Part of the Mongol Empire led by the Khan. A Brief History of the Mongol Empire

How empires arise and where they disappear. The Mongol Empire was nothing outstanding compared to its predecessors, such as the Turkic Khaganate, the Tang Empire, the Hunnic state, which were many times larger than the Roman Empire at the peak of its power.

Everything that the Mongols could need: a nomadic lifestyle, bows and weapons, horse attack tactics, siege of fortresses, education and maintenance of the army had already been developed and tested for thousands of years by successful conquerors like the Huns, Turks, Khitan, Jurgeni, etc. It was not the Mongols who came up with the idea of ​​including the conquered peoples in their horde, even the word horde is borrowed, it was not the Mongols who began to use Chinese defectors in governing the state.

The Mongols were a kind of Romans who absorbed all the best from the surrounding peoples and lived by conquering and plundering the surrounding countries, brutally and decisively suppressing any resistance.

The Mongols, like the Romans or the same Chukchi (the cruelest aggressors of the north) sincerely did not understand why their racial and military superiority was being disputed, in their minds God created the earth for them to own it, and the rest to serve them. Just like the previous empires, the Mongols fell victims of their own ambitions, the struggle for power of the pampered descendants of cruel and uncompromising conquerors and the hatred of the conquered peoples.

Temujin (name, Genghis Khan - his position) was born in the tract Delyun-Boldok, neither the year, nor even the date of birth is known. After the death of their father, for several years widows with children robbed by their fellow tribesmen lived in complete poverty, wandered in the steppes, eating roots, game and fish. Even in summer, the family lived from hand to mouth, making provisions for the winter. At this time, Temujin lived in the family of his bride (he was married to him from the age of 10, he had to live in the family of his father-in-law until he came of age) and then another relative seized the camp.

Temujin was beaten into stocks, but he fled and joined his family, acquiring future associates, due to friendship with noble families and successful predatory raids, differing in that he included the uluses of opponents in his own. In 1184, Temujin defeated the Merkits and founded his first small ulus two years later, having 3 tumens (in fact, it is not necessarily a tumen of 10,000 people, it was quite possible that they were tumens of 600 people, but for that time this figure was impressive), with with them he suffered his first defeat.

The Tatars fought with China and in 1196 Temujin defeated the Tatars, and the Chinese awarded him the title of "Jauthuri" (military commissar), and Toorila - "Van" (prince), from that time he became known as Wang Khan. Temujin became a vassal of Wang Khan, in whom Jin saw the most powerful of the rulers of Eastern Mongolia. In 1200, Temujin set out on a joint campaign against the Taijiuts, the Merkits came to the rescue, in this battle Temujin was wounded by an arrow, the well-aimed shooter Jirgoadai, who confessed that it was he who shot, was accepted into Temujin's army and received the nickname Jebe (arrowhead).

Having won numerous victories over the Tatars and Kereites, having subjugated the east of the Great Steppe, Temujina 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. In March 1206, a kurultai gathered near the headwaters of the Onon River, where Temujina was elected great khan with the title of Genghis Khan. The creation of the Great Mongol State was proclaimed.

The war with the Jin Empire was considered by the Mongols as sacred, as an act of blood feud and as a personal vendetta of Temujin to the Tatars, Jurchens, Chinese and others who managed to annoy him. The conflict with the Jin was preceded by serious military and diplomatic preparations, campaigns were undertaken to eliminate the intervention of potential Jin allies in the conflict. In 1207, two tumens were sent to the northern border under the command of the eldest son of Genghis Khan, Jochi and Subedei.

Many Siberian tribes, who were tributaries of the Kyrgyz, swore allegiance to the great khan. Having conquered many peoples without a struggle and having secured the northern border of the state, Jochi returned to his father's headquarters. At the beginning of 1208, a battle took place in the Irtysh valley, the Mongols defeated the Merkit princes, in 1209 the Tunguts were conquered, the Mongol troops gained experience in taking fortresses with the help of siege weapons and actions against the Chinese-style army, at the same time the Uighurs joined without a single shot.

The Mongols were well prepared, and the Qin waged a war on three fronts: in the south - with the Song Empire, in the west - with the Tanguts, and in the interior of the country - with the popular movement of the "Red Chefs". Since 1211, the Mongols have been invading Jin, besieging and capturing fortresses and a passage in the Great Wall of China, in 1213 they invaded directly the Chinese state of Jin, despite the resistance (many months of fierce sieges, garrisons reached cannibalism, but did not give up), an epidemic of pestilence , in 1215 captured the capital.

While still at war with the Jin Empire, Genghis Khan sent ambassadors to the Khorezmshah with a proposal of an alliance, but the latter decided not to stand on ceremony with the Mongol representatives and ordered their execution.

For the Mongols, the execution of ambassadors was a personal insult and 1219 was the beginning of the conquest Central Asia. Having passed Semirechye, the Mongol army attacked the flourishing cities of Central Asia. The cities of Otrar and Sygnak on the Syr Darya, Khojent and Kokand in the Ferghana Valley, Dzhend and Urgench on the Amu Darya, and finally, Samarkand and Bukhara fell under the blows of the troops of Genghis Khan.

The state of Khorezm collapsed, Khorezmshah Mohammed fled, a pursuit was organized for him under the leadership of Jebe and Subedei. After Muhammad's death, Jebe and Subedei were given a new task. They ravaged Transcaucasia, then the Mongols managed to defeat the Alans by bribing their ally, the Polovtsian Khan Kotyan, who himself soon had to ask for help against the Mongols from the Russian princes.

The Russian princes of Kyiv, Chernigov and Galich joined forces to jointly repel aggression. On May 31, 1223, on the Kalka River, Subedei defeated the Russian-Polovtsian troops due to the inconsistency in the actions of the Russian and Polovtsian squads. Grand Duke The Kievan Mstislav Romanovich Stary and the prince of Chernigov Mstislav Svyatoslavich died, and the Galician prince Mstislav Udatny, famous for his victories, returned home empty-handed.

During the return to the east, the Mongol army was defeated by the Volga Bulgars in the area Samarskaya Luka(1223 or 1224). After a four-year campaign, Subedei's troops returned to join the main Mongol troops.

Approximately sixty-five years old (no one knows the date of his birth) Temujin died in 1227 on the territory of the Tangut state immediately after the fall of the capital Zhongxing (the modern city of Yinchuan) and the destruction of the Tangus state. There is a version that Genghis Khan was stabbed to death by a young wife at night, whom he took by force from her husband. It is useless to look for the grave of the khan - they were buried secretly, relatives, they plowed up the ground and drove a herd of horses from above, so it’s pointless to look for burial mounds, the graves of khans (unless they accidentally stumble).

According to the will, Genghis Khan's third son Ogedei became the successor, he became the khan, but many were against it (if it were not for disagreements in the Mongol ranks, they would have conquered the whole world). In the spring of 1235, a great kurultai was convened in the Talan-daba area to sum up the results of difficult wars with the Jin Empire and Khorezm.

It was decided to conduct a further offensive in four directions. Directions: to the west - against the Polovtsians, Bulgars and Russians; to the east - against Korea (Korea); to the southern Chinese Song empire; Significant reinforcements were sent to Noyon Chormagan, who was operating in the Middle East.

In the photo: The Secret History of the Mongols, a document of the 13th century.

The lands that were to be conquered in the west were supposed to be included in the Ulus of Jochi, so Batu, the son of Jochi, stood at the head of the campaign. The most experienced Subedei, an expert on Eastern European conditions, was given to help Batu. Under the supreme command of Batu came military contingents from all the Mongol uluses: Baidar and Buri, the son and grandson of Chagatai, commanded the army of the Chagatai ulus, the sons of the great khan Guyuk and Kadan commanded the army of the ulus Ogedei; the son of Tolui Mongke - the army of the Tolui ulus (indigenous yurt), the western campaign became a pan-imperial event.

In the summer of 1236, the Mongol army approached the Volga. Subaday crushed Volga Bulgaria, Batu during the year waged war against the Polovtsians, Burtases, Mordovians and Circassians. In December 1237, the Mongols invaded the Ryazan principality. On December 21, Ryazan was taken, after the battle with the Vladimir troops - Kolomna, then - Moscow. On February 8, 1238, Vladimir was taken, on March 4, in the battle on the Sit River, the troops of Grand Duke Yuri Vsevolodovich, who died in battle, were defeated.

Then Torzhok and Tver were taken, and a seven-week siege of Kozelsk began. In 1239, the main part of the Mongol army was in the steppe, in the region of the lower Don. Small military operations were conducted by Mongke against the Alans and Circassians, Batu - against the Polovtsians.

About forty thousand Polovtsy, led by Khan Kotyan, escaped from the Mongols by fleeing to Hungary.

Uprisings were suppressed in the Mordovian land, Murom, Pereyaslavl and Chernigov were taken.

In 1240, the Mongol army began to attack south Kievan Rus. Kyiv, Galich and Vladimir-Volynsky were taken.

The military council decided to launch an offensive against Hungary, which had given shelter to the Polovtsy of Kotyan. There was a quarrel between Batu and Guyuk and Buri, who returned to Mongolia.

In 1241 Baidar's corps operated in Silesia and Moravia. Krakow was taken, the Polish-German army was defeated at Legnica (April 9). Baydar moved through the Czech Republic to connect with the main forces.

At the same time, Batu carried out the ruin of Hungary. The Croatian-Hungarian army of King Bela IV was defeated on the river. Shio. The king fled to Dalmatia, a detachment of Kadan was sent to pursue him.

In 1242, the Mongols captured Zagreb and reached the shores of the Adriatic Sea near Split. At the same time, the Mongolian reconnaissance detachment reached almost Vienna.

In the spring, Batu received from Mongolia the news of the death of the great Khan Ogedei (December 11, 1241) and decided to retreat back to the steppes through Northern Serbia and Bulgaria.

In the summer of 1251, a kurultai was assembled in Karakorum (one might say a huge yurt city, the capital of Mongolia) to proclaim Mongke the Great Khan, since Guyuk Khan, who had usurped power from the legitimate Shiramun, died trying to start a civil war with Batu and engaged in executions of opponents. To support him, Batu sent his brothers Berke and Tuka-Timur with troops.

The conquest of the Middle East began in 1256 with the Hulagu campaign in the Middle East, in 1258 Baghdad was taken and destroyed, in 1260 the Mongols were defeated in the battle of Ain Jalut by the Egyptian Mamluks, the conquest of South China began, however, the death of Mongke in (1259 ) delayed the fall of the Song state.

After the death of the great Khan Mongke (1259), a struggle for supreme power between his brothers Khubilai and Arig-Buga. In 1260, Khubilai was proclaimed great khan at the kurultai in Kaiping, Arig-Buga - in Karakorum. Hulagu, who fought in the Middle East, declared support for Kublai; Ulus ruler Jochi Berke supported Arig-Buga.

As a result, Khubilai defeated Arig-Bug, founded the Yuan Empire (according to tradition, copying the earlier empires of nomads who ruled China with the help of Chinese officials). Khubilai's empire was in normal relations with the Ulus of Jochi, which occupied the European part modern Russia, fought with the Chagatai ulus (approximately the territory of present-day Kazakhstan-Turkmenistan-Uzbekistan) and was in allied relations with the Khalugid state (conditionally the territory of Persia), and the rest fought among themselves, sometimes uniting.

Yuan included Mongolia, China, Korea, Tibet, twice unsuccessfully invaded Japan (1274 and 1281), tried to capture Burma, Indonesia. The Middle Eastern campaign of the Mongols under the command of Hulagu (1256-1260), even to some extent participated in the seventh crusade.

The Mongol Empire, which was at war with each other, was recreated in 1304 as a federation of independent states under the nominal supremacy of the great khan, Emperor Yuan, which did not prevent a constant civil war, vying for power. In 1368, the Mongol Yuan empire collapsed in China as a result of the Red Turban Rebellion.

In 1380, the Battle of Kulikovo took place, weakening the influence of the Golden Horde on the territory of the Moscow principality. Standing on the Ugra River in 1480 led to the final rejection of even a symbolic tribute to the Horde. The period of feudal fragmentation and internecine wars in Central Asia led to the fall of the Chagatai ulus by the beginning of the 16th century.

Paiza (not to be confused with a label), made of gold or silver, ranked according to images and functions, a kind of identity card, epaulette, pass and travel tickets.

Thus, the Mongols, having dissolved in the conquered peoples and cutting off the remnants of each other because of power, disappeared in a fairly short period of time, because even if we consider the existence of the Mongol Empire in 280 years, this is negligible by historical standards.

And considering that from the time of the invasion of the Ryazan principality in 1237 to the Battle of Kulikovo in 1380, 143 years have passed, then there is no question of any “thousand-year yoke”. Yes, this is an unpleasant episode of history, but they invaded before (for a much longer period), invaded after that (for more a short time).

From the benefits of the Mongols for Russia: the scale of the Chinese-style state thinking, the cessation of the strife of the princes and the creation of a large unified state; advanced advanced weapons; orderliness of transport and mail; tax collection and population census, stemming from an advanced Chinese-style bureaucracy; the termination of the crusades of the knights and their conservation in the Baltic states.

From harm: in addition to destruction and killings during raids, a large decline in the population from the slave trade; the impoverishment of the population from taxes and consequently the inhibition of the sciences and arts; strengthening and enrichment of the church - in fact the agent and conductor of Mongolian decisions. The Mongols did not leave any traces in the genetics of Russians, since there were few ethnic Mongols even in 1237, they were mostly conquered peoples from a neighboring principality or nearby lands.

Think Mongol invasion world disaster does not make sense, it's like the Gallic War for Rome - an episode of history, in the same France or Britain they are also proud that they were conquered by the Romans, and the capitals are Roman bath-laundry plants for legionnaires.

Banknotes of the Mongol Empire - yes, even then the surviving print, naturally paper, circulation of the coin was prohibited.

The “Mongol-Tatar yoke” was invented by the Polish chronicler Jan Dlugosh (“iugum barbarum”, “iugum servitutis”) in 1479; for Poland, even such a brief acquaintance with the gigantic Mongol Empire was so terrible that it made one shake, and a year later the Russians from cannons drove the Mongols on the Ugra River.

Where did the Tatars come from? The Mongols destroyed their Tatar enemies, but the Tatars were known, so the mixture different peoples preferred to be called a revered name, and the Mongols did not interfere. And then the Mongols and Tatars gradually turned into Tatars and Mongols, and since there were no Mongols left at all, soon there were only Tatars who had nothing to do with either ethnic Mongols, let alone Tatars.

Looking for "Mongolian" roots in modern Mongols is about the same as looking for "Roman" roots in modern Italians. It is pointless to somehow identify the lifestyle of modern, rather peaceful Mongols and those Mongols, any Mongol reveres Genghis Khan, there is a huge monument in Mongolia, Temujin looks from portraits on 5000 tugriks, but conquest campaigns are not started, although they can get together to buzz.

To look for genetic traces of the then Mongols in modern Russians or Tatars is as stupid as to look for genetic traces of the ancient Egyptians in modern Egyptians.

Speculation on the Mongols and Tatars only makes it possible to enrich oneself on the dubious content of books and programs, inflating interethnic conflicts that are completely unnecessary to anyone. There is no need to look for burial mounds and graves, it is pointless to look for burials of real Mongols, since they buried the noble Mongols so that there was no grave to be found, they plowed the field and let the herd pass, and the privates could simply be folded in a row, taking off their clothes. There are also Mongolian swords in museums, these sabers had a great influence on the armament of China, Korea and Japan, the Mongolian bow is world famous, as are the hardy, shaggy, unpretentious Mongolian horses.

Such is briefly the history of the Mongol Empire.

Formation of the Mongolian state

The entry of the Mongols into the historical arena had a huge impact on the fate of many peoples. The evidence of Chinese sources allows us to trace the history of the Mongols into the depths of centuries. Their direct relationship with the Huns, which is often written about, cannot be considered scientifically proven at the current level of knowledge.

The first mention of the Mongols themselves under the names Menu, Menwa belong to the Tang era (7th-9th centuries). According to the studies of some experts, the Mongols lived along the southern bank of the Amur River, west of the confluence of the Sungari River into the Amur and east of the Lesser Khingan Range, according to others, their habitat was the lower reaches of the Shilka and Argun rivers and the upper reaches of the Amur. According to Chinese chronicles, the Mongols were part of the Shiwei tribes, who for the most part spoke Mongolian languages. The text of the "Old History of the Tang Dynasty" ("Jiu Tang shu") says: "Shiwei is a special kind of Khitan. They live along the northern [banks] of the Yaoyuehe River. Their state is located in the northeast of the capital at a distance of more than seven thousand li. On in the east it extends to Heishui Mohe, in the west to the Turks, in the south adjacent to the Khitan, and in the north it reaches the sea.In this state there is no sovereign and senior commanders, but there are seventeen rulers who are called mohefu and rule them hereditarily, although they depend from the Turks. military weapons they have bows made of horn and arrows made of hu wood (willow tree? - E.K.) and shoot very accurately ... At times they gather to hunt with light throwing spears, and when the job is over, they disperse. These people cultivate the land but do not pay land tax. In their villages they build small houses, covering them with skins on top. They unite in groups and live, sometimes up to several tens or hundreds of families. They sharpen trees and make plows without putting metal tips on them. Sokha is pulled by a person, and sowing is done. It is not allowed to use [for plowing] bulls... Dogs and pigs are found there as domestic animals. They are fattened and eaten, and the skins are used to make leather. Both men and women [from these skins] sew clothes. Their hair is disheveled, their clothes are fastened on the left side. The rich distinguish themselves by making jewelry from a variety of five-colored pearls. The laws governing marriage [are] that the groom first enters the bride's house and works there for three years. For this reason, he can personally communicate closely with this woman. When the period of working off ends, the bride's family allocates them their share of the property, the husband and wife sit in one cart and load it. With drumming and dancing, they return together [to the husband's house] ... They say that during our Tang dynasty there are nine Shiwei tribes ... "One of them was the Men'u Shiwei, i.e. the Shiwei-Mongols.

AT " new history of the Tang Dynasty" ("Xin Tang shu") there are additions about the funeral rites of Shiwei. Each group of Shiwei built large sheds on which the corpses of the dead were placed on top. Three years of mourning were worn for the dead. If the ruler died, then his son became his successor and heir, only if the ruler did not have a son, a strong and determined person was put in the place of the deceased.

Shiwei rode carts pulled by oxen. Dwellings were built by weaving walls from shrubs and small trees and covering them with cords on top. Or trees were bent and covered with wickerwork on top. Rafts and leather boats were made for river crossings. Horses - there were few of them - were allowed to graze hobbled; sheep were not kept. It is also said that there were more than 20 Shiwei tribes, and not 9, as in "Jiu Tang shu".

The Turks called all Shiwei Tatars. The last ethnonym is first found in the ancient Turkic inscription in honor of Kul-Tegin in 731-732, then in Chinese texts of the 9th century.

The history of the Mongolian tribes proper in the 10th-11th centuries. - this is the story of their gradual advance to the west, which apparently began in the middle of the 8th century. It was accompanied by the expulsion from the territory of Khalkha of the Turkic-speaking peoples who had dominated here for several hundred years.

The reason for the advance of the Mongols to the west could be attacks on them from the outside or internecine wars.

According to one of the Mongol legends, expounded by Rashid ad-din, "other tribes defeated the Mongols and inflicted such a beating among them that no more than two men and two women remained alive. These two families, in fear of the enemy, fled to an inaccessible area, around which there were only mountains and forests and to which there was no road on either side ... Among those mountains there was abundant grass and a healthy [climate] steppe. The name of this area is Ergune-Kun. The meaning of the word kun is "slope", and ergune - "steep", in other words, "steep ridge". Further, the legend tells that in Ergune-Kun the Mongols multiplied and became masters of iron smelting and blacksmithing. According to legend, it was the art of melting iron that helped them get out of the mountain gorges on expanse of the current Mongolian steppes, to the blue Kerulen, the golden Onon. "And so they found one place that was a deposit iron ore where iron was constantly smelted. Having gathered all together, they prepared a lot of firewood and coal in the forest ... they slaughtered seventy heads of bulls and horses, tore off their skins entirely and made bellows out of them. Then they laid firewood and coal at the foot of that slope and equipped the place in such a way that with these seventy bellows they began to inflate [fire under firewood and coal] at once until that mountain slope melted.

Chinggis Khan's progenitor, Alan-Goa, gave birth to five sons.

Two of them were born from her husband Dobun-Mergen, and three after his death. Explaining their birth, Alan-Goa claimed that she gave birth to them from a light-haired man who penetrated to her at night through the chimney of the yurt. These three sons were thus "marked with the seal of heavenly origin." The clan of Genghis Khan descended from the youngest son of Alan-Goa, Bodonchar, whose true father was, apparently, Ma-alikh Bayaudets, a Turk (Kyrgyz), the only man, except for the sons of Alan-Goa, who was in her house. Rashid ad-din believed that Alan-Goa lived 300 years before he wrote his work, i.e. at the turn of the X-XI centuries. According to the anonymous "Altan Tobchi", the son of Alan-Goa, Bodonchar, was born in 970. The descendants of Bodonchar were distinguished by red hair and light eyes.

As a result of the migrations, the Mongols came into direct and closer contact than before with the Turks. In the steppe and forest-steppe zone, they switched completely to nomadic cattle breeding. L.R. Kyzlasov points out that the Mongols have their own terms only for designating dogs, horses and pigs, i.e. just those animals that were known among the Shiwei. The Mongols borrowed the entire pastoral vocabulary and names for sheep, bulls, camels, mules from the Turks. In turn, the Mongols brought with them from Manchuria a type of settled dwelling - a square house without a foundation with frame walls and U-shaped kans for heating. Obviously, in the X-XI centuries. there was a process of assimilation of the Turkic population remaining in Khalkha by the Mongols.

The Khitans, having created their empire, the Liao empire, in the 10th century, brought the population of the Khalkha valley under their control. In 1004, the "Department for the Subordination of the Border Residents of the North-Western Region" was established, the center of which was the city, in Chinese called Zhenzhou, in Turkic - Khatun (Kedun). It was located south of the lower reaches of the Khalkha River. In general, the Tatar-Mongols were loyal to the Liao, an ethnically related dynasty, although some Mongolian tribes, such as the Jajirats and Merkits, waged exhausting wars with the Khitans and by 1094 were heavily bled dry by the Khitans and their allies.

After the death of the Liao and the establishment of the Jurchen dynasty, the tribes bordering on the Jin were ruled by their leaders. If they recognized the supremacy of the Jin and brought cattle for sale at the border or as a gift to the Jin court, then it was believed that they were in the service of the dynasty and guarded the borders of the empire. The Jin authorities paid for this in grain, silk, and money.

By the middle of the XII century. refers to the emergence of the first Mongolian state - Khamag Mongol ulus ("State of all Mongols"). Even under the Liao dynasty, part of the Mongol nobility received positions and titles of nobility from the Khitans, such as lingwen or xiaowen, commanders of the border troops, called jiu. After the death of Liao, the Tatar-Mongols supported Yelü Dashi, a representative of the dynasty that had lost its state, provided him with assistance, including troops, putting up for him more than ten thousand strong army. This support by the Tatar-Mongols of Yelü Dashi, who, although he could not return power to the Yelü house, and went west, to Semirechye, but posed a constant threat to the Jurchens, led to a conflict between the Tatar-Mongols and the Jurchens. From 1135 to 1147 the Mongols were at war with the Jin. The reason for the war, in addition to the general tension in relations since 1125, was an attempt by the Jurchens to kill the ruler of the Mongols, Khabul Khan. Two Jin embassies arrived one after another to Khabul Khan, demanding his arrival at the court. Khabul Khan interrupted the members of the second embassy, ​​which led to the Jin war with the Mongols. The Jurchens at that time successfully finished off Sung China, the war with the Mongols was ignored, and this war was successful for the Mongols. In 1147, peace was concluded between the Jin and the Mongols. The Jin authorities ceded to the Mongols 17 fortifications north of the Xininghe River, which became a frontier.

An extremely important message from a Chinese source dates back to this time that the Mongol Khan Aolo Bozile (Olun Beile) was recognized by the Jurchens as the sovereign of the state of the Mongols (Mengfuguo Zhu).

However, Aolo, as was often the case, was not satisfied with the title of sovereign (zhu) within his domains and assumed the imperial title of zuyuan huangdi. He announced his motto of the reign - Tien-sin, or "Flourishing, bestowed by Heaven." The adoption of their motto of government meant the announcement of independent rule. On the proposal of the Jin court to be content with the title of go wang, or "prince of the state", Aolo refused.

Most researchers identify Aolo botsile with Khabul Khan. In the "Secret History" about Khabul Khan it is said: "Khabul Khan was in charge of all the Mongols. After Khabul Khan ... Ambagai Khan began to be in charge." Ambagai Khan had the title of "national kagan and sovereign of the ulus". The Mongolian ulusun ejen, "sovereign of the ulus", if it did not correspond to the Chinese Huangdi, "emperor", then certainly could have had the title guo zhu ("sovereign of the state") as its absolute equivalent. Rashid al-Din calls Khabul Khan "Mongol Khan", "sovereign and ruler of his tribes and subordinates." The ancient Mongol rulers bore the Xianbei-Zhuanzhuan-Turkic title of kagan (khagan). The title of khan, equivalent to the title of khan, appeared later.

Khabul Khan was the son of Kaidu. Khaidu had a second son, Bai-Shinkor Dokshin. The lineage (uruk) of Bai-Shinkor Dokshin is the lineage of Genghis Khan. From Bai-Shinkor Dokshin, the Kiyat clan, in which Genghis Khan was born, originated. Khaidu also had a third son, Charakai-linku, from whom descended the Taichiuts, who played such a big role in the fate of Genghis Khan. All together they were "natural" Mongol khans, or khans.

In the Khamag Mongol ulus, after the death of Khabul Khan, power passed not to his sons, but to Ambagai Khan, the grandson of Khaid and the cousin of Temujin's great-great-grandfather, Genghis Khan Tumbinay Sechen.

Ambagay Khan, if he ruled the entire Khamag Mongol ulus, then not for long. He was captured by the Tatars and handed over to the Jurchens, who executed him. Around 1160, the Khamag Mongol ulus finally collapsed, probably due to rivalry and struggle for power among members of the khan's house.

After the collapse of the Khamag Mongol Ulus, the Mongols lived in the valleys of the Onon and Kerulen rivers, along the Tola River. The northeastern regions of Mongolia and Transbaikalia were inhabited by Uryankhats. The marriage partners of the clan from which Genghis Khan came were the Khungirats, they lived in South-Eastern Mongolia. The Taichiuts, one of the strongest groups of Mongols, separated from the Khamag Mongol ulus, lived along the Onon River. Tatars lived in the area of ​​lakes Buir-Nor and Dalai-Nor. Merkits settled in the lower reaches of the Orkhon River and along the Selenga. All these were Mongol-speaking peoples. The Kereites roamed in the foothills of the Khangai, along the Kerulen, Orkhon and Tola rivers. There are opinions that the Kereites were among the first to leave for the west. For several centuries they lived in the neighborhood with the Turks and mixed with them or were subjected to strong Turkic influence. There are other opinions. P. Rachnevsky believes that the Kereites were originally Turks, originally they lived on the Irtysh and Altai and were pushed to the east by the Naimans. Here they were largely Mongolized. The Kereites were Nestorian Christians.

The western regions of modern Mongolia were occupied by the Naimans. There is also no unity in science regarding the ethnicity of the Naimans. Some consider them Mongols, others - Turks. Like the Kereites, the Naimans were Nestorian Christians. Between the Angara and the Yenisei in the taiga zone lived Oirats, "people of the forests."

The population of Mongolia in the XII century. according to the way of life it was subdivided into forest and steppe. Forest peoples lived in the taiga and taiga zones and were engaged in hunting and fishing. The main part of the population of Mongolia was nomadic and led a nomadic pastoral economy. The Mongols were short in stature, but distinguished by their large physical strength and endurance. The men wore the tuff hairstyle, which was widespread in Northern China, and which has already been mentioned. The Mongols lived in yurts, collapsible or mounted on carts. The wagon with the yurt installed on it was transported by bulls. In the parking lots, the Mongols were located in kurens (rings). They bred horses, cows and bulls, sheep and goats, and to a lesser extent camels. Usually there were six or seven sheep and goats per horse. The owner branded the cattle with his personal tamga. The nomadic Mongols hunted and farmed to a limited extent, sowing mainly black glutinous millet. Milk, meat, fish, liquid millet porridge, wild roots, plants and fruits were the main diet of the Mongols. The Mongols worshiped Heaven, Earth and spirits, such as the spirit of fire Ut.

There is no unity in science and in assessing the level of development of the Tatar-Mongolian tribes in the 12th century. But gradually the point of view of those scientists who refuse to consider the Mongolian society of the 12th century takes over. tribal, "military democracy" society, etc. It was a class society, divided primarily into personally free and slaves (bogol - male slaves, inje - slaves). The sources of slavery were captivity and the purchase of people. It is known that the Jurchens brought large consignments of slaves to the border and exchanged them with the Tatar-Mongols for horses. The Mongols united slaves in pairs for offspring. Slaves worked in the family of the owner in the service, they also did the main work - they grazed cattle and looked after him. The slaves of Genghis Khan's ancestor, Bodonchar, "grazed his horses", the slaves of Tooril Khan of Kereit "grazed camels and sheep". As in many societies of the world, the slaves of the Mongols were equated with cattle. The slave was required to faithfully and faithfully serve the master. "If the slave is not devoted to the master, - Genghis Khan taught, - kill him."

Among the personally free people there were rich people - button accordion and poor people - yadagu khuvun. They were divided into people of their Uruk - descendants in the male line from one ancestor and strangers, not relatives - Jat. Finally, personally free people were divided into noble - say khuvun and commoners - karacha. Among the nobles, the "golden families", natural khagans, tue khans stood out. Unlike ordinary pastoralists - arats, rich and noble people made up the estate of noyons. From the time of Liao, the khans and noyons had Chinese and mixed, as they say, "Chinese-Altaic" titles, which they received from the Khitans and Jurchens. Temujin - Genghis Khan had the rank of chauthuri, centurion. Along with those borrowed and received from Liao or Jin, the Mongol nobility had their own titles: mergen ("excellent archer"), sechen ("wise"), baatur ("hero"), buka ("strong man"), bilge (" wise"), etc. These were not just characteristics of a person’s personal qualities, but namely titles, titles that determined the place of the person who bore this title in society, in the system of government, in the uluses of the Tatar-Mongols.

"Ulus" as a state entity meant, as B.Ya. In a nomadic state, ulus, people were in a certain sense more significant than the territory, and therefore the withdrawal, departure, death of people meant collapse, the death of the ulus. Therefore, so great importance had the concept of "gather ulus". As a rule, the khan was at the head of the ulus. His support was his Uruk, relatives, descended from a common male ancestor (in-laws, relatives by marriage made up another group - huda), and nukers, the squad of the khan (nuker - literally "friend"), his guard. Nukers controlled the headquarters of the khan (later - the horde), his relatives - the uruk, commanded the khan's guard and his military formations. The warriors were led by the so-called archers and saber bearers. From among the nukers, managers of the household, herds of sheep, horse herds, etc., people who managed the migrations, were appointed. Under the khan, there were horsemen, kravchie, cherbi (people who were in charge of the servants and household people of the khan). Sources allow us to single out in the ulus of the XII century. three groups of officials: those who managed the headquarters of the khan, those who commanded his armed forces, and those who were in charge of the economy of both the khan himself and the entire ulus.

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Perhaps in history there was no empire as majestic and impressive as the Mongol one. In less than 80 years, from a small group of warriors, it has grown to a size covering the lands from the Pacific Ocean to the Danube. Today - about one of the most dramatic series of conquests in history, as well as how the Mongols themselves destroyed their invincible power.

In the 12th century, various Turkic and Mongol-Tungus tribes roamed the steppes of Mongolia. One of these tribes were the Mongols. Around 1130, the Mongols became a powerful tribe, defeating neighboring nomads and forcing the Jin Empire of North China to pay tribute. However, fame is short-lived. In 1160, the Mongol kingdom was defeated by a neighboring tribe of barbarians. Mongolian clans (divisions within a tribe) became divided and fought among themselves for what little they had.

Yesugei, a descendant of the khan of the former Mongolian kingdom, was the lord of the Mongolian kind of kiyats. In 1167, Yesugei and his wife had a son, Temujin, later named Genghis Khan. When Temujin was nine years old, his father was poisoned by Tatar leaders. The boy was too young to hold power, and his father's clans deserted him. Temujin and his family in seven moved to the empty parts of the steppes and were forced to feed on roots and rodents in order to survive. Temujin experienced many adventures: thieves chased their horses, his family was captured. When Temujin was 16 years old, the Merkids attacked his family and took away his wife. Temujin could not do anything with an army of five people, so he turned to one of his father's old friends, Tooril Khan from the Kereit tribe, who called for another leader, Jamukha. Together they defeated the Merkids and Temujin got his wife back. Temujin quickly took advantage of his friendship with his powerful allies, especially Jamukha, also a Mongol, with whom they were twinned, and became a prominent figure in the steppe. Temujin and Jamukha took control of most of the Mongol clans, but this was not enough for Temujin.

According to the Secret History of the Yuan Dynasty, Temujin and Jamukha once rode ahead of their army. Temujin was about to drive on, but Jamukha stopped to set up a tent. Temujin quarreled with Jamukha, and the Mongol army was divided in half. Soon a fight broke out between them. Getting involved in a quarrel over a minor trifle, Temujin lost and was forced to retreat. However, ten years later he regained lost ground. From there, he proceeded to conquer Mongolia, which lasted several years. Unfortunately, there are too many details to fit in this article. In short, by 1204 Temujin had conquered everything that opposed him. He defeated the Tatar tribe of the Kereites of Tooril Khan, who later nevertheless betrayed him, the tribe of Naimans, Merkids and the Mongolian clans of Jamukha.

Mongol Empire after 1204

In 1206, Temujin held a large kurultai (meeting of the Mongol nobility) on the banks of the Onon River. There he took the title of Genghis Khan. At the same kurultai, Genghis Khan determined the structure and established the laws for his new empire. He maintained stability and interaction between different tribes within his state with the help of a military stratum. The population was divided into groups responsible for equipping and supplying a certain number of warriors, ready for battle at any moment. Thus, the old tribal customs were abolished. In addition, he created a set of clear laws and established an efficient administrative hierarchy. Genghis Khan created the most modern state among all the steppe peoples of his time. His Horde would soon become the most disciplined, most powerful, and most feared army that had ever roamed the steppes.

War in North China

He became the emperor of "all who lived in felt tents", but he dreamed of conquering the world. First, he led his army several times against the Xi Xia empire in western China. In 1209, he threatened the Xi Xia capital, but the Mongols were satisfied with tribute after their camp was unexpectedly flooded. It should be noted that the Mongols preferred to plunder rather than capture cities. However, once the Mongols left, the Chinese empires stopped paying tribute and the raids soon turned into conquests.

In 1211, Genghis Khan recruited another 65,000 men and marched against the Jin Empire in northern China. With the help of the ongguts, a people who lived on the northern border of the Jin, Genghis Khan easily overturned the defenses and moved into Jin territory. He continued to rob until he met a large force of about 150 thousand people, but he also defeated it. Genghis divided his army and launched an attack on the Jin from several directions. He and his generals launched several attacks against the Jin, capturing the strategic Yuong Pass. Unfortunately, Genghis Khan was wounded during the siege and left for Mongolia. Subsequently, the Jin Empire began to retake its territories conquered by the Mongols. In 1213, when the Mongols found out about this, they returned. Genghis divided his army into three parts: the first under his own command and the other two under the command of his sons. Three Mongol armies devastated the Jin empire, and by 1214 most of the area north of the Yellow River (Yellow River) was in Mongol hands. The only exception was the city of Zhongdu, the capital of the Jin Empire. Like other nomadic armies, Genghis Khan's Mongol hordes were entirely cavalry, making it impossible to capture fortifications. Genghis recognized this weakness and quickly captured Chinese engineers to learn siege tactics. Despite this, Zhongdu withstood the attacks of the Mongols. The army of Genghis Khan was weakened by the untimely supply of supplies and thinned out by the plague, but he, holding all his will into a fist, continued the siege. Reports describe that one in ten people was sacrificed to be fed to others. But the siege went on for so long that Genghis Khan decided to leave the camp. He appointed his general Mukhali as commander. In 1215, the Mongols finally entered the city, but by then the Jin capital had already been moved south to Kaifeng.

The first movement to the West - the conquest of Khorezm

Genghis Khan lost interest in the war in China and instead turned his attention to the west. In 1218 he traveled west and conquered the Kara Khitai empire. But a real problem arose - the huge Khorezm empire. The first clash happened when the Shah of Khorezm attacked the Mongol ambassadors and burned their beards, thereby insulting them. Genghis Khan was furious, because he sent ambassadors to establish peace. He prepared the largest operation, which has never happened before, gathering under his banner about 90-110 thousand people. The total number of troops of the Shah of Khorezm was two or three times larger, but the army of Genghis Khan had perfect discipline and, most importantly, the command system was absolutely effective.

In 1219, the sons of Genghis Khan and Ogedei went to conquer the city of Utar, located east of the Aral Sea. Meanwhile, Genghis Khan's general, Chepe, went southwest to protect the left flank during the operation. However, the main attack was led by Genghis Khan himself, who, together with General Subedei, passed through the Kyzyl-Kum desert and bypassed the troops of Khorezm. The plan was that the Kyzyl-Kum desert was considered impassable, giving an excellent opportunity to surprise the enemy. Genghis Khan and his army disappeared into the desert, and suddenly, out of nowhere, they appeared in the city of Bukhara. The city garrison was overwhelmed and quickly defeated. Genghis then proceeded to Samarkand, the capital of the Khorezm Empire. The magnificent city was well fortified and had a garrison of 110 thousand people, which greatly outnumbered the numerical army of Genghis Khan. It was believed that the city could hold out for months, but on March 19, 1220, its walls were breached in just ten days. After the fall of Samarkand, the Mongols captured most Empire. The destruction was very significant. Cities were razed to the ground, and the population was slaughtered. In the city of Merv, the number of those killed reached 700 thousand people. In Samarkand, women were raped and sold into slavery. The destruction was so great that the Khorezm Empire itself was almost erased from history. The conquest of Khorezm also created another event. After his defeat, the Khorezm sultan Mohammed II fled to the west, and Subedei with 20 thousand soldiers rushed after him. The Sultan died, but Subedei did not stop. He led his army north and defeated the heavily outnumbered Russian and Cuman armies on the Kalka River. Then he attacked the Volga Bulgars, and only after that he returned back. According to the famous historian Gibbons, Subedei's expedition was one of the most daring in history, and hardly anyone could repeat it.

During the entire campaign, the Kharezm sultan was never able to raise an army against the Mongols on the battlefield. He hoped for city garrisons that outnumbered the Mongols besieging them. The defense turned out to be a failure. But well-organized resistance was put up by the Mongols, the son of Sultan Mohammed Jalal ad-Din, who, after the fall of Samarkand, gathered an army in the territory of modern Afghanistan to defend. At Parwan, he defeated the army of Shigi-Kutukhu, Genghis Khan's half-brother, and this was the only defeat of the Mongols in the entire campaign. Genghis pursued Jalal ad-Din and lost his army on the Indus River. The defeat of Jalal ad-Din meant the strengthening of power in Maverannahr. However, the southern parts of the Kharezmian empire remained unconquered, and then turned into a coalition of independent states. The legend says that the Mongols from the avant-garde saw a unicorn, and they were afraid to go further.

At the end of the sixth decade, Genghis Khan felt worse and worse. He sought out the legendary Taoist monk Changchun, who was rumored to possess the elixir of immortality. In fact, there was no elixir, but Genghis Khan highly appreciated the wisdom of the monk, and they became good friends. After this meeting, he decided to reconsider the management of his military campaigns. Unlike Attila the Hun and Genghis Khan, he understood the importance of a gradual transfer of power after his death. Even before the end of the conquest of Kharezm, he carefully weighed all the options and chose his son Ogedei as his successor. Genghis Khan returned to Mongolia to finally establish the power hierarchy in his empire, and things were in perfect order. Only one problem remained: the Xi Xia Tangut empire had been under the rule of the Mongols for a long time, but had not yet been annexed, but simply subjected to tribute. While Genghis Khan was at war, the Tanguts ceased to abide by the conditions. Having discovered this, in 1226 Genghis Khan captured the capital Xi Xia with his army.

Death of Genghis Khan

The conquest of Xi Xia was his last military operation. Soon in August 1227, at the age of 60, Genghis Khan died. The cause of death has not been clarified, some researchers claim that he died from wounds after an unsuccessful hunt, others say that from malaria, there is even a version of damage caused by the Tanguts.
After his death, the Mongol Empire extended from the Yellow Sea to the Caspian Sea. No other empire in history has expanded so grandiosely in the lifetime of one man. Although Genghis Khan devastated vast territories, it is clear that his plans did not include mass genocide, as Hitler planned, although the number of deaths exceeded all the conquest campaigns in history. Genghis Khan's dream was to conquer the whole world, and whenever the peoples capitulated, he tried to do without bloodshed. He was very respectful of those who passed under his banner, and it often happened that he made friendship with enemies. In any case, Genghis Khan was a brilliant military strategist and an exceptionally gifted leader, making his personality one of the most intriguing in history.

After the death of Genghis Khan, the Mongol Empire was divided into four uluses between his four "main" sons. Although these hereditary uluses were politically united into one empire, they subsequently served as the basis for future khanates. As already mentioned, Genghis Khan chose Ögedei as his successor. Two years after the death of Genghis Khan, Ogedei was officially proclaimed the ruler of the Mongol Empire. Ogedei received the title khakhan ("Great Khan" or "Khan of Khans"), a title used by the rulers of the greatest steppe empires. However, Genghis Khan never officially used the title. However, Ogedei's rise was gradual.

First of all, Ogedei had to subjugate the remaining parts of the Kharezmian empire, which had been destroyed earlier, in 1221, by Genghis Khan, and later modern Azerbaijan arose in its place. Ogedei did this by 1231. The next goal was the final conquest of the Jin Empire. Genghis Khan had already seized a huge territory from her, and added the temnik Mukhali, whom Genghis Khan appointed commander-in-chief of the theater of military operations in Northern China. But after the death of Muhali in 1223, the Jin began to resist fiercely. In 1231, a large Mongol army led by Ogedei, the famous general Subedei and Tolui (Ogedei's brother) went to Jin. After a series of setbacks, the Mongols finally broke into the Jin capital of Kaifeng in 1234 with the help of 20,000 Southern Song warriors, thus ending the huge hulking empire that had overseen the steppe for over a century.

While Ogedei was conquering Jin, he had already ordered the construction of a capital for his empire. When the city, which was named Karakorum, was built in 1235, it became the largest city in Mongolia. (Karakorum had long been founded by Genghis Khan, but was more of an outpost than a capital). Although the city did not grow to an impressive size, like the cities of China, cultures and crafts flourished in it, according to the European traveler Rubruk. Ogedei also made several government reforms while improving the postal system.

The Mongols had established contact with the Russians ten years earlier, in 1222, during the legendary Subedei expedition, but they did not establish any permanent government in these lands. When Genghis Khan died, the northwestern territories of the empire were given to his son, Jochi. One of the sons of Juchi was Batu, who inherited the westernmost territories of the Yuhi ulus. But Batu had few lands, and most of them were not yet under Mongol control. At the kurultai of 1235, Batu announced his intention to bring these lands under the control of the Mongol Empire. Such a decision promised him an unprecedented scale of conquest, and for this it was necessary to travel five thousand miles! Subedei agreed to go with Batu, and in 1237 they gathered 120,000 men ready to cross the frozen Volga.

During the winter, the Mongols crossed the Volga and hid in the forests. The first major city that got in their way was Ryazan, which fell after a five-day siege. Then they went north and captured Kolomna, Moscow and defeated the Grand Duke of Suzdal, the most powerful in the northern part of Russia. From there, the Mongols moved to Novgorod, but they were stopped by impenetrable swamps. Novgorod was one of the largest Russian cities, and in order to avoid the Mongol conquest, they were ready to make peace and pay tribute. After the failure in Novgorod, Baty and Subedey went south and attacked the city of Kozelsk, which fought to the death, holding back the Mongols, and even successfully ambushed the Mongol vanguard - a feat that rarely succeeded. Kozelsk held out for seven weeks, and after it finally fell, the entire population was killed so cruelly that the Mongols themselves called it the City of Grief. The last obstacle in Russia was the great city of Kyiv, which is often called "the mother of all Russian cities." Since Kyiv had influence in Eastern Europe, the Mongols even tried to take it without destruction. Kyiv prince Mikhail realized that the capture of Kyiv was inevitable. Unfortunately, he escaped, and his military leaders decided to resist. When the Mongols stormed the city, the only thing that survived was the Hagia Sophia.

With the fall of Kyiv, all of Russia was defeated. It was the only successful capture of Russia in winter in history. Many fled abroad and sought asylum in Hungary. Among them were Cumans and Kipchaks, the same nomads as the Mongols. When Batu Khan found out about this, he was furious because they were "his subjects" and therefore they were not allowed to flee. Whether this was the case or not, Subaday quickly planned a campaign against Europe. He decided to use a two-sided invasion: a flank of 20 thousand people would be sent to Poland, and he himself (and Batu) would lead the main force of 50 thousand people. In March 1241, the forces of Subedei and Batu disappeared into the Carpathians and appeared out of nowhere on the other side. But instead of moving further into Hungary, the Mongols for some reason left. Seeing this, the Hungarians turned up their noses and even kicked out the Kumans and Kipchaks, because they were very similar to the Mongols. Meanwhile, the northern army stormed Poland, devastated the villages and took Krakow. On April 9, European forces led by Duke Henry of Silesia crossed Poland and challenged an army of 20,000 battle-hardened Mongol warriors. The heavily armored European knights were inferior in speed to the Mongol horsemen and, of course, were defeated. Meanwhile, the Hungarian King Bela realized that the retreat of the Mongols was a deceptive maneuver and that in fact they were already close. King Bela rode out with a force of 60-80 thousand people, and met the army of Batu and Subedei on the opposite side of the Sajo River. After an indecisive skirmish at the bridge, Subedei led his army south and crossed the river unnoticed. When Subadai appeared from the other side, the Hungarians were stunned. Soon Batu broke through the bridge, and the Hungarian army was surrounded.

Two major victories by two separate Mongol armies in a period of several days demonstrate the talent of General Subadai. A month later, Poland and Hungary were defeated. A few days after the Saio River victory (also known as the Mohi victory), two Mongol forces linked up and defeated the remaining Hungarian forces, capturing Pest. The great and magnificent city of Gran surrendered at Christmas.

By the beginning of 1242, while preparing to move further into Europe, Batu unexpectedly received news from Mongolia that the Great Khan Ogedei had died. His situation became more complicated: his rival Guyuk received the title of Great Khan. Since Batu conquered so much land, the Mongol Empire was threatened with serious political instability. To avoid trouble, he decided to stay in Russia and establish control over it. As a result, the Mongol army completely withdrew from Poland and Hungary.

Europe was abandoned, and Batu returned to the north of the Caspian Sea. There he established his capital, Saray-Batu, and turned his inherited lands into a khanate, which was known as the Blue Horde. The two Batu brothers, Orda and Shiban, who also participated in the campaign, also founded their own khanates. The Khanate of the Horde, the White Horde, was located to the east of the Blue Horde of Batu. Since Batu and the Horde were members of the Golden Clan, both khanates were friendly and were called the "Golden Horde". But the khanate of Shiban has not been established for certain. Although the khans of the Golden Horde would continue to recognize the superiority of the Great Khan and remain part of the Mongol Empire for another four decades, in fact they retained political independence.

Great Khan Guyuk

Guyuk received the title of khahan (khan of khans) in 1246. Tension between Batu and Karakorum reached its highest point. Fortunately Guyuk died in 1248, just two years after his accession. Guyuk's early death prevented a major civil war, but the weakening of the Mongol Empire was inevitable. There was a period of civil disunity, which eventually destroyed the Mongol Empire. Guyuk achieved little during his reign, not to mention the fact that he became the cause of this disunity.

Mongol Crusaders - Great Khan Mongke

The next Khahan, Möngke, was elected in 1251. After being elected khahan, Möngke announced his plans to continue the line of conquest that had been suspended during Guyuk's reign. The first was the conquest of the Song Empire, the last of the three Chinese empires not conquered by Genghis Khan. On the long conquest of the Song, see below. As a second point, he planned to destroy the Assassins (Ismailis), who threatened the governors of the western provinces, and subdue the Abbasid caliph. Thus, this campaign had to pass through Persia and Mesopotamia, and then to the Middle East.

The Mongols had already partially invaded the Middle East: in 1243, the Mongol commander Baiju conquered Erzerum, a city belonging to the Seljuk Sultanate. However, further campaigns against Baghdad were canceled due to the instability of the newly acquired Asia Minor and political issues in the Karakorum. Nevertheless, the campaign proposed by Möngke was very large-scale and fully lived up to its name - great. While Möngke Khan personally led the attack on the Song, he assigned his brother Hulagu to lead the Mongol "Crusade".

Hulagu campaign

In 1253 Hulagu set out from Mongolia to begin the biggest operation since Batu's invasion of Russia. He had the most advanced army not yet seen in wars, with the latest siege weapon technology in the world and a group of experienced warlords. Hulagu's expedition aroused great enthusiasm among the Christian communities and was joined by Georgian and Alanian volunteers. By normal Mongol standards, Hulegu's army advanced slowly. She reached Persia only three years later. Hulagu made his way into Khurasan (a region in Persia), adding a local dynasty to the area. The first of the main tasks was completed by the capture of the fortress of Gertskuh by the Assassins on the southern side of the Caspian Sea. Hulagu then advanced west and captured Alamut, forcing Grand Master Assassin to surrender.

After the capture of Alamut, Hulagu went for the main trophy - Baghdad. The Caliph of Baghdad turned out to be a mediocre military leader who foolishly underestimated the threat. When the caliph began to prepare for the siege, Hulagu was already under the walls. 20 thousand horsemen left to resist the Mongols. They were easily defeated and a siege was inevitable. Baghdad held out for a week, after which its eastern walls were destroyed. On February 13, 1258, the city surrendered, and the Mongol troops swept it away: the treasures were looted, the magnificent mosques were destroyed, and the population was killed. (Interestingly, all Christian residents in the city were spared). Accounts testify to the murders of 800 thousand people. This may have been an exaggeration, as the city was eventually rebuilt and repopulated. However, there is no doubt that the greatest city in the Middle East has lost its glory forever. The fall of Baghdad was one of the greatest blows to Islam.

Saving Egypt

Hulagu then withdrew almost his entire army, leaving only a small force of 15,000 men for his general, Kitbuki, to watch over the conquered territory. Meanwhile, the Mamluks, expecting a huge army of the Mongols, gathered a large force of 120 thousand people. But Hulagu had already withdrawn his army. Thus, the Mamluks met with only 25,000 (15,000 Mongols and 10,000 allies) Kitbuk at Ain Jalut. Largely outnumbered, the Mongols lost the battle, and this defeat has traditionally come to symbolize the abrupt halt to Mongol expansion. In truth, in reality, just as the death of Khan Ogedei saved Europe.

Death of Mongke, Civil War and Kublai Khan

The death of Möngke Khan in 1259 was a significant turning point in the history of the empire. Hulagu's campaign was interrupted in the West. The political situation in the East became unstable and thus Hulagu had to settle down in order to claim his land. The Hulaguid Khanate in Persia became known as the Il-Khanate. However, these problems have not been exhausted. Hulagu's Baghdad campaign angered the Muslim Berke, Khan of the Golden Horde. The place of the Great Khan was empty, and there was no one to reconcile Berke and Hulagu, a civil war broke out between them. And again, the civil war forced the now Berke to abandon his plans to ruin Europe again.

In the east, two brothers fiercely fought for the throne of the Great Khan: a year after the death of Möngke Khan in 1259, Kublai Khan was elected khahan at the kurultai in Kaiping, and a month later, at the kurultai in Karakorum, his brother, Arig-Buga, was also elected khakhan . The civil war continued until 1264 (parallel to the civil war in the west), and Kublai defeated Ariga Buga, thus becoming the undisputed Khakhan. This civil war had a certain meaning. During the war, Kublai Khan was in China, and Arig-Buga was in Karakorum. Kublai Khan's victory meant that China was becoming more important to the Empire than Mongolia, becoming the symbol of the Mongols in the East.

For the Empire as a whole, these years of civil war meant the end of cohesion. In the west, the khanates were scattered; in the east, the Great Khan was only interested in China. Thus, it can be argued that the death of Mongke Khan in 1259 meant the end of the Mongol Empire (although the Mongol khanates continued to flourish in the outback). However, since Kublai Khan later became the Great Khan, some prefer to count the years of the Mongol Empire until the end of the reign of Kublai Khan, who nominally ruled over other khanates.

Kublai Khan. Song conquest

The conquest of the Song Empire, sometimes referred to as the true Chinese dynasty as opposed to the Jurchen-based Jin dynasty, began during the reign of Monjek Khan. The Song Empire was the most formidable and most geographically complex empire, held together by its tough infrastructure and mountainous terrain. While Möngke Khan fought in the north, Kublai Khan (who had not yet become Khan) with a significant army, marched through Tibet and attacked the Song Empire from the south. However, his men were eventually exhausted and he had to leave. However, Möngke Khan was able to succeed until he died of an illness during the war. The death of Möngke Khan and the ensuing civil war between Kublai and Arig Buga halted recruiting for four years. In 1268, the Mongols were ready for another major attack. Kublai Khan gathered a large naval force and defeated the Song army of 3,000 ships. After the victory at sea, Xiang-Yan was captured in 1271, giving faith in the end of the war. However, this war could not match the speed of the previous conquest. Finally, in 1272, a Mongol army led by Bayan, a general who served under Hulugu, crossed the Yangtze River and defeated a large Song army. The tide favored the Mongols, and Bayan continued his streak of victories, culminating in the capture of Yangzhou, the Sung capital, after a tedious siege. However, the Song royal family was able to escape. The final defeat occurred in 1279 in a naval battle near Guangzhou, where the last Song emperor was killed. 1279 marked the end of the Song Dynasty.

The victory in China was complete, and the Mongol Empire was at its zenith. However, much has changed in the way of life of the great khans. Unlike his grandfather, Kublai Khan changed from a harsh nomadic life to a comfortable life. Chinese emperor. He immersed himself more and more in the Chinese way of life, the Mongolian government followed suit. In 1272, seven years before the defeat of the Song, Kublai assumed the Chinese dynastic title of Yuan, following the traditional path of legitimizing himself as the rightful ruler of China. Being both the Chinese Empire and the Great Khanate, the Yuan Dynasty and the Mongol Empire often merge into one during Kublai's reign. In addition, having made China his empire, Khubilai moved the capital from Karakoram to what is now modern Beijing. The new capital was named Ta-tu. The Mongol Empire experienced another dramatic event - albeit in a different way. Recall that Khubilai made two naval invasions of Japan in 1274 and 1281, both of which were severe and were destroyed by the Kamikaze typhoons. Kublai also launched a series of campaigns into South Asia. In Burma, the Mongols were victorious but eventually abandoned the campaign. In Vietnam, a temporary Mongol victory turned into a defeat. The sea expedition to Java was also unsuccessful, they were forced to leave. Much more serious was the uprising of Kaidu, who was under the rule of the Ogedei, who formed a rebel khanate in Western Mongolia. Kublai's authorities saw no end to this civil war.

The final collapse of unity

Despite Kublai's several military fiascos, there is no doubt that Kublai Khan's kingdom was the zenith of Mongol rule as a whole. Power stretched from China to Mesopotamia, from the Danube to the Persian Gulf - five times more than the empire of Alexander. Despite the fact that most of the lands were thoroughly destroyed during the conquests, subsequently the well-organized Mongol government gradually restored them. The economy prospered, trade spread throughout the giant empire. Despite the formation of khanates in other parts of the empire, the authority of the Great Khan Kublai Khan was recognized in all corners of the empire. Kublai enjoyed his position as one of the most powerful rulers of all time, being the Sovereign of the Empire that ruled most of the world. The famous Italian traveler Marco Polo described Kublai as "the greatest ruler that will ever be."

Although Kublai Khan was still the ruler of the Mongols, he himself did not seem to be concerned about the rest of the empire outside of his personal dominions. Other khanates also began to develop their own administration. The Mongols lost their unity and no longer acted as a single state. Of course, disunity was brewing for a long time, but as soon as Kublai Khan died, this bubble finally burst. After Khubilai's death in 1294, his successor received the title of Yuan Emperor, but not the Great Khan of the Mongols. The Mongols lost the ruler of the entire empire, and thus it can be said that the death of Kublai Khan meant the end of the Mongol Empire. There is some irony in this, since the Mongol Empire disappeared just after its golden age. Although the Mongol Empire generally weakened, Mongols' power remained in the form of several independent khanates.

Five khanates

The Yuan dynasty in the Far East (also the khanate of the Great Khan Kublai) continued its rule in China. However, after Khubilai, there were no experienced rulers left. A series of internal unrest that followed natural disasters sparked a major uprising. In 1368, the Yuan dynasty was overthrown and was replaced by the Ming dynasty under Ming Hongwu.

The Il-Khanate of Persia (founded by Hulagu in 1260) did not fare well in the beginning, struggling with the economy and suffering several more embarrassing defeats from the Mamluks. However, at Gaza, the Il Khan restored military superiority and began an economic boom that continued until the reign of Abu Sa'id, where Persia flourished during his reign. However, Abu Said did not have a successor, in 1335 the Il-Khanate ended in the same way as the Mongol Empire, a collapse immediately after its golden age. The lands of the Il-Khanate were eventually annexed by Tamerlane to the Timurid Empire.

The Blue Horde in Russia entered a period of good economic activity. The Khanate merged with the Mamluks and officially became Muslim during the reign of Uzbek Khan. But, like the Il-Khanate, in the end, the line of the Sinhorda khans in the middle of the 14th century, without leaving a successor, collapsed. The state plunged into anarchy. Later it was revived as the Golden Horde, but fell again. However, this story is too complex to follow in its entirety here. It should be noted that this area of ​​the Mongol Empire is usually a source of confusion. Often the entire western quarter of the Mongol Empire is called the "Golden Horde". In fact, although the western quarters, including the "White Horde", entered into a coalition with each other, they existed separately until the late unification by Tokhtamysh Khan. This region has several names. Its other name is Kipchak. The term "Golden Horde" appears in contemporary sources, for example, in a story by Carpini, who uses the term Aurea Orda ("Golden Horde").

The Chagatai Khanate grew directly from the ulus inherited by the son of Genghis Chagatai. Chagatai steadily developed until Tamerlane destroyed his power. After the death of Tamerlane, the khanate remained an insignificant state until it joined it in the 18th century.

Legacy of the Mongol conquests

The Mongol Empire looks like a gigantic political force that brought almost the entire continent of Asia under the control of one Great Khan. The governance in Mongolia was excellent and consequently the entire continent became interconnected. During the Mongol Empire, travel safety was guaranteed throughout the empire. Thus, the empire created a huge economic boom and a great exchange of culture and knowledge throughout the world. , and the route from Europe to Asia was no longer considered impassable. A significant part of knowledge reached Europe, including art, science, and gunpowder, which greatly contributed to the release Western Europe from the dark ages. Similarly, in Asia we have seen an exchange of ideas between Persia and China.

Obviously, the Mongols were directly related to the political situation in the world. China is once again united under one ruler. Russia was separated from the rest of Europe, but was no longer a disunited feudal society. The Mongols ended the short history of the empire of Khorezm and led to the fall of the Abbasid caliph, which dealt a big blow to Islamic culture. Although the Mongols were followed by a huge trail of death and destruction, it is obvious that one should not lose sight of the economic boom that followed them. The only ones who clearly did not benefit from the Mongol conquest were Poland and Hungary, and this was because the Mongols hadtily withdrew and did not set up governments there to rebuild. In conclusion, the Mongol Empire is of great importance; good or bad, but this is something that should not be forgotten.

Today, the Mongols and their great rulers are remembered in two different guises: as valiant heroes who conquered vast lands in spite of any opportunity to build a mighty empire, or as ruthless conquerors who destroyed everything in their path. The latter is particularly interesting because they are remembered as such probably because of the grandiose victories, and not the real Mongol power, since other conquerors, such as Caesar or Alexander the Great, were as cruel as Genghis Khan. In addition, in fact, the Mongols did not destroy everything in their path. After all, civilization was rebuilt and the world benefited greatly from the newly created world economy. In any case, the Mongols should be remembered as a significant player in world history. The significance of their conquests surpasses what any historical article can describe...

List of Great Khans

1206-1227 Genghis / Genghis Khan
1229-1241 Ogedei Khan (khakhan *) - son of Genghis Khan
1246-1248 Guyuk Khan (Khakhan) - son of Ogedei
1251-1259 Mongke / Mongke-khan (hakhan) - cousin of Ogedei

After the death of Möngke, in 1260, two khakhans were elected through the rivalry of kurultai: Arig-Buga (brother of Khubilai), who ruled from Karakorum, and Khubilai, who ruled from China. Kublai defeated Arig Buga in 1264 to secure sole leadership.

1264-1294 Kublai Khan (Khakhan) - brother of Mongke, Hulagu and Arig-Buga

After Khubilai, not a single ruler was elected khahan.
* Khakhan (also Kagan, Khakan, meaning "khan of khans"): the name used by the khans of the greatest steppe empires, including the Mongol Empire. This name was officially used by all the khans of the Mongol Empire, with the exception of Genghis Khan.

Regents (provisional rulers) during elections

1227-1229 Tolui - son of Genghis Khan, father of Khubilai and Möngke
1241-1246 Dorgene-khatun - wife of Ogedei, mother of Guyuk
1248-1251 Ogul-Gaymysh - Guyuk's wife

Chronology

1167(?) Birth of Temujin (Genghis / Genghis Khan)
1206 Great kurultai (meeting)
1206 Temujin receives the title of "Genghis Khan"
1209-1210 Campaign against Xi Xia.
1211, 1213, 1215 Campaigns against the Jin Empire.
1214 Mongols besiege the Jin capital Zhongdu (modern Beijing)
1215 Areas north of Huang come under Mongol control. The Jin capital moves south to Kaifeng.
1218 Conquest of the Karakitays. The Mongols attack Korea.
1220 Mongolian caravans and ambassadors are killed by Khorezmians. The war against Khorezm (Persia) began. and Samarkand.
1221 Subedey begins an expedition around the Caspian Sea and to Russia. Jalal ad-Din reigns in Persia and challenges the Mongols. Jalal ad-Din won the battle of the Indus. The war with the empire of Kharezm ends.
1226 Final campaign against Xi Xia.
1227 Genghis Khan dies. The war with Xi Xia ends.
1228 Ogedei Khan rises to the throne and becomes Khahan (Great Khan)
1235 First major invasion of Korea.
1234 War against Jin ends.
1235 Construction of Karakorum, the Mongol imperial capital
1237 Batu and Subedey begin the conquest of Russia.
1241 The Korean War ends
1241 Batu and Subedei invade and conquer Poland and Hungary. Defeat of the Europeans at Liegnitz and Sayo. Death of Ogedei Khan
1242 Upon learning of the death of Ogedei Khan, Batu leaves Europe to secure his conquests in Russia. Political circles of the Golden Horde Khanate, Batu - the first Khan.
1246-1248 Reign of Guyuk Khan
1251 Election of the Mongol Great Khan (Khakhan)
1252 Song Empire's invasion of southern China begins
1253 Hulagu begins his campaign in the Middle East.
1258 Hulagu captures Baghdad. Death of the last Abassid caliph.
1259 Death of Mongke Khan.
1260 Hulagu withdraws from Syria upon learning of Möngke's death, thereby saving the Muslims from further invasion. The small army left behind is defeated by the Mamluks at Ain Jalut. Hulagu settles in Persia, creates the Il-Khanate and becomes the first Il-Khan.
1260 Disagreement over succession to the Mongol throne leads to civil war between two candidates, Khubilai and Ariq Buga.
1264 Khubilai defeats Arig-Buga, becomes Khakhan.
1266 Kublai builds the new imperial capital Ta-tu (modern Beijing)
1271 Marco Polo's journey begins.
1272 Kublai Khan assumes the Chinese dynastic name Yuan. Kublai becomes both Khahan of the Mongol Empire and Yuan Emperor of China.
1274 First invasion of Japan. The fleet is destroyed in a storm.
1276 Hangzhou, the capital of the Song Empire, falls to the Mongols.
1277-1278 Mongols invade Burma, establish puppet government.
1279 Death of the last Song emperor during a naval battle.
1294 Death of Kublai. The Yuan dynasty continues, but the Mongol Empire loses the title of khakhan. The name "Mongolian Empire" disappears, as it is torn into four independent kingdoms.
1335 Death of Abu Said. The Ilkhanate was unable to leave a successor and interrupted. The Il-Khanate ends.
1359 As in the Ilkhanate, the line of the Golden Horde ended, and the khanate could not leave a successor. The Golden Horde is becoming more of a puppet government.
1330. Tamerlane was born in Samarkand. Reunites Persia and defeats both the Russians and the Golden Horde. Creates the so-called Timurid Empire.
1368 The Yuan Law in China ends.
1370. Death in Karakorum of Toghon Temur, the last Yuan emperor.
1405. Tamerlane dies. The Timurid Empire, called the last great nomadic power, is coming to an end. Persia and the Golden Horde again without a clear ruler. The Golden Horde is divided and exists as several separate states.
1502. Russians overthrew Mongol rule

Mongolian war machine

The Mongolian (or Turkish-Mongolian) army was probably the most disciplined, well-controlled and efficient fighting force, until the invention of gunpowder. Being "hunters all their lives", the steppe nomads were skilled riders and bows in their hands turned into deadly formidable weapons. Unlike Roman legionnaires or hoplites, who had to be trained in camps or academies, the nomads were ready-made experienced warriors. The nomadic warriors were well-known archers and shooters, able to accurately hit targets while galloping on a horse. But the Mongol army was not just a steppe army.

When Genghis Khan came to power, he established the rules of organization, discipline, equipment, and trained warriors to fight as a group. The army of Genghis Khan consisted of tens, hundreds, thousands and tens of thousands (darkness), each of the units had a commander elected by the soldiers. military tactics was well worked out in preparation, and each warrior had to know exactly how to respond to the signals of the commanders, who were given with burning arrows, drums and banners. The Mongol horde had an extremely high discipline. Failure to comply with the technique and desertion in battle were punishable by death. Skill, discipline, tactics, and a galaxy of the most talented commanders in history shocked everyone who fought against them. When the Western knights fought with the Mongol horsemen, they were completely destroyed, unable to oppose anything to the Mongol horde. On the battlefield, the Mongols performed many tricks. Being a fully cavalry army, the Mongols could easily impose a positional course of battle, set up deceptive retreats, could lure the enemy into a trap, impose a fighting style that was difficult for the enemy to maintain due to the speed of the Mongols.

Siege engines and gunpowder obtained from the Chinese and Persians played an important role in the wars. In addition to sieges, siege weapons were widely used on the battlefield. The Mongols mastered fast prefabricated catapults that could be transported on horseback and assembled right on the battlefield. From the Chinese, the Mongols adopted the manufacture of gunpowder weapons: smoke grenades (to cover the movement of troops) and incendiary bombs. They contributed to the success of the Mongols in the invasion of Europe. The Mongols' receptivity and adaptation to the cutting edge of science and technology meant that they were not only an army of the most traditionally skilled warriors, but one with the best technology the world had to offer.

How empires arise and where they disappear

The Mongol Empire was nothing outstanding compared to its predecessors, such as the Turkic Khaganate, the Tang Empire, the Hunnic state, which were many times larger than the Roman Empire at the peak of its power. Everything that the Mongols could need: a nomadic lifestyle, bows and weapons, horse attack tactics, siege of fortresses, education and maintenance of the army had already been developed and tested for thousands of years by successful conquerors like the Huns, Turks, Khitan, Jurgeni, etc. It was not the Mongols who came up with the idea of ​​including the conquered peoples in their horde, even the word horde is borrowed, it was not the Mongols who began to use Chinese defectors in governing the state. The Mongols were a kind of Romans who absorbed all the best from the surrounding peoples and lived by conquering and plundering the surrounding countries, brutally and decisively suppressing any resistance. The Mongols, like the Romans or the same Chukchi (the cruelest aggressors of the north) sincerely did not understand why their racial and military superiority was being disputed, in their minds God created the earth for them to own it, and the rest to serve them. Just like the previous empires, the Mongols fell victims of their own ambitions, the struggle for power of the pampered descendants of cruel and uncompromising conquerors and the hatred of the conquered peoples.

Temujin (name, Genghis Khan - his position) was born in the tract Delyun-Boldok, neither the year, nor even the date of birth is known. After the death of their father, for several years widows with children robbed by their fellow tribesmen lived in complete poverty, wandered in the steppes, eating roots, game and fish. Even in summer, the family lived from hand to mouth, making provisions for the winter. At this time, Temujin lived in the family of his bride (he was married to him from the age of 10, he had to live in the family of his father-in-law until he came of age) and then another relative seized the camp. Temujin was beaten into stocks, but he fled and joined his family, acquiring future associates, due to friendship with noble families and successful predatory raids, differing in that he included the uluses of opponents in his own. In 1184, Temujin defeated the Merkits and founded his first small ulus two years later, having 3 tumens (in fact, it is not necessarily a tumen of 10,000 people, it was quite possible that they were tumens of 600 people, but for that time this figure was impressive), with with them he suffered his first defeat. The Tatars fought with China and in 1196 Temujin defeated the Tatars, and the Chinese awarded him the title of "Jauthuri" (military commissar), and Toorila - "Van" (prince), from that time he became known as Wang Khan. Temujin became a vassal of Wang Khan, in whom Jin saw the most powerful of the rulers of Eastern Mongolia. In 1200, Temujin set out on a joint campaign against the Taijiuts, the Merkits came to the rescue, in this battle Temujin was wounded by an arrow, the well-aimed shooter Jirgoadai, who confessed that it was he who shot, was accepted into Temujin's army and received the nickname Jebe (arrowhead). Having won numerous victories over the Tatars and Kereites, having subjugated the east of the Great Steppe, Temujina 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. In March 1206, a kurultai gathered near the headwaters of the Onon River, where Temujina was elected great khan with the title of Genghis Khan. The creation of the Great Mongol State was proclaimed.

The war with the Jin Empire was considered by the Mongols as sacred, as an act of blood feud and as a personal vendetta of Temujin to the Tatars, Jurchens, Chinese and others who managed to annoy him. The conflict with the Jin was preceded by serious military and diplomatic preparations, campaigns were undertaken to eliminate the intervention of potential Jin allies in the conflict. In 1207, two tumens were sent to the northern border under the command of the eldest son of Genghis Khan, Jochi and Subedei. Many Siberian tribes, who were tributaries of the Kyrgyz, swore allegiance to the great khan. Having conquered many peoples without a struggle and having secured the northern border of the state, Jochi returned to his father's headquarters. At the beginning of 1208, a battle took place in the Irtysh valley, the Mongols defeated the Merkit princes, in 1209 the Tunguts were conquered, the Mongol troops gained experience in taking fortresses with the help of siege weapons and actions against the Chinese-style army, at the same time the Uighurs joined without a single shot. The Mongols were well prepared, and the Qin waged a war on three fronts: in the south - with the Song Empire, in the west - with the Tanguts, and in the interior of the country - with the popular movement of the "Red Chefs". Since 1211, the Mongols have been invading Jin, besieging and capturing fortresses and a passage in the Great Wall of China, in 1213 they invaded directly the Chinese state of Jin, despite the resistance (many months of fierce sieges, garrisons reached cannibalism, but did not give up), an epidemic of pestilence , in 1215 captured the capital. While still at war with the Jin Empire, Genghis Khan sent ambassadors to the Khorezmshah with a proposal of an alliance, but the latter decided not to stand on ceremony with the Mongol representatives and ordered their execution.

For the Mongols, the execution of ambassadors was a personal insult and 1219 was the beginning of the conquest of Central Asia. Having passed Semirechye, the Mongol army attacked the flourishing cities of Central Asia. The cities of Otrar and Sygnak on the Syr Darya, Khojent and Kokand in the Ferghana Valley, Dzhend and Urgench on the Amu Darya, and finally, Samarkand and Bukhara fell under the blows of the troops of Genghis Khan. The state of Khorezm collapsed, Khorezmshah Mohammed fled, a pursuit was organized for him under the leadership of Jebe and Subedei. After Muhammad's death, Jebe and Subedei were given a new task. They ravaged Transcaucasia, then the Mongols managed to defeat the Alans by bribing their ally, the Polovtsian Khan Kotyan, who himself soon had to ask for help against the Mongols from the Russian princes. The Russian princes of Kyiv, Chernigov and Galich joined forces to jointly repel aggression. On May 31, 1223, on the Kalka River, Subedei defeated the Russian-Polovtsian troops due to the inconsistency in the actions of the Russian and Polovtsian squads. The Grand Duke of Kyiv Mstislav Romanovich Stary and the Prince of Chernigov Mstislav Svyatoslavich died, and the Galician Prince Mstislav Udatny, famous for his victories, returned home empty-handed. During the return to the east, the Mongol army was defeated by the Volga Bulgars in the area of ​​Samarskaya Luka (1223 or 1224). After a four-year campaign, Subedei's troops returned to join the main Mongol troops.

Approximately sixty-five years old (no one knows the date of his birth) Temujin died in 1227 on the territory of the Tangut state immediately after the fall of the capital Zhongxing (the modern city of Yinchuan) and the destruction of the Tangus state. There is a version that Genghis Khan was stabbed to death by a young wife at night, whom he took by force from her husband. It is useless to look for the grave of the khan - they were buried secretly, relatives, they plowed up the ground and drove a herd of horses from above, so it’s pointless to look for burial mounds, the graves of khans (unless they accidentally stumble). According to the will, Genghis Khan's third son Ogedei became the successor, he became the khan, but many were against it (if it were not for disagreements in the Mongol ranks, they would have conquered the whole world). In the spring of 1235, a great kurultai was convened in the Talan-daba area to sum up the results of difficult wars with the Jin Empire and Khorezm. It was decided to conduct a further offensive in four directions. Directions: to the west - against the Polovtsians, Bulgars and Russians; to the east - against Korea (Korea); to the southern Chinese Song empire; Significant reinforcements were sent to Noyon Chormagan, who was operating in the Middle East.

In the photo: The Secret History of the Mongols, a document of the 13th century.

The lands that were to be conquered in the west were supposed to be included in the Ulus of Jochi, so Batu, the son of Jochi, stood at the head of the campaign. The most experienced Subedei, an expert on Eastern European conditions, was given to help Batu. Under the supreme command of Batu came military contingents from all the Mongol uluses: Baidar and Buri, the son and grandson of Chagatai, commanded the army of the Chagatai ulus, the sons of the great khan Guyuk and Kadan commanded the army of the ulus Ogedei; the son of Tolui Mongke - the army of the Tolui ulus (indigenous yurt), the western campaign became a pan-imperial event. In the summer of 1236, the Mongol army approached the Volga. Subedey defeated the Volga Bulgaria, Batu waged a war against the Polovtsians, Burtases, Mordovians and Circassians for a year. In December 1237, the Mongols invaded the Ryazan principality. On December 21, Ryazan was taken, after the battle with the Vladimir troops - Kolomna, then - Moscow. On February 8, 1238, Vladimir was taken, on March 4, in the battle on the Sit River, the troops of Grand Duke Yuri Vsevolodovich, who died in battle, were defeated. Then Torzhok and Tver were taken, and a seven-week siege of Kozelsk began. In 1239, the main part of the Mongol army was in the steppe, in the region of the lower Don. Small military operations were conducted by Mongke against the Alans and Circassians, Batu - against the Polovtsians. About forty thousand Polovtsy, led by Khan Kotyan, escaped from the Mongols by fleeing to Hungary. Uprisings were suppressed in the Mordovian land, Murom, Pereyaslavl and Chernigov were taken. In 1240, the offensive of the Mongol army began in the south of Kievan Rus. Kyiv, Galich and Vladimir-Volynsky were taken.

The military council decided to launch an offensive against Hungary, which had given shelter to the Polovtsy of Kotyan. There was a quarrel between Batu and Guyuk and Buri, who returned to Mongolia. In 1241 Baidar's corps operated in Silesia and Moravia. Krakow was taken, the Polish-German army was defeated at Legnica (April 9). Baydar moved through the Czech Republic to connect with the main forces. At the same time, Batu carried out the ruin of Hungary. The Croatian-Hungarian army of King Bela IV was defeated on the river. Shio. The king fled to Dalmatia, a detachment of Kadan was sent to pursue him. In 1242, the Mongols captured Zagreb and reached the shores of the Adriatic Sea near Split. At the same time, the Mongolian reconnaissance detachment reached almost Vienna.

In the spring, Batu received from Mongolia the news of the death of the great Khan Ogedei (December 11, 1241) and decided to retreat back to the steppes through Northern Serbia and Bulgaria. In the summer of 1251, a kurultai was assembled in Karakorum (one might say a huge yurt city, the capital of Mongolia) to proclaim Mongke the Great Khan, since Guyuk Khan, who had usurped power from the legitimate Shiramun, died trying to start a civil war with Batu and engaged in executions of opponents. To support him, Batu sent his brothers Berke and Tuka-Timur with troops. The conquest of the Middle East began in 1256 with the Hulagu campaign in the Middle East, in 1258 Baghdad was taken and destroyed, in 1260 the Mongols were defeated in the battle of Ain Jalut by the Egyptian Mamluks, the conquest of South China began, however, the death of Mongke in (1259 ) delayed the fall of the Song state. After the death of the great Khan Mongke (1259), a struggle for supreme power broke out between his brothers Khubilai and Arig-Buga. In 1260, Khubilai was proclaimed great khan at the kurultai in Kaiping, Arig-Buga - in Karakorum. Hulagu, who fought in the Middle East, declared support for Kublai; Ulus ruler Jochi Berke supported Arig-Buga. As a result, Khubilai defeated Arig-Bug, founded the Yuan Empire (according to tradition, copying the earlier empires of nomads who ruled China with the help of Chinese officials). Kublai's empire was in normal relations with the Ulus of Jochi, which occupied the European part of modern Russia, fought with the Chagatai ulus (approximately the territory of present-day Kazakhstan-Turkmenistan-Uzbekistan) and was in allied relations with the Khalugid state (conditionally the territory of Persia), and the rest fought among themselves, sometimes combined. Yuan included Mongolia, China, Korea, Tibet, twice unsuccessfully invaded Japan (1274 and 1281), tried to capture Burma, Indonesia. The Middle Eastern campaign of the Mongols under the command of Hulagu (1256-1260), even to some extent participated in the seventh crusade. The Mongol Empire, which was at war with each other, was recreated in 1304 as a federation of independent states under the nominal supremacy of the great khan, Emperor Yuan, which did not prevent a constant civil war, vying for power. In 1368, the Mongol Yuan empire collapsed in China as a result of the Red Turban Rebellion. In 1380, the Battle of Kulikovo took place, weakening the influence of the Golden Horde on the territory of the Moscow principality. Standing on the Ugra River in 1480 led to the final rejection of even a symbolic tribute to the Horde. The period of feudal fragmentation and internecine wars in Central Asia led to the fall of the Chagatai ulus by the beginning of the 16th century.

Paiza (not to be confused with a label), made of gold or silver, ranked according to images and functions, a kind of identity card, epaulette, pass and travel tickets.

Thus, the Mongols, having dissolved in the conquered peoples and cutting off the remnants of each other because of power, disappeared in a fairly short period of time, because even if we consider the existence of the Mongol Empire in 280 years, this is negligible by historical standards. And considering that from the time of the invasion of the Ryazan principality in 1237 to the Battle of Kulikovo in 1380, 143 years have passed, then there is no question of any “thousand-year yoke”. Yes, this is an unpleasant episode of history, but they invaded before (for a much longer period), they invaded after that (for a shorter time). From the benefits of the Mongols for Russia: the scale of the Chinese-style state thinking, the cessation of the strife of the princes and the creation of a large unified state; advanced advanced weapons; orderliness of transport and mail; tax collection and population census, stemming from an advanced Chinese-style bureaucracy; the termination of the crusades of the knights and their conservation in the Baltic states. From harm: in addition to destruction and killings during raids, a large decline in the population from the slave trade; the impoverishment of the population from taxes and consequently the inhibition of the sciences and arts; strengthening and enrichment of the church - in fact the agent and conductor of Mongolian decisions. The Mongols did not leave any traces in the genetics of Russians, since there were few ethnic Mongols even in 1237, they were mostly conquered peoples from a neighboring principality or nearby lands. It doesn’t make sense to consider the Mongol invasion a worldwide disaster, it’s like the Gallic War for Rome - an episode of history, in the same France or Britain they are also proud that they were conquered by the Romans, and the capitals are Roman bath-laundry factories of legionnaires.

Banknotes of the Mongol Empire - yes, even then the surviving print, naturally paper, circulation of the coin was prohibited.

The “Mongol-Tatar yoke” was invented by the Polish chronicler Jan Dlugosh (“iugum barbarum”, “iugum servitutis”) in 1479; for Poland, even such a brief acquaintance with the gigantic Mongol Empire was so terrible that it made one shake, and a year later the Russians from cannons drove the Mongols on the Ugra River. Where did the Tatars come from? The Mongols destroyed their enemies, the Tatars, but the Tatars were known, so a mixture of different peoples preferred to be called a revered name, and the Mongols did not interfere. And then the Mongols and Tatars gradually turned into Tatars and Mongols, and since there were no Mongols left at all, soon there were only Tatars who had nothing to do with either ethnic Mongols, let alone Tatars. Looking for "Mongolian" roots in modern Mongols is about the same as looking for "Roman" roots in modern Italians. It is pointless to somehow identify the lifestyle of modern, rather peaceful Mongols and those Mongols, any Mongol reveres Genghis Khan, there is a huge monument in Mongolia, Temujin looks from portraits on 5000 tugriks, but conquest campaigns are not started, although they can get together to buzz. To look for genetic traces of the then Mongols in modern Russians or Tatars is as stupid as to look for genetic traces of the ancient Egyptians in modern Egyptians. Speculation on the Mongols and Tatars only makes it possible to enrich oneself on the dubious content of books and programs, inflating interethnic conflicts that are completely unnecessary to anyone. There is no need to look for burial mounds and graves, it is pointless to look for burials of real Mongols, since they buried the noble Mongols so that there was no grave to be found, they plowed the field and let the herd pass, and the privates could simply be folded in a row, taking off their clothes. There are also Mongolian swords in museums, these sabers had a great influence on the armament of China, Korea and Japan, the Mongolian bow is world famous, as are the hardy, shaggy, unpretentious Mongolian horses. Briefly, the history of the Mongol Empire is as follows.

And Mongolian arrowheads, a museum.

At the beginning of the XIII century. in the steppes Central Asia a strong Mongol state was formed, with the formation of which a period of Mongol conquests began. This entailed consequences that had world-historical significance. Having affected all the countries of Asia and many countries of Europe, the Mongol conquests left a deep mark in their subsequent history, as well as in the history of the Mongol people themselves.

Name "Mongols"

By the beginning of the XI century. the largest part present-day Mongolia was already occupied by Mongol-speaking tribal associations. They partly ousted from the territory of Mongolia, and partly assimilated the Turkic nomads who lived there before. The Mongolian tribes spoke different dialects of the same language, later called Mongolian, but did not yet have a common name. By the name of the powerful tribal union of the Tatars, the neighboring peoples called "Tatars" and other Mongol tribes, only in contrast to the Tatars themselves, otherwise - "white Tatars", they called the rest of the Mongols "black Tatars". The name "Mongols" until the beginning of the XIII century. was not yet known, and its origin is still not fully understood. Officially, this name was adopted only after the creation of the united Mongolian state under Genghis Khan (1206-1227), when it was necessary to give a common name to all the Mongolian tribes that formed into a single nationality. It was not immediately assimilated by the Mongols themselves. Until the 50s of the XIII century. Persian, Arabic, Armenian, Georgian and Russian authors called all the Mongols in the old way - Tatars.

The social system of the Mongols at the end of the XII - beginning of the XIII century.

By the end of the XII - the beginning of the XIII century. the Mongols occupied a vast territory from Baikal and Amur in the east to the upper reaches of the Irtysh and Yenisei in the west, from the Great Wall of China in the south to the borders Southern Siberia in the north. The largest tribal unions of the Mongols, who played the most important role in subsequent events, were the Tatars, Taichiuts, Keraits, Naimans and Merkits. Some of the Mongol tribes (“forest tribes”) lived in the wooded regions of the northern part of the country, while the other, larger part of the tribes and their associations (“steppe tribes”) lived in the steppes.

The main types of production activities of the forest tribes were hunting and fishing, and the steppe - nomadic animal husbandry. In terms of their socio-economic and cultural development, the forest Mongols were much lower than the steppe Mongols, being at an earlier stage of the decomposition of the primitive communal system. But over time, they increasingly switched to breeding domestic animals. The increase in the number of herds inevitably led to the fact that the forest Mongols left the forests and became nomadic livestock breeders.

The steppe Mongols bred large and small cattle, as well as horses. Each clan, each tribe had their own, more or less firmly assigned to them, roaming areas, within the boundaries of which a change of pastures took place. The nomads lived in felt yurts and ate mainly meat and dairy products. Cattle constituted the main exchange fund, at the expense of which they purchased from their neighbors the products of agriculture and handicrafts that were absent from the Mongols, but they needed them. The Mongols themselves made for their own needs, in addition to felt, belts and ropes, wagons and utensils, saddles and harnesses, axes and saws, wooden frames of yurts, weapons, etc. The Mongols trade was in the hands of Uighur and Muslim merchants, immigrants from East Turkestan and Central Asia.

Its writing until the XIII century. the Mongols did not yet have. But among the Naimans, the most cultured of the Mongol tribes, the Uighur script was used. The religion of the bulk of the Mongols by the beginning of the XIII century. remained shamanism. The "eternal blue sky" was revered as the main deity. The Mongols also revered the deity of the earth, various spirits and ancestors. The noble elite of the Kerait tribe as early as the beginning of the 11th century. converted to Nestorian Christianity. Buddhism and Christianity were also widespread among the Naimans. Both of these religions spread in Mongolia through the Uighurs.

In the past, in the era of the domination of the primitive communal system, when cattle and pastures were the collective property of the tribal community, the Mongols roamed with the whole clan, and in the camps they were usually located in a ring around the yurt of the head of the clan. Such a camp was called a kuren. But the transformation of the main wealth of nomads - livestock into private property led to an increase in property inequality. Under these conditions, the method of nomadism by the whole kuren became an obstacle to the further enrichment of the prosperous elite of the nomadic pastoralists. Owning vast herds, they needed more grazing territory and more frequent migrations than the poor - the owners of a small amount of livestock. The place of the former way of nomadism was taken by the aiyl (ail - a large family).

The Mongols even before the XIII century. early feudal relations developed. Already in the XII century. in each Mongol tribe there was a powerful layer of nomadic nobility - noyons. The khans, who were at the head of the tribes, from simple tribal leaders became kings, expressing and defending the interests of the feudalizing nomadic nobility. Lands, pastures, and after the transfer of herds into private ownership, were considered the collective property of the tribe for a long time. But by the beginning of the thirteenth century this main means of production was in fact at the disposal of the nobility, who formed the class of feudal lords. Having seized the right to dispose of nomad camps and distribute pastures, the nobility made a lot of direct producers dependent on themselves, forcing them to perform various kinds of duties and turning them into dependent people - arats. Already at that time, the Mongolian nobility practiced distributing their herds for grazing to arats, making them responsible for the safety of livestock and for the delivery of livestock products. This is how labor rent was born. The mass of nomads (kharachu - “niello”, harayasun - “black bone”) actually turned into feudally dependent people.

The largest role in the formation and development of feudalism in Mongolia was played by nukerism (nuker - friend, comrade), which began to take shape, apparently, as early as the 10th-11th centuries. Nukers were originally armed warriors in the service of the khans, later they became their vassals. Relying on the nukers, the noyons strengthened their power and suppressed the resistance of ordinary nomads. For his service, the nuker received a certain reward from the khan - khubi (part, share, share) in the form of a certain number of dependent arat families and territories for their nomadism. By its nature, khubi was an award, similar in type to a beneficiation. Slaves occupied a significant place in the life of Mongolian society. The Noyons often waged wars because of them, turning into slaves all those captured. Slaves were used as domestic servants, as servants, as "court" craftsmen, if they were artisans, and also for grazing cattle. But slaves did not play a decisive role in social production. The main direct producer was the arat, who led his small cattle breeding economy.

The external forms of the primitive communal system persisted for a long time, as well as the division into tribes and clans. Tribal militias were built for battle by clan, having their hereditary noyons at the head. A woman in the family and clan enjoyed considerable freedom and certain rights. Marriages within the clan were strictly prohibited. Kidnapping of brides was widespread.

Prerequisites for the formation of the Mongolian state

End of the 12th century was a period of intense struggle within clans and tribes, as well as between tribal associations headed by the nobility. At the heart of this struggle lay the interests of the strengthened and wealthy families of the nobility, who had vast herds, a large number of slaves and feudal dependent people. Persian historian of the early 14th century. Rashid ad-din, speaking of this time, notes that the Mongol tribes before “never had a powerful despot-sovereign who would be the ruler of all tribes: each tribe had some kind of sovereign and prince, and most of the time they were each other. they fought with each other, were at enmity, bickered and competed, robbed each other.

The associations of the tribes of the Naiman, Kerait, Taichiut and others constantly attacked each other in order to seize pastures and military booty: cattle, slaves and other wealth. As a result of wars between tribal associations, the defeated tribe became dependent on the victorious, and the nobility of the defeated tribe fell into the position of vassals of the khan and the nobility of the victorious tribe. In the process of a long struggle for predominance, relatively large associations of tribes, or uluses, were formed, headed by khans, relying on numerous squads of nukers. Such associations of tribes attacked not only their neighbors inside Mongolia, but also neighboring peoples, mainly China, penetrating into its border areas. At the beginning of the XIII century. the multi-tribal nobility rallied around the leader of the steppe Mongols Temuchin, who received the name of Genghis Khan.

Formation of the Mongolian state. Genghis Khan

Temuchin was apparently born in 1155. His father, Yesugei Baatur ( Mongolian baatur, Turkic bakhadur (hence the Russian hero) is one of the titles of the Mongolian nobility.) came from the Borjigin clan of the Taichiut tribe and was a rich noyon. With his death in 1164, the ulus he created in the valley of the Onona River crumbled. Various tribal groups that were part of the ulus left the family of the deceased baatur. The nukers also parted.

For a number of years, Yesugei's family wandered, dragging out a miserable existence. In the end, Temuchin managed to find support from Wang Khan, the head of the Keraites. Under the auspices of Wang Khan, Temujin began to gradually build up strength. Nukers began to flock to him. With them, Temujin made a number of successful attacks on his neighbors and, having increased his wealth, made them dependent on him. Talking about the crushing blow that Temujin inflicted in 1201 on the militia of the leader of the steppe Mongols Jamugi, the Mongolian chronicle of the first half of the 13th century. - "Secret Tale" conveys a curious episode that depicts the class face of Temujin. When Jamuqa's militia was dispersed, five arats seized him, tied him up and handed him over to Temuchin, hoping to earn the favor of the victor. Temujin said "Is it conceivable to leave alive the arats who raised their hand against their natural khan?". And he ordered them to be executed together with their families in front of Jamugi. Only after that was Jamuga himself executed.

As a result of the wars, the ulus of Temujin continued to expand, becoming at least equal in strength to the ulus of Van Khan. Soon a rivalry arose between them, which grew into open hostility. There was a battle that brought victory to Temuchin. In the autumn of 1202, as a result of a bloody battle between the militias of Temujin and Dayan Khan of Naiman, the army of Dayan Khan was also defeated, and he himself was killed. The victory over Dayan Khan made Temujin the only contender for power in all of Mongolia. In 1206, a khural (or khuraldan - congress, meeting) was held on the banks of the Onon River, which brought together the leaders of all the tribal groups of Mongolia. Khural proclaimed Temujin the Great Khan of Mongolia, giving him the name of Genghis Khan ( The meaning of this name or title has not yet been clarified.). Since then, the Great Khan has also been called a kaan. Until that time, the Mongols titled the Chinese emperor in this way. Thus ended the process of formation of the Mongolian state.

State system of Mongolia at the beginning of the XIII century.

Having become a great khan, Genghis Khan continued to strengthen the order corresponding to the interests of the nobility, who needed to consolidate their power over the mass of arats and in successful wars of conquest to further expand the scope of feudal exploitation and direct robbery of foreign countries Tumena (darkness), "thousands", " hundreds" and "dozens" were considered not only military units, but also administrative units, i.e., associations of villages, able to field 10,000, 1,000, 100, and 10 soldiers respectively in the militia (these figures were conditional and approximate). On the condition of performing military service to the great khan, each group of ails was given the possession of tenth, hundredth and thousandth noyons and noyons of tumens (temniki). Tumen was, thus, the largest feudal possession, which included smaller possessions - "thousands", "hundreds" and "tens" (that is, branches and tribes of individual Mongolian tribes). Thousand, hundreds and ten noyons were nominated from the nobility of these tribes, tribes and clans.

The right to dispose of pasture lands and migrations and power over the arats completely belonged to the thousand and other noyons. Their ranks and their "thousands", "hundreds" and "tens" were inherited by their descendants, but could also be taken away from them by the great khan for faults or negligence in the service. The Noyons gave their herds on the basis of labor rent for pasture to the arats. Arats also carried out military service in the militias of their noyons. Genghis Khan, under pain of death, forbade the arats to arbitrarily move from one dozen to another, from one hundred to another, etc. In fact, this meant attaching the arats to their masters and camps. The attachment of aratism was given the force of law. It is clearly mentioned in the collection of laws of Genghis Khan - the "Great Yasa". Yasa (“Law”) is imbued with the spirit of protecting the interests of the nomadic nobility and its supreme representative, the Great Khan, this is a real serf charter, only outwardly covered by patriarchal customs. Such was the state of Genghis Khan, within which the process of folding the Mongolian people took place.

Mongol conquests

With the formation of the Mongolian state, a period of Mongol conquests began. The conquerors were seen on their lands by many peoples - Khitans and Jurchens, Tanguts and Chinese, Koreans and Tibetans, Tajiks and Khorezmians, Turks and Persians, Indians and the peoples of Transcaucasia, Russians and Poles, Hungarians, Croats, etc. Later, already under the successors of Genghis Khan, the ships of the conquerors approached the shores of Japan, Java and Sumatra. A destructive tornado swept over the cultural countries of the Middle Ages.

What was the reason for the Mongol conquests? The source of income for the khans, noyons and nukers was not only the feudal exploitation of the arats, but also, to no lesser extent, predatory wars with neighboring uluses and tribes. When the wars inside Mongolia ceased, the nobility took the path of external wars of conquest. In the interests of the nobility, Genghis Khan waged continuous wars. The iron discipline, organization and exceptional mobility of the Mongol cavalry militias, which were equipped military equipment Chinese and other civilized peoples, gave the troops of Genghis Khan a significant advantage over the inactive feudal militias of settled peoples. But it didn't play leading role. Of decisive importance was the relative weakness of the states that became the object of the conquests of the Mongol nobility. This weakness was caused by feudal fragmentation in many countries, the lack of unity in them, and in a number of cases, the rulers' fear of arming the masses.

The predatory invasions of the nomads on the various agricultural countries of Asia were usually devastating. The invasion of the Mongol troops was also characterized, in addition, by the methods of organized devastation of cultivated lands introduced by Genghis Khan and his commanders, the mass extermination of elements of the population capable of resistance, terror and intimidation of civilians.

During the siege of cities, mercy was given to the population only in case of immediate surrender. If the city offered resistance, then after its occupation, the commanders of Genghis Khan first of all drove all the inhabitants into the field, so that it would be more convenient for the conquerors to plunder the city and take out everything of value. Then all the warriors were killed, and the artisans with their families, as well as young women and girls, were taken into slavery. Healthy young men were taken in the convoy and for siege work.

It often happened that the commanders of Genghis Khan completely exterminated not only the inhabitants of cities, but also the population of adjacent rural areas. This was done in those cases when the conquerors for some reason feared the possibility of an uprising in this area. If there were not enough soldiers for this massacre, the slaves who followed the army were forced to participate in it. After the "general massacre" in the city of Merv (Central Asia), taken by the Mongols in 1221, the count of the dead continued for 13 days.

This terrorist system was used only under Genghis Khan and his immediate successors. Wars of the Mongols in the second half of the XIII and XIV centuries. no longer differed from the usual feudal wars waged by the Asian states. But as a result of applying such methods for several decades, Yanjing and Bukhara, Termez and Merv, Urgench and Herat, Rey and Ani, Baghdad and Kyiv - the largest centers of civilization at that time - lay in ruins. Blooming gardens of Khorezm and Khorasan disappeared. With such diligence and with such difficulty, the irrigation system created by the peoples of Central Asia, Iran, Iraq and other countries was destroyed. The hooves of numerous horses trampled the cultivated fields of these countries. Once densely populated and cultural areas were depopulated. “From the creation of the world, there has not been a more terrible catastrophe for mankind and there will be nothing like it until the end of time and until the Last Judgment,” one of his contemporaries, the Arab historian Ibn al-Athir, described this time.

Craftsmen enslaved were first taken to Mongolia, and later they began to be exploited on the spot, in large workshops owned by the khan, princes or nobility, taking away all their products from these artisans and giving meager naika in return. Such workshops were created in all conquered countries. Slave labor was also used in the pastoral farms of the nobility.

The wars of Genghis Khan and the Genghisids brought enormous wealth to the nobility, but they did not enrich Mongolia and the Mongolian people. On the contrary, as a result of these wars, Mongolia lost a lot of blooming youth and was bled dry. A significant part of the Mongolian nobility with arats subject to it moved out of Mongolia to the conquered countries. In 1271, even the residence of the great khan was transferred to Northern China. In the conquered countries, representatives of the Mongol nomadic nobility took possession of the lands cultivated by settled peasants. Everywhere the system of heredity of military ranks was established. Continuing to roam with the tribes subject to it and not living on their estates, the Mongolian nobility received rural population product rent. The settled peasants were exploited much more cruelly than the nomadic arats, who, since they constituted the main contingent of ordinary soldiers in the feudal militias, it was dangerous to bring them to ruin.

Conquest of Northern China and other states

In 1207, Genghis Khan sent his eldest son Jochi to conquer the tribes that lived north of the Selenga River and in the Yenisei valley. There is reason to believe that the main goal of this campaign was to capture areas rich in ironworks, necessary for the conquerors to manufacture weapons. Jochi carried out the plan of conquest outlined by Genghis Khan. In the same year, 1207, the conquerors clashed with the Tangut state of Xi-Xia (in the current province of Gansu), the ruler of which undertook to pay tribute to Genghis Khan. In 1209 Genghis Khan submitted to the country of the Uighurs in East Turkestan. However, the main attention of Genghis Khan at that time was directed towards China. In 1211, the main Mongol forces led by Genghis Khan came out against the Jurchens, who then owned the northern part of China (the state of Jin).

The Jurchens, being conquerors themselves, alien to the Chinese people and hated by them, could not resist the Mongols. By 1215, a significant part of the territory of the Jin state had passed into the hands of the Mongols. The conquerors occupied, plundered and burned its capital - the Chinese city of Yanjing (modern Beijing). Having appointed one of his commanders, Mukhuli, as the ruler of the regions of China taken from the Jurchens, Genghis Khan returned to Mongolia with huge booty. During this war, Genghis Khan became acquainted with Chinese heavy wall and stone-throwing tools. Realizing the importance of these tools for further conquests, he organized their production, using for this purpose exported from China and enslaved masters.

The conquest of Central Asia and the state of Xi-Xia

Having ended the war in Northern China, Genghis Khan sent his detachments to the west - towards Khorezm, the largest state of Central Asia at that time. Having defeated the previously ephemeral state of Kuchluk Naiman, the nephew of Dayan Khan (1218), the troops of Genghis Khan began the conquest of Central Asia (in 1219). In 1220, the conquerors captured Bukhara and Samarkand. The Khorezm state fell. Khorezmshah Muhammad fled to Iran and hid on an island in the Caspian Sea, where he soon died. The Mongol detachments, pursuing his son Jalal-ad-din, penetrated into Northwestern India, but ran into strong resistance here, which stopped their advance into the depths of India. In 1221, the conquest of Central Asia - devastated and devastated, with cities and oases turned into ruins and deserts - was completed.

At the same time, one of the groups of Mongolian troops, led by the commanders Zhebe (Jebe) and Subetei, rounded the Caspian Sea from the south, invaded Georgia and Azerbaijan, plundering and destroying everything in its path. Then Chzhebe and Subetei penetrated into the North Caucasus, from where they moved to the southern Russian steppes. Having first defeated the Alans (Ossetians), and then the Kipchaks (Polovtsians) who roamed these steppes, the Mongol conquerors entered the Crimea, where they captured the city of Sudak. In 1223, a battle took place on the Kalka River between the Mongol conquerors and the militia of Russian princes. The lack of unity between the latter, as well as the betrayal of the Polovtsy participating in this battle, caused the defeat of the Russian army. However, the Mongol troops, having suffered heavy losses in killed and wounded, were unable to continue the campaign to the north and moved east, against the Bulgarians living on the Volga. Having not achieved success there either, they turned back. After that, together with the sons of Chagatasm, Ogedei and Tolui, Genghis Khan from Central Asia set off on his way back to Mongolia, where he arrived in the autumn of 1225. A year later, in 1226, Genghis Khan set out his last campaign, this time with the goal of finally destroying the Tangutskor state of Xi-Xia. This goal was achieved within a year. In 1227 Xi-Xia ceased to exist, and the surviving population was turned into slaves. In the same year, returning from this campaign, Genghis Khan died. In 1229, a khural was held, which was attended by the sons of Genghis Khan, his closest relatives and associates. His third son, Ogedei, who had been appointed to this post by Genghis Khan, was elected the Great Khan. According to the will of Genghis Khan, special uluses were allocated to other sons. At the same time, the Khural outlined a plan for new conquests, the central place in which was occupied by the subjugation of the part of the territory of Northern China that remained under the rule of the Jurchens.

In 1231, the Mongol troops led by Ogedei and Tolui again invaded Northern China. The Mongols approached the city of Wian (modern Kaifeng), where the Jurchen sovereigns moved after the loss of Yanjing. The siege of the city of Wian was unsuccessful for the Mongols. The war dragged on. The Mongol rulers began to look for allies. They turned to the emperor of the Southern Song dynasty, which ruled in southern China, with a proposal to take part in the war against the Jurchens, promising to transfer the province of Henan to him. The South Sung emperor accepted this proposal, hoping to defeat his old enemies, the Jurchens, with the help of the Mongol Khan. The Sung troops attacked the Jurchens from the south, the Mongols acted from the northwest.

The city of Wian was captured by the Mongol troops. After that, the strongholds of the Jurchens, one after another, passed into the hands of the conquerors. In 1234, the city of Caizhou was taken. The Jurchen sovereign committed suicide. The state of the Jurchens ceased to exist. Its entire territory ended up in the hands of the conquerors, who at the same time deceived the Sung emperor, not giving him the promised province of Henan.

Invasion of Russia and Western countries

In 1236, a new conquest campaign began to the west, where large army, which consisted not only of the Mongol troops, but also of the troops of the conquered peoples. At the head of this army was Vatu, the son of Jochi. Having conquered the Kipchaks and the Volga Bulgarians, the conquerors in the winter of 1237 moved against Russia. In the winter campaign of 1237/38 they captured and plundered Ryazan, Kolomna, Moscow and Vladimir. In the battle on the City River, the main forces of the Russian princes were defeated.

The Mongolian troops, who suffered heavy losses in the battles against the Russian principalities, needed a respite. This explains the break in their hostilities, which lasted about a year and a half. In the winter of 1239 the war resumed. The conquerors invaded the southern Russian lands, crossed the Dnieper, took and plundered Kyiv. In 1241 the Mongol forces split into two groups. One, under the command of Batu and Subetei, went to Hungary, the other invaded Poland. Having devastated Poland and Silesia, the Mongols in the battle near Liegnitz defeated the militias of the Polish and German princes. And although the Mongol army invaded Hungary and reached almost Venice, the losses suffered weakened the Mongols so much that their further offensive into the depths of Europe became impossible and they turned back.

In 1241 Ogedei died. After a five-year struggle for the khan's throne, in 1246 a Khural met and elected the son of Ogedei, Guyuk, as the Great Khan of Mongolia. But Guyuk reigned for a short time, he died in 1248. A new struggle for the khan's throne began, which lasted until 1251, when another Khural elevated Tolui's son, Mongke, to the throne.

Conquests in Western Asia and China

Under the great Khan Munke-kaan, the Mongol conquests continued both in the west and in the east. The conquering armies, led by Möngke's brother Hulagu, invaded Iran and from there marched into Mesopotamia. In 1258 they took Baghdad, putting an end to the existence of the Abbasid caliphate. The further advance of the Mongols in this direction was stopped by the Egyptian troops, who defeated them (1260). In the east, the Mongols, led by Mongke's other brother, Khubilai, invaded the Chinese province of Sichuan and penetrated further south, into Dali. Detachments were sent from here to conquer Tibet and Indo-China. At the same time, Khubilai began a war for the mastery of the province of Hubei.

By this time, the territory of the Mongolian state had reached its largest size. Its main part was actually Mongolia, Manchuria and Northern China. There were two capitals here - Karakoram on the Orkhon and Kaiping in the province of Chahar. It was a native yurt ( Yurt - in this sense, the same as ulus - "destiny".) (domain) of great khans. The regions of Altai with the center in Tarbagatai constituted the ulus of the descendants of Ogedei. The ulus of the descendants of Chagatai included all of Central Asia east of the Amu Darya, Semirechye, present-day Xinjiang and the Tien Shan regions. In 1308-1311. the ulus of Ogedei merged with this ulus. The ulus of the eldest son of Genghis Khan, Jochi, lay west of the Irtysh and included the Volga region, the North Caucasus, Crimea, Khorezm, the lower reaches of the Syr Darya and the Irtysh Ulus Jochi (Kipchak Khanate) was called the Golden Horde in Russian chronicles, and this name is firmly established itself in the literature. The western part of Central Asia (west of the Amu Darya), Iran, Iraq and Transcaucasia (since 1256) constituted the ulus of Khulagu, the son of Tolui, often called in the literature the state of the Ilkhans, or Khulaguids.

Battle of Liegnitz. Miniature from "The Life of Jadwiga of Silesia". 1353

The beginning of the collapse of the Mongolian state

In 1259, the great Khan Mongke died. His death temporarily interrupted Khubilai's aggressive campaign in the South Sung Empire. Khubilai neglected the rule of "Yasa" of Genghis Khan, according to which the great khan had to be elected by all means at khurals with the obligatory participation of all members of the reigning house. In 1260, Khubilai gathered his close associates in Kaiping, who proclaimed him the great khan. At the same time, another part of the Mongol nobility gathered in Karakorum and placed Kublai's younger brother, Arigbugu, on the throne. There were two great khans in Mongolia. An armed struggle began between them, which ended after 4 years with the defeat of Arigbuga. Kublai Kaap became the Great Khan of Mongolia. But by this time, the Mongolian state had already become different. The western uluses fell away from it. The state of the Ilkhans and the Golden Horde since the accession of Khubilai became virtually independent states. Without interfering in the affairs of the great khan, they did not allow him to interfere in their affairs. When later the khans of the three western uluses converted to Islam (at the turn of the 13th and 14th centuries), they even nominally ceased to recognize the authority of the great khan, who had become "infidel" for them.

In the XIV century. the bulk of the Mongols who settled in the western uluses mixed with the old Uzbeks, Kypchaks, Oguzes and Azerbaijanis and began to speak the languages ​​​​of the Turkic system; only in Kaitag, on the western shore of the Caspian Sea, did the Mongolian language survive until the 17th century, and in Afghanistan until the 19th century. The term "Tatars", which originally referred to the Mongols, came to mean the Turkic-speaking nomads of the Golden Horde. That is why since the 60s of the XIII century. the history of the uluses of the Khulaguids, Jochids and Chagataids ceases to be the history of the Mongol state. The paths of historical development of these uluses diverged, and the history of each of them developed differently.

The conquest of southern China and the formation of the Yuan Empire

Kublai put up with the fact that the western uluses actually fell away from Mongolia, and did not even try to return them under his rule. He directed all his attention to the final conquest of China. The implementation of Khubilai's plans was facilitated by the civil strife that tore apart the South Sung Empire. In 1271 Kublai moved his capital from Mongolia to Yanjing. Despite the stubborn resistance of the masses of South China and many military units led by warlords loyal to their country, the Mongol conquerors gradually approached the sea frontiers of South China. By 1276, the conquest of the South Sung Empire by the Mongols was completed. All of China was in the hands of the Mongol feudal lords. Even before that, the power of the Mongols recognized the Korean state of Korea. The last major military enterprise of the Mongol conquerors was an attempt to subjugate Japan. In 1281, Kublai sent a huge fleet of several thousand vessels to Japan. However, the Mongols failed to conquer Japan. Their fleet was overtaken by a typhoon, from which few ships managed to escape. The Mongols did not bring success and their attempts to gain a foothold in Indo-China.

As a result of the conquests, China, Mongolia and Manchuria became part of the Mongolian state. Political domination in this state belonged to the Mongol feudal lords, headed by the grandson of Genghis Khan, the great Khan Kublai, who at the same time became the emperor of China. He and his descendants dominated China and the Chinese people for almost a century (until 1368). Khubilai gave his dynasty the name Yuan, which became the designation not only of the Chinese possessions of the Mongols, but of the entire empire of the Mongol feudal lords. The name was Chinese. AT ancient book China's I-ching, which interprets the questions of being, says: "Great is the Beginning of Qian - the source of all things", "Absolutely the Beginning of Kun is the life of all things!". The concept of "beginning" in these two sayings is conveyed by the word "Yuan", and this word became the name of the Mongol empire. The capital of the empire was the city of Yanjing, the former capital of the Jurchen state, which received the name Dadu (“ great city"). Its Mongolian name is Khanbalik.

Mongol Empire and papacy

The Mongol conquests attracted the close attention of the papacy, which tried to use the Mongol khans to carry out their plans in Eastern Europe and Asia Minor. The first who made an attempt to establish contact with the Mongol khans was Pope Innocent IV. He sent a monk of the Franciscan order, Giovanni Plano Carpini, to the great khan, who in 1245 reached the headquarters of Batu Khan, and from there went to Karakorum, where he arrived in 1246. Plano Carpini received an audience with the great khan Guyuk, to whom he handed the message of the pope . The papal ambassador achieved nothing but an arrogant answer.

In 1253, the French king Louis IX, who was closely associated with the church, sent Wilhelm Rubruck, a monk of the Franciscan order, to the Mongols. Messenger french king, who had just made a crusade (seventh) against Egypt, which ended in the complete defeat of the French crusading army, had to find out about the possibility of an alliance of the "most Christian" king with the Mongol khans against the Egyptian sultans. Rubruk traveled from Constantinople to Sudak, and from there through the Golden Horde and Central Asia he went to Karakorum, where he arrived in 1254. Mongke, who was then the great khan, received the ambassador of the French king, but demanded that the latter submit to his authority. In 1255 Rubruk returned to Europe.

The next attempt to establish contact with the Mongols was made by Pope Boniface VIII, who sent the monk Giovanni Monte Corvino to them. In 1294, Corvino arrived in Yanjing. Kublai allowed him to live in the capital and build a Catholic church there. Corvino translated the New Testament into Mongolian and remained in China for the rest of his life. The Mongols, in turn, made attempts to establish relations with the papacy. The most famous of these attempts was the embassy of Rabbaw Sauma, a Nestorian monk of Uighur origin, sent by Ilkhan Arghun to the Pope. The purpose of the embassy was to prepare an alliance with the sovereigns of Western Christian countries for joint action in Syria and Palestine against Egypt, whose resistance stopped the Mongols' aggressive movement. Sauma visited not only Rome, but also Genoa, as well as France (1287-1288). Sauma's embassy did not bring any results, but the description of this journey served in the East as a source of information about the countries and peoples of the far West.

Mongolian army. Miniature from the "Collection of Chronicles" Rashid-ad-din. 1301-1314

Mongol Empire in the 40-60s of the XIII century.

Under Genghis Khan, the administration of the Mongolian state was very simple. He had a number of Uighur scribes who served his personal correspondence. Subsequently, a number of officials from China, mainly from the Khitans and Jurchens, came to the service of the Mongol feudal lords, bringing with them many of the skills of the Chinese administration.

Genghis Khan bequeathed to his successors "Yasu" - a series of instructions that they should have followed in managing the empire. According to these instructions, the management of finances and the management of military and civil affairs lay with four dignitaries. Under Chinggis Khan's successor Ugedei, the first census was carried out in the empire, taxation rates were established, and postal services were organized. Until Khubilai's reign, the language of official correspondence in the empire was the Uighur language, which had its own script. Since at that time they began to switch to the Mongolian language, which then did not yet have its own written language, Khubilai instructed one of his associates, the Tibetan Pagba, a Buddhist monk, to develop a Mongolian script based on the Tibetan alphabet. Pagba fulfilled this order, and in 1269 a decree was issued on the transition to the Mongolian script.

Genghis Khan and his successors were equally patronizing to all religions and to the servants of religious cults. But Khubilai gave preference to one of the Buddhist sects, the so-called "Red Hats" - the Sakya sect that developed in Tibet in the 11th century. Pagba, head of the Red Hats sect, was Khubilai's adviser on religious affairs.

Despite the gigantic destruction caused by the wars of conquest of the Mongol feudal lords, trade relations between the countries and peoples that became part of the empire did not stop. The development of trade was also facilitated by the construction of roads and postal services by the Mongols. The conquerors needed good roads and in the well-established work of the mail for reasons mainly military-strategic. But these roads were also widely used by merchants. Along with the new routes, the old caravan routes were also maintained. One of them went from Central Asia along the northern slopes of the Tien Shan to Mongolia, to the Karakorum, and from there to Yanjing. The other passed from Southern Siberia along the northern slopes of the Sayan to the Karakorum and Yanjing.

Wholesale caravan trade between the countries of the Near East and Central Asia and China was in the hands of Muslim merchants united in a company, mainly Persians and Tajiks. The members of these powerful companies were called urtaks. They sent caravans with hundreds, even thousands of people and pack animals. Already Genghis Khan patronized this trade, and then his policy was continued by Ogedei and his successors - the great khans, as well as the ulus khans. Not satisfied with the income from duties, the khans and large feudal lords themselves invested in trade, and the urtak gave them their share of the income in goods. Khubilai and his heirs took active measures to increase river and sea transportation in China, being interested in this in connection with the growing demand for food, which was delivered to them from South and Central China. Under Khubilai, the reconstruction of the Great Canal of China began. However, trade in the Mongol Empire was predominantly of a transit nature, and therefore it had little effect on the development of the productive forces of those countries through which trade routes passed, and, in particular, on the development of productive forces in Mongolia itself.

Almost without issuing metallic money, Kublai sought to transfer everything money turnover on paper signs. By restricting the printing and issuance of paper money, he succeeded in turning this money into a fairly stable currency. After the actual collapse of the Mongol Empire, the trade of Western and Central Asia with China was greatly reduced. But in the Chinese part of the empire, overseas trade continued to develop as before. She followed the old trade route: from the Persian Gulf along the coast of Hindustan to the east coast of Indo-China, and from there to the ports of Southeast China. Trade was conducted by Arab, Persian and Indian merchants. Their ships filled the harbors of Canton, Yangzhou, Hangzhou and Quanzhou. Maritime trade was also carried out with the countries of the Malay Peninsula, as well as with Java and Sumatra. The Philippines also entered the orbit of this trade. Of course, the successful development of trade in the Yuan Empire cannot be attributed to the activities of the Mongol khans. The Mongol rulers of China were only interested in receiving trade duties in their favor.

Such was the Mongol Empire. It included many tribes and nationalities, deeply differing among themselves in terms of the level of socio-economic development. Possessing special languages, a special culture, all of them were forcibly included in the Mongol state. Such an artificial association could not be lasting. The enslaved peoples waged a heroic liberation struggle against the conquerors and eventually regained their independence. The unified Mongol Empire lasted only 4 decades (until 1260), after which it broke up into virtually independent uluses.

Mongolia after the fall of the power of the Mongol khans in China

During the reign of the Chinggisids (Yuan Dynasty) in China, Mongolia proper became only a governorship for the heir to the throne. But after the expulsion of the Mongol khans from China and the establishment of the Minsk Empire there (1368), the kaan Togon-Timur fled to Mongolia with his troops. As a result of the wars of conquest XIII-XIV centuries. Mongolia has lost a significant part of the population, torn away from their homeland and dissolved among other peoples. The values ​​captured in the form of war booty enriched only the nomadic feudal lords, which did not affect the growth of the productive forces in the country. After the restoration of the Chinese state, the economy of Mongolia was in a very difficult situation. Mongolia was cut off from the Chinese market - the only market where the Mongols could sell the products of their pastoral nomadic economy and where they could purchase the agricultural products and handicrafts they needed.

The basis of the economy of Mongolia in the XIV-XV centuries. nomadic extensive pastoralism remained. Arats roamed in small groups of ails, moving from place to place in search of pastures for cattle within a certain area, which was the property of one or another feudal lord, whose serfs were these arats. The feudal lords distributed their cattle for grazing to the arats or used them in their households as shepherds, milkers, and shearers. Along with labor rent, there was also food rent: the arat gave its owner annually several heads of cattle, a certain amount of milk, felt, etc.

In the XIV-XV centuries. in Mongolia there was a process of further development of the feudal hierarchy. At the head was a khan from Genghisids, below him were the princes of Genghisids (taishi), below them were medium and small feudal lords. The hereditary possessions of large feudal lords were now called uluses, or tumens, regardless of the size of the feudal militia they fielded. Each ulus was divided into otoks, that is, large groups of ails, united by the fact that they occupied a common territory for their nomads and had a hereditary ruler at the head, who was a vassal of the ulus ruler. Since individual regions of Mongolia were economically independent of each other, in the second half of the 14th and 15th centuries. large uluses began to strive for political independence. The authority and real power of the Mongol khan fell more and more. Various feudal cliques enthroned and overthrew one or the other khan, but always from the Genghisids. At the turn of the XIV-XV centuries. began long internecine wars of the feudal lords of Eastern and Western Mongolia. In 1434, after the victory of the Oirats tribe (from Western Mongolia) over the Eastern Mongols (Khalkha Mongols), Daisun Khan of Oirat became the ruler of all Mongolia. But soon new civil strife began, and the country again broke up into a number of virtually independent possessions (1455).

In the XV century. The history of Mongolia was characterized, on the one hand, as it was said, by incessant feudal civil strife, on the other hand, by frequent wars with the Minsk Empire, and either the Mongol feudal lords attacked the border regions of China, or the Chinese troops invaded Mongolia. In 1449, the feudal lord Essen-taishin, who actually ruled Mongolia on behalf of Daisun Khan, defeated the troops of the Ming Empire, capturing Emperor Yingzong himself. Mongolian feudal lords in the 15th century. waged all these wars with China no longer for the sake of conquering territories, as before, but mainly in order to get the Ming Empire to open markets for barter trade in the border regions of China and, since this trade was under state control, to establish higher prices for horses and cattle driven by the Mongol feudal lords. Essen-taishin mentioned above, during negotiations with representatives of the Minsk Empire, reproached them: “Why did you reduce the price of horses and often release worthless, spoiled silk?” The Chinese representatives justified themselves by saying that the prices of horses had fallen because the Mongols were bringing more and more of them every year. Mongols delivered horses, cattle, furs, horse hair to markets along the border, and Chinese merchants delivered cotton and silk fabrics, boilers for cooking food and other household items, grain, etc.

internal strife and foreign wars they ruined the arat farms, which pushed the arats to fight their oppressors. The class struggle that took place in Mongolia is evidenced, for example, by the following fact: one of the Mongolian feudal lords in the 40s of the 15th century. complained to the Ming emperor that 1,500 Arat families left him without permission for China. The Ming Emperor returned them back to their "rightful owners".