Question - What was the military management system of the Mongols? What were its characteristics?
Answer -
- In Mongol nomadic societies, able-bodied adult members were armed and, when necessary, were used in armed forces.
- The army was organized by the unification of various Mongol tribes
- This also included defeated people of Turkish origin and Kerats who had voluntarily accepted their rule.
- The Mongol army was organized according to the old decimal system of the steppe region, divided into units of ten, hundred, thousand, and ten thousand soldiers.
- Discipline was important. Anyone who tried to go out without permission from his officer was severely punished.
- The largest unit of troops consisted of about ten thousand soldiers (Tuman), which included people from many tribes and clans.
Question - What were the reasons why Genghis Khan was a great ruler?
Answer -
- Genghis Khan was born in 1162 AD in Mongolia. His initial name was Temujin.
- After defeating Jamukha and the Neman people, Temujin emerged as the most influential person in the politics of the steppe region
- Impressed by the reputation of Genghis Khan, a meeting (Kuriltai) of the chiefs of the Mongol tribes recognized him and Genghis Khan was declared the great leader of the Mongols with the title of 'Samudri Khan' or 'Sovereign Ruler'.
- Genghis Khan organised and reorganised the Mongols into a strongly disciplined military force.
- By conquering China, they liberated it from Chinese exploitation and created a transcontinental empire.
- By 1219 and 1221 AD, major cities like Bukhara, Samarkand, Balku, Gurganj, Mawan, Nishapur and Herat surrendered to the Mongol forces.
- Genghis Khan reestablished trade routes and markets.
- Genghis Khan maintained a multi-ethnic, multi-lingual, multi-religious organization under his rule.
- Genghis Khan is revered among Mongols as a national hero and nation builder.
Military achievements of Genghis Khan:
- The skilled cavalry of the Mongols and Turks strengthened it
- The amazing skill of archery from horseback which increased the speed of soldiers in battle
- Weather information helps the army operate faster
- Introduced the policy of cordon sanitaire, naphtha bombing
Question – Describe the reasons for the decline of the Mongol Empire.
Answer -
- The Mongols were very few in number and were less civilized than the people of the states they conquered.
- Creating multi-ethnic, multi-lingual, multi-religious organizations and merging their civilization with the civilization of the conquered countries, which did not lead to social unity
- After the death of Genghis Khan, the political condition of the Mongol Empire weakened and the empire disintegrated over the issue of succession.
Question - What was Genghis Khan's messenger system? What were its characteristics?
Answer -
- The Mongols had created a communication system to maintain continuous contact with the distant areas of the state, which is called the messenger system.
- In this system, military posts were established at certain distances in which healthy and strong horses and horse mounted messengers were kept.
- The job of these messengers was to transmit information from one post to another at a very high speed.
- Due to this, information about every important event happening in distant places in such a large empire reached the Mongol ruler within a short time.
- A special tax 'Kuvkur' was levied for operating the messenger system
- In this tax, Mongol nomads used to provide one-tenth of their animal groups as tax.
Question - What was 'Yaas'? What were the reasons for the change in its meaning? Discuss the importance of Yaas.
Answer -
