Positive and Negative Characteristics of the Mongols
Military Power
Both positive and negative characteristics are attributed to the Mongols. Marco Polo (n.d) underlines that the Mongols were ruled by a wise and moderate emperor who united them by his command and promoted justice. Genghis Khan created a supreme military power of the time and achieved hegemony over all of Central Asia (Rosenwein, 2014). The most prominent positive feature of the Mongols was their strong military command, which enabled them to become a leader of the time, possessing advanced military equipment and strategies.
Social Hierarchy
However, the social structure of the Empire presented a negative characteristic for the Mongols. As The Secret History of the Mongols (Rosenwein, 2014) mentions, tribes united under Genghis Khan’s command had warlike relations. Marco Polo (2007) also describes him as an authoritarian leader with great military power. Therefore, the Mongols prioritized physical power over democracy, forcing tribes to join them.
Learning From Travel: Marco Polo (Cantor, 1994) also reports that the Great Khan imposed specific rules on people around his residence, which were considered personal privileges. The Mongol Empire can be an example of a rather negative image in terms of gender equality, which also highlights the coercive nature of their reign. For example, Learning from Travel: Marco Polo (Cantor, 1994) describes the process of choosing ladies for the Khan, which requires numerous women to be taken from their families to serve his Majesty.
Evaluating the Historical Significance of the Mongols
The historical significance of the Mongols should be viewed with caution, as they were responsible for significant bloodshed and coercion. As Marco Polo (2007) and The Secret History of the Mongols (Rosenwein, 2014) underline, Genghis Khan united tribes under his command by employing justice and wisdom. However, the relationship between the tribes remained warlike, characterized by constant military conflicts both within and outside the Empire. Coercion was common when dealing with inhabitants of both other countries and the Mongol Empire.
Pinker (2011) mentions that the Mongol invasion of Islamic lands resulted in a massacre with enormous casualties. Inhabitants of the Empire were also subject to coercion, as shown in Learning from Travel: Marco Polo (Cantor, 1994). The Mongol Empire serves as a negative example of using military force to achieve supremacy, a practice that is generally considered unacceptable in modern society.
References
Cantor, N. F. (1994). Learning from Travel: Marco Polo. In The Medieval Reader (pp. 79–83). HarperCollins Publishers.
Pinker, S. (2011). The better angels of our nature.
Polo, M. (2007). Concerning Chingis-khan, first emperor of the Tartars, and his warfare with Un-khan, whom he overthrew, and of whose kingdom he possessed himself (Chap. 45, pp. 80–83). In The Travels of Marco Polo. Cosimo, Inc.
Rosenwein, B. H. (2014). The Mongols (Chap. 7, pp. 241–244). In A Short History of the Middle Ages, Volume II: From c. 900 to c. 1500 (4th ed.). University of Toronto Press.