Pax Mongolica - Foundations

Foundations

See also: Mongol invasion of China and Organization of the Mongol Empire under Genghis Khan

The foundations of the Pax Mongolica lie in the germinal Mongol Empire beginning with Genghis Khan in the early 13th century. In the process of conquering the various tribes in the region, Genghis Khan revolutionized the way Mongolian tribal society was structured. After each new victory, more and more people were incorporated under Genghis Khan's rule, thus diversifying the societal balance of the tribe. In 1203, Genghis Khan, in an effort to strengthen his army, ordered a reform that reorganized his army's structure while breaking down the traditional clan- and kindred-based divisions that had previously fragmented the society and military. He arranged his army into arbans (inter-ethnic groups of ten), and the members of an arban were commanded to be loyal to one another regardless of ethnic origin. Ten arbans made a zuun, or a company; ten zuuns made a myangan, or a battalion; and ten myangans formed a tumen, or an army of 10,000. This decimal system organization of Genghis Khan's strong military would prove very effective in conquering, by persuasion or force, the many tribes of the central Asian steppe, but it would also strengthen Mongol society as a whole. By 1206 Genghis Khan's military expansion had unified the tribes of Mongolia, and in the same year he was elected and acclaimed as the leader of Mongolia.

The new Mongol Nation quickly moved to annex more territory. The first Mongol conquests were campaigns against the Xi Xia Empire in western China. In 1209 the Mongols conquered the Xi Xia. Between 1213 and 1214 the Mongols conquered the Jin Empire, and by 1214 the Mongols had captured most of the land north of the Yellow River. In 1221 Mongol generals Jebe and Subodei began their expedition around the Caspian Sea and into Rus'; Genghis Khan defeated Turkic Jalal ad-Din Mingburnu at the Battle of Indus and the war with the Khwarezmian Empire concluded the same year. In 1235 the Mongols invaded Korea. Two years later in 1237 Batu Khan and Subodei began their conquest of Rus', they conquered Poland and Hungary in 1241. In 1252 the Mongols began their invasion of Southern China; they would seize the capital of Hangzhou in 1276. In 1258 Hulagu Khan captured Baghdad.

Each new victory gave the Mongols the chance to incorporate new peoples, especially foreign engineers and laborers, into their society. Each new conquest also acquired new trade routes and the opportunity to control taxation and tribute. Thus, through territorial expansion, the Mongol Nation not only became an empire, but it also became more technologically and economically advanced.