For Jed, David and Christian C: This research was for you.

Parallel Timelines: (You don’t have to copy them.) Mongols: 100 * Crusades 100 *

Mongols Part 2: The Annihilators They move on to conquer “ the world“.

“ The greatest fortune a man can have is to conquer his enemy, steal his riches, ride his horses and enjoy his women.” Genghis Khan

Genghis Khan was a great military leader. Genghis Khan trained highly skilled soldiers.

Each soldier had 3 to 5 horses that he could hop onto as needed. They stood high in their stirrups and shot a continuous barrage of arrows as they moved head on into the enemy. They could shoot charging (going ahead) or retreating (running away).

They had leather armor that was covered with a lacquer like substance to harden it and protect them from penetration by arrows, swords and knives. Often their horses also carried this type of leather armor.

Genghis taught them to work as a team when they fought.

They were divided into units of 1,000 men. 1/3 of the troops did the close hand to hand combat. Two other squads encircled the opponent from both sides.

The most skilled fighters rose to be the leaders of these units. (A meritocratic system.)

They tried to “fake-out” their enemies by pulling them out of position or causing chaos. They would try to get the enemy to “charge” at them while they would pull back and set up the trap. Once the enemy tired, the Mongols turned and counterattacked.

The Mongols showered the dismounted (not on their horses) enemies with arrows or attacked them with lances. They shot the horses out from under the mounted enemies and then attacked them with swords or lances.

The Mongols didn’t win because they had superior weapons. Their strengths: Their ability to learn new skills and battle techniques from those they fought against. Their ability to instill fear in those they wanted to attack. Their mobility (ability to move fast). Their willingness to wage TOTAL WAR.

These guys were used to fighting in the Steppes. But they quickly learned how to adapt to all different forms of warfare. They learned siege warfare techniques at Beijing.

The Battle of Beijing

Part 3: After the Battle of Beijing in Northern China, Genghis Khan went back to Mongolia to build a great trade center. He sent a representative to Persia to build up trade. The Persians sent back the ambassador’s decapitated head and Genghis Khan set out to destroy Persia. On the way, he took whatever he saw.

His main war strategy was to frighten the townspeople into surrendering without battle. “Surrender or Die”

If a population agreed to pay the Mongols tribute, they were spared invasion and left relatively independent. When cities submitted, the Mongols took their warriors to resupply armies This also allowed the Mongols to absorb new technology, knowledge and skills to use against other opponents.

The alternative to submission was total war. Total war means to not hold back in any way. The goal was to totally destroy the enemy and his will to fight.

Once they attacked they didn’t leave any survivors.

Those who resisted were slaughtered as an example for others, which sent many fleeing and spreading panic to the cities that lay ahead. Drawings of Mongols cooking and eating the flesh of those they conquered.

Part 4: After Genghis Khan’s death his empire was split up between his 4 sons.

His Grandson Kublai Khan ended up in the area we now call China. It took him 6 years to defeat the Sung Empire.

The Portion he controlled was called the Yuan Empire.

They will all lose the land they control in the next century.

But the Mongols destroyed many cultures along the way. They destroyed the city of Baghdad sacking the capitol of the Eastern Caliphate.

They destroyed the thousands of books that were housed in the library there.

They used some of the books to make a bridge across the Tigris River. The attack left Baghdad in ruins For several centuries.

One more slide I found with an unknown meaning. “Bush with Mongols.”