Mongol

The Era of Inter-Mongol Warfare III

Mongol 30 Min Read

The Toluid Civil War was a war of succession fought between Kublai Khan and his younger brother, Ariq Böke, from 1260 to 1264. Möngke Khan died in 1259 with no declared successor, precipitating infighting between members of the Tolui family line for the title of Great Khan that escalated to a civil war. The Toluid Civil War, and the wars…

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Mongol 3 Min Read

KESHIG

Above all his various warrior groupings, Chinggis created an elite force originally formed from his most loyal and longest serving companions. This bodyguard, whose size reflected the Great Khan’s prestige and power rather than any imminent danger to his life, numbered 10,000 men at the time of the 1206 quriltai.…

Battle Medieval Mongol Russia 4 Min Read

BATTLE OF UGRA RIVER

Standing on the Ugra River. 1480. Miniature in Russian chronicle. XVI century. The decisive moment of the defensive campaign led by Ivan III against the horde of Khan Ahmad, in October-November 1480. Relations between the Great Horde and Moscow entered a crisis in the 1470s. Ivan III refused to acknowledge…

Japan Mongol 7 Min Read

Battle of Hakata Bay

The Japanese warrior Takezaki Suenaga attacks Mongol bowmen, though his horse is wounded. A bomb explodes in the air at centre. An example of tetsuhau, the world’s oldest anti-personnel explosive, excavated from a ship wrecked during the battIe. tetsuhau is a primitive Mongol grenade. Ceramic bombs found on the 1281…

Mongol 9 Min Read

Vietnam and the Mongols

Model of a warship by Dai Viet. Shown in Keo Pagoda, Thái Bình Province, Việt Nam While Vietnam was a Mongol tributary from 1258, Qubilai Khan’s effort to integrate Vietnam into the Yuan Empire resulted in a great defeat. In 1225 Tran Thu Do (d. 1264) placed his nephew Tran…

Mongol Siege 5 Min Read

Siege of Kiev

The siege of Kiev, which ended on December 6, 1240, with the sack of the city, was the final great blow in the Mongol conquest of Russia. On the eve of the Mongol invasion, Kiev was, despite political turmoil, still the mother-city of Russia (including Ukraine and Belarussia); whichever prince…

Mongol 3 Min Read

Battle of Huan’erzui

Mongol army storming a Chinese city. The achievements of Genghis Khan remained a popular subject for stories and illustrations throughout the Turco-Persian world and the Mogul emperors of India looked to Genghis Khan as their great forebear. At the Battle of Huan’erzui (Badger’s Mouth) in February 1212, the Mongols under…

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MONGOL WEAPONS

Warrior armor. Most Mongol warriors fought as light horsemen, wearing leather body armor and, if…

Mongol: Doctrine, Strategy, and Tactics

When the Mongols engaged an opponent’s field army, they used a wide array of tactics…

Mongol Archery

Originally the basis of the Mongols’ military power and later almost driven to extinction by…

Tamerlane and the Golden Horde

TAMERLANE (1336–1405). Turkic chieftain and conqueror. He was not Mongol, but sought to trace Mongol…