How Barbaric Were The Barbarians Essay

Many people today have heard of Genghis Khan, and what he’s done. Not as many know how he did it though. Genghis Khan’s empire was bigger than the contiguous U.S. Before he became Genghis Khan, he was born Temujin. He was also born with a blood clot in his hand, which was an ancient sign of an acceptable leader. Many wonder just how barbaric were the ‘barbarians’? Although there is evidence to suggest that the Mongols had some non-barbaric traits, there is more evidence suggesting that the Mongols were indeed quite barbaric. One of the Mongols non-barbaric traits was their religious tolerance. Any prisoners they captured of different religious beliefs and nationalities, the Mongols continued to let them believe what they want. According …show more content…
They’d assemble their fighting forces, but they would also set princes, women, and children on horses a distance away facing the enemy. Sometimes, they would even create figures, and set them on horses to give an appearance of a great fighting force. Then, they would send prisoners from other nationalities ahead to face the enemy head-on. Other columns of stronger men dispatch far off to the left, and to the right, so they are not seen by the enemy. Then they close in and surround the enemy, fighting them from all sides. If they were attacking a fortress, they would make a strong attack with engines, (catapults) and arrows. They would constantly bombard day and night, making sure those fighting from the inside got no rest, while the Mongols took turns fighting and resting (Doc 3). Temujin had an elite fighting corps. He taught his men how to shoot not only on horseback, but to release an arrow just as all four feet of the horse were off the ground, improving accuracy. The Mongol bows could shoot up to 1,500 feet. His men were each given silk shirts, so if impaled with an arrow, the silk made it easier to pull the arrow (Movie