Download pastoral peoples on the global stage the mongol moment 1200-1500

CHAPTER 11
PASTORAL PEOPLES
ON THE
GLOBAL STAGE
THE MONGOL MOMENT
1200-1500
LOOKING BACK AND AROUND:
THE LONG HISTORY OF PASTORAL NOMADS
A. THE WORLD OF PASTORAL SOCIETIES
1. Small populations on large amounts of land:
Pastoralists were less productive than settled agriculturalists, resulting in smaller populations
that required larger expanses of land. They specialized in making a living off unproductive land.
These grasslands could not sustain humans, but they could sustain their herds of animals. Thus,
the pastoralists lived off meat, milk, and blood rather than grains.
2. High levels of social and gender equality:
With low population density and relatively simple social structures, these societies enjoyed
much greater social equality than their settled neighbors. Women engaged in most of the same
tasks as men in terms of raising the herd and riding.
3. Mobile but in contact with settled agriculturalists:
While they were a mobile population that lived off their animals, they still needed the products
of settled societies. Thus, even though they might distain the agriculturalists, they were
frequently in conduct with them and exchanged their animals products for the manufactured
goods of the towns and cities.
4. Tribal alliances and military power of horsemen:
Without urban centers, it was very difficult to sustain a state system. A few charismatic
individuals, such as Genghis Khan, could forge alliances, but the strength of the union was
dependent on wealth coming in and would fall apart when their economic fortuned turned.
B. BEFORE THE MONGOLS: PASTORALISTS IN HISTORY
1. Modun of the Xiongnu (r. 210–174 B.C.E.):
This leader united a diverse group of tribes from Manchuria and Central Asia. He engaged in
revolutionary change of the military and forced the Han Chinese to negotiate with the
Xiongnu as equals.
2. Bedouin Arabs and the rise of Islam:
These nomadic Arabs made an alliance with the urban-based merchants led by Muhammad
and served as the main military power for the prophet. They also helped to spread Islam as
they moved about the Arabian Peninsula.
3. Turkic nomads versus China, Persia, and Byzantium:
A variety of Turkic speaking peoples came out of the steppes of Central Asia and threatened
these settled agricultural empires. Soon aspects of Turkic culture influenced the Northern
Chinese court. The Seljuk Turks fought a series of wars with Byzantium but it was the Ottoman
Turks that finally overthrew the last vestige of Rome in 1453. The Ottomans then became a
very urban society and culture.
4. Berbers and the Almoravid Empire:
In NW Africa, the Berber people converted to Islam but were superficial in their practice.
After 1039, Ibn Yasin, a scholar who turned from the Hadj, launched a reform campaign to
make the practice of the faith more orthodox. Soon the movement became an expansionist
state that moved into Spain and controlled much of present-day Morocco. The Almoravids
became urbanized and enjoyed impressive art and architecture.
BREAKOUT: THE MONGOL EMPIRE
A. FROM TEMUJIN TO CHINGGIS KHAN: THE RISE OF THE MONGOL EMPIRE
1. Desperate and poor childhood:
After his father was murdered, his resourceful mother led the immediate family through a
marginal existence. But as he won a series of battles and forged alliances based on loyalty
and not kinship, Temujin steadily built up a powerful force.
2. Generous to friends, ruthless to enemies:
In this process, he gained a reputation for destroying his enemies but rewarding those loyal
to him. He also incorporated warriors from defeated tribes into his army.
3. Supreme leader of a Great Mongol Nation, 1206:
A tribal assembly made him the great leader and gave him the title of Chinggis Khan.
4. Started five decades of expansionist wars, 1209:
To build more power but also to hold the Mongol alliance together, he started a series of
expansionist wars that eventually conquered China and Central Asia. The empire was only
checked in Eastern Europe, the Levant, the jungles of Southeast Asia, and the Sea of Japan.
He set in motion the building of the world’s largest land based empire and it was run by a
population of only 1,000,000.
BREAKOUT: THE MONGOL EMPIRE
B. EXPLAINING THE MONGOL MOMENT
1. No plan or blueprint:
Like the Romans, but growing much bigger much faster, the Mongols created objectives,
strategy, and ideology as they expanded. They were only checked when they turned around
in Eastern Europe, were defeated in the Levant and the jungles of Southeast Asia, or hit by
typhoons when invading Japan.
2. Weak enemies and a strong army:
The Mongols were lucky in that both the Chinese and Arab empires were in a weak and
divided condition when they attacked. They also succeeded by organizing a superior army
with a clear command and control structure.
3. Discipline, loyalty, and charisma … and loot!:
The army faced severe discipline, including the death penalty for desertion, but loyalty was
greatly rewarded. Chinggis Khan had great charisma, eating and fighting with his troops. The
Mongol people also became very wealthy from the loot of the empire.
BREAKOUT: THE MONGOL EMPIRE
4. Incorporation of useful conquered people:
The Mongols made good use of conquered people who had skills, such as artisans and
technicians.
5. Ruthless and terrifying:
When attacking or taking revenge against an insult, the Mongol army was ruthless and
engaged in huge massacres and the enslavement of women and children. This had a clear
psychological impact on cities faced with a coming Mongol horde.
6. Strong administration and systematic taxation:
Despite their ruthlessness in battle, the Mongols showed excellent administrative skills
after the conquest. With a system of riders for communication and well-organized
taxation, the Mongol Empire had the resources and infrastructure to govern itself.
7. Favorable conditions for merchants:
Recognizing the value of a vibrant economy, the Mongols ensured profits and safe conduct
for merchants.
8. Religious toleration:
With no interest in religious imperialism, the Mongols tolerated various religions and even
improved the conditions of some minorities such as Christians.
COMPARISON OF THE SIZE OF THE ROMAN, BRITISH, AND MONGOL EMPIRES
ROMAN EMPIRE: APPROX 500 BCE-500 CE
MONGOL EMPIRE: 1206-1368 CE
BRITISH EMPIRE: LATE 1500S TO POST WWII
CHINGGIS KHAN
Horseback riding skills, honed in herding animals
and adapted to military purposes, were central to
Mongol conquests. Because soldiers could
maneuver a galloping horse using only their legs,
their arms were free to shoot arrows.
Each horseman was equipped with a bow, arrows,
a shield, a dagger, and a lasso, and carried
saddlebags for food, tools, and spare clothes.
Saddlebags were waterproof and could be used as
flotation devices when crossing rivers.
Advances were coordinated with a signaling
system of smoke and burning torches. Drums
sounded commands to charge, and a variety of
orders were conveyed with flag signals.
10 FACTS ABOUT GENGHIS KHAN
Between 1206 and his death in 1227, the Mongol leader Genghis Khan conquered nearly
12 million square miles of territory—more than any individual in history. Along the way,
he cut a ruthless path through Asia and Europe that left untold millions dead, but he also
modernized Mongolian culture, embraced religious freedom and helped open contact
between East and West.
10 FACTS ABOUT A GREAT RULER WHO WAS EQUAL PARTS MILITARY GENIUS,
POLITICAL STATESMAN AND BLOODTHIRSTY TERROR:
1. Genghis wasn’t his real name
The man who would become the “Great Khan” of the Mongols was born sometime
around 1162 and originally named Temujin, which means “of iron” or “blacksmith.” He
didn’t get the honorific name “Genghis Khan” until 1206, when he was proclaimed
leader of the Mongols. While “Khan” is a traditional title meaning “leader” or “ruler,”
historians are still unsure of the origins of “Genghis.” It is usually translated as “supreme
ruler” or “universal ruler.”
2. There is no definitive record of what he looked like.
For such an influential figure, very little is known about Genghis Kahn’s personal life or
even his physical appearance.
3. He had a rough childhood.
From an early age, Genghis was forced to contend with the brutality of life on the Mongolian
Steppe. Tribal rivals poisoned his father when Genghis was only nine, and his own tribe later
expelled his family and left his mother to raise her seven children alone. Genghis grew up
hunting and foraging to survive, and as an adolescent he may have even murdered his own
half-brother in a dispute over food. During his teenage years, rival clans abducted his young
wife, who was given to the rival chieftan as a wife; Genghis managed to rescue her. Genghis
himself was later captured by another rival tribe and spent time as a slave before making a
daring escape. Despite these hardships, by his early 20s he had established himself as a
formidable warrior and leader. He built a small army of trusted supporters and then forged
alliances with the heads of important tribes. By 1206, he had successfully consolidated the
steppe confederations under his banner and began to turn his attention to outside conquest.
4. Some of his most trusted generals were former enemies.
The Great Khan usually promoted his officers on skill and experience rather than class,
ancestry or even past allegiances. One famous example of this belief in meritocracy came
during a 1201 battle against the rival tribe, when Genghis was nearly killed after his horse was
shot out from under him with an arrow. When he later addressed prisoners and demanded to
know who was responsible, one soldier bravely stood up and admitted to being the shooter.
Stirred by the archer’s boldness, Genghis made him an officer in his army and later nicknamed
him “Jebe,” or “arrow,” in honor of their first meeting on the battlefield. Jebe would go on to
become one of the Mongols’ greatest field commanders during their conquests in Asia and
Europe.
5. He rarely left a score unsettled.
Genghis avenged his father’s murder by decimating the rival tribe responsible. He ordered
the killing of every male of the tribe who was more than 3 feet tall. He avenged the
kidnapping and rape of his wife by leading a massive cavalry attack against the tribe
responsible, and had all of their chiefs boiled alive.
Genghis Khan often gave other kingdoms a chance to peacefully submit to Mongol rule, but
he didn’t hesitate to bring down the sword on any society that resisted. One of his most
famous campaigns of revenge came in 1219, after the Shah of the Khwarezmid Empire
broke a treaty with the Mongols. Genghis had offered the Shah a valuable trade agreement
to exchange goods along the Silk Road, but when his first emissaries were murdered, the
enraged Khan responded by unleashing the full force of his Mongol hordes on the
Khwarezmid territories in Persia. The subsequent war left millions dead and the Shah’s
empire in utter ruin, but the Khan didn’t stop there. He followed up on his victory by
returning east and waging war on the Tanguts, a group of Mongol subjects who had
refused his order to provide troops for his invasion of Khwarizm. After routing the Tangut
forces and sacking their capital, the Great Khan ordered the execution of the entire Tangut
royal family as punishment for their defiance.
6. He was responsible for the deaths of as many as 40 million people.
While it’s impossible to know for sure how many people perished during the Mongol
conquests, many historians put the number at somewhere around 40 million. Census
from the Middle Ages show that the population of China plummeted by tens of millions
during the Khan’s lifetime, and scholars estimate that he may have killed a full threefourths of modern-day Iran’s population during his war with the Khwarezmid Empire. All
told, the Mongols’ attacks may have reduced the entire world population by as much as
11 percent.
7. He was tolerant of different religions.
Unlike many empire builders, Genghis Khan embraced the diversity of his newly
conquered territories. He passed laws declaring religious freedom for all and even
granted tax exemptions to places of worship. This tolerance had a political side—the Khan
knew that happy subjects were less likely to rebel—but the Mongols also had an
exceptionally liberal attitude towards religion. While Genghis and many others subscribed
to a shamanistic belief system that revered the spirits of the sky, winds and mountains,
the Steppe peoples were a diverse peoples that included Nestorian Christians, Buddhists,
Muslims and other animistic traditions. The Great Khan also had a personal interest in
spirituality. He was known to pray in his tent for multiple days before important
campaigns, and he often met with different religious leaders, including Taoist, to discuss
the details of their faiths.
8. He created one of the first international postal systems.
Along with the bow and the horse, the Mongols most potent weapon may have been their
vast communication network. One of his earliest decrees as Khan involved the formation of a
mounted courier service known as the “Yam.” This medieval express consisted of a wellorganized series of post houses and way stations strung out across the whole of the Empire. By
stopping to rest or take on a fresh mount every few miles, official riders could often travel as
far as 200 miles a day. The system allowed goods and information to travel with
unprecedented speed, but it also acted as the eyes and ears of the Khan. Thanks to the Yam,
he could easily keep abreast of military and political developments and maintain contact with
his extensive network of spies and scouts. The Yam also helped protect foreign dignitaries and
merchants during their travels. In later years, the service was famously used by Marco Polo.
9. No one knows how he died or where he is buried.
Of all the enigmas surrounding the Khan’s life, perhaps the most famous concerns how it
ended. The traditional narrative says he died in 1227 from injuries sustained in a fall from a
horse, but other sources list everything from malaria to an arrow wound in the knee. One of
the more questionable accounts even claims he was murdered while trying to force himself on
a Chinese princess. However he died, the Khan took great pains to keep his final resting place a
secret. According to legend, his funeral procession slaughtered everyone they came in contact
with during their journey and then repeatedly rode horses over his grave to help conceal it.
The tomb is most likely on or around a Mongolian mountain called Burkhan Khaldun, but to
this day its precise location is unknown.
10. The Soviets tried to snuff out his memory in Mongolia.
Genghis Khan is now seen as a national hero and founding father of Mongolia, but
during the era of Soviet rule in the 20th century, the mere mention of his name was
banned. Hoping to stamp out all traces of Mongolian nationalism, the Soviets tried to
suppress Khan’s memory by removing his story from school textbooks and forbidding
people from making pilgrimages to his birthplace. Genghis Khan was eventually
restored to Mongolian history after the country won independence in the early 1990s,
and he’s since become a recurring motif in art and popular culture. The Great Khan
lends his name to the nation’s main airport in the city of Ulan Bator, and his portrait
appears on Mongolian currency.
DEADLIEST CONFLICTS IN WORLD HISTORY
CONFLICT
ESTIMATED DEATH TOLL
WORLD WAR II (1937-1945)
60 MILLION
MONGOL CONQUESTS (1206-1294)
40 MILLION
FALL OF THE MING DYNASTY (1618-1644)
25 MILLION
TAIPING REBELLION (1850-1864)
20 MILLION
TIMUR’S CONQUESTS (1370-1405)
18 MILLION
WORLD WAR I (1914-1918)
16 MILLION
CONQUEST OF THE AMERICAS (1492 – c.1900)
15 MILLION
RUSSIAN CIVIL WAR (1917-1922)
9 MILLION
SECOND CONGO WAR (1998-2003)
6 MILLION
NAPOLEONIC WARS (1803-1815)
5 MILLION
1. What different kinds of actions are represented in the painting?
This painting shows men in battle and in prayer. A group of mounted warriors armed with
spears and bows and arrows in the bottom right corner of the image seem to be attacking
an encampment across a river, where warriors in similar armor and weaponry seem to be
mounting a counterattack. In the upper left corner of the image we can see warriors on
horseback ride into a camp of tents where men flee in terror. The dominance of warriors
on horseback, the tent encampment, the turbans, and other clothing and headgear
suggest that this is a battle in central Asia among nomadic tribes.
2. Who is the central figure in this picture? Can you explain his position in this image?
The central figure in this image is Chinggis Khan in the top right corner. He seems to be
praying, probably for guidance in the ongoing battle. Behind him stand three men in
turbans, their hands lifted up as if in prayer themselves, or in a sign of deference to
Chinggis Khan. Directly below Chinggis Khan stands a man holding what is most likely the
Khan’s horse. It is not clear whether the artist has deliberately painted Chinggis Khan as if
hovering above the ground, or whether he knelt on an outcropping of rocks. Either way, it
shows the Khan high above the people.
ENCOUNTERING THE MONGOLS: COMPARING THREE CASES
A. CHINA AND THE MONGOLS
1. 70 years of conquests, 1209–1279:
China was the main target of the Mongols and in 1209, Chinggis Khan launched an attack on
this wealthy and prosperous region. After a series of campaigns lasting some seven decades,
the Mongols were victorious. While the Mongols were brutal and destructive in the north of
China, they were much more accommodating in the south due to concern to accommodate
the populace.
2. Yuan Dynasty and Kublai Khan (r. 1271–1294):
The Mongols did adopt some aspects of Chinese statecraft in order to rule the region more
effectively and withdraw as much wealth as possible. They went so far as to establish a
Chinese-style dynasty. Kublai Khan, the grandson of Chinggis Khan, listened to the council of
his favorite wife Chabi and adopted policies that encouraged agricultural production in
order to generate more wealth. The Mongols adopted some aspects of Chinese ancestor
veneration and built roads, canals, and other forms of infrastructure to promote commerce.
ENCOUNTERING THE MONGOLS: COMPARING THREE CASES
3. A foreign and exploitative occupation:
While the Mongols did try to accommodate their Chinese subjects, they were
foreign occupiers who were there to extract as much wealth as possible and were
thus resented by the Chinese. Mongols’ disregard of the exam system and their
reliance on foreigners such as Muslims from Central Asia and the Middle East to
administer the empire irked many. The Mongol elite kept many of their traditional
practices such as sleeping in tents even when in the capital.
4. Collapse of Mongol rule and rise of the Ming Dynasty:
Factionalism among the Mongols, rising prices, and a series of natural disasters
weakened the their hold on power and allowed some space for rebels to challenge
their authority. The Yuan Dynasty was overthrown in 1368, and the new Ming
Dynasty sought to eliminate the memory of the Mongols.
ENCOUNTERING THE MONGOLS: COMPARING THREE CASES
B. PERSIA AND THE MONGOLS
1. Chinggis Khan (1219–1221) and Helugu (1251–1258):
Two brutal attacks brought down the Persian Empire, falling much faster than China. These
attacks were much more intense and devastating than earlier assaults from Turkic invaders.
They were also more psychologically devastating, because unlike the Turks, the Mongols
were not Muslims but pagan barbarians.
2. Damage to agriculture:
Out of a lack of respect for agriculture and because of the damage caused by the Mongols’
herds, there was serious damage to the region’s farmland. Important underground irrigation
systems fell apart, leading to desertification of some areas.
3. Persian civilization of barbarian Mongols:
The Persians had a much more significant impact on the Mongols than the Chinese did. The
invaders quickly realized the importance of the Persian bureaucracy and used it for their own
purposes. They also began to rebuild damaged cities and road systems. When the dynasty
fell in the 1330s, the Persians did not expel the Mongols but rather assimilated them into
Persian culture.
ENCOUNTERING THE MONGOLS: COMPARING THREE CASES
C. RUSSIA AND THE MONGOLS
1. Brutal invasion of a disunited Kievan Rus (1237–1240):
Using technology such as catapults and battering rams gained from campaigns in China and Persia, the
invasion of the Kievan Rus was an impressive assault on a weak and disunited people.
2. Khanate of the Golden Horde: This was the Russian term for Mongol rule.
3. Exploitation without occupation:
While the invasion was impressive and devastated some areas, the Mongols chose not to occupy the
relatively poor and isolated Rus. Instead they settled nearby on the steppes and pastoral lands north
of the Caspian and Black Seas. They put them within striking distance of the cities from which they
extorted tribute.
4. Resistance and collaboration:
Some cities chose to resist and faced brutal retaliation. Kiev, for example, was razed. Others
collaborated and helped the Mongols collect tribute and taxes and wound up doing very well for
themselves.
5. Rise of Moscow and expansion of the church:
Moscow rose as the core of a new Russian state that adopted Mongol weapons, diplomacy, taxation,
court system, and a draft. The Russian Orthodox Church enjoyed Mongol tolerance and tax exemption
and spread its reach deeper into the countryside.
1. What does the picture show?
This image shows the Russian town of Ryazan with outside walls, wall towers, and fortified
buildings visible in the background. In the midst of this town we see a battle—a large
number of men on horseback on the left wielding their swords over their heads and
charging against a crowd on foot that looks timid and overwhelmed on the right. Some of
the riders carry torches and it looks like they have already set some buildings on fire.
2. How does this image speak to the role of Mongols in Russia in the thirteenth century?
The image underlines the strength of Mongols and their ability to overpower Russian
towns. Consider the fact that the heavy walls and fortified buildings were no match for the
Mongol assault and that the city's residents on foot look meek and hopeless in
comparison to the Mongol warriors on horseback. This complete lack of assimilation of
Mongols in Russian society was unique—different from Mongols in China and India—and
made the violent destructions of Russian cities all the more likely.
THE MONGOL EMPIRE AS A EURASIAN NETWORK
A. TOWARD A WORLD ECONOMY
1. Not producers or traders but promoters of commerce:
While the Mongols did not make anything or engage in trade, they did promote production
and commerce in the regions they controlled, providing tax breaks for merchants and
sometimes paying high prices to attract commerce to their cities.
2. Security on the Silk Roads:
The most important contribution was an unprecedented security on the Silk Roads. This
allowed for a dramatic increase in trade throughout Central Asia, with many individuals
making the entire journey from west to east and back. Marco Polo was the most famous but
many others used guidebooks on their trips.
3. Connected to the larger world system:
The Mongol trade circuit connected to other trade networks throughout the rest of Asia, the
Indian Ocean, the Middle east, Africa, and Europe, doing much to forge a global economy.
THE MONGOL EMPIRE AS A EURASIAN NETWORK
B. DIPLOMACY ON A EURASIAN SCALE
1. European envoys sent east:
When the Mongols made their way into Eastern Europe in a 1241–1242 campaign,
they seemed poised to take the region. However, the death of Great Khan Ogodei
required the Mongol leaders to return home. Aware of the threat the Mongols
posed, European kings and the Pope sent emissaries east to negotiate with the
Mongols.
2. European discovery of the outside world:
These missions provided the previously isolated Europeans with a wealth of
knowledge about the rest of the world.
3. Mongol linkage of China and Persia:
As these two great empires were part of a larger Mongol system, communications
between the two increased. Thus, the Mongols created an unprecedented level of
international communication
THE MONGOL EMPIRE AS A EURASIAN NETWORK
C. CULTURAL EXCHANGE IN THE MONGOL REALM
1. Forced population transfers and voluntary migrations:
The Mongols forced some people, such as artisans and engineers, to move from one
place to another where their skills were needed. Others moved freely as part of
religious travel tolerated by the Mongols or as part of commercial activity encouraged
by the Mongols.
2. Technology transfer and the spread of crops:
Technology, especially from China, moved freely and quickly within the Mongol domain,
as did medical knowledge. Various crops were carried from one region to another.
3. Europe gained the most:
Poor, backwards, and isolated Europe gained the most from these exchanges. As it had
the least to offer, it had the most to gain. This may have set Europe on the path toward
expansion.
THE MONGOL EMPIRE AS A EURASIAN NETWORK
D. THE PLAGUE: AN AFRO-EURASIAN PANDEMIC
1. The Black Death:
A mutation of the Yersinia Pestis, or bubonic plague, spread quickly and killed large numbers
in areas of dense populations. The death spread during the increase of trade, from fleas that
lived on rats.
2. China, 1331, Europe, 1347, and East Africa, 1409:
Starting in China, the disease followed the world trade routes and savaged cities across
Afro-Eurasia. Some estimate that 50 percent of Europeans may have perished.
3. The end of the world? In a prescientific era of high religiosity, some in the Christian and
Islamic worlds saw it as the end days.
4. Social changes in Europe: With so many dead, there were labor shortages that provided
new opportunities for skilled workers, women, and peasants. This mass death set in motion
several important social changes. There was also a rise in labor-saving devices, spurring new
technological innovations in Europe.
5. Demise of the Mongol Empire: The biggest victim of the Black Death was the Mongol
Empire itself. With trade disrupted, the economic heart of the empire failed. Mongol wealth
decreased and rebellions increased.
LONG-TERM IMPACT OF THE MONGOL INVASIONS
The Mongol invasions played a key role in history in many ways – positive and
negative
1. Mongols conquered the largest land empire in history, and their bloody
reputation was well-earned. Estimated death toll in the Mongol conquests
ranks second in all of world history - only to WWII surpasses it
2. During the period known as the Pax Mongolica, Mongols revitalized
interregional trade between Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and Europe. The
Mongols built a system of roads and continued to maintain and guard the
trade routes.
3. The Mongols ruled successfully due to their understanding of centralized power,
a capacity that would transfer in many cases to the occupied civilizations. The
Mongols devised and used a single international law for all of their conquered
territories. Thus, after the Mongols declined in power, the kingdoms and states
of Europe, Asia, and Southeast Asia continued or copied the process of
centralizing power
4. Mongol fighting techniques led to the end of Western Europe’s use of knights in
armor. The heavily clad knights could not react in time to the Mongol’s use of speed
and surprise.
5. The era of the walled city in Europe also came to an end, as walls proved useless
against the Mongols siege technology. The cannon is considered by some a Mongol
invention, cobbled together using Chinese gunpowder, Muslim flamethrowers, and
European bell-casting techniques.
6. Males in Europe replaced their tunics and robes with the Mongol-style pants and
jacket combination
7. The Mongol conquests helped to transmit the fleas that carried the bubonic plague
termed the Black Death, from southern China to Central Asia, and from there to
Southeast Asia and Europe. It followed familiar paths of trade and military
conquest. The Black Death had a huge impact on Europe, killing one-third of the
population there. In a few years, and had similar effects on other areas, including
North Africa, China, and Central Asia. South Asia and Sub-Sharan Africa were
spared because there were few trading ports in those regions.
REFLECTIONS: CHANGING IMAGES OF PASTORAL PEOPLES
Bad press for nomads: Most histories have a very dim view of nomadic people, only
noting when they threatened a more advanced society.
Sources from urban centers: Part of the problem is that historians use written sources
from settled areas that were threatened by nomadic forces.
Winners write history: Another problem is that most nomadic people were taken over by
settled societies. The nomads lost and the winners wrote the history, often with a
disdainful attitude for those that were different.
A new history of nomadic achievements: Recently revisionist historians have taken a new
look at the nomadic people and stressed their achievements and their role in creating a
world system.
Was Mongol violence unique? Looking back at the horrors of the twentieth century puts
the violence of the Mongols in perspective. Clearly, they were not the only brutal people
in world history.