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Mongols. “And thus they use their captives like beasts of burden. The men are inhuman and bestial, they can be said to be monsters rather than men, they thirst for blood and drink it.”. Mongols. Why might we have this view?. Mongols. Civilized View
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“And thus they use their captives like beasts of burden. The men are inhuman and bestial, they can be said to be monsters rather than men, they thirst for blood and drink it.”
Mongols • Why might we have this view?
Mongols • Civilized View • Roman-era barbarians were “two-footed beasts, seemingly chained to their horses from which they take their meat and drink, never touching a plough and having no houses.”
Modern Scholarship • True enough… • Challenges to cruelty/destruction narrative • “Positive” View • Reevaluate pastoral lifestyle • Create linkages
Our job • Understand Pastoral Lifestyle • Rise of Mongols • Mongols in Russia & China • Visit this question: • Scourge or Stimulus? • Destruction or Creation?
Pastoral Lifestyle • Climate
Pastoral Lifestyle • Climate • Economic Basis • Mobility
The Horse • Evolution of Horse
The Horse • Evolution of Horse • Tech innovations
The Horse • Evolution of Horse • Tech innovations • Living in the Saddle • “From their horses, by day and night every one of that nation buys and sells, eats and drinks, and bowed over the narrow neck of the animal relaxes in a sleep so deep as to be accompanied by many dreams.”
Social Organization • Clans and Kinship • Confederations and States
Interdependence with Civilized Society • Interaction • Nomads need Civilizations • Civilized need Nomads • Growth of large Nomad confederations
Nomadic Conquest • Nomadic Milit Advantages
Nomadic Conquest • Nomadic Milit Advantages • # of fighters • Wealth Extraction • Horseback RidingMobility
Nomadic Conquest • Nomadic Milit Advantages • # of fighters • Wealth Extraction • Horseback RidingMobility • Typical Arc • Build Alliance • Milit Rulers of Civs • Decline
Nomads in History • Xiongnu • Roman Barbarians • Arabs • Berbers • Turks • And then…