The Mongol Empire, which lasted from 1206 to 1368, was the biggest contiguous land empire in history. It was founded by Genghis Khan, a Mongolian warrior. It was structured by many territories, from Eastern Europe to Southeast Asia. International trade was expanded by the Mongol empire. The Silk Road, which was an ancient network of trade routes, expanded to India, Middle East, and Eastern Europe.
Mongol Empire’s Economy
The Mongolian-speaking tribes developed an economy based on wool, cattle, and horses, which were replaced by camels in the more arid areas. Some products such as cereals, textiles, tea, and metals were obtained through trade with China's adjacent agricultural civilization. Grazing and hunting were their main occupation. The political-military hierarchy of this empire was based on personal ties of mutual protection and loyalty.
The Mongol Empire did much to unite East Asia and West Asia. A horse-mail system was set up that traversed the prairies and deserts of Central Asia. The trade routes of central Asia became more secure than ever before. Although communications helped the Mongols to maintain their vast and varied empire, the common lineage also played an important role.
The Fall of the Mongol Empire
Good communications and kinship ties were insufficient in counteracting the centrifugal forces that shook the empire. Soon religious differences appeared. The Mongol rulers of Western Asia tended to accept Islam, while those in China converted to Buddhism or to Lamaism.
In the exercise of power, the Mongols of China followed the social and political teachings of Confucianism, insisting on the universality of the authority of rulers. Those in Western Asia were engulfed by political upheavals and wars in Eastern Europe and the Middle East. China, Russia, and Persia had their own language, culture, and system of government, each trying to influence its Mongol supreme chiefs.
The previously mentioned regions were home to a sedentary agricultural civilization. In each of them, the imposition of Mongol rule seem to have led to a reestablishment of local bureaucratic regimes, more concerned with internal problems and therefore less vulnerable to Mongol domination, hence the falling of the Mongol Empire.
