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The Mongol Empire, founded by Genghis Khan in 1206 and enlarged by his sons and grandsons, became the largest contiguous land empire in history. In the late 13th century it stretched in one unbroken block from the Sea of Japan to Eastern Europe.

History

History

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Genghis Khan was born Temüjin around 1162. After uniting the nomadic tribes of the Mongolian steppe, he was proclaimed ruler of all the Mongols in 1206, and by his death in 1227 his armies held lands from northern China to the Caspian Sea. His heirs pushed on into Russia, Iran and the rest of China. At about 24 million square kilometres, it was second in size only to the British Empire, whose lands were scattered across the oceans. The conquests were extremely destructive, yet the order the Mongols then imposed, known as the Pax Mongolica, made long-distance trade along the Silk Road safer. A network of relay stations, the Yam, let messengers change horses and cover up to 200 kilometres a day. By 1294 the empire had split into four states: the Golden Horde, the Chagatai Khanate, the Ilkhanate in Iran and the Yuan dynasty in China.

Türkçe oku
Moğol İmparatorluğu, toprakları kesintisiz uzanan imparatorlukların tarihteki en büyüğüdür. Cengiz Han 1206'da kurdu, oğulları ve torunları genişletti; 13. yüzyılın sonlarında Japon Denizi'nden Doğu Avrupa'ya kadar tek parça hâlinde uzanıyordu.

Cengiz Han'ın asıl adı Temuçin'di; 1162 dolaylarında doğdu. Moğol bozkırındaki göçebe boyları birleştirdikten sonra 1206'da bütün Moğolların hükümdarı ilan edildi. 1227'de öldüğünde orduları Kuzey Çin'den Hazar Denizi'ne kadar uzanan toprakları ele geçirmişti. Ardılları Rusya'ya, İran'a ve Çin'in geri kalanına ilerledi. Yaklaşık 24 milyon kilometrekarelik yüz ölçümüyle imparatorluk, toprakları okyanuslara dağılmış Britanya İmparatorluğu'ndan sonra tarihin en büyük ikinci imparatorluğuydu. Fetihler çok yıkıcıydı; ama ardından Moğolların kurduğu düzen, yani Pax Mongolica (Moğol Barışı), İpek Yolu'nda uzak mesafeli ticareti daha güvenli hâle getirdi. Yam denen menzil teşkilatı sayesinde ulaklar istasyonlarda at değiştirerek günde 200 kilometreye kadar yol alabiliyordu. 1294'e gelindiğinde imparatorluk dört devlete bölünmüştü: Altın Orda, Çağatay Hanlığı, İran'daki İlhanlılar ve Çin'deki Yuan Hanedanı.

Sources and further reading

Background reading: Mongol Empire
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