Significant reform carried out by Genghis Khan introduction. Onon Diet: Genghis Khan's reforms changed the course of world history

Birth of Genghis Khan and early years

Temujin was born in the Delyun-Boldok tract on the banks of the Onon River (in the area of Lake Baikal) in the family of one of the leaders of the Mongolian Taichiut tribe, Yesugei-bagatur (“bagatur” - hero) from the Borjigin clan and his wife Hoelun from the Onkhirat tribe, whom Yesugei recaptured from Merkita Eke-Chiledu. The leader Yesugei, at this time, was leading a military campaign against the Tatar leader named Temujin. The war ended with the victory of Yesugei. Having defeated the enemy, he returned home, where he was greeted by the news that his wife Hoelun had given birth to a son. Having examined the child, Yesugei saw specks of dried blood on his small hand, clenched into a fist. The superstitious Mongol connected this with his victory over the Tatar leader and named the baby Temuchin. The year of Temujin’s birth remains unclear, since the main sources indicate different dates. According to Rashid ad-Din, Temujin was born in 1155. A number of scientists (for example, G.V. Vernadsky), based on an analysis of sources, point to the year 1167.

At the age of 9, Yesugei-bagatur betrothed the son of Borte, a 10-year-old girl from the Khungirat family. Leaving his son with the bride's family until he came of age, so that they could get to know each other better, he went home. According to the “Secret Legend,” on the way back, Yesugei stopped at a Tatar camp, where he was poisoned. Upon returning to his native ulus, he fell ill and fell ill, and died three days later.

Having lost his father, at the age of thirteen, Temujin was to become the supreme leader of the Mongols. However, the death of Yesugei served as an impetus for the separation of some tribes, which had previously been forced to stick together, obeying a powerful leader. His followers abandoned the widows (Yesugei had 2 wives) and the children of Yesugei (Temuchin and his younger brother Khasar, and from his second wife - Bekter and Belgutai): the head of the Taichiut clan drove the family from their homes, stealing all the cattle that belonged to it. To Temujin's admonitions, the tribal leaders replied: “Even the deepest wells dry up, the hardest stones crumble. Why should we remain faithful to you?” For several years, widows and children lived in complete poverty, wandering in the steppes, eating roots, game and fish. Even in the summer, the family lived from hand to mouth, making provisions for the winter.

The leader of the Taichiuts, Targutai (a distant relative of Temujin), who declared himself the ruler of the lands once occupied by Yesugei, fearing the revenge of his growing rival, began to pursue Temujin. One day, an armed detachment attacked the camp of the Yesugei family. Temujin managed to escape, but was overtaken and captured. They put a block on it - two wooden boards with a hole for the neck, which were pulled together. The block was a painful punishment: a person did not have the opportunity to eat, drink, or even drive away a fly that had landed on his face.

He found a way to escape and hide in a small lake, plunging into the water with the block and sticking only his nostrils out of the water. The Taichiuts searched for him in this place, but could not find him. He was noticed by a farm laborer from the Selduz tribe Sorkan-Shire, who was among them, and decided to save him. He pulled young Temujin out of the water, freed him from the block and took him to his home, where he hid him in a cart with wool. After the Taichiuts left, Sorkan-Shire put Temujin on a mare, supplied him with weapons and sent him home. (Subsequently, Chilaun, the son of Sorkan-Shire, became one of the four close nukers of Genghis Khan). After some time, Temujin found his family. The Borjigins immediately migrated to another place, and the Taichiuts could no longer detect them. At the age of 11, Temujin became friends with his peer of noble origin from the Jajirat tribe, Jamukha, who later became the leader of this tribe. With him in his childhood, Temujin twice became a sworn brother (Andoy - sworn brother).

A few years later, Temujin married his betrothed Borte (by this time Boorchu, also one of the four closest nukers, appeared in Temujin’s service). Borte's dowry was a luxurious sable fur coat. Temujin soon went to the most powerful of the then steppe leaders - Togoril, the khan of the Kerait tribe. Togoril was Temujin's father's brother-in-law, and he managed to enlist the support of the Kerait leader by recalling this friendship and presenting Borte with a sable fur coat. Upon returning from Togoril Khan, one old Mongol gave his son Jelme into service, who became one of the generals of Genghis Khan.

Temujin managed to fight against conspiracies and resist the open hostility of neighboring tribes, especially the Naimans, Keraits and Merkits. Temujin waged an almost continuous war with one of these tribes until 1206, when he gathered enough forces to declare himself the supreme ruler of all the tribes of the Mongolian steppe. He convened a kurultai (congress of leaders) on the banks of the Onon, where he was proclaimed great khan over all tribes with the new name Genghis Khan (true ruler).

Formation of the Mongolian state

In the ascension of Temujin as khan of the ulus, Jamukha did not see anything good and looked for an open quarrel with his anda. The reason was the murder of Jamukha's younger brother, Taichar, while trying to drive away a herd of horses from Temujin's possessions. Under the pretext of revenge, Jamukha and his army moved towards Temujin in 3 darkness. The battle took place near the Gulegu Mountains, between the sources of the Sengur River and the upper reaches of Onon. In this first big battle (according to the main source “The Secret History”) Temujin was defeated. This defeat unsettled him for some time and he had to gather strength to continue the fight.

The proclamation of Temujin as Genghis Khan was the work of representatives of most of the Mongol tribes, but not all, since another part of the people with several aristocratic families was with Jamukha; The powerful Kerait tribe, subject to Van Khan, as well as the state of the Naiman and White Tatars, remained outside this association.

Thus, the first goal that Genghis Khan set - to form a Unified Mongolian Power - has not yet been achieved.

However, those tribes that had already recognized his power represented in total, in terms of the number of souls, such a large number and occupied such vast lands that it was necessary - even before achieving this goal and simultaneously with its pursuit - to attend to the possible unification of the subject tribes into one whole.

To do this, first of all, it was necessary to establish a constant network of communications, and the need to protect the central government from unfavorable contingencies, always possible in the situation in which the Mongol power arose, required a solid organization of the headquarters of the supreme ruler of the state and reliable measures for its protection. In carrying out these activities and others classified as administrative, Genghis Khan showed enormous organizational talent from the very beginning.

His headquarters became the true center of the emerging great power. For communication, to transmit his orders to the people, he organized a detachment of horsemen, in our terminology, orderlies or couriers, who quickly dispersed to all the lands under his control. In a steppe state, in the absence of modern concepts of mail, telegraph and railways, the organization of such horse-drawn couriers was an extremely reasonable innovation, not practiced anywhere before Genghis Khan, at least on such a large scale; later, this organization was introduced throughout the Mongolian state, receiving further development in the form of the establishment of a network of “yams” - yam stations, which were, on the one hand, stages for the transfer and further forwarding of mail, and on the other hand, bases for officials and couriers to whom particularly important written or verbal orders and communications were entrusted. When the monarchy of Genghis Khan acquired the character of a World Empire, spreading to Russia and China, its network of communication lines turned into a huge state institution, serving not only government, but also private needs for communication, which opened access to the heart of Mongolia for travelers even from distant Europe: Plano Carpini, Rubruk and Marco Polo. Genghis Khan wanted to provide trade with such convenience and such security that it would be possible, as he put it, throughout his entire empire to wear gold on his head, like ordinary vessels, without being subjected to either robbery or oppression.

While Genghis Khan worked actively in this way to unite his young state, his enemies did not sleep. Jamukha managed to acquire such importance among the tribal leaders under his control that they, having once gathered on the banks of the Arguni River, proclaimed him “Gurkhan,” which means “National Khan”; this was a direct challenge to Genghis Khan, especially since in this proclamation a coalition hostile to him played a role, in which his own uncles (on his mother’s side), the leader of the harsh Merkits Tokhta-begi, as well as the son of the elderly Van Khan, who was trying to lead his own, played a role. different from his father's, politics. Genghis Khan, with his characteristic caution, secured support from his ally Wang Khan; After this, he set out on a campaign and in 1202 inflicted a decisive defeat on his former sworn brother and his allies, the Merkits. Jamukha fled; the clans under his control submitted to the winner.

Genghis Khan's first campaigns

In 1205, 1207 and 1210, Mongol forces invaded the Tangut state of Western Xia (Xi Xia), but had no decisive success; the matter ended with the conclusion of a peace treaty obliging the Tanguts to pay tribute to the Mongols. In 1207, a detachment sent by Genghis Khan under the command of his son Jochi made a campaign north of the river. Selenga and into the Yenisei valley, conquering the forest tribes of the Oirats, Ursuts, Tubass and others. In the winter of 1208, Mongol troops crossed the Altai Mountains, pursuing the Naiman who fled to the west and subjugating the Uyghurs. By 1211, the Yenisei Kyrgyz and Karluks joined the new power.

In 1211, Mongol forces led by the Khan himself invaded northern China, starting a war with the Jurchen state of Jin, weakened by political infighting, rebellion and confrontation with the southern Chinese Song dynasty. Genghis Khan's army struck to the east, and the troops of his sons operated in the modern province of Shanxi. The conquered Chinese and Khitans rebelled against the authorities of the Jin Empire, captured Liaodong and assisted the Mongols. The war became stubborn and was fought with exceptional cruelty. Only in 1215 did the Mongols manage to capture, plunder and burn the Jurchen capital of Zhongdu (Beijing). Genghis Khan returned to Mongolia with huge booty. The Mongol forces in northern China were led by the commander Muhuli, who commanded 23,000 Mongol troops and numerous troops recruited from the Khitans and local Chinese residents. The war with the Jurchens continued until 1234 with terrible devastation; many cities and villages were destroyed, and the population was driven into slavery. By 1235, the last remnants of the Jin state had ceased to exist, and all of northern China was in Mongol hands.

In 1218–1219, Mongol troops invaded Korea in pursuit of a Khitan detachment, but were defeated. In subsequent years, the Mongols repeatedly sent embassies to the Korean court, obtaining payment of a significant tribute and at the same time preparing for a powerful invasion. It happened in 1231, after the death of Genghis Khan.

The conquest of northern China significantly strengthened the Mongol power and its army. By order of Genghis Khan, artisans and specialists were exported to Mongolia and established the production of stone-throwing and battering tools that ejected vessels with gunpowder or flammable liquid. This allowed Mongol troops to successfully besiege and storm cities and strong fortresses in the future. Having significantly strengthened their military potential, the Mongols confidently went further in their conquests.

Returning from the Chinese campaign, Genghis Khan continued to strengthen his state. In 1214–1215, he brutally suppressed the uprisings of the Merkits, Tumets and other tribes and began to prepare for a campaign to the west.

Reforms of the Great Khan

In the spring of 1206, at the source of the Onon River at the Kurultai, Temujin was proclaimed Great Khan over all the tribes, where he was given the title “Genghis Khan”. Mongolia has been transformed: the scattered and warring Mongolian nomadic tribes have united into a single state.

At the same time, a new law was issued: Yasa. The Mongolian word yasa means "conduct" or "decree". Until recently, it was common to speak of the Great Yasa as a collection of generally accepted Mongol legal institutions. This happened because the articles of the Yasa relating to criminal law and punishment attracted more attention from historians than any other part of the code. In it, the main place was occupied by articles about mutual assistance in the campaign and the prohibition of deception of those who trusted. Anyone who violated these regulations was executed, and the enemy of the Mongols, who remained loyal to his khan, was spared and accepted into his army. Loyalty and courage were considered “good”, and cowardice and betrayal were considered “evil”.

After Temujin became the all-Mongol ruler, his policies began to reflect the interests of the Noyon movement even more clearly. The Noyons needed internal and external activities that would help consolidate their dominance and increase their income. New wars of conquest and the robbery of rich countries were supposed to ensure the expansion of the sphere of feudal exploitation and the strengthening of the class positions of the noyons.

The administrative system created under Genghis Khan was adapted to achieve these goals. He divided the entire population into tens, hundreds, thousands and tumens (ten thousand), thereby mixing tribes and clans and appointing specially selected people from his confidants and nukers as commanders over them. All adult and healthy men were considered warriors who ran their households in peacetime and took up arms in wartime. This organization provided Genghis Khan with the opportunity to increase his armed forces to approximately 95 thousand soldiers.

Individual hundreds, thousands and tumens, together with the territory for nomadism, were given into the possession of one or another noyon. The Great Khan, considering himself the owner of all the land in the state, distributed land and arats into the possession of noyons, on the condition that they would regularly perform certain duties in return. The most important duty was military service. Each noyon was obliged, at the first request of the overlord, to field the required number of warriors in the field. Noyon, in his inheritance, could exploit the labor of the arats, distributing his cattle to them for grazing or involving them directly in work on his farm. Small noyons served large ones.

Under Genghis Khan, the enslavement of arats was legalized, and unauthorized movement from one dozen, hundreds, thousands or tumen to others was prohibited. This ban meant the formal attachment of the arats to the land of the noyons - for disobedience the arats faced the death penalty.

A specially formed armed detachment of personal bodyguards, the so-called keshik, enjoyed exceptional privileges and was intended mainly to fight against the internal enemies of the khan. The Keshikten were selected from the Noyon youth and were under the personal command of the khan himself, being essentially the khan’s guard. At first, there were 150 Keshikten in the detachment. In addition, a special detachment was created, which was always supposed to be in the vanguard and be the first to engage in battle with the enemy. It was called a detachment of heroes.

Genghis Khan elevated the written law to a cult and was a supporter of strong law and order. He created a network of communication lines in his empire, courier communications on a large scale for military and administrative purposes, and organized intelligence, including economic intelligence.

Genghis Khan divided the country into two “wings”. He placed Boorcha at the head of the right wing, and Mukhali, his two most faithful and experienced associates, at the head of the left. He made the positions and ranks of senior and highest military leaders - centurions, thousanders and temniks - hereditary in the family of those who, with their faithful service, helped him seize the khan's throne.

Reforms of Genghis Khan. Military organization of the Mongols Genghis Khan, with his first state decision, carried out a military reform of society. The commanders received awards according to merit, and not by right of birth. The soldiers were deployed in tens, hundreds and thousands and were required to serve from fourteen to seventy years of age. To monitor order, in addition to the army of one hundred thousand, a guard of ten thousand was created, which served as the guard of the khan's yurt. The guard (keshiktash) was created from noble warriors who were personally loyal to Genghis Khan. The guard also included a thousand of the most loyal and powerful warriors, the Bagaturs. The legislation was based on the military regulations. Two punishments were established: the death penalty and exile to Siberia and the deserted north of Mongolia. A distinctive feature of this establishment was the introduction of punishment for failure to provide assistance to a comrade in trouble. This law was called Yasa, and Genghis Khan's second son, Chagatai, was appointed keeper of the Yasa (supreme prosecutor). In such a warlike and diverse crowd of people, it was necessary to maintain strict order, which always requires real force. Genghis Khan foresaw this and, from among the most proven warriors, created two guards, day and night. They were on round-the-clock duty in the horde, were constantly with the khan and obeyed only him. This was the Mongolian coercive apparatus, placed above the army command staff: an ordinary guardsman was considered higher in rank than a thousand-man officer. 95 noyons elected by the army were appointed as thousands. The Mongol army was a close-knit equestrian formation. Unlike other nomads, the Mongols’ tactics included the principle of ramming - compact masses in deep formations, which were supposed to increase the impact (shock) force to the possible limits with the aim, for example, of breaking through the enemy’s center, one of its wings, etc. But the Mongols, in addition, had a high degree of maneuverability, and their light cavalry performed very well in battle...

The name of Genghis Khan has long become a household name. It is a symbol of devastation and colossal wars. The Mongol ruler created an empire whose size amazed the imagination of his contemporaries.

Childhood

The future Genghis Khan, whose biography has many blank spots, was born somewhere on the border of modern Russia and Mongolia. They named him Temujin. He adopted the name Genghis Khan as a designation of the title of ruler of the vast Mongol empire.

Historians have never been able to accurately calculate the date of birth of the famous commander. Various estimates place it between 1155 and 1162. This inaccuracy is due to the lack of reliable sources relating to that era.

Genghis Khan was born into the family of one of the Mongol leaders. His father was poisoned by the Tatars, after which the child began to be persecuted by other contenders for power in his native uluses. In the end, Temujin was captured and forced to live with stocks placed around his neck. This symbolized the slave position of the young man. Temujin managed to escape from captivity by hiding in the lake. He was underwater until his pursuers began looking for him elsewhere.

Unification of Mongolia

Many Mongols sympathized with the escaped prisoner who was Genghis Khan. The biography of this man is a vivid example of how a commander created a huge army from scratch. Once free, he was able to enlist the support of one of the khans named Tooril. This elderly ruler gave his daughter to Temuchin as his wife, thereby cementing an alliance with the talented young military leader.

Very soon the young man was able to meet the expectations of his patron. Together with his army, ulus after ulus. He was distinguished by his uncompromisingness and cruelty towards his enemies, which terrified his enemies. His main enemies were the Tatars, who dealt with his father. Genghis Khan ordered his subjects to destroy all these people, except for children, whose height did not exceed the height of a cart wheel. The final victory over the Tatars occurred in 1202, when they became harmless to the Mongols, united under the rule of Temujin.

Temujin's new name

In order to officially consolidate his leading position among his fellow tribesmen, the leader of the Mongols convened a kurultai in 1206. This council proclaimed him Genghis Khan (or Great Khan). It was under this name that the commander went down in history. He managed to unite the warring and scattered uluses of the Mongols. The new ruler gave them the only goal - to extend their power to neighboring peoples. Thus began the aggressive campaigns of the Mongols, which continued after Temujin’s death.

Genghis Khan's reforms

Soon reforms began, initiated by Genghis Khan. The biography of this leader is very informative. Temujin divided the Mongols into thousands and tumens. These administrative units together made up the Horde.

The main problem that could hinder Genghis Khan was internal hostility among the Mongols. Therefore, the ruler mixed numerous clans among themselves, depriving them of the previous organization that had existed for dozens of generations. It bore fruit. The horde became manageable and obedient. At the head of the tumens (one tumen included ten thousand warriors) were people loyal to the khan, who unquestioningly obeyed his orders. The Mongols were also attached to their new units. For moving to another tumen, those who disobeyed faced the death penalty. Thus, Genghis Khan, whose biography shows him as a far-sighted reformer, was able to overcome the destructive tendencies within Mongolian society. Now he could engage in external conquests.

Chinese campaign

By 1211, the Mongols managed to subjugate all the neighboring Siberian tribes. They were characterized by poor self-organization and could not repel the invaders. The first real test for Genghis Khan on distant frontiers was the war with China. This civilization had been at war with the northern nomads for many centuries and had enormous military experience. One day, guards on the Great Wall of China saw foreign troops led by Genghis Khan (a short biography of the leader cannot do without this episode). This fortification system was impregnable to previous intruders. However, it was Temujin who was the first to take possession of the wall.

It was divided into three parts. Each of them set out to conquer hostile cities in their own direction (in the south, southeast and east). Genghis Khan himself reached with his army all the way to the sea. He made peace. The losing ruler agreed to recognize himself as a tributary of the Mongols. For this he received Beijing. However, as soon as the Mongols retreated back to the steppes, the Chinese emperor moved his capital to another city. This was regarded as treason. The nomads returned to China and again filled it with blood. In the end, this country was subjugated.

Conquest of Central Asia

The next region that came under Temujin's attack was the local Muslim rulers who did not resist the Mongol hordes for long. Because of this, the biography of Genghis Khan is studied in detail in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan today. A summary of his biography is taught in any school.

In 1220, the khan captured Samarkand, the oldest and richest city in the region.

The next victims of the nomadic aggression were the Polovtsians. These steppe inhabitants asked some Slavic princes for help. So in 1223, Russian warriors first met the Mongols at the Battle of Kalka. The battle between the Polovtsy and the Slavs was lost. Temujin himself was in his homeland at that time, but closely monitored the success of his subordinates' weapons. Genghis Khan, whose interesting biographical facts are collected in various monographs, received the remnants of this army, which returned to Mongolia in 1224.

Death of Genghis Khan

In 1227, during the siege of the Tangut capital, he died. A brief biography of the leader, set out in any textbook, will certainly tell about this episode.

The Tanguts lived in northern China and, despite the fact that the Mongols had long since subjugated them, rebelled. Then Genghis Khan himself led the army, which was supposed to punish the disobedient.

According to the chronicles of that time, the leader of the Mongols hosted a delegation of Tanguts who wanted to discuss the terms of the surrender of their capital. However, Genghis Khan felt ill and refused the ambassadors an audience. He died soon after. It is not known exactly what caused the leader’s death. Perhaps it was a matter of age, since the khan was already seventy years old, and he could hardly endure long campaigns. There is also a version that he was stabbed to death by one of his wives. The mysterious circumstances of the death are also complemented by the fact that researchers still cannot find Temujin’s grave.

Heritage

There is little reliable evidence left about the empire that Genghis Khan founded. The biography, campaigns and victories of the leader - all this is known only from fragmentary sources. But the significance of the Khan’s actions is difficult to overestimate. He created the largest state in human history, spread over the vast expanse of Eurasia.

Temujin's descendants developed his success. Thus, his grandson Batu led an unprecedented campaign against the Russian principalities. He became the ruler of the Golden Horde and imposed tribute on the Slavs. But the empire founded by Genghis Khan was short-lived. At first it split into several uluses. These states were eventually captured by their neighbors. Therefore, it was Genghis Khan Khan, whose biography is known to any educated person, who became a symbol of Mongol power.

Reforms of Genghis Khan. Military organization of the Mongols

Genghis Khan's first state decision carried out a military reform of society. The commanders received awards according to merit, and not by right of birth. The soldiers were deployed in tens, hundreds and thousands and were required to serve from fourteen to seventy years of age. To monitor order, in addition to the army of one hundred thousand, a guard of ten thousand was created, which served as the guard of the khan's yurt. The guard (keshiktash) was created from noble warriors who were personally loyal to Genghis Khan. The guard also included a thousand of the most loyal and powerful warriors - “bagaturs”.

The legislation was based on the military regulations. Two punishments were established: the death penalty and “exile to Siberia” - to the deserted north of Mongolia. A distinctive feature of this establishment was the introduction of punishment for failure to provide assistance to a comrade in trouble. This law was called Yasa, and Genghis Khan's second son, Chagatai, was appointed keeper of the Yasa (supreme prosecutor). In such a warlike and diverse crowd of people, it was necessary to maintain strict order, which always requires real force. Genghis Khan foresaw this and, from among the most proven warriors, created two guards, day and night. They were on round-the-clock duty in the horde, were constantly with the khan and obeyed only him. This was the Mongolian coercive apparatus, placed above the army command staff: an ordinary guardsman was considered higher in rank than a thousand-man officer. 95 noyons elected by the army were appointed as thousands.

The Mongol army was a close-knit equestrian formation. Unlike other nomads, the Mongols’ tactics included the principle of ramming - compact masses in deep formations, which were supposed to increase the impact (shock) force to the possible limits with the aim, for example, of breaking through the enemy’s center, one of its wings, etc. But the Mongols, in addition, had a high degree of maneuverability, and their light cavalry played a very active and not at all secondary role in battle.

The first cavalry units not only carried out a crushing blow to one or another section of the enemy front, but could push him to the flank, and also be thrown to his rear. Thanks to this ability to maneuver, there was no need to identify the point for the main attack in advance: it could be determined during the course of the battle, depending on the prevailing situation. The light cavalry not only reconnaissance and cover, but mainly performs the task of actively preparing the impending decisive strike. This is the famous "Mongolian lava". Maneuvering in front of the enemy’s front with extraordinary mobility, the horsemen jumped into his flanks, and, when appropriate, into his rear. These dexterous riders, armed with throwing weapons, sitting on their horses, trained like dogs, now breaking apart, now gathering into more or less dense groups, sent clouds of well-aimed arrows and darts into the enemy’s ranks, threatening him with one thing or another place attack and, usually not accepting the enemy’s close attack, turned to feigned flight, luring him and leading him into ambushes.

With such actions they frustrated and exhausted the enemy physically and mentally to such an extent that he sometimes surrendered his rear even before the Mongol heavy cavalry entered the picture. If the enemy turned out to be persistent, then the actions of the light cavalry, in any case, made it possible to determine its location, weak points or the most advantageous areas for delivering the main attack, where heavy cavalry masses were quickly and secretly, with skillful use of the terrain, brought up in deep closed formations , built in several lines.

Thanks to their high maneuverability, these masses had an advantage even over the valiant knightly cavalry of Europe, famous for its powerful striking force and the art of single combat, but extremely clumsy.

As a feature of Mongolian tactics, it can also be noted that the cavalry on the battlefield usually maneuvered “silently,” i.e. not by commands, but by conventional signs given by the badge (flag) of the boss. In night battles they were replaced by colored lanterns. Drums were used to give signals only in camp settings.

In accordance with the tactical techniques of the Mongol army, the armament of its two main “arms” was determined - light and heavy cavalry, otherwise called archers and swordsmen. As the name itself shows, the main weapon of the first was the bow and arrow; they themselves and their horses had no or only the most primitive and light protective devices; the archers had two bows and two quivers, one consumable, the other spare. The spare quiver was designed to protect the arrows from moisture. The arrows were extremely sharp. The Mongols were masters at making and sharpening them. Accustomed to archery from the age of three, the Mongol was an excellent marksman. Some of the archers were additionally armed with darts. Light sabers were available as additional weapons for possible hand-to-hand combat.

In the heavy cavalry, men wore chain mail or leather armor; their headdress consisted of a light leather helmet with a strong backplate to protect the neck from saber strikes. The horses of the heavy cavalry had protective weapons made of thick patent leather. The main offensive weapons of the swordsmen were curved sabers, which they wielded perfectly, and pikes; in addition, each had a battle ax or an iron club, which was hung from the belt or from the saddle.

In hand-to-hand combat, as well as during skirmishes in small parties, the Mongols tried to throw or pull enemies off their horses; For this purpose, hooks attached to lances and darts were used, as well as lassos made of horsehair, which were thrown at the enemy from some distance. Captured by the noose of the lasso, the enemy rider was pulled from his horse and dragged along the ground; the same technique was used against a foot enemy.

Large and medium-sized military units, such as thousands or hundreds, were mounted on horses of the same color. This is reliably known regarding the guards’ “thousand bagaturs,” which all had black horses.

The most important point in the structure of the Mongol army, in contrast to other nomadic peoples, was that they widely used various engineering devices to siege cities: catapults, rams, mining techniques, etc. Captured Chinese were used as specialists. For example, during the Central Asian campaign we see within the Mongolian army an auxiliary engineering division serving a variety of heavy combat vehicles, which were used mainly during sieges, including flamethrowers. The latter threw various flammable substances into the besieged cities: burning oil, the so-called “Greek fire”, etc.

As E. Khara-Davan points out, preparations for one or another campaign were carried out according to the same scheme:

1. A kurultai was convened, at which the issue of the upcoming war and its plan was discussed. There they decided everything that was necessary to form an army - how many soldiers to take from each ten tents, etc., and also determined the place and time for collecting troops.

Spies were sent to the enemy country and “tongues” were obtained.

3. Military operations usually began in early spring, when the grass was growing, and in the fall, when the horses and camels were in good health and the water obstacles were frozen. Before the opening of hostilities, Genghis Khan gathered all the senior commanders to listen to his instructions.

The supreme command was exercised by Genghis Khan himself. The invasion of the enemy's country was carried out by several armies in different directions. From the commanders receiving such a separate command, Genghis Khan demanded to present a plan of action, which he discussed and usually approved, only in rare cases introducing his own amendments to it. After this, the performer is given complete freedom of action within the limits of the task given to him in close connection with the headquarters of the supreme leader.

4. When approaching significant fortified cities, the main armies left an observation corps to monitor them. Supplies were collected in the surrounding area and, if necessary, a temporary base was set up. Usually the main forces continued the offensive, and the observation corps, equipped with machines, began to invest and siege.

5. When a meeting in the field with an enemy army was foreseen, the Mongols usually adhered to one of two methods: either they tried to attack the enemy by surprise, quickly concentrating the forces of several armies to the battlefield, or, if the enemy turned out to be vigilant and surprise could not be counted on, they directed their forces in such a way as to achieve a bypass of one of the enemy flanks.

But their military initiative was not exhausted by these methods. For example, a feigned flight was carried out, and the army with great skill covered its tracks, disappearing from the eyes of the enemy until he fragmented his forces and weakened security measures. Then the Mongols mounted fresh clockwork horses and made a quick raid, appearing as if from underground before the stunned enemy. In this way, the Russian princes were defeated in 1223 on the Kalka River. It happened that during such a demonstrative flight, the Mongol troops scattered so as to envelop the enemy from different sides. If it turned out that the enemy was staying focused and prepared to fight back, they released him from the encirclement in order to later attack him on the march. In this way, in 1220, one of the armies of Khorezmshah Muhammad, which the Mongols deliberately released from Bukhara, was destroyed.

They also point out this interesting fact: before the battle, the Mongol put on silk underwear (Chinese chesucha). This tissue has the ability to be drawn into the wound along with the tip, delaying its penetration. The tip cannot pierce the fabric, and the tip removal operation becomes simple.

So, the consolidated Mongol ethnic group arose because of wars and only for wars. And they were not long in coming...

References

Gumilev L.N. In search of an imaginary kingdom. Trefoil mound. / http://gumilevica.kulichki.net

Khara-Davan E. Genghis Khan as a commander and his legacy. / http://gumilevica.kulichki.net

Reforms of Genghis Khan. Military organization of the Mongols

With such actions they frustrated and exhausted the enemy physically and mentally to such an extent that he sometimes surrendered the rear even before the Mongol heavy cavalry entered the picture. If the enemy turned out to be persistent, then the actions of the light cavalry, in any case, made it possible to determine its location, weak points or the most advantageous areas for delivering the main attack, where heavy cavalry masses were quickly and secretly, with skillful use of the terrain, brought up in deep closed formations , built in several lines.