The people of the Mongol Empire (1206-1368 AD) were nomadic people who relied on hunting game as a valuable source of protein.
The Asian steppe is a desolate, windy, and often cold environment, but for those Mongols with adequate horseback riding and bow skills, wildlife can be caught to supplement their dairy-based diet.
Over time, hunting and falconry became important cultural events, and big hunts were organized whenever there were important clan gatherings and important celebrations.
These hunts involved all tribes mobilizing across vast steppe areas to transfer their prey to specific areas, a technique known as nerge. The skills and tactics used during the Nerge period, the Mongol cavalry, were often repeated on battlefields across Asia and Eastern Europe with great success.
Hunted animals
The Mongols, like other nomads in the Asian steppe, ate and drink from livestock to make cheese, yogurt, dried curds and fermented beverages.
The animals they graze — sheep, goats, cattle, camels and yaks — are often too precious as regular sources of wool and milk to be killed for meat, so protein is obtained through hunting, essentially any moving wild animal.
Animals hunted in the Middle Ages included hares, deer, antelopes, wild boars, bison, marmots, wolves, foxes, rabbits, wild asses, Siberian tigers, lions and many wild birds, including swans and cranes (using snares and falcons).
Meat is especially in demand when grand banquets are held to celebrate tribal occasions and political events, such as the election of a new khan or a Mongol ruler.
The Mongols were skilled hunters because they were trained to ride bows and arrows from a very young age.
A basic division of labor is that women cook and men hunt. Meat is usually cooked and rarely grilled before being added to soups and stews. Jerky (si'usun) was a particularly useful staple for travelers and wandering Mongolian warriors.
In the harsh steppe environment, nothing is wasted, not even the marrow of animal bones is eaten by leftovers and then boiled in broth with curds or millet added.
Animal tendons are used for tools, and fat is used for waterproof items such as tents and saddles.
Mongolians believe that eating certain parts of wild animals that are believed to have a strong spirit, such as wolves or even marmots, can help treat certain diseases. For example, bear paws are believed to help strengthen the body's resistance to low temperatures.
Mixtures such as tiger bone meal dissolved in wine have several benefits for the body and are still a popular medicinal drink in parts of East Asia today.
In addition to food and medicine, prey is also a source of clothing. A little wolf or snow leopard fur trim on a common robe indicates that the wearer is a member of the tribal elite.
Fur-lined jackets, pants, and boots are also a good choice to withstand the harsh prairie winters.
Horse with bow
The Mongols were skilled hunters, not only because they had to do so in order to eat, but also because they trained in horseback riding and archery from a very young age.
The second aid was the Mongolian horse, a small but strong beast with excellent endurance. Thirdly, the hunter has a great weapon, the Mongolian compound bow.
Made of multiple layers of wood, bamboo or horns, the bow is strong and flexible, and since it is wound according to its natural curve, it can shoot highly accurate and penetrating arrows.
Arrowheads tend to be made of bone, few metal shafts are made of wood, reeds, or a combination of both, and feather arrows are made of bird feathers.
Thanks to the high stirrups and wooden saddles that provide better stability, hunters can shoot accurately while riding quickly. In the Mongol Wars, the fast-moving light cavalry used exactly the same nerge strategy.
Sometimes, the two wings of the cavalry spread out so large that the enemy army ended up being completely surrounded. The reserve heavy cavalry then came in pursuit, and as if hunting animals, some enemies were allowed to escape, but this time only to ensure that the Mongols themselves were not overwhelmed in numbers.
Unlike the game, any escapees are relentlessly hunted, usually for days after the battle.
Shangdu Safari Park
Hunting is part of Mongolian culture, and even as they built their empire and began to settle down and live a sedentary life, the ancient tradition was not forgotten.
When rulers swapped traditional yurt tents for ornate palaces, they even made sure to have their own private hunting park. To the northwest of Shangdu, the capital of Mongolia, there is a hunting reserve consisting of meadows, woods and lakes inhabited by semi-domesticated animals such as deer.
Game reserves are also used for falcons and to keep white mare herds and special cows whose milk is reserved for khans and those with privileges.
In order not to let animals in and people from coming out, the entire reserve was fenced with earthen walls and moats.
Marco Polo described the safari reserve this way:
Within the confines of the Royal Park, there are many beautiful meadows, watered by many streams, where various deer and goats graze as food for falcons and other birds...
Khan's hunting birds are also described: "His Majesty also has eagles, which are trained to lean over and pounce on wolves, and their size and strength are so great that no matter how big they are, they cannot escape their claws".
Other birds of prey used include sand falcons, peregrine falcons, hunting falcons, and vultures. Khans and other nobles ensured that their precious birds were not lost by attaching silver tags with the names of owners and keepers on their legs.
If the finder of a lost bird does not recognize the name on the label, then he must take it to a special "lost and found" officer, namely bulangazi, who keeps it in his tent and waits for its rightful owner in a conspicuous place in the camp, which is marked with a special flag as a lost and found.
Falconry and hunting with eagles are still an important part of Asian grassland life today.
Resources
Historical Dictionary of the Mongol World Empire
Daily Life in the Mongol Empire
"Travels of Marco Polo"
