Eight hundred years ago during the 13th century a small central Asian tribe known as the Mongols conquered much of the known world. Mongols were nomadic people known for being barbaric and harsh when expanding their empire. Even though the Mongols were obviously brutes, their expansion of territory, military tactics, and facilitation of commerce proved they were more helpful than harmful.
Genghis Khan was the founder of the Mongols and started the conquest of the Mongol Empire. He reigned from 1162-1227 eventually dying and leaving his legacy to his son. Genghis Khan conquered approximately 4,860,000 square miles of territory (Doc A). The size of the world conquered was almost double that of Alexander the Great which was 2,180,000 square miles
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They conquered nearly all of Asia and achieved the dream of controlling the continental caravan routes from China to Persia (Doc J). The Mongol Empire made significant contributions to the political institutions, economic development, and cultural diversity of many lands (Doc J). In both China and Persia the Mongols had taken up homes among their subjects and blended with the local societies which led to the diversified economic development (Doc J). Mongol emperors built canals to improve transportation and communication also the silk industry benefited from the Mongol conquest. When visited by travelers the Mongols were known to have harsh laws on theft make them very trustworthy to trade with (Doc K). The Security of the Mongol trading was so good that you could leave your things unattended and come back to them. Kubilai Khan’s rule also helped to shape the empire and improve the stability. He put new legal systems in which reduced capital crimes by half (Doc H). Also the fine arts blossomed during the reign of the Mongols (Doc H). The Mongol empire may of have a “barbaric” start but the conquest proves to help central Asia than