Claire Horack
Block H
1/16/14
The Mongolian Empire


1. My name is Marco Polo, and this is my travel journal for my trips to the Mongol Empire. Despite the bad things I've heard about the Mongols I've decided to make my own opinion. Though the things I've heard are rather morbid and disturbing. One of the stories I've heard is about Genghis Khan wiping out entire towns and peoples all in one day. It seems a little crazy but I don’t really know what to believe.  I hope that I will learn a lot about the culture. I’m scared because I've been told that they are bloodthirsty killers that raze towns like the town of Bamian.

    I've been asking around trying to get some background information on the Mongols so that I’m not completely ignorant when I meet people. These stories have reached my ears by witnesses who saw it happen from neighboring towns on passed by on their root to or from a market.  From the murdering of thousands to burning homes and villages, I’m not sure I really want to go meet these savages… I mean people.  I am both looking forward to and really not looking forward to my trip. If I get caught in a town where the people have defied the Great Khan I will lose my life. No doubt this is going to be a dangerous trip for me. I will report my finding as my journey continues. Signing out.

n  Marco Polo

2.  Marco Polo here, as the last entry in my travel journal I would like to say most of what I heard about the Mongols was incorrect. The Mongols were big promoters of trade because on my journey i met lots of very interesting people. I even met Kublai Khan, Genghis Khan's grandson, who welcomed me into his part of the empire and allowed me to trade my items for gold, silk, ivory, and horses. These are very expensive items that are traded. I learned about their life style and religion. It surprised me as to how many different religions there where from the East, West and everywhere in between.

     In order for Genghis Khan to keep control over his empire he has to be careful about who enters because he doesn't want anyone to over through him so he rules by fear, but my father being good friends with the Khans was enabled to trade throughout the empire. As we traveled, my father and I, we were met with politeness and pleasant faces to greet us no matter where we were in the empire. We were often given advice about business and lots of entertainment. Signing off for the last time.

n  Marco Polo

3. History has different views on the Mongols. Views come from the battles of the conquest to concur all of chung-kuo, or middle earth, tell of the blood thirsty Mongols who decimated entire towns and everyone in them. Though some of the Mongols actions were rash, their pillage caused a great deal of suffering to the people of neighboring towns because they had lost a partner in trade. Genghis Khan was ruthless when it came to avenging a family member such as a grandson. Like in the battle of Bamian in which Genghis captured the town, leveled it then slaughtered all of the inhabitants. Though his army suffered great losses he fought till the end. Most of this information came from people who were at the battle or people who saw it happen from nearby towns or cities.

          On the other hand those who chose not to fight him out of fear saw Genghis Khan’s good side. Like Alexander the Great, the Great Khan ruled many lands and he was tolerant and he respected all cultures and ways of life. Often his descendants would mix their culture with the culture of the people around them. As Genghis's empire grew it became harder to keep control over the land, so he broke it up into 4 sections. Each section was ruled by a son or a grandson of the Great Khan.  Even though the empire was huge Genghis Khan promoted trade throughout the empire. As more and more traders came into the Mongol empire new cultures where being shared, mixed, and created. An Example of a culture that was shared throughout was Buddhism.  

Citations

Dutch, S.. N.p.. Web. 13 Jan 2014. <https://www.uwgb.edu/dutchs/WestTech/xmongol.htm>.

Weatherford, Jack. Genghis Khan and the making of the Modern World. 1st. New York: Three Rivers Press, 2003. Print.

Rugoff, Milton. Marco Polo's adventures in China. 1st. New York: American Heritage Publishing, 1964. Print.

Khon, George. N.p.. Web. 15 Jan 2014. <http://home.tiscali.nl/~t543201/web-mongol/mongol-battles.htm>.

Yule, Henry. N.p.. Web. 15 Jan 2014. <http://acc6.its.brooklyn.cuny.edu/~phalsall/texts/marcopolo.html>.

 . N.p.. Web. 13 Jan 2014. <http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/mongols/pop/menu/class_marco.htm