The Mongol Warlords: Genghis Khan, Kublai Khan, Hulegu, Tamerlane

216 Pages·1990·30.98 MB·English

by  David Nicolle

THE
*.
MONGOL
WARLORDS
GENGHIS KHAN KUBLAI KHAN HULEGU TAMERLANE
DAVID NICOLLE
71
RICHARD
Plates by HOOlfl
two thousand • asian steppes
iorth wave upon lerce, nomadic
icrors. The last a' A these were the
Mongols. Feared by their as the 'devil's horse-
men', they conquered most < „ie Asian landmass and
plunged on into the Middle East and Europe.
These resolute and extraordinary invaders were prob-
ably the world's finest horse warriors. Yet their exploits
have so often been misrepresented as merely the deeds of
bloody and destructive hordes. It was the seeming threat
to urban civilization posed by the free-ranging, nomadic
Mongols that ensured that many of their real achieve-
ments - political, cultural and military - were so often
wrongly recorded. The pages of THE MONGOL
WARLORDS
will be a revelation to military enthusiast
and historian alike. The great Mongol leaders were
withoutequal and theirnames still sound loudly down the
intervening ages.
Genghis KhanThe most famousofall Mongol warriors,
the conqueror who carved out a vast empire across Asia
and into the Middle East and who is still synonymous
with great military deeds achieved ruthlessly but with
great vision.
Kublai Khan A grandson ofthe mighty Genghis, whose
near-legendary reputation in poetry and historical
account, as the fabulously wealthy Mongol emperor of
China, belies his equally deserved fame as a great military
commander.
Hulegu Another grandson of Genghis, a savage yet
brilliant soldier whose Mongol forces crushed the Mos-
lem might ofthe Middle East and destroyed the city of
Baghdad.
Tamerlane Adopting its own versions of his name,
Western literature described Timur as "that scourge of
God". Yet this crippled conqueror fused cleverly laws of
Islam with the wild ways ofhis nomadic Mongols in an
empire spanning the steppes and near East. It was the last
great realm ofthe Mongol horse warriors.
About the author
David Nicolle enjoys a sound reputation as a leading
writer in his field, he has written numerous books on
various aspects of Medieval and Middle Eastern arms,
armourand warfare. Afterworking for theBBC foreight
years he studied for his PhD at Edinburgh University,
followed by fouryears teaching at aJordanian University.
Dr. Nicolle now lives in a Leicestershire village with six
pubs, an American wife, two children, and a cat called
Mishmish.
About the artist
Richard Hook is a leading illustrator of historical and
military subjects. Active in this field for many years, he
has achieved an international respect for the accuracy and
excitement of his work for books, magazines, journals
and other media. The reputation of his detailed recon-
structions of our past ensures that he is in constant
V
id, with commissions from around rb^ He
lives m Sussex with an equally talented rive
family.
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THE
MONGOL
WARLORDS
GENGHIS KHAN KUBLAI KHAN HULEGU TAMERLANE
• • •
DAVID NICOLLE
HOOK
RICHARD
by
Plates
Firebird Books
Sausalito Public Library
Sausalito, California 94965
First published in the United Kingdom in 1990 by Firebird Books
P.O. Box 327, Poole, Dorset BH15 2RG
©
Copyright 1990 Firebird Books Ltd
Text copyright (£) 1990 David Nicolle
Distributed in the United States by
Sterling Publishing Co, Inc
387 Park Avenue South, New York, N.Y. 10016-8810
Distributed in Australia by
Capricorn Link (Australia) Pty Ltd
P.O. Box 665, Lane Cove, NSW 2066
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
Nicolle, David 1944-
The Mongol warlords: Genghis Khan, Kublai Khan, Hulegu, Tamerlane.
Mongol Empire. Warlords
1.
I. Title
950'.2'0922
ISBN I 85314 1046
All rights reserved. No part ofthis book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any
means, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or any information storage
and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
Designed by Kathryn S.A. Booth
Line illustrations and maps by David Nicolle
Colour plates by Richard Hook
Typeset by Inforum Typesetting, Portsmouth
Monochrome origination by Castle Graphics, Frome
Colour separations by Kingfisher Facsimile
Colour printed by Barwell Colour Print Ltd. (Midsomer Norton)
Printed and bound in Great Britain by The Bath Press
Contents
Genghis Khan - Mongol World Conqueror
5
The Greatest Conqueror 7 • Genghis the Man 8 The
Mongols 10 • The Mongols' Neighbours 13 The Young
Temiichin 17 • Unification of Central Asia 20 Invasion of
Islam 22 The Mongol Army 27 Mongol Warfare 32
• •
Arms and Equipment 35 The Great Battles 38 Impact and
Achievements 45 • Genealogy of The Great Khans 49
Bibliography 49
Kublai Khan - Lord ofthe Celestial Empire 51
The Supreme Ruler 53 Mongols Over China 54 The Young
Kublai 56 • Son of Heaven 60 • Conquest of Southern
China 62 Defeat in Japan 65 South-east Asian Campaigns 67
•
Rebellion and Revolt 71 The Great Khan's Army 74 • Naval
Power 82 • Arms, Armour and Equipment 83 The Great Khan's
Battles 87 • Legacy and Legend 91 • Genealogy of the Yiians 95
Bibliography 95
Hiilegu - Destroyer ofBaghdad 97
Destroyer and Builder - Winner and Loser 99 Grandson
•
of Genghis 100 Destroying the Assassins 103 Conquest of
the Caliphate 108 • Into Syria 112 • Defeat by the Mamluks 113 •
Against the Golden Horde 117 The Il-Khan Empire 120 •
Hiilegii's Army 121 • Arms and Armour 126 • Hiilegu's Battles 128
• The Final Days 132 • The Il-Khan Achievement 134 Genealogy of
the Il-Khans 141 • Bibliography 141
Tamerlane - Scourge ofGod
143
Legend of Cruelty 145 Timur the Man 146 Timur's Inheri-
tance 148 The Young Timur 152 Liberation of Trans-
•
oxiana 154 Early Conquests 158 Toqtamish and the Golden
•
Horde 159 • The Five-year War 161 Later Conquests
163 • Timur's Army 171 Arms, Armour and Equip-
ment 176 • Timur's Battles 178 • A Fragile Achievement? 183
• Genealogy ofthe Timurids 187 Bibliography 187
Chronology ofEvents 188
Index 189
1
GtmUlS
KUAN
MONGOL WORLD CONQUEROR
Genghis Khan in old age, one
ofaseriesofidealisedpaintings
ofthe Mongol rulers and their
successors which was in the
ChineseImperialPortraitGal-
lery. Theagedconquerorwears
his hair in a pair of typical
Mongolloopedplaits, coiledhe-
hind his ears, and his coat has
the double-breasted front de-
signed to withstand Central
Asia's ferocious climate (Na-
tional Palace Museum,
Taiwan).
The great Mongol conquests
resulted in the creation oj an
exotu mixed civilization in
much of Asm and the Middle
East. By the start oj the 15th
century, when this miniature
from the Fatih Album was
painted, theMongolrulingelite
could draw upon the traditions
of China and the Muslim
world, as wellas those of Cen-
tral Asia. All are reflected in
this ruler's costume, weapons
and horse harness (Topkapi
Museum, Ms. Ha:.2153,
I.(iv, Istanbul).
THE CENTRAL ASIAN
v. S-Steppe
A* F-Forest
D-Desert
I
9^ C-Cultivation wood
^-Medieval iron m