| Unlike the deserts of Arabia, the steppelands of inner Asia are comparatively well watered, with extensive grazing for horses. The horseback nomads who dwelt there were organized along similar lines to the Arabs in patrilineal tribal formations. Like the Arab and Turkish nomads they were able to construct large federations for successful raids on cities and areas of cultivation, creating substantial empires under formidable leaders: Attila, who ravaged central Europe in the fifth century with his Huns, is a well-known example. The Chinese emperors understood the dangers of these large formations of horseborne invaders, and used their forces to break them up whenever strong enough to do so. The Great Wall had been built as a defensible barrier to keep them out. |
Early in the thirteenth century a new formation developed among the Mongols in a remote region bordering the Siberian forests under Ghenghis Khan (c. 1162–1227). A clever and ruthless leader, he took command of a wide grouping of tribes from about 1206. By the time of his death he had dominated most of northern China and his armies had reached the shores of the Caspian. Divided between his sons, the empire continued to expand, overwhelming the rest of northern China and sweeping through eastern Europe as far as Germany. As with other nomadic formations, however, there were no clear rules of succession. The descendants of Ghenghis Khan competed for his legacy, creating several independent, sometimes mutually hostile, states. They included present-day Mongolia, northern China, the realm of the Golden Horde (centered in the Volga basin), the Chaghatay Khanate in the Oxus (Amu Darya) region, and the Ilkhan dynasty, which invaded Iran and destroyed Saljuq power in Anatolia.
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Ghenghis Khan in state surrounded by his attendants. However luxurious his court, as shown by this lavishly decorated yurt, the Great Khan remained a nomad to the end of his life. |
The Mongols were not just ruthless and violent nomads. Their system of communi-cations and knowledge of the latest warfare techniques were sophisticated enough to enable them to wreak unprecedented levels of destruction. In the initial conquests, entire populations of cities were massacred, without regard to age or gender. Buildings were leveled, rotting heads stacked in gruesome pyramids. Mongol cruelty was a form of psychological warfare designed to send the message that resistance was useless. As a strategy, terror was highly effective: the amirs who governed in the Iranian highlands hastened to demonstrate their homage. The local bureaucrats and families of notables actively collaborated, and even encouraged attacks on their Muslim enemies in order to gain favor with the conquerors. Members of the ulama rose to prominence and power. For instance, the Sunni historian al- Juvaini accompanied the Mongol army under the warlord Hulegu to Alamut, where the last Ismaili stronghold to survive the fall of the Fatimids was destroyed in 1256. After the conquest of Baghdad two years later, al-Juvaini became its governor. Within a few generations, the western Mongols had converted to Islam, opening a brilliant new era in the story of its development
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