1/16/14
I pledge
Mongologue
The Mongol Report.
Bad: The Mongols are bad people.
The Mongols are a vicious people
who killed, tortured, and marauded for their own personal gain. The Mongols, as
they were rising in power, killed anyone who did not instantly join the Mongol
empire when asked. Or so I was told by a peasant I befriended. The Mongols went
from settlement to settlement, telling everyone that they were taking over and
that they should surrender themselves before the Mongols made them surrender.
Those who didn’t surrender were killed. Mothers, fathers, and children would be
killed. The few survivors were allowed to go out and spread the word of the Mongols.
The Mongols only had to destroy a few settlements to get the message across
that they were a force to be reckoned with. The Mongols did not fight to the
standards we hold today, which could be considered unfair. They were called
unfair by their enemies, but their enemies are dead now. So I doubt anyone will
object now.
When
the Mongols took power, though they were the largest empire at the time, there were
still many mistakes made. While they had the correct mindset on how to treat
their people, they had little to no idea on how to run the ideal government.
There were constant struggles for power in their “Supreme court” and they had
issues with centralizing their government. This is what I’ve been told. But
now, I’m seeing it firsthand. They have more quirks then let on. Their attitude
towards those who were lesser than them was appalling. Not only did they have
slaves, they treated all peasants as they would treat a yak. The poor were
nothing more than an animal. Since I was there, I could tell they were trying
to be a smidge kinder, but still, they were harsh. They pretty much thought all
the peasants lazy. They hate lazy.
As a government, they constantly
over spent. Sometimes, so that they could obtain more land. The Mongols over
extended to a point where they lost contact with Persia. Everyone talked about
how great it was that the East and West was connected, but little did we all
know, that would spread this new wrath of God called the “Black Death”. God help us. The Mongols are an interesting
people, it seems to me that they try and make the hospitable choice for their
guests, like giving them food or a proper shelter, but if you tried talking to
one, it’s like they lost all of their words and social graces. Who would have
guesses that the Mongols would have any courtesy?
Good: The Mongols were good people.
The Mongols have had a completely misguided
reputation! I will address this first… Yes, the Mongols have killed and yes,
the Mongols haven’t been perfect. But what civilization has been perfect? And
what civilization hasn’t treaded on their enemies sacred grounds for their own
benefit. It’s just war. The Mongols have been great leaders! Their people love
them for letting them keep their beliefs (and teach them to the Mongols if they
wanted), and the people also love them for the way they try to have interest
outside of killing! These hobbies included philosophy, geography, ethnography,
climatology, and flora and fauna of central Asia. They even took up a written
language. There is a common legal code, so everyone there can follow similar
rules. They’re also very loyal to the people they conquered. They even allowed
the survivors of their attacks live and prosper in their empire! They
encouraged their people to be hospitable, which I found ironic because this
empire was built upon pillars of fear and destruction. The Mongols were
gentlemen under the blood stains of those who opposed.
We’ve only scratched the surface of
their superiority as rulers. They connected the East and West, and owned almost
all of the Silk Road made travelling perfect for anyone. Trade was everywhere,
and they were moving objects around that I’ve never even seen. People were
talking and it was packed with people in many of the cities. What is a Buddha anyways?
But the whole time I was there trading goods, not once did I feel threatened.
Genghis Kahn has an amazing army that compares to no other! No one would even attempt
to attack us! Communication was fast, the Mongols have these horses, that they
ride around on and it seems bizarre! They dress up the horse in this thing they
called a “saddle”. As for their government… It could have been better, but they
had the right idea, I believe. Woman had higher roles than I expected. Then again, almost every man, who had a wife,
had three other wives to keep her company. One man won’t be dedicated to one
woman for quite some time, I just have forward thinking.
Personal Paragraph: My historical approach
The
Mongols were a good people, who had a vicious hunger for power. Looking back on
past civilizations we have studied, there was always a government that made
poor decisions for power or prestige. Sparta used the Helots as their slaves.
India had the caste system which labeled some people as “Undesirable”. Every
civilization did this to an extent. The Mongols made extremely bloody and
horrible decisions when it came to destruction. I don’t justify the murder of
children or anyone for that matter. But as an empire, they worked with people
quite efficiently. The reason historians look back at them with such mixed
opinions is because they’ve killed so many, but they’ve also created a safe
home for many. Throughout history, all the evil people have been consistently evil.
But the Mongols raise controversy because they weren’t one specific thing. They
were not evil, and they were not great.The relationship between the people and
the Mongols was more of a partnership, as long as the people accepted that the
Mongols had conquered them. The Mongols had a hunger for knowledge which they
can’t be faltered on. And what they did for Asia was fantastic. They engineered
the trade in the region like a machine. They created tax free zones, and
brought everyone together so that they could trade necessary goods. The Mongols
made poor decisions in their rise to power, but in all, they were good people.
Citation
Page:
·
Hartog, Leo De. Genghis
Kahn Conqueror of the World. New York: Barnes & Nobles., 1989. Print.
·
PPT, 2012. 0.
<http://mrfarshtey.net/classes/The_Mongols.ppt>.
·
Lister, R.P. "Genghis Kahn." N.p., n.d.
Web
·
T H E B
O O K O F S E R M A R C O P O L O. John Murray, 2004. Web.
1/16/14. <http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/ps/china/polo_barons.pdf>.
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