. What can you infer about the economy, ideology, and technology of the Mongols from the
descriptions given?
2. Which of the Mongols’ characteristics that are described would make them likely to set out
on a career of conquest?
3. Which of their characteristics would be helpful to them during their career of conquest?
4. Which of the descriptions would you be most willing to accept as accurate? Which would
you be least willing to accept as accurate? Why?
What was the Mongol Leader, Chinggis Great Khan, Really Like? Depends on Whom You
Ask!
1. What characteristics of Chinggis shown by the documents would have been particularly
helpful to him in his career of conquest? If you had to choose three characteristics as the
most helpful, which would they be? Why?
2. What characteristics of Chinggis shown by the documents would have been particularly
helpful to him in governing his empire? If you had to choose three characteristics as most
helpful, which would they be? Why?
3. Which of the items of information above about Chinggis’s character would you question as to 4. How would you explain variations in the descriptions of what Chinggis was like?
5. In what ways could Mongol ideas about women’s position in society help the Mongols’
career of conquest? To answer this question use information from all parts of this unit so far.
6. Would you agree with Chinggis’s idea that severity is good, because it leads to stable
government? Why or why not? Did the idea apply more in Chinggis’s time and place than
today? Why or why not?
7. Which of the accounts above do you consider most reliable, and why?
How Did Chinggis Turn a Pastoral Nomadic Society Into an Efficient War Machine?
1. What features of Mongol social organization and way of life favored their success in
conquest. In what ways?
2. What features of Mongol social organization and ways of life would have favored successful
government of conquered territories. In what ways?
3. What features of Mongol social organization and ways of life would have made for
difficulties in conquest and in subsequent government of conquered territories?
4. What problems was Chinggis trying to solve by setting up his army the way he did?
5. What features of Mongol society favored the possibility of mobilizing a large proportion of
the population for a war effort?
6. In what ways might the diversity and mixing that Chinggis favored have been an advantage, and in what ways a handicap in the conquests and the running of his empire?
Mongol Discussion Questions
1
What Was it Like to Live in the Mongol Homeland?
1. What problems of logistics and provisioning might a Mongol army numbering 100,000 to
120,000 mounted soldiers be likely to encounter? Note: The Persian historian Juvaini
estimated that the daily food ration for a few thousand Mongols assembled for a council
meeting was 2000 wagon-loads of fermented mares’ milk and wine, 300 horses or oxen, and
3000 sheep.
2. How might the Mongols have solved their provisioning problems in the various regions
where they fought?
3. What was the potential environmental impact of their provisioning needs?
4. Assess the part that the natural and physical environment is likely to have played in the
Mongols’ success at conquest.
5. What part does the environment still play in military planning in the twenty-first century?
Mongol Technology: Highly Effective Low Tech
1. What features of Mongol technology are likely to have contributed to the success of their
empire-building, and how?
2. To what extent, and in what ways, was the Mongols’ technology connected to their pastoral
nomadic way of life?
3. What were the Mongols’ most significant technological strengths? What are your reasons for
considering them “significant”?
4. Which three of the following did the Mongols need most when fighting other pastoral
nomads, and which three did they need the most when fighting against a settled, agricultural
state:
a. bows and arrows
b. lance, battle-axe, and spear
c. armor
d. communication equipment
e. catapults, battering rams, and other siege equipment technical advisors
f. Explain your choices.
Shamans, Heaven, and the Ideology of Conquest
1. Did ideology cause the Mongols to launch their conquests? How? In what sense are you
using the word “cause”? On what evidence are you basing your answer?
2. What part did ideology play in the success of Mongol empire-building?
3. Which Mongol beliefs would be an advantage and which would be a disadvantage in
governing their multi-ethnic empire? Explain in what ways each of the beliefs you mentioned
would be an advantage or a disadvantage.
4. Based on the evidence you have, would you agree with the idea that the Mongols’ success
was due to their enemies’ weaknesses rather than to their own strengths? Explain your
answer.
Mongol Discussion Questions
Explanation:
