The Mongols
Information on the battlefield tactics, military operations, and warrior culture of Genghis Khan and his descendants
Information on the battlefield tactics, military operations, and warrior culture of Genghis Khan and his descendants
The Mongol people were Tengerians, which is a shamanist belief system. Tengerism means to honor the spirits. Shamanism is a form of animism, which holds that everything has a spiritual essence, including rocks, water and plants—everything. Humans are living spiritual creatures in a world of other spirits/forces/gods, with the Greatest…
In Mongol society, men were dominant. The society was patriarchal and patrilineal. However, Mongol women had far more freedom and power than women in other patriarchal cultures such as Persia and China. While the Chinese were binding women’s feet, Mongol women were riding horseback, fighting in battles, tending their herds…
The Mongolian ger or yurt is the perfect dwelling for pastoral nomads; accordingly, they have been used for thousands of years in that part of the world. Gers are movable, can be packed up and put on a camel or oxen’s back or on a cart. Gers are lightweight but…
The Central Asian climate and weather conditions determined Mongol dress, both traditionally and today. Men, women and children essentially wore the same type of clothing, differentiated by color, color combination, size and decoration to specify age, gender, married state and social status. Everyone wore the deel, a robe-like wrap that…
As a nomadic pastoral culture, Mongols raised five main domestic animals: horses, sheep, camels, cattle and goats, in their order of relative importance. While we’ll cover horses here as part of the Mongol culture, their importance in war and conquest will be covered in another article. What animals the Mongols…
What did the Mongols eat? For the most part, whatever simple foods they could find on the Steppe. Khans ate much better, however. As with all peoples, the Mongol’s diet depended greatly on where they lived. Mongolia, then and now, had a harsh climate, with long, bitterly cold winters and…
This Mongol Empire timeline features such information as the life of Genghis Khan, the major achievements of the Mongol military, and the growth of the empire and expanse of its massive trade networks. Mongol Empire Timeline 1162(?) Genghis Khan was born into the Borjigin tribe under the name Temujin. His…
This Mongol Empire overview describes the most important aspects of this vast civilization. One empire, the largest contiguous empire in the history of the world, stemmed from the brilliant efforts and leadership of one man, Genghis Khan. Genghis, his sons and grandsons, created this fast-spreading empire which ruled from the…