| A variety of reasons have been give for the rise of the Mongol Empire in the thirteenth century, ranging from climatic changes to a number of socio-economic motives. This study investigates the reasons for the rise of the Mongol Empire and the evolution of the Mongol military. Additionally this study examines what enabled the Mongols to continue to expand their empire simultaneously on multiple fronts.; I argue that the Mongols after Chinggis Khan established a new state in the Mongolian steppes. Initially, the Mongols had little interest in actively ruling sedentary realms. Of greatest importance was the domination of steppe elements who sought to evade Chinggis Khan's rule in Mongolia. The pursuit of these led to the expansion of the Mongol state. After Chinggis Khan's death, however, his son Ogodei redefined the goals of the Empire. During his reign, the Mongol Empire emerged as an aggressive conquest state with the stated intention of dominating all who came into contact with them.; The expansion of the empire was aided by what I term the "tidal wave" method of conquest. In this process, the Mongols invaded an area and carried out far-ranging military operations. Using several examples, I demonstrate that their intent, however was not to conquer the entire region; rather, while the Mongols raided and devastated, only a small portion of the area was annexed into the empire. The Mongols then governed and controlled the newly annexed area while the Mongol armies, remained on the frontier of the newly acquired territory. Rather than attempting to control large swaths of the territory they conquered, they retained only a portion of it. Thus they could govern it with fewer troops and keep the bulk of their forces on the periphery. Thus, much of their success emanated from a Mongolian institution and practice of governance rather than Sino-Islamic models. |
