Part 1: MongolsPart 2: AztecsLesson 21

Part 1: Mongols

Theme: Dealing with Conquered PeopleLesson 21

ID & SIGGenghis Kahn, Genghis Kahns military advances, Mongols

MongolsThe Mongols were nomadic people who lived on the high steppe lands of eastern central AsiaTraditionally, their strong loyalties to kinship groups made it difficult for them to organize a stable society on a large scaleIn the early 13th Century, however, they would unifyModern day Mongolia was the center of the 13th Century Mongol Empire. Karakorum (present day Har Horin) was the capital

TemujinTemujin was born about 1167 into a noble familyHowever, when he was about 10 years old his father was poisoned and Temujin grew up in a precarious and dangerous wayIn order to survive, he learned to master the art of steppe diplomacy which called for displays of personal courage in battle, intense loyalty to allies (as well as willingness to betray allies or superiors to improve ones position), and the ability to entice previously unaffiliated tribes into cooperative relationshipsMongolian steppe

Genghis (Chinggis) KahnTemujin gradually strengthened his position using all these tactics and eventually brought all the Mongol tribes into a single confederationIn 1206, an assembly of Mongol leaders recognized Temujins supremacy by proclaiming him Genghis (Chinggis) Kahn (universal ruler)Modern mural depicting Genghis Kahns inauguration

Genghis Kahns Military AdvancesOrganization of the armyCharacteristics of the troopsBreaking tribal connectionsMobilityLight cavalryStrategy and tacticsPsychological warfareNew technology

Organization of the ArmyGenghis Kahn created a command structure that facilitated flexibilityHe organized the Mongol soldiers into groups of multiples of 10 with each group of soldiers having a leader who would report to the next higher levelThis allowed the Mongol army to attack en masse, divide into somewhat smaller groups to encircle and lead enemies into an ambush, or divide into small groups to track down and destroy a fleeing and broken army

Mongol Army OrganizationTumen: 10,000 man division, made up of ten minghans, led by a noyan appointed by the Khan. Minghan: 1,000 man regiment, made up of ten jaguns, led by a noyan appointed by the Khan.Jagun: 100 man squadron, made up of ten arbans. The arban leaders selected their own leader for the jagun. Arban: 10 man unit. The men in the arban selected their own leader.

Characteristics of the TroopsThe Mongol army also was highly flexible due to the durability of its soldiersMongol soldiers were extremely tough, disciplined, obedient, and tirelessThey could go on extended campaigns with only meager provisionsGenghis Kahns army was relatively small (100,000 to 125,000 Mongols plus some allies), but his success was built on quality not quantity

Characteristics of the TroopsMongol soldiers were used to living in the harsh steppe climate and required little in the way of comfortAnd in case of great urgency they will ride ten days on end without lighting a fire or taking a meal. On such an occasion they will sustain themselves on the blood of their horses, opening a vein and letting the blood jet into their mouths, drinking till they have had enough, and then staunching itMarco PoloMarco Polo traveled the Silk Roads toward the end of the 13th Century

Breaking Tribal ConnectionsGenghis Kahns personal experience had made him distrustful of Mongol tribal organizations so when he organized his army he broke up the tribesWhen integrating new soldiers into the army, he put them in new military units with no tribal affiliationsHe chose high military and political officials not on basis of kinship or tribal status, but because of their talents or their loyalty to him

MobilityMongol horsemen were among the most mobile forces of the pre-modern world, sometimes traveling more than 62 miles a day to surprise the enemySuperior mobility and excellent political and military organization, gave Genghis Kahn advantages in speed, surprise, and intelligence gathering

Light CavalryThe core of the Mongol army was its light cavalryMongols grew up riding horses and possessed outstanding equestrian skills which they honed by hunting and playing competitive games on horsebackMongol horsemen could shoot an arrow at full gallopStirrups allowed the cavalrymen improved maneuver and the ability to stand while shooting

Light CavalryMongols didnt favor close combat, instead preferring to fight from a distance with their excellent bow marksmanship from horsesThey never let themselves get into a regular medley, but keep perpetually riding around and shooting into the enemy.Marco Polo

Strategy and TacticsBefore invading a territory, the Mongols would conduct extensive preparations at a meeting of the participating commanders called a quriltaiIntelligence was a key planning considerationThe Mongols would usually advance in three separate columnsThe flanking columns would spread terror, gather intelligence, and eliminate smaller opponent armies When the time was right, the columns would reunite to defeat the main oppositionThe technique of advancing in separate columns facilitated independence and the detailed planning facilitated concentration

Strategy and TacticsA favorite Mongol tactic was to feign a withdraw only to lead the enemy into an ambushAnd you perceive that it is just when the enemy sees them run, and imagines that he has gained the battle, that he has in reality lost it, for the Mongols wheel around in a moment when they judge the right time has come. And after this fashion they have won many a fight.Marco PoloBattle of Sajo Bridge, April 27, 1241

Psychological WarfareIf enemies surrendered without resistance, the Mongols usually spared their lives, and they provided generous treatment for artisans, craftsmen, and those with military skillsIn the event of resistance, however, the Mongols ruthlessly slaughtered whole populations, sparing only a few, who they sometimes drove before their armies as human shields or allowed to spread the word of Mongol power to intimidate future adversaries

New TechnologyThe Mongols developed a composite bow, made out of horn and sinew, that gave them a significant advantage over their enemiesThe Mongol bow had a range of more than 350 yardsThe European crossbow was accurate only up to a range of 250 yards

New TechnologyThe Mongols originally had no knowledge of siege warfare, but later became masters of it through careful acceptance of new technologies In some cases, the Mongols used trebuchets to hurl diseased corpses into the besieged city

Death of Genghis KahnGenghis Kahn died in 1227He had united the Mongols, established Mongol supremacy in central Asia, and extended Mongol control to northern China in the east and Persia in the west

Growth of the Mongol Empire Under Genghis Kahn12181204, before Genghis Kahn1227, when Genghis Kahn died

The Empire of Genghis KahnGenghis Kahn was a conqueror, not an administratorHe ruled the Mongols themselves through his control over the army, but he did not establish a central government for the lands that he conqueredInstead, he assigned Mongol overlords to supervise local administrators and to extract a generous tributeContrast this technique with the other means of maintaining order and population control we discussed in Block 3

The Mongol Empire After Genghis KahnGenghis Kahns death touched off a struggle for power and his heirs divided his realm into four regional empires (Similar to what we talked about in Lesson 19 after Alexander the Greats death)Khanate of the Great Kahn (China)Ended in 14th CenturyKhanate of Chagatai (central Asia)Ended in 18th CenturyKhanate of the Golden Horde (Russia)Ended in 16th CenturyIlkanate of PersiaEnded in 14th Century

The Mongol Empire After Genghis Kahn

Genghis Kahns Place in the History of WarfareThe Mongol army transformed the scope of warfare Made it an intercontinental affair fought on multiple fronts stretching across thousands of miles.Sustained the campaign over years of constant fighting.Innovative fighting techniques made the heavily armored knights of medieval Europe obsolete, replacing them with disciplined cavalry moving in coordinated units.Speed, surprise, and effective siege techniques helped reduce the reliance on defensive fortifications and helped make walled cities obsolete.In twenty-five years, the Mongol army subjugated more lands and people than the Romans had conquered in four hundred years.Whether measured by the total number of people defeated, the sum of the countries annexed, or by the total area occupied, Genghis Khan conquered more than twice as much as any other man in history.

Part 2: Aztecs

Theme: The Purpose of Warfare in Society Lesson 21

ID & SIGAztecs, Aztec warriors, Cortes, Huitzilopochtli, Mexica, Tenochtitlan, sacrificial bloodletting, tribute

The MexicaThe Mexica are what the people we know as the Aztecs first called themselvesThey migrated to central Mexico from the northwest in the middle of the 13th CenturyThey had a reputation for kidnapping women and seizing land cultivated by others

The MexicaFor centuries they migrated around central MexicoIn about 1345 they settled on an island in a marshy region of Lake Texcoco and founded their capital city of TenochtitlanThe Spanish conquistadors later built Mexico City on top of Tenochtitlan

TenochtitlanLiving on the island had military advantagesThe lake served as a natural defensive barrierWater protected Tenochtitlan on all sidesMexica warriors patrolled the three causeways that eventually linked the capital to the surrounding mainland

The Beginnings of EmpireBy the early 15th Century, the Mexica were powerful enough to overcome their immediate neighbors and demand tribute from their new subjectsUnder the rule of the Obsidian Serpent Itzcoatl (1428-1440) and Motecuzoma I (Montezuma) (1440-1469) they conquered Oaxaca in southwest MexicoItzcoatl, the Obsidian Serpent

The Triple AllianceThe Mexica populated Oaxaca with colonists and used it as a bulwark for their emerging empireFrom Oaxaca, the Mexica turned to the Gulf CoastAfter that they conquered the cities between Tenochtitlan and the Gulf CoastIn about the mid-15th Century, the Mexica joined forces with the neighboring cities of Texcoco and Tlacopan to form a triple alliance that guided the Aztec EmpireThe alliance imposed its rule on some 21 million people and most of Mesoamerica

TributeThe main objective of the triple alliance was to exact tribute from subject peopleThe annual tribute owed by the state of Tochtepec on the Gulf coast included9,600 cloaks1,600 womens garments200 loads of cacao16,000 rubber ballsTribute of precious stones in jade, serpentine, and turquoise paid by Tochtepec

The Aztec ArmyThe Aztecs had no permanent, standing army and they did not maintain military garrisons throughout their empireThey simply assembled forces as needed whenever they launched campaigns of expansion or punitive expeditionsPendent in the shape of an Aztec warrior

Maintenance of the EmpireThe Aztec had no elaborate bureaucracy or administrationThey simply conquered their subjects and assessed tribute, leaving local governance and the collection of the tribute in the hands of the conquered people themselvesThe Aztecs reputation for military prowess was usually enough to keep subject people in line due to fear of reprisalsContrast this technique with the other means of maintaining order and population control we discussed in Block 3

War in Aztec SocietyWar benefited all segments of Aztec society but the religious component was an especially important beneficiary because war produced victims for ritual sacrificeThe Mexica believed their gods had set the world in motion through acts of individual sacrificeBy letting their blood flow, the gods had given the earth the moisture it needed to bear maize and other crops

War in Aztec SocietyTo propitiate the gods and ensure the continuation of the world, the Mexica honored their deities through sacrificial bloodlettingMexica priests regularly performed acts of self-sacrifice such as piercing their earlobes or penises with cactus spines in honor of the primeval acts of their godsAztec sacrificial knife

War in Aztec Society

Mexica warriors took Huitzilopochtli as their patron deity in the early 14th Century as they subjected neighboring peoples to their ruleThey felt that their military successes showed that Huitzilopochtli especially favored the Mexica and the priests of Huitzilopochtlis cult demanded sacrificial victims to keep the war god appeasedHuitzilopochtli

War in Aztec SocietyMany of the people conquered by the Aztec warriors ended up becoming human sacrifices to HuitzilopochtliThe Mexica honored Huitzilopochtli in a large temple in the center of TenochtitlanWhen the Spanish conquistadors arrived they found racks holding the skulls of hundreds of thousands of sacrificial victims in temples dedicated to Huitzilopochtli throughout the Aztec empire

Tzompantli Altar decorated with 240 human skulls made of stone

War in Aztec SocietyAfter an enemy was captured, he was incapacitated with a wooden collar and taken back to Tenochtitlan for formal presentation.

War in Aztec SocietyFor the Aztecs, human sacrifice was not a gruesome form of entertainment, but a ritual essential for the worlds survival

Aztec WarriorsAll males were considered potential warriors and individuals of common birth could distinguish themselves in battle and therefore raise their social standingFor the most part, though, military elites came from the Mexica aristocracyMen of noble birth received intensive training in military affairs

Clay statue of an elite Aztec eagle warrior

Aztec WarriorsIn the rigidly hierarchical Aztec social structure, most public honors and awards went to the military elite Accomplished warriors received extensive land grants as well as tributes from commoners for their supportThe most successful warriors formed a council whose members selected the ruler, discussed public issues, and filled government positions

Illustration depicting six different levels of military achievement

Aztec WarriorsElite warriors ate the best foods Aztec society had to offer-- turkey, pheasant, duck, deer, boar, and rabbit-- and enjoyed luxuries such as vanilla and cacaoWarriors were allowed to wear brightly colored cotton clothes while commoners had to wear coarse, burlap-like garmentsAztec emperor personally awarding warriors with ritual dress and gifts taken in tribute from foreign states

Aztec WarfareThe Aztecs mainly fought during the dry season between December and April Marching was easiestPost-harvest supplies were at their heightFarm laborers were available for serviceThe Aztecs marched about 12 miles a day with each army departing on separate days or traveling by parallel routesThere was one human porter for every two soldiers and the Aztecs carried a total of eight days supply of food

Aztec WarfareUsually battles were fought in the open and began at dawn with a slingshot and arrow barrage at a range of about 60 yardsUnder this cover, soldiers armed with stone-bladed broadswords and spears advancedAll soldiers carried shields and those who had earned it had cotton quilted armor

Aztec WarfareAs the two sides closed, combat became hand to handIn most cases, the Aztecs primary objective was the enemies submission, not their destruction, so tribute and sacrificial victims could be obtainedThe preferred Aztec weapon was the macuahuitl. The obsidian blades were razor sharp and intended to disable an enemy so he could be captured.

Aztecs Meet Their MatchIn 1519, Hernan Cortes led about 450 soldiers to Mexico and TenochtitlanAfter an initial repulse, Cortes built a small fleet of ships, placed Tenochtitlan under siege, and in 1521 starved the city into surrenderWell talk more about this in Lesson 25

Montezuma IIHernan Cortes

Cortes AdvantagesPopulation density, Large animal domestication, Agriculture, Resistance to diseases passed from animals and plants to humans, Technological inventiveness, Acceptance of change and improvement, Literacy, and Centralized governmentJared Diamond, Guns, Germs, and Steel

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