Imagine this, you are a Chinese peasant living in the 1200s minding your own business farming; then suddenly, flaming arrows are fly out of nowhere, the sound of war horns roar in the distance and mounted warriors are riding around slaughtering your fellow townspeople. Who are these evil people? They are the Mongols! Not only will they kill your townspeople, but also will end up killing millions of people across Eurasia and create the largest land empire in history. One may think that this is another history lesson to collect dust the shelf, but little do people know that the Mongols had left a large impression, both positive and negative, on the world that helped shape what it is today.
The Mongols are a nomadic confederation of tribes that …show more content…
Their primary military influence was the weapon technology and organization of the army. The Mongols successfully used new inventions and were extremely adaptable to their environments. The primary weapon used by the Mongols was the Composite Bow. Some would know that in Europe, the English had the best bow in history, called the English Longbow. However, the composite bow was much more effective than the English longbow and could fire almost double the range of the longbow (Poisou). In addition, the Mongols had some of the first gunpowder weapons ever available including early forms of modern day weapons like firearms, grenades, and landmines. The usage of these weapons terrified the conquered people, but due to the vast conquests of the Mongols, these were spread all throughout the empire and eventually introduced to the Europeans. Another non-militarily technology, but vitally crucial to Mongol success, was the stirrup. This technical advantage allowed the Mongol archers to turn their upper body, and shoot in all directions, including backwards (Mongol Military Tactics and Organization). Once the stirrup was introduced to Europe, European knights were more efficient at fighting and helped bring the use of cavalry to even greater heights than before. The Mongols also initiated the use of biological warfare. They did so by catapulting diseased bodies over city walls during sieges to spread the disease and weaken the defenders. Also, the Mongols were extremely skilled with siege warfare and were able to besiege cities quickly and effectively. They introduced more effective trebuchets (catapults that used counterweights) to fire stones accurately up to 500 meters and influenced European designs in the high middle ages until the gunpowder era in Europe. Finally, the Mongols were masters at physiological warfare. Their varying treatment of the conquered people instilled fear
The Mongols are a nomadic confederation of tribes that …show more content…
Their primary military influence was the weapon technology and organization of the army. The Mongols successfully used new inventions and were extremely adaptable to their environments. The primary weapon used by the Mongols was the Composite Bow. Some would know that in Europe, the English had the best bow in history, called the English Longbow. However, the composite bow was much more effective than the English longbow and could fire almost double the range of the longbow (Poisou). In addition, the Mongols had some of the first gunpowder weapons ever available including early forms of modern day weapons like firearms, grenades, and landmines. The usage of these weapons terrified the conquered people, but due to the vast conquests of the Mongols, these were spread all throughout the empire and eventually introduced to the Europeans. Another non-militarily technology, but vitally crucial to Mongol success, was the stirrup. This technical advantage allowed the Mongol archers to turn their upper body, and shoot in all directions, including backwards (Mongol Military Tactics and Organization). Once the stirrup was introduced to Europe, European knights were more efficient at fighting and helped bring the use of cavalry to even greater heights than before. The Mongols also initiated the use of biological warfare. They did so by catapulting diseased bodies over city walls during sieges to spread the disease and weaken the defenders. Also, the Mongols were extremely skilled with siege warfare and were able to besiege cities quickly and effectively. They introduced more effective trebuchets (catapults that used counterweights) to fire stones accurately up to 500 meters and influenced European designs in the high middle ages until the gunpowder era in Europe. Finally, the Mongols were masters at physiological warfare. Their varying treatment of the conquered people instilled fear