The Mongol Empire
Brent Pitts Hr8 12.14.15
Creation of an Empire
In 1204 Genghis Khan united all of the Mongol clans. He united them together through military force and conquest. The Mongols expanded their empire through conquest of new lands and the destruction of their enemies. Genghis Khan then would change his name to Chingis Khan.
Expanding the Empire
Chingis Khan created the most feared army at the time. At the beginning of the empire the Mongols raided villages and took their goods. Once the towns started to rebel against the Mongols they started to use force and conquest. The Mongol army was fast and very deadly. The army was based off cavalry soldiers and for sieges they used catapults.
Important Battles and Wars
The Mongols would fight a long war against the Jin Empire in China. The Jin would lose the war and the Mongols took control of China after destroying the Xi Xia Empire. The Mongols were the only army in recorded history to successfully invade Russia in the winter. The Mongols soon took control of Persia.
Chingis' Death
In 1227 Chinghis Khan died at age sixty. Before he died he appointed his son Ogedei as his successor. He would invade eastern Europe in a series of attacks. Ogedei appointed governors to manage districts but he called himself the Khan of Khans. Ogedei would an attack on the Jin empire in Northern China. The empire could have expanded more into Europe but Ogedei's death prevented expansion.
Mongke Khan and the Mongol Crusade
After Ogedei's death Mongke took the title of Khan of Khans. He assigned his brother to lead the army through Persia and into the Middle East as he stayed and thought against the Jin in China. The Mongols' march through Persia and the Middle East would be called the Mongol Crusade. They destroyed the capital of Persia and killed all 700,000 people who lived in the city. The crusade was cut short in the Middle East by Mongke Khan's death.
End of an Empire
After Mongke Khan's death the empire fell into disunity and civil. The nomadic empire was split and it was never able to recover. The empire ended right after its golden age. The Mongol war machine was the fastest growing empire ever and one of the strongest empire ever.