Mongol, War Tactics, Weapons, and Conquest

By: Bryan Robison

Mongols History

• The Mongols originated on the steppe of Central Asia.

Mongols War Tactics

• Due to their nomadic origin on the steppe of Central Asia the Mongol preferred the Horse Archer.

Mongol Mobility

• The Mongols would often travel 100 hundred miles a day.

• Mongols would often feign retreats to lure opposing armies into traps.

Attack

• After weakening enemy troops with their horse archers, Mongols would attack with lancers.

Siege Battles

• To conquer cities, Mongols would bombard city wall with dozens of siege engines.(catapults)

• Mongols would also launched plague victims at the city wall to infect the defenders.

Mongol Siege of Baghdad, 1258.

Mongol Bow

• The favorite weapon for the Mongols was the composite bow.

• It could hit targets from hundreds of yards away.

Unification

• In 1206, Genghis Khan (great khan) defeated his rivals and unified the Mongol clans.

Genghis Khan

Attack!

• Mongol soldiers under Genghis Khan attacked and defeated the Jurchens and Western Xia in China, and the Khwarizmi Empire in Central Asia.

The Mongol Empire at Genghis Khan’s death.

Mongol Expansion

• Mongols under later Khans attacked and ruled The Middle East, Russia, Persia, Central Asia, and China.

Division

• In 1264, the Mongol empire divided; Yuan Dynasty in China, Golden Horde in Russia, and Ilkhanate in Persia.

Downfall

• Civil War between various Mongol groups led to anarchy and rebellion such as the Ming Rebellion in China in 1368.

First Ming Emperor, Zhu Yuanzhang