Mongols Impact On The Societies Of Afro-Eurasia In The 13th Century

At the start of the thirteenth century, the mongols rose to power using various tactics both psychologically and physically , extending their territory far and wide across Afro-Eurasia. While under the leader known as Genghis Khan, the Mongols conquered a vast amount of land uncomparable to the land conquered by Alexander the Great, as they unite the lands under one name. Leaving a mark so large on the cities behind with everlasting consequences that can not be erased.During the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, the mongols impacted the societies of Afro-Eurasia in many different ways. These impacts included making trade routes safer by having mongols patrol the silk roads which made trade safer for merchants/ the shifting of currency to

4 and 7), they did have a fair share of impact in a negative way. Their invasions and conquering of other lands and empires contributed to the drastic drop in population leaving cities with large quantities of deaths some without any survivors (doc.6). Sources like The Secret History of the Mongols, The Chronicles of Novgorod, and Juvaini all stated how the Mongols were ruthless, brutally ending the lives of the innocent whether it be men, women, or children, using gruesome methods like beheading, fire,etc., instilling fear into the people native to the land (doc. 1,3,6). These authors most likely stayed anonymous and published the documents after the incidents was the possibly because they feared the Mongols. They feared that the Mongols would double-cross them for releasing the negative statements toward the Mongols. Depicted in the chart, was the number of reported deaths, so tragic to the point that it left these cities with large number of deaths to also leaving Kozelsk with no survivors (doc.6). Also, since the Mongols took over the lands and succeeded to the dominion not by hereditary but by conquest, it left the Mongols believing that the natives could not be trusted, putting all trust to foreigners like the Tartars who were devoted to the Khan (doc.2). The author of this source, Marco Polo most likely did not have the same anger for the Khan as the Chinese towards the Mongols for taking over their land because he was a loyal subject to the Khan working under him for 17 years, and how he was also a foreigner so he could possibly not understand the Chinese. A similarity to the killings of the mongols was the mayan sacrifices of war captives. A purpose of these sacrifices was to appease the gods, but another purpose of these rituals was to instill fear within their rivals and neighboring