Key Points

The term 'nomadic empires' seems contradictory because nomads are wanderers, while empires suggest stability and complex structures. The Mongol Empire is a key example that challenges this narrow view.

Our knowledge of nomadic societies primarily comes from biased chronicles and travelogues written by city-based authors. Russian scholarship and multi-lingual sources in Chinese, Persian, and Arabic are also vital.

The Mongols were a diverse group of pastoralists and hunter-gatherers in Central Asia. Their society was divided into patrilineal lineages, and they lived in tents called gers, migrating with their herds.

Born as Temujin around 1162, he experienced great hardship before uniting various Mongol tribes. In 1206, an assembly of chieftains (quriltai) proclaimed him Genghis Khan, the 'Universal Ruler'.

Genghis Khan systematically erased old tribal identities by organizing his army into decimal units (10s, 100s, 1000s). He distributed members of different tribes into new military groups to ensure loyalty to him alone.

The Mongol army's success was due to its superior horse-riding and archery skills, speed, mobility, and its quick adoption of siege warfare and naphtha bombardment.

Under Genghis Khan, the Mongols conquered territories in north China, Transoxiana, Afghanistan, and eastern Iran. His successors expanded the empire into Russia, Poland, Hungary, and all of China.

Genghis Khan assigned the responsibility of governing newly conquered people to his four sons, creating four 'ulus' or domains. This was intended to be a collectively ruled empire shared by the family.

A rapid courier system called the 'yam' connected distant areas of the empire with outposts and fresh mounts. It was maintained by a tax called 'qubcur' and enabled the Great Khans to monitor their vast regime.

The Mongol conquests established a period of relative peace known as Pax Mongolica. This secured and expanded trade routes like the Silk Route, connecting Europe and Asia more than ever before.

The Mongols recruited civil administrators from the sophisticated sedentary societies they conquered. For example, Chinese secretaries were deployed in Iran and Persians in China to help govern.

After Genghis Khan's death, succession struggles led to the gradual separation of the empire. His descendants formed individual dynasties like the Yuan in China, the Il-Khanids in Iran, and the Golden Horde in Russia.

The 'yasa' was the code of law attributed to Genghis Khan. It evolved from meaning 'decree' to a sacred legal code that helped cohere the Mongol people and protect their identity.

The Mongol rulers were tolerant of various faiths, including Shamanism, Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam. Their personal beliefs did not dictate public policy in their multi-ethnic and multi-religious empire.

Genghis Khan is viewed dually as a ruthless conqueror responsible for mass destruction, and as the Mongols' greatest leader who united his people and established a transcontinental empire.

Today, the nation of Mongolia venerates Genghis Khan as a great national hero. He is an iconic figure used to forge a national identity based on a glorious past.