HAMUN 43. The Mongol Conquest of Eurasia

Transcription

1 HAMUN 43 The Mongol Conquest of Eurasia

2 Mongolian Society in 1200 AD The Mongol people were a steppe nomad society, similar to those that covered the entirety of Northern Asia from the Pontic and Caucasian regions through the Central Asian plains and all the way to Manchuria and Siberia. Most of these cultures originated from hunter societies that tended to thrive in the forests of the region and then shifted gradually to a more nomadic lifestyle with political strife between tribes and an emergence of trade, raiding and frequent migrations. The tribes of the region were similar in culture and language but would remain in conflict with each other, vying for power, for several centuries. The sedentary kingdoms of China would frequently play the nomadic tribes of the steppes against one another to ensure conflict amongst them as a way to deter a powerful nomadic empire from forming and raiding into China. They would at times even rule over the nomads through direct rule, alliances, or vassals. In 12 th century China, however, a series of rebellions against the ruling northern dynasty, the Liao, and the war between their successor state, the Jin, and the southern Song dynasty led to a situation that allowed for a buildup of wealth in Mongolia. The vast herds of livestock and trade that the nomads conducted led them to profit off of the wars raging in China. This buildup of wealth led to an agreement amongst the many nomadic tribes to settle differences and ensure that they could be unified against external threats since they were now free from Chinese influence for the first time in several centuries. In terms of religion, the Mongols were a shamanist peoples, similar to many of the nomadic people of the far northern steppes. Although the Islamic faith would later permeate across the steppe, as it already had done so across the Central Asian plains, the Mongols believed in no great deity other than the sky. They worshipped in a form of natural, ancestral shamanism and did so through nature. A key tenant of the philosophy of the shamanist beliefs they practiced was that Heaven is nothing more nor less than the consciousness of each one of us. Heaven is our guide; under it we are born free and equal (from the Secret History of the Mongols). The Mongols did not have a huge population. With only 2 million people and an army of only about 100,000, the Mongols would have no chance in conquering anyone if they were a conventional military force of the time. However, there were a few attributes of Mongol life that made the unified tribes such a threat. All Mongols had three things that their life depended on: a yurt, a bow, and a horse. These three things were the essence of the Mongol people and allowed them to flourish as both a nomadic society and a warmachine that could conquer the known world. Still, what this society needed most at this

3 time was someone who could unify the tribes as one and hold on to power long enough to decimate any who stood before their combined force. Chinggis Khan: a brief introduction Chinggis Khan (also spelled Genghis Khan or Qian) was a unitary figure that changed the thinking of the various Mongol tribes who thought of their tribe before their fellow Mongols and instead gave them a sense of ethnic nationalistic identity as Mongols first and Khongirad or Tayichi ut (two different Mongol tribes) second. He also saw the great influence religion held within his own people and amongst the peoples he conquered. Although not very religious himself, Chinggis recognized the importance of faith and decided early on to issue forth a policy of religious tolerance for all regions that were conquered. Although the generals of Chinggis Khan are famous for their unparalleled brilliance in tactics and warfare, their reputation for strategy often overshadows the genius of the man they swore to serve. Chinggis was the greatest empire-builder to ever live, and that claim is no understatement. From Alexander the Great, Caesar, Charlemagne, Napoleon, and Victoria, none could match the success of Chinggis and this could be seen by the continuation of his empire down to his son Goodie. Records show of his use of tactics to ensure that he would be well informed of the people he was about to attack. He would also ensure his enemies knew the Mongols were coming and give them a chance to surrender or else die without mercy at their hands. He never broke his word and safeguarded those who surrendered to him, those who served him and those who joined him. The character of Chinggis was such that enemies had the utmost respect for him and feared him. He developed as a leader at a very young age. When a child, he navigated tribal politics successfully and built himself up to become the Khan of the Mongol peoples. He learned many things during this time, such as how to lead his people with the greatest success and loyalty and how to turn enemies to allies as well as deal with those who betrayed him. Interestingly, the Mongols also were innately curious, led by Chinggis himself. They learned as much as they could from other cultures and used their unique skills to their advantage in order to further both their conquests and build the foundation of their empire. No group of people that showed respect and humility before the Mongols after being conquered was ever oppressed and records indicate that Chinggis was very fair in doling out punishment when needed. All of these skills and who Chinggis Khan became originate from his childhood and how he, Temüjin, was able to rise to power.

4 Temüjin Temüjin was born in about the year 1162 to Yisügei-ba atur, Khan of the Mongols. He was said to be born holding a blood clot in his fist, a sign that he would become a great leader. He was the first son of Hö elün of the Khongirad tribe. Not much is known about his early childhood, although his father was a powerful leader and might have risen to become a great khan himself, until his enemies, the Tartars, poisoned him. Just before his death, Yisügei married the nine-year-old Temüjin to Börte, a young girl from his mother s tribe, the Khongirad. Temüjin was left with his future wife s family to act as the head of the tribe till he was able to marry her once they both reached the age of 12. Upon his father s death, Temüjin attempted to return and take on leadership of the Borjigin clan, however, his claim was rejected and the clan threw his family out. It is important to note that Temüjin had four younger brothers, one sister, and one older step-brother. After their tribe cast them out, Temüjin s family lived an impoverished life, scavenging daily for food and merely staying alive. His older half-brother, Bekter, was cruel, stole food from his other brothers, and took control of the family. For these reasons, Temüjin despised him. Eventually, going against his mother s wishes, Temüjin killed Bekter and took control of the family. A short period afterwards, Temüjin was taken prisoner by another Mongol clan, the Tayichi ut, that had previously fought alongside his father. They enslaved him for several years, till he was able to escape with the assistance of a man who admired his ferocity. This escape made him famous and began his rise to prominence. Rise to Khagan Temüjin was able to find his family and, according to the Mongolian histories, then reunited with his wife, Börte. She was kidnapped shortly thereafter and had to be rescued by Temüjin and the new allies he had made. Jamuqa was one of these allies and became a sworn brother (close companion) of Temüjin. Although they fought and raided together for several years, eventually they would part ways as Jamuqa grew jealous of the power and attention Temüjin received. Temüjin consolidated power around himself after he was given control over his father s sworn brother s tribe, the Keraites, after serving alongside him faithfully for several years. He promoted those who showed loyalty, ferocity and cunning in battle and were capable men. Jamuqa also began to gather supporters among the traditional clans who held power in the steppe. Seeing Temüjin s success against the Merkits, the tribe that kidnapped his wife, and in other fights and raids, several tribal leaders met with Temüjin and decided to declare him Chinggis Qahan. Chinggis then fought

5 with Jamuqa, who led a coalition of tribes that refused to recognize Chinggis as Qahan. Chinggis lost several battles to Jamuqa, however, upon seeing Jamuqa s cruelty to those whom he defeated, many tribes defected to Chinggis and allowed him to achieve victory in the end. Chinggis then decided to attack another nomadic group that rivaled the Mongols for year, the Tartars. This was the first in a series of wars that Chinggis led against rival nomad groups. At the same time, Chinggis would fend off Jamuqa and attempt to maintain control of the Mongols. In the end, it would take several years before Jamuqa was betrayed by his soldiers and killed by Chinggis. In the meantime, Chinggis would lead successful campaigns against the various tribal groups in the Mongol region such as the Tartars, Merkits, Naimans, Kereits and Uyghurs. All of these wars would further and further build up the power Chinggis held over the nomadic peoples of the region. The wars also allowed him to build up a large army of approximately 50,000-80,000 to begin attacks on neighboring Khanates and raids into the Northern Chinese empires of Western Xia and Jin China. Invasion of the Tangut Empire Although still busy fighting the Merkits, the Mongols at this time turned their attention to the south, away from the steppes they had been fighting in. As the Merkits were being pushed further back and pushed into submission, along with neighboring tribes of the Oirat, Buryat, and Kyrgyz, Chinggis personally led attacks into Xia territory several times. Xi Xia was an empire formed by the Tangut people of Western China followi ng the collapse of the Tang dynasty in the early 11 th century. They were independent from the Jin and Song empires and were the first region of China to be attacked by Chinggis. Preliminary raids in 1205 and 1207 cleared the way for a full invasion after Chinggis Khan was declared the Khagan of all the Mongol tribes once he had defeated and united all of them. Finally, in 1209 Chinggis prepared a group of about 30,000-50,000 men to invade the empire.

6 The Xia requested help from the Jin but were denied as the Jin saw no reason to aid their adversary. Chinggis was able to take his force and defeat the army outside of the northern city of Wulahai before heading down the Yellow River and attempting to seize the capital of Xingqing. They were outnumbered four to one, yet the Chinese knew they would lose in the field, so they remained within their city while the Mongols tried to figure a way out to get in. Attempts to trick the soldiers into attacking the Mongols outside the city and flooding the city to force them out both failed and the Mongols were unable to successfully force a surrender. Nonetheless, due to the destruction of their food supply, and the threat posed by the small yet potent Mongol force, the Tangut emperor submitted to Mongols and swore fealty. The Tangut emperor was furious with the Jin refusal to send aid and after agreeing to serve Chinggis, decided to attack and raid the Jin territories bordering the Xia. Through the conquest of the Xi Xia, Chinggis had secured an important section of the silk road routes between China and the Middle East and had secured a stronghold from which he could launch invasions into Central Asia and the much more bountiful Jin China. The stage was set for the Mongols to invade the known world. China: Divided yet Powerful China had always had cycles of powerful dynasties followed by a collapse and warring period before another dynasty could consolidate power and claim the mandate of heaven. From 618AD to 907AD, the Tang dynasty held firm control over all of China and established one of the most prosperous periods of Chinese history. After the collapse of the Tang dynasty, however, China fell into disarray and was divided amongst many emergent and collapsing dynasties. The period known as the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period was a time where China split into a multitude of states and no singly power ruled all of the Chinese people. It would be over 50 years before the Song dynasty emerged in central China and established control over all the Chinese kingdoms that rose in the aftermath of the Tang collapse. The Song would be fairly powerful rulers in their early years, with success against the Western Xia empire of the Tangut people, which remained independent till the Mongols invaded, and with success in campaigns against the Liao dynasty that ruled over Manchuria and lower Mongolia. However, the Song would prove to be militarily weak and unable to hold their own in later conflicts with both the Liao and Xia, as well as the Dai Viet. These military shortcomings would persist with the Song for the rest of their rule in China and they would see their territory slowly dwindle until the Mongol invasions in the late 13 th century wiped them out. The Khitan nomadic Liao dynasty ruled over Manchuria, lower Mongolia and northern China, and maintain relatively peaceful relations with the Song throughout their tenure over the region. All this changed when the Liao were toppled by their Jurchen vassals from Manchuria in Declaring themselves the Jin dynasty, the Jurchens fought a rebellion against the decadent Liao and sought to overthrow them. The Song agreed to

7 an alliance with them in the hopes of retaking territories given to the Liao as part of their appeasement strategy over the past 100 years. Although the Song aided the Jin to destroy the Liao, the Jin knew of the Song dynasty s weak armies and decided to attack them once the Liao were defeated. They would push into the Song territories and take control of a significant chunk of northern China including the Song capital of Kaifeng. Throughout the 12 th century the southern Chinese Song dynasty and the northern Jurchen Jin dynasty fought a series of wars in which the Jin typically made small gains, but both empires continuously weakened themselves fighting each other. Although a period or relative peace existed in the decades preceding the Mongol invasion, poor leadership amongst both the Jin and Song emperors led to a lack of preparation for war or any kind of extended conflict with an invasion force. The Jin Emperor Xingsheng and his successor, Xuanzong, both were weak and ineffective rulers that were indecisive in their actions towards the Mongols and their Song adversaries. Their generals and nobles were known for having little loyalty to the emperor and often acted in the selfinterests of the people of the region. Xingsheng just recently refused to aid the Xia Xi empire and has refused advice from several generals to rebuild defenses on the Mongol border following sighting and reports of small Mongol raiding parties in Jin territory. Administrative advisors have also attempted to issue reforms in the past decade to no avail and several of them just recently defected to the Mongol side, most notably the Confucian scholar and statesmen Yelü Chucai and the general Shi Tianze. There are also rumors that the emperor may be plotting an invasion into the Song territories and of potential struggles for power within the capital city of Zhongdu. The Jin will have to prepare themselves for the Mongol onslaught while also keeping in check the other empire of the region, especially their adversaries: the Song. The Song will have to determine the best course of action after their recent failed invasion of the Jin and decide if they should attempt another invasion or if they should instead focus on other regional kingdoms, the impending Mongol threat, or internal divisions that they too may be facing. Other kingdoms in the region, such as the Koreans, Japanese,

8 Vietnamese, and Burmese, are very powerful and capable of fielding huge armies that can actually rival the weakened Chinese empires. They too can make a play for power and create an empire that the world has never before seen. The Islamic Sultans Saladin has died, and once again the Islamic world is left fractured and disunited. Rumors spill in from the Christian Crusader lords of another holy war declared by their pope and still the Sultans of the various Islamic states scattered throughout Africa and the Levant fight amongst each other to see who will be the next ruler of the Islamic heartlands. The Middle East is divided like it has not been since the times of the great Prophet and the Umayyad Caliphate that began the unified rule over the Islamic world. Now there are sultanates in Anatolia, Egypt, the Levant, Persia, and even Delhi. All of them are fighting amongst themselves for power while also spreading the faith to the Christian kingdoms in the West or to the Pagans in India. Still, the outlook for the Islamic faith and the empires adhering to it are fairly good. The Byzantine empire is in ruins after the foolish crusaders decided to sack it, and the Sultanate of Rum in Anatolia advances ever closer to taking the Roman capital of Constantinople. The Khwarazmian Shahs have established an empire in Persia and are expanding rapidly northward into the plains of the nomadic Turkic peoples, potentially rising to become the next great Islamic empire. The Abbasid Caliphs still hold on to the holy city and Islamic stronghold of Baghdad that they have occupied for centuries. There may be some conflict in the Levant following the aftermath of the Islamic victories over the crusaders, yet the Sultans are not weak. Ala ad-din of Khwarezmia warns the Sultans of a warlord who leads a vast army of horsemen, but what possible threat could they pose to the followers of Allah? Right now, this warlord is allied to Ala ad-din, so we have nothing to fear about. Divided the Sultans may be, but they are still capable of matching the strength of the combined forces of the Christian lords of Europe. Let the horsemen come.

9 Eastern Europe: Broken and Weak Eastern Europe never really recovered from the dark ages. No Charlemagne united the Russians, Poles, Georgians, Hungarians, Bulgarians, and Greeks. There was no unity, and outside forces quickly ate away at the disjointed and fractured kingdoms that existed in the region. Poland and Hungary were preyed upon by the Emperor of the German princes. The Russians were raided frequently by the Cuman and Tartar tribes. The Byzantines were constantly in holy war with the encroaching Muslims, and were attacked by the Crusaders, their fellow Christians. The Bulgarians were rebelling against their Byzantine oppressors and carving out their own kingdom out of the rest of the Eastern states. And amongst all this conflict, the ethnic groups of Eastern Europe were divided into principalities vying against each other for power and dominance in their respective regions. Eastern Europe was likely the weakest are of the world at this time and had absolutely nothing in its favor. Rurik and other strong rulers like him had long gone and all that remained were the dukes and lords who ruled over cities and the countryside around them. However, there was news of a Christian King who was striking fear into the hearts of the Tartars and the Muslims. This king had destroyed a Tartar Khanate that existed in beyond the Cumans and was heading westward. Some said he was a descendent of Prester John and had declared war upon the entire Christian world. Still others claim that he is a new Christian King who rose up in Persia and is marching towards Jerusalem to claim it back for Christendom. Maybe this man will be a new start for Eastern Europe. Mongol Military Strategy The Mongols were frequently outnumbered in the battles that they fought, however, they made up for this lack of numbers with superb strategy aided by their army composition. The Mongols in battle consisted of 100 percent mounted cavalry unlike any of the enemies they fought (aside from other nomadic groups). This allowed them to implement strategies that most conventional armies of the time never could and gave them an edge in battle that allowed them to thrash armies that were anywhere from 2 to 10 times larger than their own force. The fact that many of the Mongol generals were the greatest of all time only aided in their domination over enemy armies. The Mongols also had a very sophisticated network of traders and spies that fed information to them about the movements and weaknesses of their enemies. That also allowed them to rout their enemies and conquer kingdoms at a rapid pace. They were also excellent an offensive diplomacy. Often, Mongol generals would cause enemies to turn on each other and rip each other apart before they stepped in to finish off the remnants of the

10 enemy force. In other instances, they would know when to withdraw and implement new strategies to defeat their enemies. The greatest weakness they faced was in sieging enemy cities, but this was not an issue after the recruitment of Chinese siege engineers in the early Mongol campaigns against the Jin and Xia Xi. Mongol Goals Conquer China Conquer Qara Khitai, which has harbored one of your enemies Conquer the various steppe people beyond the Khitani empire Subutai and other generals have proposed a scouting raid as far east as they can go Maintain relations with the Khwarazmian Empire, or seek to invade them Ensure the safety of Chinggis Qahan and his dominance over all the people of the Steppe (all individual in this committee have the utmost loyalty to Chinggis and should have no thoughts of betrayal, the one thing Chinggis excelled at above all others was his ability to inspire the utmost loyalty amongst his generals and companions, any disloyalty was punishable by death and exile of the traitor s entire family) Establish spy networks throughout future potential areas of conquest to ensure that the Mongol forces can efficiently wage war against the enemy Chinese Goals All minor Chinese kingdoms should seek to maintain independence and take advantage of the weakness of other neighboring kingdoms, those bordering China may even invade the Celestial Empire if they dare Japan needs to ensure loyalty from its Daimyos Each Chinese dynasty should ultimately aim to establish itself as the one true Chinese Emperor Jin China Maintain current borders with the Song dynasty, determine whether an invasion is viable since they just failed to invade you Goryeo (Korea) is fairly weak and was previously a tributary state to the Liao, this status could be re-established with an invasion Decide whether to fortify against potential invasions from the Mongols or the Song Divisions in society are becoming more apparent as the Jurchen and Khitan peoples chafe under Chinese rule, address these divisions before they rise up like the Jin rose up against the Liao Song China The Dai Viet and Burmese kingdoms to the south could be potential avenues of expansion to satisfy the nationalist tendencies of the Song court that led to the failed invasion of Jin China The Mongols have offered interesting propositions in regards to attacking the Jin empire together The Jin are still much stronger than you

11 Keep control over your territory and attempt to prevent any further loss of Song territory to the Jin Perhaps consider aiding the Jin against the Mongol threat, although they are still your enemy and likely cannot be trusted Islamic Sultan s Goals Expand the faith across India, Central Asia and Europe (if you border these regions) Force a collapse of the Byzantine empire and capture Constantinople, this would crush the Byzantine empire and likely lead to their full collapse (Sultanate of Rum) Push further into India and establish Islamic rule over the idol-worshipers of the region (Delhi Sultanate) The Mongols invasion could be delayed if they are not provoked, however, this will also allow them to grow more powerful and invade with greater force later Each Sultan also aspires to hold the great honor of being Caliph, should a ruler seize control over enough territory (the cities of Cairo, Baghdad, and Damascus) then they can take on the title of Caliph and could potentially recreate a massive Caliphate in the region (the Abbasid Caliph has an empty title of Caliph as of the start of this committee) For the rulers in Egypt, Anatolia, Syria and Mesopotamia, their goal should be to consolidate aforementioned above regions and create a singular power if at all possible in the center of the Islamic world, dealing with external threats (such as pesky crusaders) as they arise European Goals The Georgians are preparing a crusade, Catholic rulers should and will aid in this endeavor The Byzantine/Nicaean Empire should seek to restore themselves to power, at least as much as they can The Cuman Khan should attempt to raid and profit off of the Russians, trading with the Venetians in the Crimea The Russian principalities need to fend off the threat of the Cuman Khanate The Russian princes also fight amongst each other in the hope of unifying and creating a new Russian Kingdom The Poles are divided but will follow the High Duke of Poland, to an extent Poland is friendly with Hungary, which has not taken advantage of their fractured situation (yet) Hungary is the most powerful of the Christian Kingdoms of the East and should aid the Byzantines against the Islamic threat in Anatolia as well as weaken their Bulgarian rivals as much as possible Hungary and Bulgarian Empire are consistently at war and do not get along, if possible, Hungary would attempt to establish a strong Serbian vassal state in the region

12 The Venetians have powerful trade influence in the region, all along Greece and the Black Sea s coast Venice puts money before anything, including religion, and will do anything to get as much trade and money as possible Venice was responsible for the 4 th Crusade that destroyed the Byzantines and has gained much land in Greece as a result