Once, the sound of a horse's hooves shook the East and the West, and wherever the Mongol warriors went, the city fell and the dynasty trembled. Genghis Khan's descendants, known for their cavalry charge and tactical dexterity, created a vast empire that spanned Europe and Asia. However, this once invincible empire burned and fell like a meteor, and the speed with which it decayed surprised the world. Why is this? Why has the glory of a century faded away in the long river of history?
In the 13th century, the Mongol Empire, founded by Genghis Khan, shook the world with its unparalleled military power and strategic wisdom. Their horses roamed the steppes of Asia, broke through the borders of Europe, and expanded their territory to unprecedented territory. However, just as its authority was at its peak, the Mongol Empire began an irreversible decline.
The Mongols' military strategy was based on cavalry field warfare in the early days, and in siege warfare, they adopted a slow and prolonged attrition tactic. They forced the enemy to submit by cutting off the supply lines of the besieged city, depleting their opponents' water. This tactic, while effective, has a relatively low reliance on siege techniques.
As time progressed, the Mongol army began to absorb and use the craftsmen and siege techniques in the captives, which greatly improved their ability in siege warfare. Their arsenal has been enhanced with a variety of advanced siege equipment, such as siege vehicles, ramming vehicles, and a variety of projectile weapons, even using biological and chemical weapons. This equipment, combined with the tactical flexibility of the Mongol army, allowed them to conquer cities that were considered impregnable.
However, with the advent of the 14th century, the Mongol Empire's territory began to shrink, and they were no longer able to maintain effective control over distant territories. Mongolia, which had lost its Central Plains, gradually returned to a nomadic life. They lost control of agricultural and industrial resources, and the level of science and technology began to lag behind. Scattered tribes and internal power struggles further weakened Mongolia's cohesion and unity.
After that, the wars with the Ming Dynasty were mostly sporadic tribal conflicts, rather than the power confrontation of the whole nation. Their military strength was much lower than before, and their ability to fight siege warfare declined with it. The Ming army, through years of fighting and blockade, further weakened the Mongols. The Mongols gradually lost the will and ability to attack the city, and the siege craftsmen of the past gradually grew old and failed to pass on the technology.
After the 14th century, Mongolia adopted more plundering wars, and in that turbulent era, the Mongol Empire was like a fierce beast on the steppe, crisscrossing and roaring, rushing to every corner of the world. Their battle flags fly on the eastern shore of the Korean Peninsula, on the western border of Poland, in the cold lands of the Arctic Ocean, and in the warm waters of the Persian Gulf.
However, like many great empires throughout history, the Mongol Empire did not escape the cycle of prosperity and decline. For a while, people were puzzled about the reasons for the decline of this empire that once swept across Eurasia, what caused the death of this great empire?
The reason why the Mongol Empire was able to achieve such brilliant results was inseparable from their exquisite layout and iron-blooded execution on the battlefield. Genghis Khan's cavalry, known for their agility and brutality, feared almost any enemy and adopted a strategy of interlocking encirclement. They would first uproot the enemy's outposts and strongholds one by one, and then completely besiege the city, cutting off its water supply, leaving the besieged people to slowly run out of food in desperation and be forced to surrender.
The Mongols also cultivated and built pastures outside the city as a way to form a long-term siege of the city, which could wear down the enemy's will without attacking the city. Should the enemy attempt to break the siege, the Mongols would crush any reinforcements with lightning speed in the field. Once the town was conquered, the Mongols would gather siege weapons and craftsmen, and constantly absorb and innovate, and the siege technology became more and more sophisticated.
However, as time passed, the Mongol Empire, despite its vast territory, became increasingly loose in its internal management. The rapid expansion of the empire led to a dramatic increase in the complexity of management, and increasing contradictions and rivalries between rulers in different regions. As Genghis Khan's descendants grew hungry for power, rifts within the Mongol Empire began to emerge.
Another reason for the decline of the Mongol Empire was that over time, they gradually lost control over agricultural and industrial resources. The Mongols, who were originally nomadic herders, did not integrate and use these resources well after conquering the farming peoples. Their economic structure has never changed from dependence on plunder to sustainable development, which has directly led to the decline of national power.
In addition, the military strength of the Mongol Empire began to weaken due to the long campaign. Although their siege weapons and craftsmen were once advanced, over time, these techniques have not been effectively passed down and updated, but have been surpassed by other rising powers.
Coupled with the governance deficiencies of the Mongol Empire, these problems gradually accumulated into major crises that could not be resolved within the empire. At the same time, the Mongol Empire was also facing challenges from the outside world. As the countries of Europe and the Middle East gradually recovered from the Mongol deterrence, they began to develop their military forces and innovated in technology to gradually close the gap with Mongolia.
For example, the use of gunpowder began to gain widespread use in Europe, and firearms and artillery gradually became the dominant forces on the battlefield. This technological change brought unprecedented challenges to the traditional Mongolian cavalry tactics and siege methods. The walls were strengthened to withstand artillery bombardment, but the Mongol siege techniques failed to keep up with the times and gradually lost their advantage.
At the same time, climate change may have been a factor in the decline of the Mongol Empire. Studies have shown that at the turn of the 13th and 14th centuries, the climate shifted from the warm medieval warm period to the so-called Xiaoice period. This climate change may have had a negative impact on the predominantly pastoral Mongolian economy, reducing the productivity of pastures and affecting the ability of the Mongol army to raise horses and supplies.
In addition, as the independence of the various branches of the Mongol Empire increased, the Golden Horde, Chagatai Khanate, Ilkhanate, and Great Yuan became almost independent regimes, and their coordination among them decreased, and sometimes even opposed each other. This division weakened the military and political power of the Mongols as a whole, making the empire more vulnerable to challenges from outside forces.
Eventually, the Mongol Empire's internal contradictions, technological backwardness, climate change, and resistance from the outside world all combined to accelerate the empire's decline. By the 15th century, the Mongol Empire was no longer a unified trans-regional empire, except for maintaining some influence on the Mongolian plateau. But even so, the Mongol Empire's impact on world history was profound, with its military innovations, administration, and promotion of trade and cultural exchange continuing to influence generations after its decline.