atlas of World Population History, 1978) estimates the population of Russia-in-Europe dropped from 7.5 million prior to the invasion to 7 million afterwards.^[6] The total population of Persia may have dropped from 2,500,000 to 250,000 as a result of mass extermination and famine.^[7] Historians estimate that up to half of Hungary's two million population at that time were victims of the Mongol invasion.^[8] These population estimates are controversial as lower birth rates may have a far greater effect on population than actual warfare.

Property and culture

Mongols' campaigns in Northern China, Central Asia, Eastern Europe and the Middle East caused massive property destruction for those who resisted the Mongols according to the regions' historians; however, there are no exact factual numbers available at this time. For example, the cities of Herat, Kiev, Baghdad, Nishapur, Vladimir and Samarkand suffered serious devastation by the Mongol armies.^[9][10] There is a noticeable lack of Chinese literature that has survived from the Jin Dynasty, due to the Mongol conquests. In the Mongol invasion of Baghdad, libraries, books, literature, hospitals, etc. were all burned and some of the books were thrown in the river, but in amounts sufficient enough to "turn the Euphrates black with ink for several days" according to the writings of the era.

Foods and disease

Mongols were known to burn farmlands such as when they were trying to take the Ganghwa Island palaces during the invasion of Korea in order to starve the populace, divert rivers from cities and towns and catapult disease infected corpses over city walls in order to infect the population. The use of such infected bodies during the siege of Caffa is sometimes alleged to have brought the Black Death to Europe^[11].

Tributes

If a population and cities accepted to send tribute to Mongols every once in a while, they were spared and left relatively independent. They demanded many different things from others. For instance, they required from Goryeo: 10,000 otter skins, 20,000 horses, 10,000 bolts of silk, clothing for 1,000,000 soldiers and a large number of children and artisans who would become slaves^[12].

References