Today, I would like to talk about the civilization that isn't talked about enough in Western history books: the Mongol Empire. They were a very successful group of pastoral people that are most often painted as bad guys by the losers in history. This is because they didn't really write down history themselves, so we have to get it from unbiased sources.
So let's talk about the Mongols in a more neutral way.
This is Chapter 11, by the way. It's the last post of the year.
First, let's admire their equality toward women. Women were not treated very well throughout history, but in the Mongol Empire? They were also in battles! There was even a Mongol princess that had a huge winning streak when it came to wrestling. It must have been strange for a patriarchal empire to see women on the battlefield, but maybe that was one of the reasons why they won so many battles. Since women make up roughly half of the human population, why not have them conquer with you?
The Mongols really liked ruling China. They liked ruling China so much, they started their own laws to benefit the empire and oppress the Chinese people. The law discriminated the Chinese very clearly, so it's no wonder China tried to get rid of all evidence of Mongolian rule after the Mongolians stopped ruling China.
But you know what country was never under the influence of the Mongol Empire? It was Japan. The Mongols just couldn't win against Japan. The victory was so impressive to the Japanese that they invented a new word during the battle: kamikaze. It means "divine wind," referring to the typhoons that caused the Mongols to leave. Yes, the term was also used in World War II, but it wasn't referring to typhoons anymore.
Also, it was really impressive how the Mongols didn't convert people to their religion. Instead, they were very accepting of other people's religions. They also used shamans in their Mongolian religion, which had similar roles to fortune tellers (telling the future, talking to spirits, etc.). It's amazing how it didn't spread as they spread, as that's really rare in history not to see forced conversions while conquering.
Finally, the Mongol Empire encouraged trade with other countries. It was great that medical practices were spread throughout Eurasia, but it wasn't great that the Black Death spread throughout Eurasia. On the bright side, both things lead to Europe becoming really strong, which, like Mongolian trade, was a mixed bag. Coincidentally, both European colonization and Mongolian trade lead to the spread of diseases, but unlike Mongolian trade, the Native Americans did not benefit from smallpox.
Isn't the Mongol Empire great to learn about? It's strange how history books ignore the largest empire ever created, but that's what happens in Eurocentric history books. I'm glad it's in this one.
Until next time!
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