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THE UCSDIAN Special Asia Edition - Issue No. 1
FROM THE EDITOR
Hello and welcome to the first issue of the
UCSDian. This issue (as you can guess from the front cover) examines the history of Asia, from the fall of the Aryans to the fall of Constantinople. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet,
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ADAM MOORLAND
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THE MONGOLS: Why were the Mongols under Genghis Khan able to invade China and create the largest land based empire the world has ever seen?
Why were the Mongols under Genghis Khan able to invade China and create the largest land based empire the world has ever seen? Adam Moorland
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To answer this question, it is necessary first to understand the background to the Mongol invasions of China under Genghis Khan and his successors. Although the exact date is not know with any certainty and estimates have been made as far ranging as any date between 1155 and 1167, the birth of Genghis Khan is believed to have occurred in 1162. Genghis was born the son of a minor clan chief, but his great grand-father Kabul had in fact united the Mongol tribes in a fractious coalition, which lasted only long enough for two of Kabul’s sons to take up his mantle. Nevertheless, three generations later, Genghis, or Temujin as he was then called, was not the only Mongol with a strong claim to Mongol leadership and royal lineage. At the age of eight, Temujin and his father Yesugei set out to find Temujin a wife from the Onigrads, another Mongol tribe. On his return journey, Yesugei met a group of Tartars, a nomadic tribe. Probably poisoned by the Tartars in a never-ending cycle of revenge, Yesugei barely made it home alive and summoned his son Temujin back from his prospective bride. With Yesugei’s death went the family’s source off protection. Neither Temujin, nor any of his brothers were old enough to take their father’s position and the family were abandoned. Now began many hard years which undoubtedly moulded the future Genghis Khan’s personality. Life on the steppe was not easy, particularly with seven children, all under the age of nine to care for. However, despite a hard childhood, Temujin would escape capture by his enemies and fight several wars until, in 1206, Genghis Khan was able to proclaim the unification of the Mongol nation with him as its leader. 5
This great military machine was soon turned towards China. obedient vassal, Genghis died in 1227. With the Tangut Before the Mongol conquests, China was by no means a Emperor on his way to submit, the Khan fell ill, perhaps with unified state. In the north-west was the state of Xi Xia, to its typhus1 soon died. After Genghis’ death he was succeeded by Ogedai, his third son, but it was east lay the Jin Empire, ruled by former barbarians from and soon died. After Genghis’ death he was succeeded by lai (Genghis Khan’s grandson by his fourth son), who as a later Mongol Emperor Manchuria. Meanwhile, the southern and central parts of Ogedai, his third son, but it was Kublai (Genghis Khan’s mpleted the conquest of China and established the Yuan dynasty. China were still held by grandson by his fourth son), who as a later The question still remains: How the Song dynasty. Mongol Emperor completed the conquest of it possible for a nomadic force of Genghis chose to attack China and established the Yuan dynasty. isciplined tribesmen to form an army Xi Xia, the weakest of t would conquer China and carve out The question still remains: How was it possible these three powers, and largest after land abased the was world for a nomadic force of undisciplined tribesmen quickempire victory ever seen? to form an army that would conquer China and able to lay siege to carve out the largest land based empire the Yinchuan, capital. The answer lies the in a combination world has ever seen? Tangut (of various The factors: The Emperor rivalry between XiEmpires Xia) submitted toto unity Chinese in contrast The answer lies in a combination of various Genghis and paid er Genghis Khan and tribute. later his factors: The rivalry between the Chinese Following on from this cessors enabled the Mongol might to Empires in contrast to unity under Genghis Mongols turned success, against the divided foes, their Khan and later his successors enabled the launched a series of nerability compounded by the military Mongol might to be turned against divided foes, against thethe far eriority campaigns of Mongol forces and their vulnerability compounded by the military her quality of leadership amongst the Jin, taking the capital, superiority of Mongol forces and the far higher mads. Beijing, and all but the quality of leadership amongst the nomads. southern part of the Empire. China today may be a unified and strong, centrally controlled state, but this has not China today may be a unified and strong, centrally controlled ays been the case. In provoked the early thirteenth century, three warring powers all controlled Having been by the execution of his emissaries, state, but this has not always been the case. In the early e chunks of China. The Tanguts, Khwarezm, having migrated eastwards hundreds Genghis now invaded to the west. After a of years before, thirteenth century, three warring powers all controlled large d Xi Xia, the smallest of the Empires. The Song were a Chinese dynasty that had come to successful campaign followed by further attacks on Xi Xia chunks of China. The Tanguts, having migrated eastwards wer in for 960, refusing but had to been displaced from northern China by the Jin, barbarians from send military support to the Mongols like an hundreds of years before, ruled Xi Xia, the smallest of the
nchuria. Despite past divisions, when Genghis invaded Xi Xia, the Tangut Emperor sent a uest to the Jin for help, hoping to set aside past differences in the face of a common 6 my. However, Genghis whether purposefully or not had attacked at the perfect time.
Empires. The Song were a Chinese dynasty that had come to power in 960, but had been displaced from northern China by the Jin, barbarians from Manchuria. Despite past divisions, when Genghis invaded Xi Xia, the Tangut Emperor sent a request to the Jin for help, hoping to set aside past differences in the face of a common enemy. However, Genghis whether purposefully or not had attacked at the perfect time. The old Jin Emperor had died, and his successor Prince Wei responded in a brash manner: ‘It is to our advantage when our enemies attack one another. Wherein lies the danger to us?’2 Even after the Mongols’ remarkable successes, their enemies were still unable to unite and ‘the Song emperors...sided with the Mongols against the Jin’.3 This utter lack of willingness to recognise that the Mongols were the greater threat and to unify in the face of such an enemy undermined any attempts to defeat the Mongol and weakened the Chinese states. Without unity, the Chinese were not able to make up for other failings with overwhelming forces and enabled Genghis and his successors to pick them off one at a time.
achieved before, even by his great grand-father, Kabul. By abolishing the old tribal system and dispersing members of former tribes between different military units, Genghis was able to break down past divisions and weld together his new nation. Crucially, Genghis formed a bodyguard of 10,000 men containing the sons of all regimental commanders, a sure way to ensure the continuing loyalty of their fathers. However, according to Urgunge Onon, this unity rested on three types of ties: Quada (marriage alliances, for example, the marriage between Genghis’ daughter and Arslan Khan, resulting in Arslan submitting to Genghis without a fight), Anda (sworn brotherhood) and Nökör (friendship, similar to a tie of feudal loyalty).4 What’s more, after Genghis’ death, Mongol unity endured, evidence of the long lasting bonds created. The significance of Mongol unity is paramount: Only three years after being named Khan, in 1206, Genghis was able to lead the first of several invasions into China. This compares with generations in which the Mongols were too preoccupied with fighting amongst themselves to attack an outside neighbour. Therefore, the conclusion can be drawn that without the unification of the Mongols, any single tribe would not have been sufficiently strong to dare attack, let alone defeat the professional armies of Xi Xia and the other Chinese Empires.
1 John Man, The Mongol Empire (London, Bantam Press, 2014) p.113 2 John Man, Genghis Khan life, death and resurrection (London, Bantam Press, 2004) p.152 3 Bamber Gascoigne, The Dynasties of China (London, Robinson, 2003) p.135
Nevertheless, Mongol unity was only one of the achievements of Genghis Khan. Genghis made skilful use of diplomacy, conducting alliances, in some cases even with
In stark contrast to these divisions, Genghis had achieved a greater degree of unity amongst the Mongols than ever 7
former enemies, in return for guides to aid his next conquest: A marriage alliance was formed with the Önggüds and as a result they acted as guides for Mongol forces when the attacked the Jin in 1211. Moreover, Genghis also sent in spies to infiltrate future enemies and inform him of their political, economic and military power. Consequently, it is clear that Genghis always learnt all he could of enemies before attacking them. This knowledge could prove a powerful weapon, helping Genghis for instance to exploit the differences between his enemies.
4 Urgunge Onon, The Secret History of the Mongols (Richmond Surrey, Curzon Press, 2001) p.8 5 John Man, The Mongol Empire (London, Bantam Press, 2014) p.43 On arriving at Chabchiyal, [Jebe and Güyigünek-ba’atur found] that guards had been posted on the Chabchiyal Pass. Then Jebe said: ‘We shall lure them into moving. When they come [after us], we shall fight them.’ He then turned back. The Kitad soldiers decided to pursue him. As they drew nigh, they choked the valleys and mountains. On reaching the provincial capital, Söndeiwu, Jebe reined in [his horses] and turned back. He attacked the advancing enemy, which was growing [ever] bigger and overcame them. Chinggis Qahan, following closely behind with the main body of [his] army, forced the Kitads to withdraw...slaughtering them...Jebe took the gates of Chabchiyal6
Genghis was also able to ensure that the Mongols had far superior leadership to that of their enemies. In the Chinese Empires, men were often appointed to posts on nepotistic grounds and only the aristocracy would have any chance of attaining officer positions in the army. In contrast, with the rise of Genghis ‘came a revolution, with appointments made not on the basis of inherited position within a tribal hierarchy, but of services rendered’.5 Under his leadership, a meritocratic system of positions being based on ability and loyalty rather than on birth was set up. This resulted in most senior Mongol leaders being far better military tacticians than their opponents and meant that they were fiercely loyal to their Khan, further increasing Mongol unity. As a result of having better-quality leaders, the Mongols were repeatedly able to outwit their opponents, employing clever strategic and tactical tricks and inflict humiliating defeats, building up an aura of invincibility:
This tactic was used repeatedly to good effect by the Mongols and involved false retreats which tricked enemies into believing that the Mongols were fleeing. When they charged after the Mongols, they gave up control of a strong defensive position and were likely to lose all semblance of formation in the ensuing attack. Then, suddenly the Mongols would launch a counter-attack on the disorganised enemy, surprising and defeating them. However, such tactical manoeuvres were hard to pull off with communication relying on messengers and consequently, it is only with a highly disciplined army and talented commanders who were
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able to take the initiative and seize opportunities that such victories could be achieved.
Mongols to adapt to new forms of warfare and to employ foreigners adept at these types of warfare.
Therefore, it was not only the high quality of Mongol leadership that assured them victory on the battlefield; well trained and disciplined soldiers were crucial to the Mongol military machine. Mongol tribesmen from a young age were taught how to ride horses and shoot a bow. These two skills combined to create probably the best warriors of the time. Mongol horse archers could shoot from a galloping horse at a moving target, accurately for six or seven hundred feet7 and could perform the ‘Parthian shot’, whereby a horse archer shot over his shoulder, enabling him to kill enemies behind him whilst riding his horse. Combined with a level of endurance nurtured by the harsh conditions of the steppe and the Mongol soldiers were undoubtedly superior to their Chinese counterparts who were often unwilling conscripts. While this force gave the Mongols an initial advantage, their lack of experience concerning siege warfare could have prevented their victories from being fully exploited and consequently their conquest of China from having been completed. However, the Mongols were quickly able to adapt to siege warfare, using captured Chinese artisans and deserters to build their own trebuchets and destroy enemy cities, including Xiangyang in southern China. As a result, it was not just that the Mongol soldiers were of a superior calibre to their adversaries, but also the willingness of the
Despite the numerous factors already mentioned in the Mongols’ advantage, modern research suggests that it was in fact two other, completely unrelated factors that had a decisive impact on the ability of the Mongols to conquer China. Notably, the major heartlands of Chinese civilization are not far from the steppe. This gave the nomadic 6 Urgunge Onon, The Secret History of the Mongols (Richmond Surrey, Curzon Press, 2001) pp.233/234 7 Urgunge Onon, The Secret History of the Mongols (Richmond Surrey, Curzon Press, 2001) p.12 Mongols the required pastureland to sustain their horses and therefore their military power.8 For the opposite reason, the Mongols were never able to conquer Europe, significant grassland ending at the Hungarian plain. Yet, climate as well as geographical positioning is a cause of the successful Mongol conquests of China: The Mongolian Plateau and northern and central China, where historical dynasties were supported by traditional pastoral and agricultural systems, were highly sensitive to changes in desertification and biological productivity produced by the late-Holcene Asian Monsoon...Because of the importance of a stable food supply to support the large populations required to economically and militarily sustain a dynasty, these changes would have had a direct impact on 9
the health of dynasties...In northern and central China, due to desertification and decreased biological productivity that began after 1220 A.D., the Mongols finally destroyed the Jin in 1234 A.D.9
productivity across central Mongolia. In combination with a gridded temperature reconstruction, our results indicate that the regional climate during the conquests of Chinggis Khan’s (Genghis Khan) 13th century Mongol Empire was warm and persistently wet. This period, characterized by 15 consecutive years of above average moisture in central Mongolia and coinciding with the rise of Chinggis Khan, is unprecedented over the last 1000 years. We propose that these climate conditions
Essentially, increased desertification in China reduced the biological productivity of the earth. Consequently, there were widespread food shortages, creating dissent and weakening the popular support for the dynasty. Moreover, fewer taxes could be afforded by the peasantry, reducing the fiscal power of the regime and the size of the army it could afford to upkeep, therefore resulting in the military power of the Chinese Empires dwindling. This hypothesis is supported by the fact that ‘throughout China from 300 A.D. to the late 1700s, the rise and fall of individual dynasties were consistent (with) periods of warming and cooling respectively in the core regions governed by these dynasties.’10
8 Azar Gat, War in Human Civilization (Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2006) pp.389/390 9 Xunming Wang, Fahu Chen, Jiawu Zhang, Yi Yang, Jijun Li, Eerdun Hasi, Caixia Zhang and Dunsheng Xia, Desertification, and the Rise and Collapse of China’s Historical Dynasties, Human Ecology, Volume 38, Number 1, 2010, pp.157, 168 10 Xunming Wang, Fahu Chen, Jiawu Zhang, Yi Yang, Jijun Li, Eerdun Hasi, Caixia Zhang and Dunsheng Xia, Desertification, and the Rise and Collapse of China’s Historical Dynasties, Human Ecology, Volume 38, Number 1, 2010, p.164
The weakening power of the Chinese Empires was compounded by the warm and wet climate in Mongolia, improving grassland productivity, so increasing the size of the Mongolian population which could be sustained by the land, consequently providing more soldiers for the armies of Genghis Khan:
promoted high grassland productivity and favoured the formation of Mongol political and military power.11
Here we present an 1112-year tree-ring reconstruction of warm-season water balance derived from Siberian pine (Pinus sibirica) trees in central Mongolia. Our reconstruction...is significantly correlated with steppe
Therefore, the proximity of China to the steppe and favourable climatic conditions provided a positive geographical context for conquest. This was combined with the military and political backdrops: the high calibre of 10
Mongol horse archers and great disunity amongst the Chinese Empires respectively, to create a set of conditions favourable to Genghis Khan’s ambitions. However, ultimately, it was the personality of Genghis Khan that was able to seize the opportunity, unifying the Mongol nation, imposing superior leadership and creating the conditions necessary for the Mongol conquests of China.
Historical Dynasties, Human Ecology, Volume 38, Number 1, 2010, pp.157, 168 11 Neil Pederson, Amy Hessl, Nachin Baatarbileg, Kevin Anchukaitis, Nicola Di Cosmo, Pluvials, Droughts, the Mongol Empire and Modern Mongolia, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, Volume 111, Number 12, 2014, p.2
Bibliography: Azar Gat, War in Human Civilization (Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2006) pp.389/390 Bamber Gascoigne, The Dynasties of China (London, Robinson, 2003) p.135 John Man, The Mongol Empire (London, Bantam Press, 2014) p.113 John Man, Genghis Khan life, death and resurrection (London, Bantam Press, 2004) p.152 Neil Pederson, Amy Hessl, Nachin Baatarbileg, Kevin Anchukaitis, Nicola Di Cosmo, Pluvials, Droughts, the Mongol Empire and Modern Mongolia, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, Volume 111, Number 12, 2014, p.2 Urgunge Onon, The Secret History of the Mongols (Richmond Surrey, Curzon Press, 2001) p.8 Xunming Wang, Fahu Chen, Jiawu Zhang, Yi Yang, Jijun Li, Eerdun Hasi, Caixia Zhang and Dunsheng Xia, Desertification, and the Rise and Collapse of China’s 11
Constantinople the largest city and former capital of Turkey; rebuilt on the site of ancient Byzantium by Constantine I in the fourth century; renamed Constantinople by Constantine who made it the capital of the Byzantine Empire; now the seat of the Eastern Orthodox Church
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Genghis Khan 1162–1227, Mongol conqueror of most of Asia and of E Europe to the Dnieper River.
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