Pros And Cons Of The Mongol Empire

Of all empires of the ancient world, it is difficult to determine whether or not the influences of the Mongol Empire were good or bad. Were they relentless nomadic warriors whose sole purpose of living was to kill? Or were they defined by their religious tolerance and their use of free trade? The answer lies within the minds of the conquered people – unspeakable. Generally, when an area of a city was conquered, total elimination of the population was regularly practiced to ensure security. While annihilation seems brutal, cultures were regularly destroyed. In spite of population slaughter, they had also unknowingly contributed to perhaps what is considered the most destructive enemy of the Dark Ages. The Bubonic Plague, otherwise known as the …show more content…
Located in Ancient China, the overall Yuan Dynasty of China had been under total control of the Mongol Empire. Mongol campaigns in Northern China caused extensive destruction and numerous architectures and art were destroyed. In the Jin Dynasty, there was a noticeable lack of Chinese literature predating the Mongol conquest. Books were most likely burnt or lost during the riots sparked by the Mongol Empire. Not only did the Mongols kill the people they have conquered, they completely destroyed all evidence of living (Green). The Battle of Baghdad was an example of cultural elimination. At this siege in 1258, books were thrown in rivers, libraries and hospitals were destroyed, and culture was lost forever. The Mongols committed numerous atrocities and destroyed the Abbasids’ vast libraries. The most horrid act had to be the destruction of the Islamic intellectual center, the House of wisdom. This Siege was considered to mark the end of the Islamic Golden Age; this itself already speaks for how much the moment is seared into history (May). Similar to the Islamic Golden Age, the Mongol influence on the Iraq and Iran is irreversible. The Mongols destroyed the irrigation structures of Iran and Iraq, ruining the years of effort of refining farming and water supply. It would take …show more content…
By the time the Mongols had conquered most of their land, the Silk Road had fallen into disuse. Because of their religious tolerance, the Mongols made the first great free-trade zone. However, these trade routes (Pax Mongolia) were perfect vectors for the disease to travel. Rats were scientifically known to have carried fleas with the Bubonic Plague but were able to travel in Black Sea trading ships that only existed because of the Mongols. Although the Mongols never intended for a disease to spread, they are still partially responsible (Green). The Mongols also often launched disease-ridden corpses over city walls to contaminate its inhabitants. This use of biological warfare during the siege of Kaffa was probably the battle where the Plague was taken into Europe. After the siege, Genoese traders fled, taking along with them the plague into Sicily and the south of Europe (Morris). Fleeing invasion from the siege of Kaffa drove exiles to other countries in Europe. The plague also spread into areas where the Mongols have never conquered, and these refugees were most likely the primary source of the Black Death. The individuals who were driven out were likely infected with the disease by drinking water that the Mongols infected The actions of the Mongols had released a domino-like chain of events that would eventually lead to