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Had organized government, laws, and punishments in place- Structured politics and gov. Law and Order make for safer travel and trading because of scams and theft.
I support this argument because the Mongols, while they had their faults, they also helped a lot of people and supported wealth and prosperity, especially along the Silk Roads.
I think that having an organized government is something that makes a Kingdom civilized because having laws, punishments, and order can help to protect citizens within the Empire making it a much safer Kingdom for regular people.
- Genghis Khan had a lot of religious tolerance and tolerance of other cultures. He allowed people to keep their religion if it did not get in the way of the political views of the Mongol Empire. (From Heimler's History video)
The Mongols were civilized because they helped protect the silk road. They punished bandits and kept it safe. This encouraged trade and helped connect many places including Asia and Europe.
There was Pax Mongolica, a peacetime for the Mongols. This demonstrates that even one of the most notoriously violent civilizations was capable of peace.
“Built beautiful capitals” Public projects showing traits of civilization and it was for the people. Big cities encouraged trade and positively impacted exchange networks.
I dispute this statement because, while the Silk Road brought prosperity to many states, the Mongols also spread the Black Plague on the routes, killing millions, because they opened up trade
The Mongols had a very sophisticated military. They were taught to shoot short bows and ride horses at the same time which intimidated their opponents.
I dispute this statement because, although the Mongols had a very impressive military, they used their military in battles, where very many people died.
Genghis Khan - I believe that I allowed for my Mongol Empire to flourish during my reign, and I not only did good for my Empire, but I also connected the East and the West through the trade routes that I protected.
Kublai Khan in China improved the status of merchants putting them at a higher status since before merchants in China typically had a low status. (Mongols in World History article)
The Mongols were civilized because they built infrastructure including roads, bridges, and postal offices. These helped with transportation and spread of ideas.
The Mongols were civilized because they had religious tolerance. This allowed more freedom for the people in the empire compared to other empires which could force religion upon people.
Extremely efficient and organized military, using speed and mobility to defeat their enemies, along with harsh discipline within their army and spies against their enemies. They used powerful short bows on horses.
The Mongols were civilized because they were very tolerant of different religions, there were people of many different religions throughout the empire.
They rebuild and protected the Silk Roads, therefore many merchants started trading again, which increased trade and improved the economy in many states, in Asia, Africa and Europe.
Genghis Khan - Although my military tactics may be considered “cruel”, I have made my empire into the largest land empire in the world, and I have done good for my empire such as promoting the arts and protecting the Silk Roads, which brought more wealth for my empire as trade flourished.
Genghis Khan - I created the best organized military in the world, with skilled, mobile fighters who were trained to be excellent horsemen while also being skilled with the crossbow.
Before invading a state they let the people surrender. If the did the Mongols wouldn't kill anybody, and only if they refused to surrender the Mongols would start killing them.
As a woman who was allowed political power, Sorghaghtani would definitely say the Mongols were civilized. Most other areas didn't allow women to have much power, especially not as much as she had. After Tolui, her husband and Genghis Khans grandson passed away, she led his kingdom(in Northern China and Eastern Mongolia) for a while before passing that power on to her son.
Sorghaghtani was given the power to lead the land that her husband has once had, Tolui. Essentially, she controlled Northern China and Eastern Mongolia.
This was rare for a mongol women to be given power, because during this time that the Mongol empire existed it was very rare for women to be given any power at all. Thats how the Mongols were really unique in a way.
Ögödei, Sorghaghtani brother-in-law tried marrying his son (Guyuk) to Sorghaghtani so that they could be in charge of the land. However, with the power that she had she refused and led the kingdom on her own.
After Marco Polo finished his expedition in the Mongol Empire he returned to Europe to speak on his adventures. He told stories of paper money, efficient communication system, coal burning, gunpowder, and porcelain which are all technologies that Europe did not have. He even called Xanadu "the greatest palace that ever was."
Rashid al-Din: The Mongols were civilized because they helped record universal history. I was a historian who helped save many documents and information about many places.
Sorghaghtani refused to get remarried to the son of her brother-in-law. This shows she had her power in deciding whether or not she wanted to get married.
Marco Polo went on an expedition to work with Kublai Kahn in the Mongolian Empire. He was so impressed by their way of life that he stayed there for 17 years.
Was there anything in specific that Marco Polo was impressed by with how the Mongols lived or was he just impressed with the general way that they lived their day-to-day lives?
Rashid al-Din: The Mongols were civilized because they gave many people jobs, including me who was a statesmen and an associate. This gave me a lot of power.
Seeing how Sorghaghtani promoted her own sons to be heirs to their fathers thrown, she had political power to influence that decision. She had more power in the Mongolian areas than not.
Lastly, Kublai Khan sponsored intellectual pursuits by ordering the printing of many books and the construction of observatories for updating astronomical observation which helped Mongol civilization.
Hoelan was the mother of Genghis Khan. She was the biggest parental figure Genghis had in his life since his father was killed when he was only 10. When Genghis' father died, Hoelan did get a decent amount of power for being the Chief Wife.
Since Hoelan was Genghis Khan's dominant parental figure she was able to impact the Mongol Empire in different ways. Specifically, she helped to give women a higher status in the Mongol Empire and many women acquired more power in government as well. For example, many of Genghis' trusted advisors were in fact women which meant that the Mongol Empire gave women a much higher status than most women in other civilizations throughout history.
Although they were brutal conquerors they also gave prosperity to others. A good example of this is their protection over the Silk Road. This gave others more freedom when it came to traveling and trade. Also, the Mongols had religious tolerance, and women and men had equal rights which at the time this was not common.
The Mongols were uncivilized because they used psychological warfare to terrify their enemies, they intentionally spread the Black Plague by using dead soldiers as ammunition; catapulted infected dead bodies over the city walls.
The Mongols were uncivilized because they killed millions of people. They used many different tactics weapons to kill people in war and while conquering them.
Gengis khan said “The greatest happiness is to vanquish your enemies, to chase them before you, to rob them of their wealth, to see those dear to them bathed in tears, to clasp to your bosom their wives and daughters”-Gengis Khan,
The Mongols spread diseases and plagues during warfare; impacted trade routes because it was harder during an epidemic where diseases spread easily and people were wary of buying from travelers because of this
I, Ibn al-Athir am a historian who wrote of how the Tatars would kill all, sparing none. This included men, women, children, and even ripping open pregnant women to kill their unborn babies.
The Mongols were uncivilized because they were responsible for Black Death, by opening trade they spread the disease from the rats with infected fleas.
The Mongols killed up to 40 million people (10% of the world population, not counting the black plague that they spread by throwing dead bodies over city walls.)
“Destruction of Qanat Irrigation System” Destroyed something of important value needed to feed people and could have resulted in famine. Bad for trade.
We tend to call America civilized, yet in war we have also killed many and destroyed cities. The death and destruction caused by the Mongols doesn't necessarily correlate to how civilized they were, just the tactics used.
From Heimler’s History video it says Genghis says something like “Whoever submits shall be spared, but those who resist shall be destroyed with their wives, children, and dependants.”
(2.2 Lecture) They used physiological warfare to scare enemies into immediate surrender. For example, leaving piles of bodies of the people they killed. It is smart but very barbaric and uncivilized.
The Mongols were initially a nomadic group with no major advancements in architecture, technology, or art and they just raided northern Chinese cities.
Fair point, but there are far more humane ways to act then execution. They could simply demote them, but death is not the answer in a situation like this.
The Mongols were uncivilized because they spread the black plague. They used tactics such as throwing infected corpses into towns if they did not obey the Mongols.
Alauddin Khilji: Mongols were barbarians, they keep coming back even though have been beaten by me and my army. The Mongols kept trying and trying to get land in India I was a great general.
Pope Innocent IV: In 1245 I sent a messenger to the Mongols asking the Mongol ruler to become a Christian, and to stop his aggression against Europe and the killing of Christians, The Khan Güyük replied in 1246 in a letter demanding the submission of me and the other rulers of Europe.
Prince Mstislav lll of Kiev - Mstislav was the prince of a large portion of Russia and he also fought against the Mongols when hearing news that they would be invading Russia.
I'm Muhammad II, sultan of Khwarazm. Ghengis Khan sent me ambassadors to establish trade between our empires, but I was suspicious of them. I murdered them.
Did Guyuk forcefully take over and want your submission or had they been acting rather peaceful by responding to your letter instead of taking action first?
The devastation of the Khwarazmian state by Genghis Khan served as punishment for prior executions and insults inflicted on Mongol-sponsored merchants and emissaries and as a cautionary tale of belligerence toward and resistance to the Mongols.
Alauddin Khilji: By my military brilliance, managed to defeat the Mongols not once, but five times, and avoided defeat a sixth time even when taken by surprise, as the Mongols attacked with massive forces.
Prince Mstislav lll of Kiev - The Mongols only left 1 out of 10 soldiers in Mstislav's army escape including Mstislav. The rest were either killed or used as human supporters for furniture for the party used to celebrate the Mongols winning the battle.
The source is from the database that the school provided, the same one where you also probably got your evidence from and it was never specified in the article as to how it was documented.
I'm Muhammad II, sultan of Khwarazm. After I misjudged mongol power and murdered Mongol envoys, I fled from the army as they came after me and died on an island a few weeks later.
Qutuz, Mamluk sultan of Egypt: Egypt won against the Mongols, but Qutuz said during the battle that it was for Islam. They could've lost the religion if they lost.
After their defeat the Mongols decided to try and invade Japan for the second time which caused even more soldiers and people on both sides to die.-Hojo Tokimune
