There once lived a man whose life and accomplishments have led him to being either called a hero or villain. This man would happen to be Chinggis Khan. He is believed to be a hero since he enabled safe cross-Eurasian trade, tolerated all religions and had the first Mongolian written language created. On the other side of the spectrum he is a villain due to the massacre of thousands of innocent people, his mastering of steppe diplomacy, and aiding the spread of the Bubonic Plaque. Chinggis Khan is viewed by many as a villain due to history, focusing on his devilish acts and not on his good deeds. First off, through his conquests of Persia, China, and Central Asia, Khan made it so Eurasian trade was less risky leading to the linking of Europe
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The best evidence for this comes from his massacring of thousands of innocent people, especially in Persia. When the Khwarazm shah at the time of Chinggis’ conquests killed Khan’s envoys, he released the Mongolian’s wrath. Chinggis Khan went throughout Persia with his army slaying people left and right, leveling entire towns, and even destroyed the qanat irrigation system leaving people no way to water their crops. Also, as Khan rose to become a leader within the Mongolian tribes he became a master of the art of steppe diplomacy. This type of diplomacy called for courage, loyalty to allies, the ability to make alliances with new tribes, and the alacrity to betray allies or those superior to you to enhance your positions and move up in the ranks. By practicing this art, Khan became a person who cared only about himself and would do anything to move up in the ranks just to gain more power. Ultimately, the evilest thing done by Chinggis was aiding in the spread of the Bubonic Plaque. The plaque originated in China, where it began in the early 14th century and spread to Europe through the Silk Roads and the Black Sea. Since Khan had linked Europe and China any disease was able to be spread due to the large abundance of trade that was taking place under the Pax Mongolica. Merchants traveling along brought the Bubonic Plaque from China and took it all the way to Egypt where it was then spread westward. In addition, when the Mongols attacked the Italian merchants near modern day Crimea, they spread the plaque from themselves to the Italians who then went on to spread it into Europe. Some Chinese records, even support the claim that the Black Death originated in Mongolia and was spread outward. If Chinggis Khan had never risen to power, then the plaque would have never been able to spread beyond Asia, since the Chinese were unable to trade
The best evidence for this comes from his massacring of thousands of innocent people, especially in Persia. When the Khwarazm shah at the time of Chinggis’ conquests killed Khan’s envoys, he released the Mongolian’s wrath. Chinggis Khan went throughout Persia with his army slaying people left and right, leveling entire towns, and even destroyed the qanat irrigation system leaving people no way to water their crops. Also, as Khan rose to become a leader within the Mongolian tribes he became a master of the art of steppe diplomacy. This type of diplomacy called for courage, loyalty to allies, the ability to make alliances with new tribes, and the alacrity to betray allies or those superior to you to enhance your positions and move up in the ranks. By practicing this art, Khan became a person who cared only about himself and would do anything to move up in the ranks just to gain more power. Ultimately, the evilest thing done by Chinggis was aiding in the spread of the Bubonic Plaque. The plaque originated in China, where it began in the early 14th century and spread to Europe through the Silk Roads and the Black Sea. Since Khan had linked Europe and China any disease was able to be spread due to the large abundance of trade that was taking place under the Pax Mongolica. Merchants traveling along brought the Bubonic Plaque from China and took it all the way to Egypt where it was then spread westward. In addition, when the Mongols attacked the Italian merchants near modern day Crimea, they spread the plaque from themselves to the Italians who then went on to spread it into Europe. Some Chinese records, even support the claim that the Black Death originated in Mongolia and was spread outward. If Chinggis Khan had never risen to power, then the plaque would have never been able to spread beyond Asia, since the Chinese were unable to trade