The Exemplary Discipline Shown by Mongol Warriors

Document Based Question
The Mongols were very successful during their time and their success happened really quickly because of their military, leaders, and the roles of the people. The Mongol army went into battle with a brutal well planned tactic with the intent of causing maximum damage, “I’ll trick them and make them come out in the open. I’ll pretend to retreat and when they come out I’ll attack them,” this contributed greatly to the success of the Mongols (Doc: 1). Marco Polo’s biased description the soldiers stuck out from the documents “their arms are bows, iron maces, and in some instances, spears” (Doc: 3). The fact that Polo was sent by the Mongol ruler to administer the realm contributes to this bias. The warriors of the Mongol army were disciplined “their obedience and submissiveness is such that if there be a commander of a hundred thousand between whom and the Khan there is a distance of sunrise and sunset, and if he but commit some fault, the Khan dispatches a single horseman to punish him” (Doc: 4). A document from the perspective of one of the conquered civilizations would be very useful because it would give insight on how events took place. The Mongol leaders also contributed greatly to their success. Khan (known as Great Khan), the very powerful military leader, didn’t tolerate the defiance of others “if you do not obey the command of Heaven, and run counter to our orders we shall know that you are our foe,” (Doc: 9). This statement is a response to the Pope, another powerful leader. The Pope recognizes the force which Khan is using “with a fury still unabated you do not cease from breaking the bonds of natural ties, sparing neither sex nor age, you rage against all indiscriminately with the sword of chastisement” (Doc: 8). This reestablishes the brutal force that Khan is using to benefit himself by leaving no survivors to spread information or become his enemies. Chinggis Khan was also a brutal leader, “he sent soldiers out against those of the Tangqut people who had rebelled against him… The whole tribe was completely wiped out,” (Doc: 7). Chinggs’ son, Odgedei, was for peace and “never neglected any measure designed to strengthen the framework of peace, and to lay the foundation of prosperity, “(Doc: 6). A document that would be impactful would be one detailing the long-term effects of the leaders decisions. A point that is usually neglected are the key roles the people played and its impact on Mongols success. The gender relations in the Mongols was both sexes had to work “One woman will drive twenty or thirty wagons, The men make bows and arrows” (Doc 5), resulting in increased production. One negative role of the people was they fought with one another “The Tartars took the town,” “They likewise killed the Knyaz and the Knyaginya, and men, women, and children” (Doc: 2) The military and their leaders as well as the roles that people play, all contributed to the success of the Mongols by producing land, money, or labor which all made the Mongol conquest successful.