Journey to Mongolia

Diary,

            I fear for my safety as I travel along the Silk Road, but journey is nowhere near its end. Stories of blood thirsty marauders are passing through each camp we come to and as we near our destination they become increasingly more worrisome. The Mongols are being described as ‘murderers of nations’! They are said to have wiped towns to nothing, one man even said, they “raze a city to the ground so that, if a horseman galloped over the site in the dead of night, his horse would not stumble on even one brick.” (China: Its History and Culture; 118) Their tactics were magnificent using siege warfare to keep the city in its wall until starvation while launching explosives with catapults into the wall and the city. And even without touching the city, some would surrender because the fear of slaughter, but even if one person was to rebel the entire city fell to the ground in rubble.

            The leader of the Mongols, Genghis Khan, was known for his natural military skills but also the loyalty of his soldiers. Communication was key to many of the Calvary and archery attacks that followed one another. These invasions were some of the most horrific because of the confusion of the enemy who followed the retreating Calvary into an onslaught of new charges by more soldiers waiting for the unsuspecting enemy. This tactic was crucial to the taking of many of countries like China and the Southern Song Dynasty. May the gods give my family safe travels.

~Marco Polo

Diary,

            After my many years of traveling I have come arrived at the Yuan Empire, whose leader is the grandson of Genghis Khan. Kublai Kahn is the kindest leader I’ve yet to see at the head of one of the Mongolian Khanates. His adoptions of the Chinese life has created a more stable dynasty. We have found a home in the Emperors court, and I am now his embassy, traveling the continent and delivering princesses to other Kahns. My multi-lingual abilities have made my life much easier, but out of courtesy Kublai Kahn placed translation bureaus all across the dynasty so Chinese classics and dynasty histories are available to all peoples. He has also issued paper money that is universally acceptable.

His love of art and language has also lead to the establishment of the Imperial Library, along with the arts and language aspect many areas in math, astronomy, and water conservancy to irrigate the rice crops. Construction was an on-going project in China throughout the Yuan Dynasty. The Great Canal was rebuilt and even extended to Beijing, which would come to be the capital. Foreign trade was increased and trade along the Silk Road was starting to increase dramatically. Westerners were traveling from near and far to see the great cities in the Yuan Dynasty and silk was being more openly traded. What company I have found in the Emperor.

~Marco Polo

Journal,

            I was posed with the question “Why does history have such different views of the Mongols?” The Mongols were a controversial group of people that roamed Asia and Europe, they originated from modern day Mongolia. The extreme difference of opinion on what kind of rulers they were come from two different ways that the Mongols ruled.

            The Mongols were known for their destroying many different cultures as they took over the entirety of Asia. Any resistance shown to their armies resulted in the destruction of the entire city and its people. The culture aspect in such occasions was that the Mongols didn’t take to other cultures well if they resisted them, but on the other if a city let the Mongols take over, any sort of religion was tolerated along with their culture and government for the most part. Most higher places in government were eventually filled with Mongols or foreigners. In this way the Mongols were accepting of new cultures and didn’t care to force change upon anyone. This double view has created a controversy among historians, like myself, because they are both destructive and forgiving but under the circumstances they faced at the time. This type of ruling is similar to the way the Spartans conquered and ruled their own land. The Spartan were considered blood thirsty because of how they constantly fought for more land and destroyed cities. But in all things they were very forgiving on their own people, like the women. Spartan women had many more rights than the women of Athens. Thei applied to how the Mongols let their own people in China have more freedom than the Chinese people.

 ~Madi Smith 

Works Cited:

Magill, Frank N. Great Lives from History. Ed. Shelley Wolbrink. Vol. 2. Pasadena, CA: Salem, 1987. Print.

Morton, William Scott. China: Its History and Culture. 3rd ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1995. Print.

Mar, Paul H. "Internet History Sourcebooks Project." Internet History Sourcebooks Project. Internet Medieval Source Book, n.d. Web. 15 Jan. 2014. <http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/polo-kinsay.asp>.

Reinhartz, Dennis. "Genghis Khan." Great Lives from History: The Middle Ages. Ed. Wolbrink Shelley. 2 vols. Salem Press, 2005. Salem History Web. 16 Jan. 2014.