Genghis Khan and the Mongol war machine

226 Pages·2015·2.7 MB·English

by  Genghis Khan

CHRIS PEERS is a leading expert on •REASSESSMENT OF GENGHIS KHAN
the history of ancient armies and ASMILITARY COMMANDER AND
EMPIRE-BUILDER
warfare and has written widely on the
subject. He has contributed many •IN-DEPTH DESCRIPTION OF THE
articles to military history, wargaming ORGANIZATION OF THE MONGOL
ARMIES AND THEIR TACTICS
and family history magazines, and his
major publications include Warlords of •SETS GENGHIS KHAN’S CAREER IN
China: 700BC-AD1662, Warrior THE CONTEXT OF MONGOL SOCIETY
AND TRADITIONS
Peoples of East Africa, Soldiers of the
Dragon, The African Wars: Warriors •INCLUDES A CONCISE ACCOUNT OF
and Soldiers of the Colonial GENGHIS KHAN’S CAMPAIGNS AND
CONQUESTS
Campaigns, Offa and the Mercian
Wars: The Rise and Fall of the First
As a soldier and general, statesman and
Great English Kingdom and Battles of empire-builder, Genghis Khan is an almost
Ancient China. legendary figure. His remarkable
achievements and his ruthless methods
have given rise to a sinister reputation. As
Chris Peers shows, in this concise and
authoritative study, he possessed
exceptional gifts as a leader and manager
of men – he ranks among the greatest
military commanders – but he can only be
properly understood in terms of the
Mongol society and traditions he was born
into. So the militaryand cultural
background of the Mongols, and the
natureof steppe societies and their armies,
are major themes of his book. He looks in
detail at the militaryskills, tactics and
ethos of the Mongol soldiers, and at the
Jacket design: Dominic Allen advantages and disadvantages they had in
combat with the soldiers of more settled
Foracomplete list of current titles ring or write to:
societies. His book offers a fascinating
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Genghis Khan and the Mongol War Machine i THIRD PROOF
GENGHIS KHAN
AND THE MONGOL
WAR MACHINE
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Genghis Khan and the Mongol War Machine ii THIRD PROOF
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Genghis Khan and the Mongol War Machine iii THIRD PROOF
GENGHIS KHAN
AND THE MONGOL
WAR MACHINE
Chris Peers
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Genghis Khan and the Mongol War Machine iv THIRD PROOF
First published in Great Britain in 2015 by
PEN AND SWORD MILITARY
an imprint of
Pen and Sword Books Ltd
47 Church Street
Barnsley
South Yorkshire S70 2AS
Copyright © Chris Peers, 2015
ISBN 978 1 78340 056 0
The right of Chris Peers to be identified
as the author of this work has been asserted by him in
accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
A CIP record for this book is available from the British Library
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or
transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical
including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and
retrieval system, without permission from the Publisher in writing.
Printed and bound in England
by CPI Group (UK) Ltd, Croydon, CR0 4YY
Typeset in Times by CHIC GRAPHICS
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Genghis Khan and the Mongol War Machine v THIRD PROOF
Contents
List of Plates vii
Timeline: The Mongol Conquests and the Career of
Genghis Khan ix
The Family Tree of Genghis Khan xii
Who’s Who in Thirteenth-Century Mongolia xiii
Map xvi
Introduction xvii
Chapter 1 Genghis’ World 1
Chapter 2 War on the Steppes 13
Chapter 3 The Khan’s Armies 33
Chapter 4 The First Campaigns in the East 85
Chapter 5 War in the West 111
Chapter 6 The Fall of North China 143
Chapter 7 A Mongol Empire? 153
Chapter 8 Genghis –The Verdict 173
Source Notes 181
Sources and Recommended Reading 187
Index 190
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List of Plates
1. The open grassland, or steppe, of central Mongolia. (Fotolia)
2. The barren wastes of the Gobi Desert. (Fotolia.)
3. Typical Mongol ponies. (Fotolia)
4. Modern statues of Mongol warriors, outside the Genghis Khan
Museum in Ulaanbaatar. (Fotolia)
5. The Battle of Huan-erh-tsui in 1211, as depicted in the Jami al-
tawarikh of Rashid ud-Din.
6. Mongol cavalry pursuing a routed enemy, from Rashid ud-Din.
7. Lance-armed Egyptian Mamluks pursue Mongol mounted archers.
From the fourteenth-century History of the Tartars by the Armenian
historian Hayton of Coricos.
8. The only near-contemporary portrait of Genghis Khan.
9. Stages in the construction of a modern replica of a Mongolian
composite bow (photos courtesy of Green Man Longbows). This
photograph shows the wooden core of the bow, with separate plates
of horn ready to be attached.
10. Preparing the core for the attachment of the ‘siha’.
11. The core of the bow with the siha and central hand grip glued in
place.
12. The horn is strapped tightly in place while the glue dries.
13. Bundles of shredded sinew, which will be soaked in glue and
applied to the wooden core.
14. The finished weapon.
15. Drawing a composite bow.
16. Another view of the draw.
17. A variety of siege techniques is illustrated in this picture of the
siege of Baghdad, taken from Rashid ud-Din’s history.
18. Mongol tent, on a huge wagon, from Colonel Yule’s edition of
Marco Polo’s Travels, 1876.
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viii Genghis Khan and the Mongol War Machine
19. Mongol kettledrums. (Yule)
20. The Pass of Derbent through the Caucasus Mountains, traversed
by Jebei and Subotei in 1222. (Yule)
21. A fortified pass through the mountains north of Chung-tu. (Yule)
22. Genghis’ grandson Hulegu and his queen, as depicted by Rashid
ud-Din.
23. The Genghis Khan monument, Mongolia. (Fotolia)
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Timeline: The Mongol Conquests
and the Career of Genghis Khan
c. 800 AD Emergence of Mongol tribes.
907 Foundation of Khitan Liao dynasty.
960 Foundation of Sung dynasty in China.
1138 Foundation of Tangut Hsi Hsia dynasty.
1125 Liao overthrown by Jurchens. Qara-Khitai state
established.
c. 1150 Kabul Khan forms first Mongol confederation.
1161 Kabul Khan defeated by Jurchens.
c. 1162 Birth of Temujin.
c. 1170 Death of Temujin’s father, Yesugei.
1177 Temujin escapes from Tayichi’ut captivity.
1178 Temujin marries Borte and swears allegiance to
Toghril.
1179 Abduction of Borte and war with the Merkits.
c. 1180–1210 Drought in Mongolia.
1186 Khwarizmian Empire founded.
c. 1189 Temujin becomes Khan, takes title of Genghis.
c. 1190 Genghis defeated by Jamuqa at Dalan-baljut.
1195 Genghis joins Jurchens in war against Tatars.
1201 Battle of Koyiten. Jamuqa defeated and Tayichi’uts
destroyed.
1202 Genghis defeats Tatars at Dalan-nemurges.
1203 First campaign against Naimans. Split with Toghril.
Genghis defeated at Qalaqaljit Sands. ‘Baljuna
Covenant’. Keraits defeated at Jer-qabchiqay Pass.
1204 Second war with Naimans. Genghis victorious at
Mount Naqu-kun. Merkits defeated at Black Steppe.