The harsh natural conditions of the region inhabited by the Mongolian tribes made it impossible to engage in productive agriculture and sedentary cattle breeding. The Mongolian tribes that roamed the steppes of Central Asia experienced second halfXIIin. the period of decomposition of tribal relations. Emerging know (noyons and their companions nukers) fought for pastures and cattle - the main values ​​​​of the nomadic world.

1. The extensive nature of the nomadic pastoral economy Mongolian tribes, the depletion of pastures created one of the prerequisites for wars and seizures of foreign lands.

2. Influenced by more advanced neighboring civilizations the nomadic nobility had needs that they could not satisfy through the exploitation of ordinary Mongols (the pastoralists did not have their own handicraft production, which is why the top of the nomadic society receives luxury goods, high-quality clothing and weapons either as a result of trade exchange or armed robbery).

3. The rise of the new nomadic nobility increased the need for luxury items, or the so-called status consumption, designed to emphasize her high social position, to distinguish her from the ranks of ordinary nomads.

4. Formation of the early Mongolian state. Clashes among various nomadic tribes at the turn of the XII-XIII centuries. ended with the victory of the Temujin group (in 1206 at the congress of the Mongolian nobility, he was given the title of Genghis Khan), who united all the Mongolian tribes and began to create a state.

Within the framework of a single state, the noyons could no longer enrich themselves through internecine wars, and the loss of this source of enrichment could only be compensated for by aggressive campaigns against rich neighboring states. In addition, heavy state duties could cause dissatisfaction with ordinary nomads, which also pushed for conquests. The main thing was that nomadic statehood could not exist at the expense of its meager internal economic resources and was "doomed" to conquer the territories of more developed neighbors.

5. Military dominance of the Mongols. Statehood gave the born nomadic warriors, who were taught from childhood endurance and the use of weapons, a new military organization and iron discipline. According to the law created by Genghis Khan - Yase, in the event of the flight of one warrior from the battlefield, the entire ten were executed, while the brave warriors were encouraged in every possible way and promoted. Yasa regulated the behavior of the Mongols in everyday life, established the principle of obligatory mutual assistance, a special respectful attitude towards the guest, etc. Thus, the military power of the Mongols, combined with the weakness of more civilized neighbors, experiencing a period of fragmentation and internal strife, also became one of the prerequisites for conquests.

2. The conquests of the Mongols

1. The beginning of the conquest. Having subjugated the nomads of Central Asia and the neighboring tribes of South Siberia, Genghis Khan expanded the boundaries of the Mongolian state and strengthened his position. The beginning of the conquests of the "outer" world was the capture of Northern China (1211-1215), which significantly strengthened the military power of the Mongols. (Here they got acquainted with siege techniques, began to use the labor of Chinese artisans, who were taken into slavery, and worked out the methods of storming stone fortresses.)

2. conquest of Central Asia. In 1219, the troops of Genghis Khan attacked the state of Khorezmshahs. The pretext for aggression was the destruction of a Mongolian merchant caravan in the city of Otrar, carried out on the orders of Genghis Khan himself. In 1219-1220. the flourishing country was ruined, unable to offer serious resistance due to internal strife.

3. Battle on the river Kalka. After that, the troops of the Mongols under the command of the talented commanders Subedei and Jebe, rounding the Caspian Sea from the south, invaded Transcaucasia. Having defeated the united Armenian-Georgian army, they broke through to the North Caucasus, where they met with the Alans (Ossetians) and Polovtsians. Acting according to their favorite principle of "divide and conquer" and deceiving the allies, they dealt with them in turn.

The remnants of the Polovtsian hordes, under the leadership of Khan Kotyan, turned to the Russian princes for help, since relations between Russia and the Polovtsians had long been characterized by a combination of military clashes with the development of peaceful economic, political, and even family ties. As a result, a decision was made on joint actions at the council of the princes of Southern Russia. The Mongols' attempt to split the allies this time failed, and their ambassadors were executed.

The battle took place in 1223 On the river Kalka in the Sea of ​​\u200b\u200bAzov and ended in a terrible defeat for the allied forces. The main reason for this was the inconsistency of actions, the lack of a unified command, ignorance of the power and military tricks of the Mongols. After the victory, the Mongols turned east and went out of sight for many years. However, to draw the right conclusions from the defeat on the river. Kalka, the Russian princes failed, the strife not only did not stop, but even intensified, which finally undermined the strength of the Russian land.

4. Chingizid Empire. Meanwhile, after death 1227 Genghis Khan's vast empire was divided into uluses- Specific possessions of the sons and grandsons of Temujin, formally subordinate to the head of the clan. Khan of the western ulus of Batu (Batu), fulfilling the behest of his grandfather, began to prepare for a campaign to the "last sea" (Atlantic Ocean), and on kurultai In 1235, it was decided to "water the Mongol horses in the Western Sea" - to organize the conquest of the whole of Europe by the Mongols.

The reasons for the military successes of Genghis Khan

Not a single people in the world ... surpassed the Tatars in their glory and the greatness of their conquests ... Under the name of the Turks, they made immense conquests in Europe, Asia and Africa: and they dominate these three parts of the world.

C. Montesquieu

Even at first glance, without resorting to complex calculations and analysis, the superiority of a nomad warrior over a settled inhabitant immediately catches the eye. One is always ready for combat, the other is forced to clumsily defend himself. For the first, military operations, prey are the meaning of life, for the second - defense, upholding their accumulated wealth. And the first has always been in a winning position. Military experience, speed and onslaught are the key to his success. Therefore, throughout the foreseeable history, "the nomad of the Eurasian steppes in most cases had a military advantage over settled countries and peoples" (according to A.M. Khazanov).

“A Mongolian proverb says: “Without grass there is no livestock, without livestock there is no food.” Meat, milk and cheese are the main food of the Mongols. All the predecessors of the Mongols - the builders of "nomadic empires" went a similar way from a nomadic tribe (population) to a full-fledged empire through expansion and raids on foreign territories. To implement this saving path, it is necessary to develop a military culture, with the creation of a cohesive and trained army, unpretentious and monolithic, mobile and well-armed.

This work does not aim at a detailed study of various aspects of the military art of Genghis Khan's troops, but it is worth touching on the main reasons for such an unprecedented military success.

First of all, in settled states, for example, in Europe, the maintenance of a standing army was very expensive and therefore it was small in number and insufficiently trained in military craft.

Nomads have a completely different picture. Every nomad from childhood learned how to wield weapons virtuoso and knew how to make a lot of things himself. Mobilization opportunities to organize into large armies occurred in the shortest possible time.

Secondly. Nomad warriors were universally trained, wielded all types of weapons and could fight both in light and heavy cavalry.

Thirdly. The nomadic way of life favored the natural education of military skills. Warriors became due to their way of life. Boys from the age of 4-5 began to learn archery from the nomads. The perfection of combat skills in collective action was facilitated by the annual hunt for wild animals.

Fourth. During a military campaign, each warrior took at least 3–5 horses with him on military campaigns. And this was the main military advantage of the nomads over the settled population.

“The tactics of the light cavalry of the nomads, mobile and instant, among other things included quick attacks and massive bombardment of the enemy with a rain of arrows in order to disrupt his ranks even before entering into hand-to-hand combat.”

A direct eyewitness of those times (1246–1247), the Italian Plano Carpini, “wandering the same way with them and with them for too much a year and four months,” wrote about the weapons of the warriors of Genghis Khan: “Weapons should at least have the following: two or three bow, or at least one good one, and three large quivers full of arrows, one ax and ropes to pull tools.

Another eyewitness, Marco Polo, who served as an adviser to Khubilai for 17 years, vividly described the tactics of the Mongols’ combat operations with the enemy: “In battles with the enemy, they take over like this: they are not ashamed to run away from enemies; running away, turn around and shoot from the bow. They taught their horses, like dogs, toss and turn in all directions. When they are driven, they fight gloriously and strongly on the run, just as exactly as if they were standing face to face with the enemy; runs and turns back, shoots accurately, beats both enemy horses and a lot of people, and the enemy thinks that they are upset and defeated, but he himself loses, because his horses have been shot, and people are pretty beaten. The Tatars, when they see that they have killed both the enemy horses and many people, turn back and fight gloriously, bravely, ruin and defeat the enemy. This is how they won many battles and conquered many nations.

Apparently, the statements of Marco Polo (1254–1324) should be treated with some caution, since in most cases almost everything is said in superlatives about the Genghisides, however, in his judgments, the rational grain is clearly and reasonably traced. Here is what he wrote about Genghis Khan: “It happened that in 1187 the Tatars chose a king for themselves, and he, in their language, Genghis Khan, was a brave, intelligent and daring man; when I tell you, they chose him as king, the Tatars from all over the world, who were scattered in foreign countries, came to him and recognized him as their sovereign. This Genghis Khan ruled the country well. What else can you say?

It is even surprising how many Tatars have accumulated here.

Genghis Khan saw that he had a lot of people, armed him with bows and other weapons and went to fight foreign countries. They conquered eight regions; they didn’t do evil to the people, they didn’t take anything away from them, but only took them away with them to conquer other people. And somehow, as you heard, they conquered a multitude of people. And the people see that the government is good, the king is merciful, and they followed him willingly. Genghis Khan recruited so many people that they roam all over the world, but he decided to conquer more land.

Russian scientist-historian S.A. Nefedov, in his article "The Mongol Bow and the Mongol Conquests," shed a detailed light on the features of the military tactics of the Mongol troops.

He brought together many testimonies about the tactics and techniques of the battle of the Mongols with their opponents: “In the “Great Chronicle” of Matthew of Paris, the testimonies of various authors are repeated many times that the Mongols are “incomparable archers”, “amazing archers”, “excellent archers”. One of the Hungarian bishops emphasizes that the Mongols are more skilled archers than the Hungarians and Polovtsy, and that "their bows are more powerful." Thomas of Split, describing the siege of Pest, testifies that “the deadly Tatar arrows struck for sure. And there was no such armor, shield or helmet that would not be pierced. “They say that they shoot further than other peoples,” wrote the Hungarian monk Julian. - At the first clash in the war, their arrows, as they say, do not fly, but pour like a shower. With swords and spears, they are rumored to fight less skillfully.

S.A. Nefedov wrote: “The Mongolian light cavalry raced along the enemy’s front, pouring arrows over him; if the enemy went on the attack, then she turned into an imaginary flight, but during this "flight" the archers, who turned back, shot their pursuers and their horses. A powerful bow and massive arrows made it possible to kill horses - and, indeed, the sources cited above indicate that the defeat of horses was almost the main element of this tactic.

The pulling force of the Mongolian bow reached 75 kg, and the firing range - 320 meters. (The winner of the competition in 1226 Yesugei Mergen fired an arrow at 335 alda (538 m). The effective range of archery was much less than 160–190 m. The rate of fire was 10–12 shots per minute. m killed a horse or pierced chain mail right through. ”

First of all, about the structure in the army. The primary military unit is a dozen warriors led by their commander - a foreman. Ten tens made a hundred, led by a centurion. Ten hundreds was a thousand, headed by a thousand-man noyon. Genghis Khan himself appointed this position from among his devoted and reliable people, "who worked with me in creating the state." In 1206, 95 thousandth noyons were appointed. The high trust placed in them by Genghis Khan was justified by the new appointees. No treason on the part of the noyons-thousanders was recorded in the Tale.

“One example cited by Rashid al-Din evokes a feeling of amazement. Once, considering a worthy candidate for the position of a thousand-man, Genghis Khan said: “There is no Bahadur like Yesunbai, and there is no person like him in talents. But, since he does not suffer from the hardships of the campaign and does not know hunger and thirst, he considers all other people, nukers and warriors, like themselves in enduring hardships, but they are not able to endure them. For this reason, he is not fit to be a boss. Worthy of being such is the person who himself knows what hunger and thirst are, and therefore judges by the state of others, the one who goes on the road with a calculation and does not allow the army to starve and be thirsty, and the cattle to become emaciated ... ".

Tell me, reader, against the background of this quality of his leader, leader - who can be placed next to Genghis Khan as an equal in comprehending the holy of holies - the human soul and the organization of military affairs?

Researcher Alexander Domanin finds other words: “Take off your hats, all those who wear shoulder straps, before the military genius of Genghis Khan!” . But they do not want and cannot take off their hats in front of the “wild nomad”. Otherwise, how can they explain the multimillion-dollar losses of their own soldiers and people.

In units, dozens, representatives of different tribes served, now united into one people - the Mongols. Going from one dozen to another was punishable by death. In battle, the principle was: one for all, and all for one. The warriors boldly went into battle, knowing that in the event of death, his family would be provided with everything necessary.

All Genghis researchers come to the unanimous opinion that Genghis Khan and his associates had to wage the most difficult and longest war in time from 1181 to 1205 with related neighboring Turkic tribes.

A natural and normal phenomenon on the part of the leaders of neighboring tribes was a categorical refusal to obey the will of "some kind of Genghis Khan", they were representatives of the ancient khan families. Losing one's own power is unthinkable. Only war can resolve the conflict - who is stronger.

Marco Polo in his book gives a typical example (not confirmed in the "Tale") about the courtship of Genghis Khan to the daughter of the Kereite Van Khan. Like, offended and angry Wang Khan replied: “What shamelessness of Genghis Khan! he began to speak. - To marry my daughter! Does he not know that he is my servant and slave?! Go back to him and say: I will burn my daughter, but I will not marry him; tell him from me that he should be executed as a traitor and traitor to his sovereign by death! .

A new era began with the creation of a single Mongolian political nation in place of the ancient Turkic ale. Speaking about the period of the formation of the Mongolian nation, it should be borne in mind that Genghis Khan did not destroy or massacre the neighboring Turkic tribes. It was not a civil war, but a war between various Turkic tribes, which were completely independent with their khan-rulers. Van Khan (Togrul) led a large tribe of Kereites, Tayan Khan - the Naiman tribe, Targitai-Kiriltuh - the Taijuit tribe, Arslan Khan - Karluks, etc. The goal of Genghis Khan was to unite all these disparate tribes into a single powerful state.

In a war, as in a war, part of the army, military commanders, and khan-leaders were defeated and killed. Their families, women, old people and children survived. And as mentioned above, at the direction of Genghis Khan, they were distributed to other tribes in small proportions, which after one or two generations no longer differed from the main mass of the population.

In the spring of 1206, Kurultai of “all tribes living in felt tents” gathered at the head of the Onon River. For military prowess and outstanding mind, Temirshin was awarded the title - Genghis Khan. The meaning of this title has not yet been precisely established. For example, Akhmedzaki Validi Tugan (1890–1970), an honorary professor at many European universities, explains the name-title “Genghis Khan” as “always victorious”, “victorious”, “overcoming”. Here they erected the nine-binchu white banner of the Supreme Ruler - Genghis Khan.

All the united Mongol tribes were divided into 95 tribal communities, at the head of which Genghis Khan placed his devoted noyan commanders. They became the ancestors of new genera. Genghis Khan often appointed representatives of the most seedy clans to high posts of military leaders. “Who was Sorkhan-Shira? Serf serf, arat, at the Taychaud todege. And who were Badai and Kyshlyk? Tserenovsky grooms. Now you are my relatives. Prosper in your darkhanate, order to wear your sidak and proclaim chara-otok in your place ”[§ 219, SS, translated by Kozin S.A.].

“I also received a thousand under the command of the sheepherder Degai, orders to recruit her from different parts” [§ 222, ibid.]. Naturally, first of all, Genghis Khan included his closest and faithful associates in the noyons-thousanders, “who worked with me in creating the state: Munlik-etsige, Boorchu, Mukhali, Khorchi, Jurchedai, Jebe, Subedei, Kublai and his other associates who, in deed, at critical moments of the most important events, showed their devotion to Genghis Khan. For the management of the state, troops, uluses, one thing was important - professional suitability and belonging to such a psychological type of people who are distinguished by their loyalty to the chosen path, honesty and justice.

"The main science that he mastered during the years of severe trials is the science of knowing people, the choice of associates." To his subjects, starting with the highest nobles and military leaders and ending with ordinary soldiers, Genghis Khan made certain moral demands. The virtues he most valued and encouraged were fidelity, devotion, and fortitude; the vices that he most despised and hated were treason, betrayal and cowardice. These virtues and vices were signs for Genghis Khan, according to which he divided people into two categories.

“For one type of people, their material well-being and security are higher than their personal dignity and honor: therefore, they are capable of cowardice and treason. When such a person submits to his boss or master, he does this only because he recognizes in this boss a certain strength and power that can deprive him of well-being or even life, he trembles before this force. He sees nothing behind his master: he is subject only personally to this master in the order of fear, that is, in essence, he is subject not to the master, but to his own fear. By betraying his master or betraying him, such a person thinks thereby to free himself from the only person who rules over him: but always doing this out of fear or material calculation, he thereby remains a slave to his fear, his attachment to life and material well-being, and even established in slavery. Such people are base, vile, essentially slavish natures. Genghis Khan despised them and mercilessly destroyed them. On his conquest path, Genghis Khan had to overthrow and depose many kings, princes and rulers. Almost always, among the close associates and nobles of such rulers, there were traitors and traitors who, by their betrayal, contributed to the victory and success of Genghis Khan. But Genghis Khan did not reward any of these traitors for their service, on the contrary, after each victory over some king or ruler, the great conqueror gave the order to execute all those nobles and close associates who had betrayed their master. Their betrayal was a sign of a slave psychology and there was no place for people with such a psychology in the kingdom of Genghis Khan. And vice versa, the second type of people, after the conquest of each new kingdom or principality, Genghis Khan showered with awards and brought closer to himself all those who remained loyal to their former ruler of this conquered country to the very end, loyal even when their loyalty was clearly not beneficial for them. and dangerous. For by their loyalty and steadfastness, such people proved their belonging to the psychological type over which Genghis Khan wanted to build his state system. People of this psychological type, valued by Genghis Khan, put their honor and dignity above their security and material well-being. They are not afraid of a person who can take away their life or material wealth, but they are afraid to commit an act that can dishonor them and diminish their dignity ”(according to N.S. Trubetskoy“ A look at Russian history not from the West, but from the East ").

A vivid confirmation of such a long, but necessary and explanatory postulate of Genghis Khan's behavior can be the following case, given in the book of Dr. Erenjen Khara-Davan: “After this victory, the following incident occurred, characterizing the attitude of Genghis Khan towards the defeated enemies and clearly depicting steppe customs. One former bagatur of Wang Khan said to Genghis Khan: “It was hard for me to allow you to seize and kill my lawful master, so I fought with you for three days to give the khan time to go further; now, tell me to die, I will die; but if you grant me life, then I will be zealous to you.” Genghis Khan replied: “Whoever did not want to leave his master and, in order to give him time to escape further, fought with me alone, you are done. Be my friend."

So Genghis Khan always and everywhere supported aristocratic principles: the power of a feudal lord over a vassal, a master over a slave, always encouraging faithful servants and punishing traitors to his master with death, even if the latter was his enemy. The ruler of the Mongols by this expressed the true aspirations and ideals of the steppe aristocracy, which was therefore proud of its leader and was blindly devoted to him.

Noteworthy is the description of the nomads given by V.V. Grigoriev (1816–1881), professor of the Department of Oriental History at St. Petersburg University, in the monograph “On the Scythian people of the Saks” (1871). Grigoriev from 1851 to 1862 served as head of the Orenburg Border Commission, where the affairs of managing the Kazakhs were concentrated. The professor wrote: “The nomadic tribes were the conquerors of the settled populations, the reason for this was, among other things, in their relative superiority over the latter, both bodily, mentally and morally.”

The "Secret Tale" contains some tactics and terms of the Mongol army: on the march, the troops had to be "thick grass", before the start of the battle - "lake", in battle - "awl".

The well-known Russian historian V.V. Kargalov defines the reason for the military successes of the army of Genghis Khan as follows: “The harsh living conditions of a nomad cattle breeder, bloody wars and predatory raids determined the peculiar spiritual world of the steppe. Cruelty, treachery, ferocity in battle, iron discipline, cemented by tribal solidarity, constant readiness for a campaign and battle - all these features of the Mongol warrior were the result of his way of life. And further ... “The thirst for prey led the Mongol khans on thousand-kilometer campaigns, through deserts and forest thickets. The thirst for enrichment drove ordinary soldiers to fortified cities bristling with spears and swords, forcing them to risk their lives in bloody battles. The warriors of Genghis Khan and their commanders were not "steppe knights" fighting for "lofty goals", as some foreign historians try to present them, but accomplices in an ordinary robbery, albeit grandiose in its scale, covering entire countries, but from this it did not change its essence at all » .

Thanks to his penetrating and all-encompassing mind, skillful diplomacy, unsurpassed tactics and strategy of conducting military operations, military cunning, using his intelligence data and favorable moments, and, finally, iron discipline, courage and courage of his soldiers, Genghis Khan successively, one after another, managed to defeat all Turkic neighboring tribes and peoples. You can still understand it. But how was he able to defeat a multi-million dollar China?

According to the "Mongolian Herodotus" Sanang Setchen, back in 1662 the number of "Mongols of Genghis Khan" was 400 thousand people. This figure was confirmed by the modern Mongolian scientist Professor B. Baabar in his book "History of Mongolia", published on the occasion of the country's anniversary, in 2000. Mongolia at that time was called: “Forty plus four”, that is, the population of the country was forty Mongolian tumens, plus four Oirat ones.

According to L.N. Gumilyov, the population of Northern China, together with the Tanguts, in the 13th century was 60 million people, Southern China (Sung Empire) - 30 million, Central Asia (Khorezm Shah's empire) - 20 million, Eastern Europe (from the Volga to the Carpathians) - 8 million, Georgia - 5 million, Syria - 5 million.

Kazakh researcher Sultan Akimbekov in his book “History of the Steppes” cites curious figures: “According to the 1183 census, there were 6,158,636 Jurchens and 42,331,764 Chinese in the Jin Empire.” This means that one warrior of Genghis Khan was opposed by a hundred Jins. And despite such an obvious superiority of the enemy, Genghis Khan started the war and, in the end, won. Unbelievable but true.

The ambitious plan of Genghis Khan, unprecedented until now in its scale and audacity, consisted in this - to be able to conquer neighboring countries, outnumbering it hundreds to thousands of times. And this grandiose intention was completed by his grandchildren.

Earlier, Grousset writes: "Genghis Khan left Mukhali (commander-in-chief of the Mongol army in China) half of his army of 23,000 soldiers before going to the West".

Everything converges - mobilization opportunities in any country amounted to 10% of the total population. This means that at the beginning of the military campaign in China in 1211, the number of Genghis Khan's army was 46 thousand soldiers.

One of the first to explain this phenomenal phenomenon was the Russian academician V.P. Vasiliev (1818-1900), who spoke Chinese, Manchu and Khalkha-Mongolian and who conducted scientific work in China in 1840-1850. Academician (since 1886) V.P. Vasiliev writes: “At this time (1215), the Mongols were already recruiting troops from the Chinese, 46 Chinese divisions participated from the conquered provinces of Hebei and Hedun! Their commander-in-chief was a Chinese Shi-tian-ni, who served as an assistant to Mukhali. These data are confirmed by N.Ya. Bichurin.

After the fall of Bukhara, Khorezmshah left seven thousand Kara-Kitais from the troops of his nephews and went over to the side of the Mongols. Emir Mah Rui, one of the noble people of Balkh, also passed to him. People began to leave him and leave unnoticed, and from that time power weakened, a hangover set in, bonds were broken and determination and power were undermined ... The flow of physical forces from Khorezmshah to Genghis Khan was the reverse side of the war. In just over a hundred days, Genghis Khan managed to crush the state of Khorezmshahs.

Another Russian academician B.Ya. Vladimirtsov (1884-1931), who at one time worked at the department of Mongolian and Kalmyk literature at the Sorbonne School of Living Oriental Languages, wrote in his work “Genghis Khan” in 1922: “During the war with the Ching, during these campaigns against huge spaces, the military genius of Genghis Khan, the genius of the commander, was especially clearly and convexly affected. And then the scientist adds: “At the head of his Mongol army was a man who, without exaggeration, could be called a military genius” [ibid, p. 179]. This is perhaps the only such objective description of Genghis Khan given by a Russian academician. Other European historians, up to the present day, continue to characterize Genghis Khan as an illiterate leader of nomads. Here is an example from the British World History. "Not being a great commander, Genghis Khan achieved amazing military successes, thanks to a huge truly "people's" army, which consisted mainly of cavalry." And then an explanation follows: "... high maneuverability and speed of movement of the cavalry across the steppe, the victory of Genghis Khan becomes quite understandable." In another brief reference book, the reason for the victory of the Mongols is explained even more simply, they say, the Mongols from childhood were skillful riders. This is the Western "circus" characteristic of success - excellent riders! Only.

Sinologist V.P. Vasiliev sums up: “So what forced people - both the Chinese and the Jurchens, for example, to go over to the side of the Tatars, that is, not only Tatars, but representatives (and entire communities) of other peoples who became devoted to the Mongol state and bearers of the Mongolian idea . And who were called Mongols (exclusively in a collective sense) - as members of a single political system. The Mongols served their power because the program of Genghis Khan provided for (and not only envisaged, but actually carried out) ensuring the "enforcement of laws that meet the needs of the entire community of peoples" of the Mongolian state.

The French orientalist notes: “The main qualities of the Shaker of the Universe were mind and prudence. He committed or allowed to be committed the most unthinkable mass atrocities, but only because in the contemporary Mongolian environment they did not know any other way of waging war, just as they could not imagine any other way of life than nomadic, finding sedentary countries suitable only for robbery, robbery and hunting for person. But on the day when Genghis Khan was convinced that the situation was different, he immediately decided to use the new experience, immediately ordering Yelü Chucai to develop a program for the regular administration of the settled region, including in it a list of fixed taxes, in a word, everything that the “Chinese "Advisor".

One of the ways to achieve their victories, Genghis Khan saw in the possibility intimidation their potential adversaries. Frighten, stun, captivate the imagination of your enemies with the invincibility of the advancing Mongol army. Show and prove that capitulation, unquestioning obedience is a condition for saving their lives, and armed resistance is the death of all living things. Therefore, sometimes the Mongols "erased from the face of the earth" entire cities. Genghis Khan nipped in the bud the sprouts of revolts that arose against him, suppressed resistance before it had time to form. He knew no mercy. “I forbid you,” he told his orkhons, “to show mercy to my enemies without my instructions. When the enemy is conquered, this does not mean that he has submitted: he will always hate his new master.

Another English historian, John Maine, fully confirms this thesis: “The Mongols used terror as a strategy, acting with such terrifying cruelty in one city that others simply surrendered unquestioningly ... people had to understand that opposition means death, and surrender means survival” .

As the reader already knows, the South Sung diplomat, General Meng Hong, was at Mukhali's headquarters for a whole year. His interests - to disappear from the political map of the Jin Empire - their sworn enemy. But Genghis Khan benefited from this complex political game. First, with the hands of the Chinese, including the southern ones (why did General Meng Hong stay with him for a whole year) Genghis Khan conquered Northern China (the Jin Empire), and then in 1280 his grandson, Khan Kublai conquered South China as well ( Song empire).

The result of the ingenious combination of Genghis Khan is summed up by the Tatar historian and writer G.R. Enikeev: “Thus, “the small Mongols defeated Great China, uniting those peoples who did not want to become victims of Sinicization.”

He is echoed by Academician B.Ya. Vladimirtsov: “The Jurgen military leaders and officials realized that the invasion of Genghis Khan was not at all an ordinary raid or raid of semi-wild nomads and his troops were not discordant crowds of steppe riders, and began to see in the Mongol Khan the future ruler of China, who was destined to overthrow the Jin people and found his new dynasty.” That is exactly what happened in the near future. And then the academician continues: “New regiments and entire corps were quickly created from the Chinese, Jurchens and Khitans, who, having obeyed the Mongolian military discipline, increased his strength and allowed him to save purely Mongolian military units” [ibid.].

The French historian René Grousset concludes: "Genghis Khan turned the Mongols' fight against the Qing into a national war!" .

Of the "golden family" of the Genghis Khan family, participants in the wars, only three died: the grandson of Mutugen, the son of Chagatai, during the storming of the Bamchan fortress; Kulkan, the younger brother of Genghis Khan, during the assault on the Kolomna fortress and son-in-law of Genghis Khan Tokuchar during the assault on Nishapur.

A similar case of a mass transfer of the population to the side of the troops of Genghis Khan occurred in 1218 when the troops of Jebe-noyan (2 tumens) entered East Turkestan against Kuchluk. Jebe announced to the population that every inhabitant can profess the faith he pleases, and that civilians will not suffer any loss. Revolts began everywhere in the country against Kuchluk, the oppressor of Muslims, and the Mongols began to be accepted as deliverers.

In 1219, to Genghis Khan, when he and his army were in the southeast of Lake. Balkhash (before the invasion of the lands of Khorezmshah), Araslan-khan, the leader of the Karluks, Sunkan-tegin, the new ruler of Almalyk, Idikut Baurchuk, the leader of the Uighurs, arrived with their troops. The Mongol army, according to Bartold's estimates, began to number from 150 to 200 thousand soldiers, which was much less than the army of Khorezmshah.

The researcher Bulat Kystaubaev in his book cites a curious fact that during the siege of Otrar, a Kipchak army in the amount of 10 thousand soldiers led by Karasha-bek crossed over to the side of the troops of Genghis Khan. It was not a betrayal, but a conscious choice in favor of tribes close by blood, language, culture, spirit against yesterday's conquerors. The same thing happened later in other cities of Khorezm.

“Not all contemporaries of the events perceived the Mongol invasion as a huge misfortune. In the Middle Ages, war was commonplace. If so many states collapsed under the Mongol pressure, then these states did not have internal strength. The realization of this fact was not revealed to everyone. Physician Abd al-Latif of Baghdad (d. 1231-1232) knew why the Khorezmians succumbed to the Mongols “Khorezmshah Muhammad ibn Tukush was a thief and a rapist, and his soldiers were rabble, ... most of them were Turks - either pagans or ignorant Muslims ... He used to kill part of the tribe, and take the rest into his service, and their hearts were full of hatred for him. Neither in relation to his own people, nor in relation to his enemies, he pursued a prudent policy ... And so these Tatars, all sons of one father, with one language, one heart and one leader whom they obeyed» .

Another example. The Russian prince Yaroslav Vsevolodovich concluded a peace agreement with Batu Khan, and from the hands of the khan the prince received a label for the Great reign in Russia, and in the western campaign to Europe, Batu Khan's troops, along with others, included Russian warriors.

“In the tradition of the Mongols, it was the use of the population of the conquered countries in the first echelons of their troops, therefore, soldiers from the Polovtsian steppe and Russian principalities were present in the army of Batu Khan during the conquest of the countries of Central Europe.”

Researcher A.A. Gordeev, the author of the book “History of the Cossacks”, puts forward a bold and logical version on this score: “Light cavalry was formed from the composition of the conquered peoples, distinguished by the special properties of the steppes - mobile, dexterous, physically hardy and accustomed to riding. The basis of the light cavalry in the composition of the Mongolian troops was the “Cossack troops”, consisting of the tribes of the Siberian hordes of the “Kasakhs” and Central Asia - the Uzbeks (in the 13th century there were no “Kasakhs” and Uzbeks at all). After the conquest of these tribes by the Mongols, they became part of their army and appeared with them within the Russian steppes. And in the southern steppes of Russia, as you know, the Polovtsy roamed, also belonging to the composition of the Turkic tribes. They had one common language with the aliens, the same way of life. So, for them, the steppe nomads, under what standards to serve, there was not much difference. If only there was a successful and enterprising commander.

Some researchers in their works cite seemingly incredible facts: “... the knights of the Duke of Habsburg managed to capture one Tatar detachment commander, who turned out to be ... an English nobleman in the service of the great khan” (A. Bushkov, p. 277).

In the army of Genghis Khan there was no division into "us" and "them". Military fraternity, knightly ethics equalized the ethnic and confessional differences of warriors. They had one goal - war booty.

Since Genghis Khan was not an adherent of any faith and did not follow any confession, he did not show intolerance and preference for one religion over another and did not exalt one over the other; on the contrary, he revered and honored learned and pious people of all religious persuasions, considering such behavior as a guarantee of gaining the Kingdom of God. And just as he looked with reverence at the Muslims, so he had mercy on both Christians and idolaters. And his children and grandchildren, several people each, chose their faith according to their inclination: some converted to Islam, others to Christianity, some chose idolatry, and some remained faithful to the ancient customs of their grandfathers and fathers, and did not lean to any side, but there were such minority. But although they adopted different faiths, for the most part they avoid fanaticism and do not deviate from the Yasa of Genghis Khan, which orders all rumors to be considered equal and no differences between them to be made ”(Juvaini, I, p. 19). In modern terms, the Mongol conquerors were very tolerant.

Regarding the strategy and tactics of conducting military operations of the army of Genghis Khan, Colonel Bulat Kystaubaev expressed these instructions of the brilliant commander in the following words: “He ranked the ability to combine reasonable risk with accurate calculation to the wisdom and talent of his noyons. The warrior was obliged to destroy the maximum of enemies and at the same time save his own life for the family, for the tribal community, for the tribe, for the Horde.

For a warrior, courage is a survival tactic, cowardice is a death trap. Genghis Khan believed that in a battle one could save a life and win by means of a surprise attack, skillful defense, deft maneuvering, temporary retreat, with the expectation of luring the enemy into a trap prepared in advance. At the same time, in no case should the thought of underestimating the enemy be allowed. Genghis Khan taught that considering oneself smarter than the enemy will certainly lead to defeat ”(according to B. Kystaubaev).

The historian K. Bosworth, who studied the era of the invincible Mamluks well, gave the Turks a flattering description: "The Turks resemble a grain of sand, which, getting into a foreign body, overgrows and becomes pearls, which subsequently adorn the royal crowns of great states" .

The Oirat researcher E. Khara-Davan gave an objective assessment of the military activities of Genghis Khan: “The Mongols had the most perfect army of all then existing on the globe, the most disciplined and best organized. She was well armed and equipped, had permanent trained personnel, and a strict service hierarchy. Her technology was state of the art. Genghis Khan himself and his best commanders Jebe-noyon and Subedei-bagatur are rightfully considered by historians to be military geniuses. It can be said without exaggeration that they surpass the great European commanders - Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar and Napoleon, both in terms of the size and number of their victories and the complete absence of defeats in their combat practice, and in their achievements, the crown of which was the creation of an unprecedented size Empires".

Many researchers are perplexed about the reasons for such a stunning success of the Mongol army. L.N. Gumilyov is inclined to consider this, according to his theory, an explosion of passionate energy: “How did the few Mongols, of whom there were a little more than half a million, divided into different tribes, unorganized, without military training, without supplies - there was not enough iron, could capture half the world: China with Indochina , Tibet and Iran, Central Asia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, reach the shores of the Mediterranean Sea and pass through Poland and Hungary to the Adriatic Sea? This is a task that has not yet been solved in historiography. So it is believed that this is some kind of Mongolian miracle.

First, L.N. Gumilyov underestimated the capabilities of Genghis Khan's troops. He saw the Mongols in the twentieth century. And those Mongols of the XIII century were a completely different people. These were various tribes of many millions of Turks who lived throughout the Eurasian Steppe from the Amur to the Danube. They were perfectly organized, thanks to the brilliant talent of Genghis Khan himself and his outstanding commanders Subedei, Jebe, Mukhali and others.

Military discipline and command orders were observed unquestioningly and accurately. They lived according to their charters, according to the laws of Genghis Khan, according to the teachings of Yasa, according to the teachings of Belik-law and morality. They were a people-army. The entire structure of society was built on a military model and was intended for the conduct of hostilities. Military craft was taught from early childhood under the guidance of experienced mentors.

The Arab chroniclers noted: “Allah Almighty distributed so that every nation, every tribe, every generation, every clan succeeds within its perfection: the Chinese in crafts, the Greeks in philosophy and literature, the Arabs are strong in calligraphy, writing and theology, the Sassanids in the state device, the Turks in the wars".

Jawaharlal Nehru in his book "A Look at World History" noted that the Turks did not create their own civilization, like the Chinese, Indians or Iraqis, they had a different role - they personified the military prowess of Asia.

“Probably no one will dispute that if the Mongols had not had a unique horse swimming in the water like a fish, fast as the wind, not knowing fatigue, thirst and hunger, completely insensitive to cold and heat, they would not be conquered half the world, but they would not even be able to conquer the neighboring country.

Military experts, racking their brains, apparently wrote more than one dissertation on the tactics and strategy of the Mongolian troops. Many of the reasons explaining the success of the Mongol troops have been repeatedly cited here, and I will repeat some of them:

Involvement in military operations of their allies and conquered peoples with a guarantee that they will receive an equal share in military booty;

In the event of the death of a warrior - a guarantee of providing his family with everything necessary;

Skillful use of contradiction and discord in the camp of the enemy in his favor;

Skillful planning of military operations using the entire range of tactical actions: maneuver, retreat, ambush, traps, etc.;

Propaganda: to intimidate, to promise, to deceive, to create an appearance, to introduce misinformation, to stun, to show one's power;

Careful reconnaissance of the enemy;

Courage and endurance of warriors, excellent dzhigitovka and virtuoso possession of weapons;

Mutual assistance and mutual assistance in battle - one for all and all for one;

Cruelty to enemies and generosity to their victorious heroes.

“As for atrocities and atrocities, in recent history there have been enough of them both in Europe and in Asia, and they were committed by people brought up in a civilized world, and not raised in the wild steppes.” Examples: Byzantine Emperor Basil in 1014 ordered 15,000 captive Bulgarians to be blinded;

- the English king Richard the Lionheart in 1192 ordered the execution of more than two thousand Muslim hostages;

- French Catholics in 1572 massacred more than 30 thousand Protestants in one week (St. Bartholomew's Night);

- Americans in 1945, as a result of atomic bombings of the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, killed hundreds of thousands of civilians in an instant.

- In 1858, the Anglo-French troops, in order to prove to the whole world that they were not barbarians, burned 200 Buddhist temples and castles in China. A good example was set in the autumn of 1860 by General Kuzen when he plundered the imperial "Summer Palace" near Beijing. And Lord Elgin, wishing to overshadow the glory of this French general, ordered to burn this palace, which Russell, for its artistic value, is placed next to the Cathedral of St. Mark in Venice. Then the Chinese understood who the bearers of the European "universal culture" were.

And how to regard the plunder and arson of the city of Tunisia in 1535 by the troops of Charles V? Then the most valuable library of al-Abdalia was completely destroyed.

So, it is pointless to give comparisons in terms of the degree of cruelty by the conquerors in the Middle Ages, which of them is “cooler”. There is no war without casualties. Each researcher seeks and finds what he needs at the moment, trying to whiten or shade the discovered fact of history.

About the Otrar catastrophe. The local ruler Kair Khan, because of his insatiability and greed, trampling all the rules of international trade, as the main culprit in beating the envoys of Genghis Khan, apparently felt guilty, fought to the last. But he did not escape due retribution.

The Arab historian Ibn al-Athir (1160–1233), whose writings V.G. Tizenhausen included in his first volume, writes the following: “... since Allah, the Almighty and Most High, created man, until now the world has not experienced anything like this ... the human race will not see anything like this event until the presentation of light and the disappearance of the world, with the exception of Gog and Magog. As for the Antichrist, he took pity on those who followed him and will destroy only those who resist him; these (Tatars) did not take pity on anyone.

The Baghdad erudite al-Jahaz (775-868), four centuries before the fall of his native city, like an oracle, warned his fellow citizens: change is unbearable. The essence of their composition is based on movement and they have no destination for peace ... They have no other thoughts than raiding, robbery, hunting, riding, duels of warriors, searching for prey and conquering countries. Their thoughts are directed only to this, subject only to these goals and motives, limited by them and connected only with them. They mastered these matters to perfection and reached the limit in them. It became their craft, trade, pleasure, pride, the subject of their conversations and nightly conversations.

According to an Arab historian, when taking the cities, the Mongols "... put a sword on its inhabitants, who were killed in an exorbitant and innumerable number, and robbed everything that was good for them, and what was not good, they burned it ...". Or: "When counting the dead during the capture of the city of Merv, they turned out to be up to 700,000."

The English Catholic historian Matthew of Paris (died in 1259) plays along with him and expands the amount of information: “Having invaded the boundaries of the Saracens, they (the Mongols) razed cities to the ground, cut down forests, destroyed fortresses, uprooted vineyards, devastated gardens, killed the townspeople and villagers." And so terrifying and chilling news of the genocide and atrocities of the Tatar hordes went for a walk across countries and continents. And what are statements like: "they cut down forests, orchards and vineyards." It turns out that some thugs massacre civilians, others are lumberjacks, uproot thousands of hectares of forests, orchards and vineyards, and still others, marauders, rob, burn, and capture. The total number of those killed during the capture of the city of Merv amounted to 700 thousand people, while it is reliably known that the population of medieval Merv barely exceeded 15-20 thousand people. The population of Bukhara, for example, during this period was 16 thousand people (IV volume of Persian sources, p. 165). In our opinion, this is clearly an excessive distortion and distortion of historical facts, calculated for propaganda for its own purposes. It is known that the Arabs, Persians and Chinese always won the “war with a pen” against the Tatars. The American historian D. Weatherford said that if the Arabic and Persian chronicles of the mentioned number of “destroyed citizens” are to be believed, then it turns out that each Tatar had to kill ... three hundred and fifty people.

Arab and Persian historians have tried to characterize Genghis Khan with the most derogatory epithets.

And Ibn al-Athir himself, at the end of his extensive Introduction, admits: “The Tatars succeeded in this business (the capture of the Central Asian countries by the Tatars) only due to the lack of rebuff, and the reason for its absence was that Khorezmshah Muhammad took possession of these lands, killed and destroyed their kings, Yes, he alone remained the ruler of all countries, and when he fled from them (Tatars), then in these countries there was no one left who would protect and protect them.

“Khorezmshah ordered to burn everything in the border areas so that the army of Genghis Khan would not find any food or food. And there is no doubt that the instruction of the great ruler was not carried out. As for the needs of the local residents, these needs of the great shah did not concern in any way.

“There was no popular resistance to Genghis Khan. The khans and emirs raced over to his side, and the common people, tortured by the greedy local authorities, were not eager to partisan.

This is where everything fell into place. Not evil Tatars, but Khorezmshah killed and destroyed everyone, that "there was no one left to protect and protect them." And it becomes clear why the Muslims of Maveranahr already in 1208 said that "The yoke of the Khorezmians of the same faith is worse than the yoke of the infidels."

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THE MONGOLIAN EMPIRE AND THE CHANGING POLITICAL MAP OF THE WORLD

Questions in the text of the paragraph

What consequences did the Mongol conquests and the formation of the Mongol Empire have for various countries and peoples of Eurasia?

The Mongol Empire in its heyday consisted of more than 110 million people. Managing such a huge state required a lot of effort. The Mongols widely used the experience of China and Persia in creating a control system. The formation of a multinational empire necessitated the study of various languages, the training of translators, and the publication of dictionaries. Postal services were created. Along with the messengers of the rulers, merchants and missionaries used the services of postal stations. Relations between different peoples expanded. And individual elements of European life penetrated into the life of the Mongolian nobility.

Thanks to the Mongols, the inhabitants of Europe got acquainted with many inventions and achievements of the Chinese. The importation of silk contributed to the emergence of its production in Italy. Other achievements of China were also borrowed by Europeans: a compass, gunpowder, printing, etc.

But, of course, the Mongol domination also had negative consequences - colossal human losses, economic ruin, slavery. And the expansion of contacts between people contributed to the fact that many peoples of Eurasia became victims of mass infectious diseases. So, in the middle of the XIV century, from the possessions of the Golden Horde in the Himalayas, the Italians brought plague to Western Europe, from which a third of the population of European countries died out - more than 25 million people.

What nomadic peoples do you know from the history of the Ancient World and the Middle Ages?

Scythians, Turks, Mongols, Tatars, Kazakhs, Kirghiz, Kereites, Huns, Avars, Turks, Cumans, Kurds, Pashtuns, Bedouins, Tuaregs, Saami, Chukchi, Evenks, Kalmyks, Buryats, Tuvans, Pechenegs, Sarmatians, etc.

How did the life of nomads differ from the life of settled peoples?

The main occupation of the Mongols was cattle breeding (mostly horses and sheep were bred), supplemented by hunting. The Mongols did not know agriculture. In the XII century. the Mongols were in the process of decomposition of the tribal system and the formation of early feudal relations. The tribal nobility stood out - noyons and bagaturs. They were surrounded by vigilantes - nukers. The nobility gradually took over cattle and pastures - the main wealth of the nomads. Thus, a special type of nomadic feudalism is formed, which is characterized by feudal ownership not of land, but of herds and pastures. Ordinary Mongols worked for the nobles: they grazed cattle, sheared sheep, made koumiss from mare's milk. In an effort to get as many livestock as possible, the noyons were forced to develop more and more pastures - the old ones were depleted.

Find out in which lands Mstislav Udaloy reigned, with whom he fought.

Mstislav Udaloy - Prince of Trepolsky (1193-1203), Toropetsky (1206-1213), Novgorod (1209-1215, 1216-1218), Galician (1215-1216, 1219-1226), Torchessky (1203-1207, 1226-1228) . The son of Mstislav the Brave, the youngest of the Smolensk Rostislavichs. Grandfather of Alexander Nevsky and Lev Galitsky. He was a gifted commander, repeatedly won victories in campaigns against Kyiv, Galich, etc. Together with other Russian princes, he was defeated in the Battle of Kalka.

Name the largest states in terms of territory that have ever existed.

Mongol Empire, British Colonial Empire (including all colonies), Russian Empire, Spanish Empire, Qing Empire, Roman Empire, etc.

Find out in which territories of the Mongol Empire Islam established itself, and in which - Buddhism and other religions.

Since the Mongol Empire was quite tolerant of religions, there was no dominant religion. After the adoption of Islam by the rulers of the Mongol Empire, this religion spread over a large territory of the Golden Horde. And the eastern part of the empire preserved Buddhism to a greater extent.

Questions and tasks for working with text

1. What role did Genghis Khan play in the history of the Mongol tribes? What caused the Mongol conquests?

Genghis Khan played a huge role in the history of the Mongol tribes. It is with his name that the unification of nomadic tribes, numerous conquests and the creation of one of the largest multinational empires in the world are associated.

Since the Mongols were nomadic tribes, their main wealth was cattle and herds of horses. To increase the number of herds, large areas for pastures were required. In many ways, it is precisely this need that explains the beginning of the conquests of the Mongol tribes. Of course, there were other reasons, such as the Mongols' war with the Jin Empire, which was seen by many Mongols as an act of revenge.

2. What were the reasons for the military successes of Genghis Khan?

1. The weakness of those countries attacked by the Mongols. Both China and Central Asia were in conditions of feudal fragmentation.
2. The Mongolian army was numerous, organized and well-armed.
3. The tactics of the Mongol cavalry had a pronounced offensive character: to inflict a sudden blow, to bring panic into the ranks of the enemy. The Mongols avoided big battles and smashed the enemy piece by piece.
4. The invasion was usually preceded by intelligence and diplomatic preparations aimed at isolating the enemy from possible allies and at fanning internal strife.
5. Continuous leadership of the battle: the Mongol khans, temniks and thousanders monitored all the movements of the troops, transmitted orders with the help of various signals. To make it easier to manage the battle, the detachments were in clothes of a certain color, and the horses in the detachment were selected in the same suit.
6. The Mongols placed a human shield of prisoners in front of their troops in order to demoralize the enemy.
7. Brutal discipline.
8. Use of advanced technical experience and military specialists of the occupied countries.

3. Describe the course of the battle on the Kalka. Why were the Russian-Polovtsian troops defeated?

The Mongols sent an embassy of 10 people to the Russians, who offered peace to the princes, saying that the Mongol army had no intentions to invade Russia - they went to war against the Polovtsy. But the Russians, fearing that the Polovtsy and the Mongols would unite and then attack Russia, killed the ambassadors and moved to help the Polovtsy. Fearing the transition of the Polovtsy to the side of the Mongols during the ongoing confrontation, the Russian princes went to the steppe, not waiting for a connection with the Vladimir army.

In the Battle of Kalka, Mstislav, together with the Polovtsy and the Volyn regiment, crossed the river that separated the allies from the Mongols, and entered the battle. The vanguard of the enemy showered the Russians with arrows and retreated. Unaware of their usual baiting tactics, the princes mistook their retreat for a flight. The Mongols brought the main forces into battle already when the Chernigov regiment crossed only partially, and the Kyiv regiment was still on the western bank of the river. The blow led to the flight of the Polovtsy located in the vanguard and the defeat of the entire allied army.

At the end of May 1223, a bloody battle took place on the banks of the Kalka River. The Mongols besieged the camp of Mstislav Romanovich. For three days the people of Kiev repelled all attacks. But the situation was hopeless. Therefore, when the Mongols offered the princes to surrender, promising to save their lives and subsequently release them for a ransom, they agreed. The promise was broken. The victors tied up the surrendered princes, laid boards on them, and, sitting on top, began to feast, rejoicing at the dying moans of the dying. The Russian soldiers left without leaders were almost all killed.

As always, the main reason for the defeat of the Russian army was the disagreement between the princes, the lack of a unified command and coordination of actions. And some princes did not take part in the battle at all.

4. Make a table that shows the positive and negative consequences of the Mongol conquests and the creation of the Mongol Empire for the peoples of Eurasia.

Working with the map

1. Show on the map the area of ​​​​the original habitat of the Mongolian tribes; directions of conquest campaigns of Genghis Khan and his commanders; the territory of the Mongol Empire under Genghis Khan, name and show on the map the territories of the states and the habitats of the peoples conquered by Genghis Khan.

Consider the map on page 9 of the second part of the textbook.

The area of ​​the original habitat of the Mongolian tribes marked with a small orange spot just south of Lake Baikal.

Directions of the conquests of Genghis Khan marked with burgundy arrows. These are the trips:

• 1211 - from Karakorum to Khanbalik (Beijing), and then to Qinzhou and back to Beijing in 1213;
• 1219 - from Karakorum to the cities of Central Asia: Otrar, Bukhara, Samarkand, Balkh and return in 1221;
• 1226 - from the Karakorum to the Tunguska kingdom.

The directions of the conquests of the commanders of Genghis Khan marked with blue arrows. These are the trips:

• 1218 - from Karakorum to the city of Arkend in the state of Karakitai;
• 2020 - from the city of Otrar to the city of Khujand, from Otrar to Dzhent and Urgench;
• 2021 - from the city of Balkh to Merv, Nishapur, then through the Caucasus Mountains to the Crimean peninsula (the city of Sudak), then along the Volga steppe to the city of Bilyar and back along the Volga to the territory of the Mongolian possessions.

Territory of the Mongol Empire under Genghis Khan marked on the map with a yellow field with orange borders.

Genghis Khan conquered such nations as (signed on the map in purple letters): Jurgeni, Kidans, Kereits, Merkits, Buryats, Kirghiz, Naimans, Uighurs, Kimaks, Turkmens.

Genghis Khan completely or partially conquered the following states(signed in black letters): Qin Empire, State of Karakitai, Tungut Kingdom, State of Khorezm-Shahs.

2. Name the states that are now located on the territory of the Mongol Empire.

Mongolia, China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, India, Hong Kong, North Korea, South Korea, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Jordan, Nepal.

You can find these countries on the political map of Asia.

Working with a document

Explain how these provisions of the "Great Yasa" contributed to the success of the Mongol conquests

The "Great Yasa" established the law by which the Mongols lived and fought. He was brutal but effective. If the people did not obey, then they were simply destroyed - no politics and no pity. Also, this law made it possible to quickly assemble and effectively manage the army, which affected the swiftness and success of conquest campaigns.

Explain the actions of the Mongol conquerors after the capture of Urgench

When taking the capital of Khorezm, Urgench, the Mongols acted according to their tradition - they took away everything that was useful to them, and plundered and destroyed the rest. They did the same with people. Artisans, women and children were taken away, and all the rest were killed.

Were plunder common for the wars of that time, or were the Mongols different from other conquerors?

Looting and killing were common in the wars of the time, but the Mongols were pragmatic in their brutality. Although it is rare when the population of the city is almost completely destroyed.

Thinking, comparing, reflecting

1. Describe the military equipment of the Mongols using the illustrations on p. 5, 7.

The Italian traveler Giovanni Plano del Carpini wrote: “Everyone should at least have the following weapons: two or three bows, or at least one good one, and three large quivers full of arrows, one ax and ropes to pull tools. The rich have swords that are sharp at the end, cutting only on one side and somewhat crooked; they also have an armed horse, covered to the shins, helmets and armor. Some have armor, as well as covers for horses made of leather ... Some of them have spears, and on the neck of the iron of the spear they have a hook, with which, if they can, they pull a person from the saddle ... The iron arrowheads are very sharp and cut on both sides like a double-edged sword; and they always carry with their quiver files for sharpening their arrows. The aforementioned iron tips have a sharp tail one finger long, which is inserted into the tree. Their shield is made of willow or other rods ... ". Also, after the conquest of Northern China, stone-throwing and flame-throwing machines, battering rams, and mobile siege towers appeared in the Mongolian army.

2. Using the map, prepare a message about the expansion of the territory of the Mongol Empire.

the date	Direction	Results
1206-1211	East Asia
1211-1215	China	1. Capture of Northern China.
1218-1221	middle Asia
1222-1225	Transcaucasia	1. The devastation of Georgia and Azerbaijan 2. Northern Black Sea region. The defeat of the Russian-Polovtsian army. 3. Devastation of Crimea 4. Defeat in the Volga Bulgaria
1226-1227	Tangut kingdom	1. The conquest of the Tangut kingdom. 2. Death of Genghis Khan
1229-1232		1. Ogedei sends two 30,000-strong corps to Khorsan, Iraq and against the Kipchaks and Volga Bulgars
1231-1234	Jin	1. Second war with Jin.
1231-1259	Korea	1. Six major invasions against Korea. 2. Korea became a tributary of the Mongol Yuan dynasty.
1236-1237	Middle and Lower Volga	1. Broken Polovtsy 2. Union with the Bashkirs and Mordovians 3. The defeat of the Volga Bulgaria
1237-1239	Northeast Russia	1. Capture of Ryazan, Kolomna, Moscow, Vladimir, Pereslavl-Zalessky, Kozelsk 2. Capture of Murom, Nizhny Novgorod, Gorokhovets, Pereyaslavl-South 3. Attack on the Chernigov Principality.
1240-1242	Central Europe	1. Reconnaissance campaign in Central Europe through South Russia. 2. Siege and fall of Kyiv 3. The capture of Galich and the destruction of Berestye. 4. Campaign in Poland. Capture of Lublin and Zavikhost. The defeat of the Małopolska militia near Tursk. 5. Capture of Krakow, Wroclaw. 6. The defeat of the Polish-German troops of Henry the Pious near Legnica. 7. Hike through Moravia to Hungary. 8. Siege of Bratislava. 9. The ruin of Croatia. Destruction of Zagreb. 10. Return of troops through Bosnia, Serbia, Bulgaria (agreed to pay tribute without conflict). 11. Death of Ogedei.
1235-1279	Southern Song State of China	1. The conquest of the Southern Song. 2. War with the states of Dali, Vietnam 3. Complete conquest of China.
1256-1260	middle east hike	1. The defeat of the Nizari in Kuhistan (Elbrus). 2. Capture of Baghdad 3. Syrian campaign. 4. Campaign in Palestine. Defeated by the Egyptian Mamluks.
1274-1281	Japan	1. In 1274, the Mongols defeated the Japanese troops on the islands of Tsushima and Iki. When approaching the island of Kyushu, due to a typhoon, they are forced to retreat. 2. The Mongolian-Korean fleet with an army of 100 thousand people was again practically destroyed by a typhoon.
1277-1283	Burma	1. The conquest of Burma. Invasion of the kingdom of Pagan.

3. Using the Internet and additional literature, write an essay about the fate of Genghis Khan.

Temuchin or another version of Temujin was born in the Delyun-Boldok tract on the banks of the Onon River in the family of Yesugei-Bagatur from the Borjigin clan and his wife Oelun from the Olkhonut clan. The boy was named after the Tatar leader Temujin-Uge, captured by Yesugei, whom Yesugei defeated on the eve of the birth of his son.

As a child, Temujin knew poverty, hunger, betrayal and slavery. All this left an imprint on the whole future life of the future ruler of the world's largest empire. A hard path full of battles with neighbors, relatives, friends and named brothers turned a brave, strong-willed and daring young man into a strong and stern ruler, true to his principles and his law. He differed from other conquerors in that during the battles he tried to keep alive as many people from the enemy’s ulus as possible in order to further attract them to his service.

In the spring of 1206, at the headwaters of the Onon River at the kurultai, Temuchin was proclaimed a great khan over all the tribes and received the title "kagan", taking the name Chingiz. Mongolia has changed: scattered and warring Mongolian nomadic tribes united into a single state.

A new law came into force - Yasa of Genghis Khan. In Yasa, the main place was occupied by articles on mutual assistance in a campaign and the prohibition of deceiving a trusted person. Those who violated these regulations were executed, and the enemy of the Mongols, who remained loyal to their ruler, was spared and accepted into their army. Loyalty and courage were considered good, while cowardice and betrayal were considered evil.

Genghis Khan divided the entire population into tens, hundreds, thousands and tumens (ten thousand), thereby mixing tribes and clans and appointing specially selected people from his entourage and nukers as commanders over them. All adult and healthy men were considered warriors who ran their household in peacetime and took up arms in wartime. The armed forces of Genghis Khan, formed in this way, amounted to approximately 95 thousand soldiers.

The main sources by which we can judge the life and personality of Genghis Khan were compiled after his death. From these sources we know that Temujin was tall, strong in build, had a broad forehead and a long beard. Coming from a people who apparently did not have a written language and developed state institutions before him, Genghis Khan was deprived of a book education. With the talents of the commander, he combined organizational skills, inflexible will and self-control. Generosity and affability he possessed to a sufficient degree to retain the affection of his companions. Without denying himself the joys of life, he remained a stranger to excesses incompatible with the activities of a ruler and commander, and lived to an advanced age, retaining his mental abilities in full force.

In the winter of 1226-1227. During the siege of the capital of the Tangut kingdom, Zhongxing, Genghis Khan died, leaving behind the largest multinational empire in the history of the world, uniting dozens of peoples, East and West. Of course, the reign of Genghis Khan cannot be assessed unambiguously. His achievements as a conqueror are certainly great, but they are all canceled out by the colossal loss of life, cruelty and violence.

Possible questions in the lesson

What was the main occupation of the Mongols?

The main occupation of the Mongols was cattle breeding (mostly horses and sheep were bred), supplemented by hunting. The Mongols did not know agriculture.

When did the Mongols manage to conquer and unite the neighboring nomadic tribes?

At the beginning of the XIII century, during the brutal wars, the Mongols managed to conquer and unite the neighboring nomadic tribes.

When was the commander Temujin proclaimed the great khan?

Temujin was proclaimed a great khan and named Genghis Khan (Heavenly Khan) at a congress (kurulatai) of the Mongol nobility (noyons) convened in 1206.

What was the main task of the new ruler?

Genghis Khan considered his main task to be the creation of a state in which all the inhabitants would be personally devoted and obedient to him and his assistants.

What system of government was adopted in Mongolia at the beginning of the 13th century?

The decimal system formed the basis of management. The population of Mongolia was divided into tumens (10 thousand people each, each of which consisted of tens, hundreds and thousands led by the appropriate leaders. The transition from one dozen, hundreds or thousands was prohibited. All power belonged to the great khan, and the territories of the state were controlled representatives of his family appointed by him.

What laws regulated the rules of behavior and life of the Mongols?

Genghis Khan created a code of laws regulating the rules of behavior and life of the Mongols ("Great Yasa").

What was the name of the capital of the new state? Where was she located?

In 1220, the capital of the new state, Karakorum, was founded in the upper reaches of the Orkhon River.

What personal qualities did he have?

Genghis Khan was distinguished by ruthlessness and cunning in the fight against enemies, the ability to pit them against each other, maneuver, retreat when circumstances required it. He showed himself to be an exceptionally brave warrior, bold to the point of recklessness. During the battle, Genghis Khan tried to keep as many people as possible from the ulus (destiny) of the enemy in order to further attract them to his service. With heavy steps and clumsy grips, he looks like a bear, cunning - like a fox, anger - like a snake, swiftness - like a leopard, tireless - like a camel. All khans and ordinary warriors are more afraid of him than fire or thunder, and if he orders ten warriors to attack a thousand enemies, then the warriors will rush without hesitation, as they believe that they will win

How successful was the policy of Genghis Khan?

Genghis Khan's policy was successful. The Mongolian nobility was subject to the will of Temujin, and the warriors had unlimited trust in their leader. All recalcitrant tribes were defeated and enslaved. To expand his lands and influence, Genghis Khan carried out aggressive campaigns, conquering tribes and entire peoples. He adopted the best military tactics and technologies of the conquered peoples. Each conquered people had to supply warriors to the Mongol army, which was constantly growing.

What path did he choose to satisfy the Mongols' need for new pastures? Why?

Genghis Khan planned to conquer the whole world. His aggressive plans were connected with the need for new pastures for hundreds of thousands of horses and other livestock. In addition, the huge army created by Temujin could not exist without waging wars and capturing booty.

What were the first victories of the Mongols?

the date	Direction	Results
1206-1211	East Asia	1. Subjugated the Kirghiz, who lived in the upper reaches of the Yenisei, Buryats, Yakuts, Uighurs. 2. They defeated the Tangut kingdom. 3. Received ironworks, which was of great importance for arming the army
1211-1215	China	1. Capture of Northern China. 2. By order of Genghis Khan, craftsmen were taken out of China, who set up the production of stone-throwing and wall-breaking tools, which allowed the Mongol detachments to successfully storm the fortresses in the future. 3. Chinese military specialists were included in the Mongolian army
1218-1221	middle Asia	1. The defeat of the state of Khorezmshahs. The Mongols captured the largest fortified cities in the region - Khujand, Bukhara, Urgench, Samarkand and Khorezm. 2. The Mongols invaded the Indian sultanates, but due to the lack of food for horses, they were able to achieve only local successes. 3. Skillful craftsmen were taken to Mongolia

Initially, the army of Genghis Khan consisted of about 95 thousand people. Another 10 thousand soldiers were his personal guard. Due to the aggressive campaigns and the inclusion of warriors of the conquered peoples in the army, Genghis Khan significantly increased the size of the Mongol army. Also, the Mongols borrowed the best military tactics and technologies from the conquered peoples, and military specialists were included in the army. In addition, the Mongols took the best artisans from the conquered lands, and the conquered peoples imposed tribute.

Going to war, the Mongols put forward skirmishers in the vanguard, who have nothing but felt, horses and weapons with them. They do not rob anything, do not burn houses, do not kill animals, but only injure and kill people, and if they cannot do otherwise, they put them to flight ... They are followed by an army, which, on the contrary, takes everything they find. The Mongols are masters of swift raids. They tried to avoid major battles, dividing and destroying the enemy military forces in parts. After themselves, the Mongol army often left only plundered and scorched land. In their own way, Mongol tactics were successful in carrying out raids and plunder.

Was a different outcome of the battle on Kalka possible?

History usually does not tolerate the subjunctive mood. What happened happened. The reasons for the defeat of the Russian army are known and they lie primarily in the lack of unity and coordination of actions of the Russian princes. Perhaps if the Russian princes had not killed the ambassadors (the status of the ambassador was sacred among the Mongols), if they had waited for reinforcements from Vladimir, if the Polovtsy had shown more fortitude, if the actions of the Russian regiments had been coordinated, if they had not been divided, if the Russians were familiar with the tactics of the Mongols, the Russian troops could have won. But there are too many ifs.

Imagine what lessons the Russian princes should have learned after the Battle of the Kalka.

1. The customs of the enemy must be observed. You can't kill ambassadors. The assassination of the ambassador in the East is being severely avenged.
2. It is necessary to study the tactics of the enemy in advance so as not to fall into a deadly trap.
3. It is impossible to act separately, going into battle with such a serious opponent.
4. It is necessary to prepare for a meeting with the enemy, to join forces, to prepare a common military leadership, to stop civil strife and unite.

Outline of the Mongol Empire

Temujin, during the unification of the Mongol tribes, in addition to the military force created based on the methods of warfare that came from previous generations, also used such intelligence techniques as a split within the enemy forces, using their internal conflict, misleading the enemy, etc. . In 1196, the war between the Tatars and the state of Altan Ulus (China) ended. Temujin, having learned that the Tatar Meguzhni Suulta was preparing for a new war, united with Tooril Khan and was able to destroy the Tatars.

As the researcher of Genghis Khan noted, the Russian scientist Erinjen Hara Davaa, "the main reason for this first great victory of Temujin was that he knew in advance exactly the location of the enemy's troops."

Before the battle with the Kereit Van Khan, Genghis Khan, using the name of his brother Khasar, who went over to his side, sent his agents Khaliudar and Chakhurkhan as his messengers. And when Temujin received information from them that the Kereites were feasting, his troops suddenly launched an attack. Thus, the state of the Kereites fell, which is noted in the Secret History. Having a relatively small army, before the battle with the army of the Naimanov state, Genghis Khan ordered that each warrior should kindle five fires at night. Naiman scouts reported to their Khan Tayan that Genghis Khan had more warriors than stars in the sky. Academician Sh. Natsagdorzh in his work “Tsadig Genghis Khan” wrote that Genghis Khan obtained intelligence with the help of merchants and merchants from Central Asia.

"Alkhanchi" were widely used by Temujin in intelligence. This is clearly mentioned in 208, 247, 257, 276, 281 chapters / articles / of the “Secret Tale”. In the dictionary of the Mongolian language, the word “alkhanch” is of Manchu origin and means “information getter”.

The “Secret Tale” says that when Genghis Khan appointed his people to positions, then with regard to Arkhai Khasar, Takhar, Sukhheizheun and Chakhurkhan, he said: “be distant liaisons and close informants.” Regarding these words, the researcher of Genghis Khan, a prominent scientist from Inner Mongolia Saishaal put forward a hypothesis that Genghis Khan created a new special position - “a messenger, agent and guide on the ground”.

To conduct successful military operations against the state of the Tanguds, Genghis Khan used the Kereites and Naimans living in the territories bordering the Tangut, as well as merchants from Central Asia to obtain reliable information about their internal situation and military forces. Before the conquest of the state, Altan Genghis Khan sent small groups of troops to their territories and staged minor armed conflicts. In the annals of the state of Yuan about these small attacks, it is said that these were “small robbery attacks for the purpose of intimidation.” But there is reason to believe that these were special operations carried out in order to find out the enemy's strategy for conducting military operations.

One of the tasks of intelligence is to obtain information and facts for the subsequent conduct of military operations with the enemy.

Genghis Khan, in order to obtain information about the enemy, carried out such military operations and applied such methods that they can rightfully be considered a significant contribution to the development of Mongolian intelligence.

The use of Kereites, Naimans and Muslim merchants by Genghis Khan in his intelligence activities is mentioned in many historical sources. Thanks to the ability to receive and use information from different sources and different methods, Genghis Khan was able to successfully conduct military operations to conquer the Tangud state.

Conquest of China

Genghis Khan, in order to conquer the state of Altan, which was much stronger than his state, had many defensive fortresses and fortified cities, skillful princes and commanders, along with a policy aimed at isolating it from the allied states and turning the Tangud territory into a springboard for military operations, also actively carried out intelligence activities using various methods and sources, collected information about cities and towns, about the army, and so on. For these purposes, he used people who were discriminated against by the state of Altan because of their nationality or for other reasons and had to leave it. He also received a lot of information from Muslim merchants.

At that time, Muslim merchants knew well not only Central Asia, but also distant Mongolia, and the rich provinces of China, which did not escape the attention of Genghis Khan. One of these merchants met Temujin when he was driving his sheep to a watering hole. It was a Khorezm merchant named Hassan. This meeting is mentioned in the Secret History. Later he played an important role in the conquest of Khorezm, wrote Saishaal. Temujin also used in his intelligence activities the fact that the state of Altan was divided into two warring states of Qing and Song.

As a result of active and skillful intelligence activities using such methods and channels as Kereit and Naiman advisers, Central Asian merchants, princes and generals who helped the Qing state in the fight against the Song state, as well as due to the introduction of their specially trained agents into the Altan state, obtaining important information from defectors, organizing misleading operations and many others, Genghis Khan was able to obtain general reliable information about the economy, troops, social and political situation, climatic conditions of the state, which was able to prepare for the implementation of the difficult task of conquering China.

In order to learn more about the troops of the Altan state, Genghis Khan personally went to China, allegedly to deliver gifts to the ruler. This confirms the great importance Genghis Khan attached to intelligence work. On the way to the capital of the state, Altan Genghis Khan passed through the territories of northern China. Perhaps he wanted to personally verify the accuracy of the information he had and check the data received by the intelligence channels. Another purpose of this trip was to learn more about the ruler of the state of Altan, and, perhaps, to demand unconditional surrender from him. Mentions of the scout Genghis Khan in China are mentioned in the works of the famous Mongolian historian Ch. Dalai, as well as in the works of the famous Russian scientist B. Ya. Vladimirtsov. An example of the fact that Genghis Khan used some of the officials he recruited is the official of the Ministry of Writing / Ministry of Internal Affairs / of the state Altan Yelü Ahai and his brother Yelü Dohu, a Khitan nationality. They knew well the internal situation of the state and played an important role in the development of military plans and decision-making on the conquest of the state of Altan.

Trekking in Semirechye. Conquest of Khorezm

During the conquest of Khorezm, the intelligence of the Mongol Empire became even more perfect and active than during the periods of the conquest of the Altan and Tangud states. In preparation for the conquest of these countries in his intelligence, Genghis Khan used merchants, ambassadors and residents of states bordering them. And during the conquest of Khorezm, in addition to these people, Genghis Khan widely used refugees, Muslim clerics, which is evidence that he expanded the circle of informants, but at the same time took into account the peculiarities of the country he was going to conquer.

He introduced his agent, a subject of Khorezm named Mahmud, into the inner circle of the ruler of Khorezm. Genghis Khan, having learned that the Shah was in conflict with Princess Turkan and his other relatives, wrote a false letter on behalf of the princes-relatives of Queen Turkan, which stated that supposedly regions and provinces, as well as states dependent on Khorezm, were ready to fulfill all orders of Genghis Khan. This letter was given to the Shah through an agent of Genghis Khan, who appeared in Khorezm in the form of a close assistant of Genghis Khan, going over to their side. As noted by foreign researchers, this was a big blow for Sultan Mohammed. Upon receiving this news, Muhammad began to deploy his troops in all corners of his state, fearing an internal conspiracy. Thus, Genghis Khan was able to mislead his opponent using the method of disinformation and thus solved an important strategic problem.

There are also historical documents confirming that Genghis Khan, with the help of his agents, skillfully sowed panic among the inhabitants of Khorezm and organized riots.

Genghis Khan based his intelligence activities in Khorezm on the fact that this state consisted of many tribes, provinces and small dependent states. Starting from the top leadership, its inhabitants belonged to various Muslim movements and directions, as a result of which there was a strong internal confrontation inside Khorezm. Even Muslim clerics were agents of Genghis Khan.

The Mongol princes and commanders who were in other countries, taking into account the peculiarities of those places, used various methods to get in touch with their agents and residents, for example, they resorted to the help of specially trained messengers. Pilgrims were also widely used for these purposes.

But the most widely used method of reconnaissance and sabotage was misleading the enemy.

As noted in the “Secret Tale”, in order to mislead the Naimans, each warrior kindled five fires, or the soldiers of Genghis Khan deliberately left the weakest gray horses unattended so that the enemy would think that their herd was not fed. Historical documents have been preserved, which say that before the battle with the army of Shikhihutugtu Jalal ad Din, the soldiers of Genghis Khan mounted stuffed animals in the clothes of warriors on free horses.

The great Mongol Empire managed to create and use the most advanced and reliable system for transmitting important information, including intelligence, for those times. As the scientist L.D. Kharto noted, in the Yasa of Genghis Khan there was one most important rule about the information transfer service.

In the code of laws of Ikh Zasag it is written: "For quick information about all the events taking place in the state, it is ordered to all princes and rulers to create a permanent postal system."

A network for transmitting information began to be created under Genghis Khan, and fresh horses, ox-carts and boats were kept ready at each postal station, depending on the conditions of the area. Mongolian rulers, in addition to post horses, also used foot people, boats and even dogs. Famous people of that time wrote about this in detail, one of which - Marco Polo. He wrote: “The distance between postal stations, depending on local conditions, is 25-35 kilometers, each station has a comfortable yurt, designed for the rest of the traveler or envoy. At each station, from 300 to 400 horses and up to 20 messengers were kept ready for them to transfer mail and information of national importance from one station to another.

For each station, the order of work, the number of horses, provisions, feed and workers were established separately. Messengers from the khan, carrying with them a “paiza” - an iron or wooden plate that gives these people special privileges, traveled 320-400 kilometers a day. The distance between the foot stations was about 5 kilometers, and foot messengers, girded with wide belts and with bells, ran between the stations several times a day. Stations where dogs were kept were created in places where there were many thickets, ravines and swamps. Up to 40 dogs, slightly smaller than donkeys, were kept at each station. Special messengers were seated in a sleigh pulled by 6 dogs and one of the station messengers took him to the next station. Famous Russian explorer G.N.Potanin wrote that during the time of Genghis Khan, the Mongols used birds to transmit messages.

Genghis Khan and his descendants actively used scientists and talented people in the countries they conquered, learned from them about modern technology, weapons and equipment.

Temujin made Altan Yelyu-Chutsai and his brother Yelyu-Akhai, a philosopher, astronomer, one of the brilliant people of that time and natives of the state, high-ranking officials in his state, captured in the war with the Tanguds, the minister Tata-tung, philosopher, astronomer. He specially invited the Chinese philosopher Chan-Chun-Bumba and held conversations with him about the ways of longevity and how to maintain stability in the state he created for a long time. During the war with the state of Altan, he found out about the use of flamethrowers and other equipment.

As Jack Whiterford noted, the Mongols, using the Chinese method of obtaining gunpowder and European technology, began to smelt iron. They began to produce a completely new type of guns. Khulegu Khan, on the orders of Munkh Khan, brought Nasir ad-din Tuchi, a well-known astrologer in the Muslim world, together with his team, to Mongolia. Also, the Azerbaijani astronomer Jamal-ad-Din came to the Mongol Empire with his equipment. Mongolian astronomers, based on their observations, have created a completely new official calendar, which, according to Whiterford, differs from the modern calendar by only 26 seconds.

During the Yuan Empire, in order to combine Chinese traditional acupuncture and pulse diagnosis with the more subtle healing methods of Muslims, hospitals and training centers were established, staffed by physicians from the Middle East and India. The khans of the Mongol Empire brought skilled builders and blacksmiths from the conquered countries, who taught the Mongols how to build palaces and create decorations. The Mongols considered the knowledge of history to be essential for the successful conquest of other peoples and the establishment of their power over them. And so in the 1260s, Kublai Khan founded the National Historical Service. He also began a great work on describing the complete history of the principalities of Dzurchid, Kitayn and the Song state, which lasted for 80 years - until 1340.

Genghis Khan and his descendants recruited and successfully used many foreign agents.

Among such people were the well-known Khorezm merchant Hassan, the envoy of Genghis Khan to the Khorezm Shah; double agent Mahmoud, who obtained valuable information; Jafar Khoja, who, during the capture of the port of Chavchaal, led the Mongol troops to it by a secret road from the rear and showed heroism in the attack on Zhundug of the Altan state, carried out a special assignment when Genghis Khan met Chan-Chun-Bumba; Ismail, who was the ambassador when they took the city of Khorezm without any resistance, was a personal envoy of Genghis Khan to the commanders Zev and Subedei, who fought with the Russians, conducted secret negotiations with the Kipchaks to split the combined forces of the Circassians, Alans, Lezgins and Kipchaks, and was able to lure them to side of the Mongols; agent al-Makin bin-al-Amid, chief Egyptian military clerk in Damascus, noted historian; the great minister of the Syrian regime, Aybümid; Mongolian agent Az-Zain al Khazafi and many others.

Genghis Khan and other khans of the Great Mongol Empire paid special attention to the internal security of their state. In the code of laws of Their zasags there is such an article: “Whoever, if because of revenge or without the consent of many khans, relying only on his own strength, declares himself a khan, he must be put to death without any mercy.” Also, according to this law, anyone who divulges state secrets should be sentenced to "one hundred of the most severe punishments."

There are many documents confirming that Genghis Khan and other Mongol khans took various measures aimed at preventing unrest and conspiracies against the state, carried out continuous counterintelligence activities for their timely detection and suppression.

In 1251, after Munkh Khan took the throne, several members of the Khan's family, led by princes Shiremun and Nagu, plotted to overthrow him. Having learned about it from his faithful man named Khishigt, Munkh Khan was able to stop their actions. Shioemun and Nagu were pardoned and sent into exile, and the rest of the conspirators, among whom was Prince Ilzhigdey, were executed.

Also, the Mongols successfully carried out counterintelligence activities on the territory of the countries they conquered, the purpose of which is to prevent the emergence of uprisings and all sorts of protest movements. For example, in Georgia, under the leadership of Prince David, people of Georgian and Armenian nationality gathered to raise an uprising, but information about this was received in advance and participation in the failed uprising was severely punished.

The rulers and commanders of the Great Mongol Empire were outstanding intelligence masters. One of the secrets of how they managed to conquer half the world was that, thanks to their unique instinct, they found all possible ways, and using the most subtle methods and methods, they masterfully carried out intelligence activities and long before the start of wars and battles, as a result of careful research and analysis , could foresee the actions of the enemy in any situation.

Russian intelligence researcher S. Vorontsov wrote: "The Mongols were able to enrich the previously existing methods and forms of intelligence with Asian cunning, made an important contribution to the formation of intelligence and counterintelligence activities."

Answer left Guest

The Mongol Empire (old Mongol Yeke Mongγol ulus - the Great State of the Mongols, Mong. Their Mongol uls, Mongolyn ezent guren) is a state founded by Genghis Khan in 1206, which included the largest contiguous territory in world history from the Danube to the Sea of ​​​​Japan and from Novgorod to Cambodia (its area was 33,000,000 square kilometers).

In its heyday it included vast territories of Central Asia, Southern Siberia, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, China and Tibet. In the second half of the 13th century, the empire began to disintegrate into uluses, headed by Genghisides. The largest fragments of Great Mongolia were the Yuan Empire, the Golden Horde, the State of the Ilkhans and the Chagatai ulus.

The capital of the state was originally Karakorum; in 1264 the capital was moved to Khanbalik.

In the last quarter of the XIV century, the Mongol Empire ceased to exist [
Having won victories over the Tatars and Keraites, Temujin began to streamline his people-army. In the winter of 1203-1204, a series of reforms were prepared that laid the foundation for the Mongol state.
The most important reform concerned the reorganization of the army, which was divided into thousands, hundreds and tens. Thus, manageability and discipline were improved, and most importantly, the generic principle of organizing troops was eradicated. Now promotion was determined by personal abilities and devotion to the khan, and not by proximity to the tribal aristocracy.
Temujin also learned from the recent war, when he managed to capture Wang Khan's unguarded headquarters almost unopposed. A special corps of keshiktens was created, a kind of personal guard of the khan, which was divided into two parts: turgauds - day guards, and kebteuls - night guards (70 and 80 people, respectively).
In addition, an elite unit was organized from a thousand baturs (Turkic-Iranian. Bahadur, Russian heroes) - the best warriors, who received this honorary title for military merit.

The defeat of the Naimans and Merkits and the execution of Jamukha in the autumn of 1205 drew a line under the long steppe war. Temujin had no rivals left in the eastern part of the Great Steppe, the Mongols were ready to appear on the arena of world history.

In March 1206, not far from the sources of the Onon River, the Great Kurultai gathered, where Temujin was elected great khan with the title of Genghis Khan. The creation of the Great Mongol State was proclaimed. The principle of decimal division extended not only to the army, but to the whole people. A thousand, a hundred and a dozen now called such a number of people who had to put up the corresponding number of soldiers. “Let them write down in the Blue painting“ Coco Defter-Bichik ”, then linking them into books, painting according to the expansion into parts of all-lingual subjects” . The entire structure of the state was subordinated to the main goal - war.

As for innovations directly in the army, an even larger military unit stood out here - tumen (ten thousand). The personal guard of the khan increased to the size of a tumen, it included a thousand bagaturs. An ordinary keshikten was higher in rank than any commander of an ordinary military unit, including a thousand-man. Or maybe this. Power
The personal guard of the khan increased to the size of a tumen, it included a thousand bagaturs. An ordinary keshikten was higher in rank than any commander of an ordinary military unit, including a thousand-man.