Social Structure Of The Mongol Empire

Tribes were a key part of the Mongols since their ancient society. The concept revolved around a community, where a group of nomadic clans travelled together (Boyle 4). In the tribes, certain people were seen as leaders, which gave them more respect and caused them to be higher in the social hierarchy. When Changgis Khan declared the Mongol Empire in 1206, the general idea of their social hierarchy mainly stayed the same (Boyle 3). As an empire, the people were very open and respectful to each other and foreigners. Foreigners and citizens alike were valued for their skills and how they could contribute to the growth and development of the empire. Even with their hierarchy, the people were treated well, as they knew to be reverent and kind to

Even though the main purpose of John of Plano Carpini’s mission was to show the bad sides of the Mongols, he does admit that they do not greatly discriminate against one another based on where they are seen in the hierarchy. He claims, “No one scorns another but helps him and promotes his good as far as circumstances permit.” In the empire, everyone was willing to help each other, regardless of status. It was difficult to single-handedly bring another person to another class in the social hierarchy, as a person would have to waste their own time, money, and resources for another person. Yet, they still did their best to help one another and show each other’s potential, which created an environment where the people could trust each other and build bonds with one another. The Mongols would share food, to ensure everyone had something to eat (Plano Carpini). Despite the fact that those with greater honour were said to receive more food, it was still selfless for everyone to be offered food to eat. Those with greater honour usually owned more animals as well, so it is possible that the meat could have been their livestock. In every society, there was often an expectation that those with greater honour had more privileges than those less fortunate, and while this was slightly true for the Mongols, everyone was still