Destruction under the Mongol Empire
Encyclopedia
Destruction under the Mongol Empire
refers to widespread loss of life and devastation caused by the Mongolian conquests of the 13th century.
Mongol raids and invasions were generally regarded as some of the deadliest in human history. Nonetheless due consideration should be given to the age of sources recounting the events, and that the accounts were written primarily by survivors of the Mongol attacks.
ic way of life, coupled with experience gained in fighting tribe
s such as the Naimans
, Kerait
s, and Uyghurs. Their strategies were swift and short attacks to plunder each other and disappear quickly.
There was long-standing enmity between Mongolian tribes and China because Mongolian nomads constantly pillaged Chinese cities and settlements because of its greater wealth. Times on the Central Asian steppes were complicated by seasonal cold temperatures such as zud
that resulted in large number of livestock
being lost during the winter, which made subsistence difficult. The nomads also didn't practice farming because of the cold weather, nomadism and very little arable land
in the Mongolian region. These resulted in the nomads being highly dependent on seasons and weather changes. The weather was extremely cold in the winter in the northern Mongolia with cold winds, blizzards blowing in from Siberia through the steppes (that can't stop the wind because of the flat surface). For instance, the average winter temperature in Mongolia can be −30 °C (−22 °F), which usually freezes the soil. The southern area of Gobi is basically uninhabitable for long durations because it is a desert
.
The Chinese sought to defuse the Mongol threat by fomenting inter-tribal strife amongst the various Mongol factions who were known to habitually feud amongst themselves due to numerous reasons such as plunder, misunderstanding and vendetta. Because the Gobi lies traditionally between Mongolian region and China, the Chinese couldn't punish and drive away the Mongols all the way. Even if they closed ranks on the Mongol settlements, Mongols would pack up their yurt
s and move quickly. The Mongols viewed China as rich; the Chinese viewed Mongols as poor and uncivilized "barbarians." The Mongols referred to the Jin Dynasty of northern China, invaded under Genghis Khan
, as "Altan Ulus" or "Golden Nation" (this is not necessarily a reference to wealth, as the Chinese character for "Jin" in "Jin Dynasty" also means "metal" or "gold"), while the Goryeo Dynasty called the Mongols the "most inhuman of northern barbarians".
, his generals and successors preferred to offer their enemies the chance to surrender
without resistance in order to avoid war, to become vassal
s by sending tribute
, accepting Mongol residents, and/or contributing troops. The Khans guaranteed protection only if the populace submitted to Mongol rule and was obedient to it.
Sources record massive destruction, terror and death if there was resistance. David Nicole notes in The Mongol Warlords: "terror and mass extermination of anyone opposing them was a well-tested Mongol tactic." The alternative to submission was total war: if refused, Mongol leaders ordered the collective slaughter of populations and destruction of property. Such was the fate of resisting communities during the invasions of the Khwarezmid Empire, Kievan Rus'
, Baghdad
, China, Armenia
, Georgia
, Poland
, Hungary
, and northern Iran
.
The Mongols frequently faced states with armies and resources much greater than their own - and simply invading everyone was out of the question. Furthermore, a supine nation was more desirable than a sacked one. While both provided the same territorial gains, the former would continue to provide taxes and conscripts long after the conflict ended, whereas the latter would be depopulated and economically worthless once available goods and slaves were seized.
Thus whenever possible, by using the promise of wholesale slaughter as well as the deed, Mongol forces made efficient conquests, in turn allowing them to attack multiple targets and redirect soldiers and matériel where most needed.
The linchpin of Mongol success was the widespread perception amongst their enemies, that they were facing an insurmountable juggernaut that could only be placated by surrender. The Mongols counted on reports of horrifying massacres and torture to terrify their foes. The goal was to convince all-and-sundry that the costs of surrendering were not nearly onerous enough to risk an un-winnable war, given the guarantee of complete annihilation if they lost. This strategy was partially adopted because of the Mongols lesser numbers that if their opponents are not sufficiently subdued, there was a greater chance they can rise again and attack the Mongols when the Mongols left to deal with another town and settlements. This way they were technically covering their rear
and flank
s and creating the condition where they won't have to fight a people they fought and thought they subdued before and therefore saving resources, in their point of view, on unnecessary second engagement.
As Mongol conquest spread, this form of psychological warfare
proved effective at suppressing resistance to Mongol rule. There were tales of lone Mongol soldiers riding into surrendered villages and executing peasants at random as a test of loyalty. Also, it was widely known that a single act of resistance would bring the entire Mongol army down on a town to obliterate its occupants. Thus they are ensuring obedience through fear.
These techniques were used to spread terror and warning to others. Some troops who submitted were incorporated into the Mongol system in order to expand their manpower; this also allowed the Mongols to absorb new technology, knowledge and skills for use in military campaigns against other opponents.
Genghis Khan was by and large tolerant of multiple religions and there are no cases of him or other Mongols engaging in religious war
, as long as populations were obedient. He also passed a decree exempting all followers of the Taoist religion from paying taxes. However, all of the campaigns caused deliberate destruction of places of worship, if their populations resisted.
Ancient sources described Genghis Khan's conquests as wholesale destruction on an unprecedented scale in certain geographical regions, causing great demographic
changes in Asia. Over much of Central Asia, speakers of Iranian languages
were replaced by speakers of Turkic languages
: according to the works of the Iranian historian Rashid al-Din
, the Mongols
killed more than 700,000 people in Merv
and more than a million in Nishapur
. The total population of Persia
may have dropped from 2,500,000 to 250,000 as a result of mass extermination and famine.
China reportedly suffered a drastic decline in population during the 13th and 14th centuries. Before the Mongol invasion, Chinese dynasties reportedly had approximately 120 million inhabitants; after the conquest was completed in 1279, the 1300 census reported roughly 60 million people. While it is tempting to attribute this major decline solely to Mongol ferocity, scholars today have mixed sentiments regarding this subject. Scholars such as Frederick W. Mote argue that the wide drop in numbers reflects an administrative failure to record rather than a de facto decrease whilst others such as Timothy Brook argue that the Mongols created a system of enserfment among a huge portion of the Chinese populace causing many to disappear from the census altogether. Other historians like William McNeill and David Morgan argue that the Bubonic Plague was the main factor behind the demographic decline during this period.
About half the population of Russia
may have died during the Mongol invasion of Rus
. Colin McEvedy (Atlas of World Population History, 1978) estimates the population of European Russia
dropped from 7.5 million prior to the invasion to 7 million afterwards.
Historians estimate that up to half of Hungary
's population of two million were victims of the Mongol invasion of Europe
.
These population estimates are controversial as lower birth rates, disease, and famine may have had a greater effect on the populations than actual warfare.
, Central Asia
, Eastern Europe
and the Middle East
caused extensive destruction, though there are no exact figures available at this time. The cities of Herat
, Kiev
, Baghdad
, Nishapur
, Vladimir
and Samarkand
suffered serious devastation by the Mongol armies. For example, there is a noticeable lack of Chinese literature from the Jin Dynasty, predating the Mongol conquest, and in the Battle of Baghdad (1258)
libraries, books, literature, and hospitals were burned: some of the books were thrown into the river, in quantities sufficient to "turn the Euphrates
black with ink
for several days".
The Mongols' destruction of the irrigation systems of Iran and Iraq turned back centuries of effort to improving agriculture and water supply in these regions. The loss of available food as a result may have led to the death of more people from starvation in this area than actual battle did. The Islamic civilization of the Gulf region was not to recover until after the Middle Ages.
palaces during the invasions (there were at least 6 separate invasions) of Korea under the Goryeo Dynasty, crops were burned to starve the populace. Other tactics included diverting rivers into and from cities and towns, and catapult
ing diseased corpses over city walls to infect the population. The use of such infected bodies during the siege of Caffa is alleged to have brought the Black Death
to Europe by some sources.
Different tributes were taken from different cultures. For instance, Goryeo
was assessed at 10,000 otter
skins, 20,000 horses, 10,000 bolts
of silk
, clothing for 1,000,000 soldiers, and a large number of children and artisans as slaves.
Mongol Empire
The Mongol Empire , initially named as Greater Mongol State was a great empire during the 13th and 14th centuries...
refers to widespread loss of life and devastation caused by the Mongolian conquests of the 13th century.
Mongol raids and invasions were generally regarded as some of the deadliest in human history. Nonetheless due consideration should be given to the age of sources recounting the events, and that the accounts were written primarily by survivors of the Mongol attacks.
Background
The Mongol style of warfare was an outgrowth of their nomadNomad
Nomadic people , commonly known as itinerants in modern-day contexts, are communities of people who move from one place to another, rather than settling permanently in one location. There are an estimated 30-40 million nomads in the world. Many cultures have traditionally been nomadic, but...
ic way of life, coupled with experience gained in fighting tribe
Tribe
A tribe, viewed historically or developmentally, consists of a social group existing before the development of, or outside of, states.Many anthropologists use the term tribal society to refer to societies organized largely on the basis of kinship, especially corporate descent groups .Some theorists...
s such as the Naimans
Naimans
The Naimans, also Naiman Turks or Naiman Mongols, was a Mongolian name given to a group of people dwelling on the steppe of Central Asia, having diplomatic relations with the Kara-Khitan, and subservient to them until 1177...
, Kerait
Kerait
The Kereit tribe was one of the five major tribal confederations in Mongolian plateau in the 12th century, and dominant in the area and, as allies of Genghis Khan, influential in the rise of the Mongol Empire...
s, and Uyghurs. Their strategies were swift and short attacks to plunder each other and disappear quickly.
There was long-standing enmity between Mongolian tribes and China because Mongolian nomads constantly pillaged Chinese cities and settlements because of its greater wealth. Times on the Central Asian steppes were complicated by seasonal cold temperatures such as zud
Zud
A zud or dzud is a Mongolian term for an extremely snowy winter in which livestock are unable to find fodder through the snow cover, and large numbers of animals die due to starvation and the cold. The term is also used for other meteorological conditions, especially in winter, that make livestock...
that resulted in large number of livestock
Livestock
Livestock refers to one or more domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to produce commodities such as food, fiber and labor. The term "livestock" as used in this article does not include poultry or farmed fish; however the inclusion of these, especially poultry, within the meaning...
being lost during the winter, which made subsistence difficult. The nomads also didn't practice farming because of the cold weather, nomadism and very little arable land
Arable land
In geography and agriculture, arable land is land that can be used for growing crops. It includes all land under temporary crops , temporary meadows for mowing or pasture, land under market and kitchen gardens and land temporarily fallow...
in the Mongolian region. These resulted in the nomads being highly dependent on seasons and weather changes. The weather was extremely cold in the winter in the northern Mongolia with cold winds, blizzards blowing in from Siberia through the steppes (that can't stop the wind because of the flat surface). For instance, the average winter temperature in Mongolia can be −30 °C (−22 °F), which usually freezes the soil. The southern area of Gobi is basically uninhabitable for long durations because it is a desert
Desert
A desert is a landscape or region that receives an extremely low amount of precipitation, less than enough to support growth of most plants. Most deserts have an average annual precipitation of less than...
.
The Chinese sought to defuse the Mongol threat by fomenting inter-tribal strife amongst the various Mongol factions who were known to habitually feud amongst themselves due to numerous reasons such as plunder, misunderstanding and vendetta. Because the Gobi lies traditionally between Mongolian region and China, the Chinese couldn't punish and drive away the Mongols all the way. Even if they closed ranks on the Mongol settlements, Mongols would pack up their yurt
Yurt
A yurt is a portable, bent wood-framed dwelling structure traditionally used by Turkic nomads in the steppes of Central Asia. The structure comprises a crown or compression wheel usually steam bent, supported by roof ribs which are bent down at the end where they meet the lattice wall...
s and move quickly. The Mongols viewed China as rich; the Chinese viewed Mongols as poor and uncivilized "barbarians." The Mongols referred to the Jin Dynasty of northern China, invaded under Genghis Khan
Genghis Khan
Genghis Khan , born Temujin and occasionally known by his temple name Taizu , was the founder and Great Khan of the Mongol Empire, which became the largest contiguous empire in history after his death....
, as "Altan Ulus" or "Golden Nation" (this is not necessarily a reference to wealth, as the Chinese character for "Jin" in "Jin Dynasty" also means "metal" or "gold"), while the Goryeo Dynasty called the Mongols the "most inhuman of northern barbarians".
Strategy
Genghis KhanGenghis Khan
Genghis Khan , born Temujin and occasionally known by his temple name Taizu , was the founder and Great Khan of the Mongol Empire, which became the largest contiguous empire in history after his death....
, his generals and successors preferred to offer their enemies the chance to surrender
Surrender (military)
Surrender is when soldiers, nations or other combatants stop fighting and eventually become prisoners of war, either as individuals or when ordered to by their officers. A white flag is a common symbol of surrender, as is the gesture of raising one's hands empty and open above one's head.When the...
without resistance in order to avoid war, to become vassal
Vassal
A vassal or feudatory is a person who has entered into a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. The obligations often included military support and mutual protection, in exchange for certain privileges, usually including the grant of land held...
s by sending tribute
Tribute
A tribute is wealth, often in kind, that one party gives to another as a sign of respect or, as was often the case in historical contexts, of submission or allegiance. Various ancient states, which could be called suzerains, exacted tribute from areas they had conquered or threatened to conquer...
, accepting Mongol residents, and/or contributing troops. The Khans guaranteed protection only if the populace submitted to Mongol rule and was obedient to it.
Sources record massive destruction, terror and death if there was resistance. David Nicole notes in The Mongol Warlords: "terror and mass extermination of anyone opposing them was a well-tested Mongol tactic." The alternative to submission was total war: if refused, Mongol leaders ordered the collective slaughter of populations and destruction of property. Such was the fate of resisting communities during the invasions of the Khwarezmid Empire, Kievan Rus'
Kievan Rus'
Kievan Rus was a medieval polity in Eastern Europe, from the late 9th to the mid 13th century, when it disintegrated under the pressure of the Mongol invasion of 1237–1240....
, Baghdad
Baghdad
Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...
, China, Armenia
Armenia
Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
, Georgia
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
, and northern Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
.
Terror
The success of Mongol tactics hinged on fear: to induce capitulation amongst enemy populations. Although perceived as being bloodthirsty, the Mongol strategy of "surrender or die" recognized that conquest by capitulation was more desirable than being forced to continually expend soldiers, food, and money to fight every army and sack every town and city along the campaign's route.The Mongols frequently faced states with armies and resources much greater than their own - and simply invading everyone was out of the question. Furthermore, a supine nation was more desirable than a sacked one. While both provided the same territorial gains, the former would continue to provide taxes and conscripts long after the conflict ended, whereas the latter would be depopulated and economically worthless once available goods and slaves were seized.
Thus whenever possible, by using the promise of wholesale slaughter as well as the deed, Mongol forces made efficient conquests, in turn allowing them to attack multiple targets and redirect soldiers and matériel where most needed.
Rear
Rear may refer to:*Rear , to bring up children*Rear , the area of a battlefield behind the front line*Rear , when a stands on its hind legs*Rear end, the buttocks...
and flank
Flank
Flank may refer to:* Flank, the side of either a horse or a military unit*Flanking maneuver in military tactics* Flank , the waveform edge formed when a signal goes high or low...
s and creating the condition where they won't have to fight a people they fought and thought they subdued before and therefore saving resources, in their point of view, on unnecessary second engagement.
As Mongol conquest spread, this form of psychological warfare
Psychological warfare
Psychological warfare , or the basic aspects of modern psychological operations , have been known by many other names or terms, including Psy Ops, Political Warfare, “Hearts and Minds,” and Propaganda...
proved effective at suppressing resistance to Mongol rule. There were tales of lone Mongol soldiers riding into surrendered villages and executing peasants at random as a test of loyalty. Also, it was widely known that a single act of resistance would bring the entire Mongol army down on a town to obliterate its occupants. Thus they are ensuring obedience through fear.
Demographic changes in war-torn areas
The majority of kingdoms resisting Mongol conquest were taken by force (some were subjected to vassaldom and not complete conquest), their populations mostly massacred; only skilled engineers and artisans were spared, to become slaves. Documents written during or just after Genghis Khan's reign state that following a conquest Mongol soldiers looted, pillaged and raped, while the Khan had first pick of women captives beautiful enough to be spared.These techniques were used to spread terror and warning to others. Some troops who submitted were incorporated into the Mongol system in order to expand their manpower; this also allowed the Mongols to absorb new technology, knowledge and skills for use in military campaigns against other opponents.
Genghis Khan was by and large tolerant of multiple religions and there are no cases of him or other Mongols engaging in religious war
Religious war
A religious war; Latin: bellum sacrum; is a war caused by, or justified by, religious differences. It can involve one state with an established religion against another state with a different religion or a different sect within the same religion, or a religiously motivated group attempting to...
, as long as populations were obedient. He also passed a decree exempting all followers of the Taoist religion from paying taxes. However, all of the campaigns caused deliberate destruction of places of worship, if their populations resisted.
Demographics
Demographics are the most recent statistical characteristics of a population. These types of data are used widely in sociology , public policy, and marketing. Commonly examined demographics include gender, race, age, disabilities, mobility, home ownership, employment status, and even location...
changes in Asia. Over much of Central Asia, speakers of Iranian languages
Iranian languages
The Iranian languages form a subfamily of the Indo-Iranian languages which in turn is a subgroup of Indo-European language family. They have been and are spoken by Iranian peoples....
were replaced by speakers of Turkic languages
Turkic languages
The Turkic languages constitute a language family of at least thirty five languages, spoken by Turkic peoples across a vast area from Eastern Europe and the Mediterranean to Siberia and Western China, and are considered to be part of the proposed Altaic language family.Turkic languages are spoken...
: according to the works of the Iranian historian Rashid al-Din
Rashid al-Din
Rashīd al-Dīn Tabīb also Rashīd al-Dīn Fadhl-allāh Hamadānī , was a Persian physician of Jewish origin, polymathic writer and historian, who wrote an enormous Islamic history, the Jami al-Tawarikh, in the Persian language, often considered a landmark in intercultural historiography and a key...
, the Mongols
Mongols
Mongols ) are a Central-East Asian ethnic group that lives mainly in the countries of Mongolia, China, and Russia. In China, ethnic Mongols can be found mainly in the central north region of China such as Inner Mongolia...
killed more than 700,000 people in Merv
Merv
Merv , formerly Achaemenid Satrapy of Margiana, and later Alexandria and Antiochia in Margiana , was a major oasis-city in Central Asia, on the historical Silk Road, located near today's Mary in Turkmenistan. Several cities have existed on this site, which is significant for the interchange of...
and more than a million in Nishapur
Nishapur
Nishapur or Nishabur , is a city in the Razavi Khorasan province in northeastern Iran, situated in a fertile plain at the foot of the Binalud Mountains, near the regional capital of Mashhad...
. The total population of Persia
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
may have dropped from 2,500,000 to 250,000 as a result of mass extermination and famine.
China reportedly suffered a drastic decline in population during the 13th and 14th centuries. Before the Mongol invasion, Chinese dynasties reportedly had approximately 120 million inhabitants; after the conquest was completed in 1279, the 1300 census reported roughly 60 million people. While it is tempting to attribute this major decline solely to Mongol ferocity, scholars today have mixed sentiments regarding this subject. Scholars such as Frederick W. Mote argue that the wide drop in numbers reflects an administrative failure to record rather than a de facto decrease whilst others such as Timothy Brook argue that the Mongols created a system of enserfment among a huge portion of the Chinese populace causing many to disappear from the census altogether. Other historians like William McNeill and David Morgan argue that the Bubonic Plague was the main factor behind the demographic decline during this period.
About half the population of Russia
Russians
The Russian people are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Russia, speaking the Russian language and primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries....
may have died during the Mongol invasion of Rus
Mongol invasion of Rus
The Mongol invasion of Russia was resumed on 21 December 1237 marking the resumption of the Mongol invasion of Europe, during which the Mongols attacked the medieval powers of Poland, Kiev, Hungary, and miscellaneous tribes of less organized peoples...
. Colin McEvedy (Atlas of World Population History, 1978) estimates the population of European Russia
European Russia
European Russia refers to the western areas of Russia that lie within Europe, comprising roughly 3,960,000 square kilometres , larger in area than India, and spanning across 40% of Europe. Its eastern border is defined by the Ural Mountains and in the south it is defined by the border with...
dropped from 7.5 million prior to the invasion to 7 million afterwards.
Historians estimate that up to half of Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
's population of two million were victims of the Mongol invasion of Europe
Mongol invasion of Europe
The resumption of the Mongol invasion of Europe, during which the Mongols attacked medieval Rus' principalities and the powers of Poland and Hungary, was marked by the Mongol invasion of Rus starting in 21 December 1237...
.
These population estimates are controversial as lower birth rates, disease, and famine may have had a greater effect on the populations than actual warfare.
Destruction of culture and property
Mongol campaigns in Northern ChinaNorth China
thumb|250px|Northern [[People's Republic of China]] region.Northern China or North China is a geographical region of China. The heartland of North China is the North China Plain....
, Central Asia
Central Asia
Central Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north...
, Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
and the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
caused extensive destruction, though there are no exact figures available at this time. The cities of Herat
Herat
Herāt is the capital of Herat province in Afghanistan. It is the third largest city of Afghanistan, with a population of about 397,456 as of 2006. It is situated in the valley of the Hari River, which flows from the mountains of central Afghanistan to the Karakum Desert in Turkmenistan...
, Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
, Baghdad
Baghdad
Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...
, Nishapur
Nishapur
Nishapur or Nishabur , is a city in the Razavi Khorasan province in northeastern Iran, situated in a fertile plain at the foot of the Binalud Mountains, near the regional capital of Mashhad...
, Vladimir
Vladimir
Vladimir is a city and the administrative center of Vladimir Oblast, Russia, located on the Klyazma River, to the east of Moscow along the M7 motorway. Population:...
and Samarkand
Samarkand
Although a Persian-speaking region, it was not united politically with Iran most of the times between the disintegration of the Seleucid Empire and the Arab conquest . In the 6th century it was within the domain of the Turkic kingdom of the Göktürks.At the start of the 8th century Samarkand came...
suffered serious devastation by the Mongol armies. For example, there is a noticeable lack of Chinese literature from the Jin Dynasty, predating the Mongol conquest, and in the Battle of Baghdad (1258)
Battle of Baghdad (1258)
The Siege of Baghdad, which occurred in 1258, was an invasion, siege and sacking of the city of Baghdad, the capital of the Abbasid Caliphate at the time and the modern-day capital of Iraq, by the Ilkhanate Mongol forces along with other allied troops under Hulagu Khan.The invasion left Baghdad in...
libraries, books, literature, and hospitals were burned: some of the books were thrown into the river, in quantities sufficient to "turn the Euphrates
Euphrates
The Euphrates is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of Western Asia. Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia...
black with ink
Ink
Ink is a liquid or paste that contains pigments and/or dyes and is used to color a surface to produce an image, text, or design. Ink is used for drawing and/or writing with a pen, brush, or quill...
for several days".
The Mongols' destruction of the irrigation systems of Iran and Iraq turned back centuries of effort to improving agriculture and water supply in these regions. The loss of available food as a result may have led to the death of more people from starvation in this area than actual battle did. The Islamic civilization of the Gulf region was not to recover until after the Middle Ages.
Foods and disease
Mongols were known to burn farmland; when they were trying to take the Ganghwa IslandGanghwa Island
Ganghwa Island is an island in the estuary of the Han River, on the west coast of South Korea. Ganghwa Island is separated from Gimpo, on the mainland, by a narrow channel, which is spanned by two bridges. The main channel of the Han River separates the island from Gaeseong in North Korea.About...
palaces during the invasions (there were at least 6 separate invasions) of Korea under the Goryeo Dynasty, crops were burned to starve the populace. Other tactics included diverting rivers into and from cities and towns, and catapult
Catapult
A catapult is a device used to throw or hurl a projectile a great distance without the aid of explosive devices—particularly various types of ancient and medieval siege engines. Although the catapult has been used since ancient times, it has proven to be one of the most effective mechanisms during...
ing diseased corpses over city walls to infect the population. The use of such infected bodies during the siege of Caffa is alleged to have brought the Black Death
Black Death
The Black Death was one of the most devastating pandemics in human history, peaking in Europe between 1348 and 1350. Of several competing theories, the dominant explanation for the Black Death is the plague theory, which attributes the outbreak to the bacterium Yersinia pestis. Thought to have...
to Europe by some sources.
Tribute in lieu of conquest
If a population agreed to pay the Mongols tribute, they were spared invasion and left relatively independent. While resisting populations were usually annihilated and thus did not pay a regular tribute, exceptions to this rule (i.e. countries that resisted and fought the Mongols yet survived and were subsequently allowed to remain autonomous) include Korea (under the Goryeo Dynasty), which finally agreed to pay regular tributes in exchange for vassaldom (and some measure of autonomy as well as the retention of the ruling dynasty), further emphasizing the Mongolian preference for tribute and vassals (which would serve as a somewhat regular and continuous source of income) as opposed to outright conquest and destruction (which brought in a one-time quantity of resources).Different tributes were taken from different cultures. For instance, Goryeo
Goryeo
The Goryeo Dynasty or Koryŏ was a Korean dynasty established in 918 by Emperor Taejo. Korea gets its name from this kingdom which came to be pronounced Korea. It united the Later Three Kingdoms in 936 and ruled most of the Korean peninsula until it was removed by the Joseon dynasty in 1392...
was assessed at 10,000 otter
Otter
The Otters are twelve species of semi-aquatic mammals which feed on fish and shellfish, and also other invertebrates, amphibians, birds and small mammals....
skins, 20,000 horses, 10,000 bolts
Bolt (fabric)
A bolt is a unit of measurement used as an industry standard for a variety of materials from wood to canvas, typically materials stored in a roll. The length is usually either 40 or 100 yards but varies depending on the fabric being referred to, for example, a bolt of canvas is traditionally 39...
of silk
Silk
Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The best-known type of silk is obtained from the cocoons of the larvae of the mulberry silkworm Bombyx mori reared in captivity...
, clothing for 1,000,000 soldiers, and a large number of children and artisans as slaves.