Page 20 - All About History - Issue 180-19

mongol empire

Hall of Fame

LeadersafterGenGhis

Looking at the men who consolidated and expanded one of the largest

empires the world has ever known, often through brutal means

tiMur the LaMe 1336 Ce-1405 Ce MonGke khan
The warlord hailing from Samarkand 1209 Ce-1259 Ce
embellished his reputation by claiming descent The death of Genghis set the stage for long-running
from Genghis Khan. This remains debatable, feuds between his descendants. Perhaps the most
if not utterly false, but Timur did come from controversial was Mongke’s rise to the Khanate.
a clan of Turkic nomads who once served in Upon assuming the mantle of power, he put his
the Khan’s armies. uncle Ogedei Khan’s own children to the sword. He
Timur’s determination and also set firm boundaries to the different Khanates.
ruthlessness allowed him to On his own, Mongke proceeded to carve up the
cobble together an empire stubborn Song Dynasty throughout the 1250s.
spanning present-day Afghanistan, But a spell of illness cut his life short, leaving the
Azerbaijan, Iran and Iraq. A succession open to his youngest brother, Kublai.
particular low point was the
butchery and plunder of Delhi
in 1399. Always seeking lands
to subdue, in 1405 he rallied
his men and launched an
expedition to China, but died
from a mysterious illness.
Some 200 years later,
another upstart named It has been
Zahiruddin Babur, claimed by
who claimed descent geneticists that one in
from both Timur every 200 men alive
and Chagatay Khan,
conquered India today is related to
and founded the Genghis Khan
Mughal Empire.

kubLai khan 1215 Ce-1294 Ce
At its height, the Mongol Empire only held northern China
but almost reached as far away as Central Europe. There was esen taishi unknown-1455 Ce
still the Han Chinese Song Dynasty to the south that resisted Esen Taishi followed in Genghis’ footsteps
conquest for decades. Once Kublai Khan became the ruler of by assembling feuding tribes to once again
the Yuan Dynasty in 1260 CE another war against the Song invade China, now ruled by the nationalistic
was undertaken and they were defeated by 1276 CE. The Ming Dynasty. Although the Ming were
Korean Peninsula was added to the empire soon after. determined to subjugate the Mongol
Kublai Khan was the only Mongol ruler to send his armies homeland, the superb discipline and fighting
on naval expeditions. Although he was never involved in prowess of the Mongols was still unbeatable.
them, Mongol fleets did attempt at least two invasions of By 1451, Esen tried declaring himself the
Japan and there was a successful raid on Java. ruler of a unified Mongolia but this triggered
But Kublai Khan was a better administrator a civil war instead. He was killed by his
than general and his reign was marked by rivals in 1455. By the 17th century, the Qing
unparalleled prosperity that captivated Dynasty (1644 CE – 1912 CE) had reduced the
Marco Polo and his companions. once proud Mongols to willing vassals.

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