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The Mongol Conquests: An Overview
A plain-language overview of how the Mongols built the largest land empire in history in the thirteenth century, and the main turning points along the way.
The Wider Medieval World
Mongols and the Steppe
Steppe peoples, Mongol conquests and the Eurasian links they created.
Genghis Khan and the Rise of the Mongols
How a young steppe noble named Temujin united rival Mongol and Turkic tribes by 1206 and built the army and laws that launched the Mongol Empire.
Marco Polo and the Question of His Travels
What Marco Polo's famous travel book actually says about Asia and the Mongol court, and why historians still argue about how much he saw himself.
Mongol Invasions of Hungary and Poland
How Mongol armies struck Poland and Hungary in 1241, won at Legnica and Mohi, and then pulled back in 1242, and why historians debate the reasons.
Mongol Warfare and the Horse Archer
How steppe horse archers fought: the composite bow, spare horses, the decimal army structure, feigned retreats and the discipline behind Mongol battlefield success.
The Golden Horde and Russia
How the Golden Horde ruled Russian principalities from the 1240s: tribute, princely patents, the rise of Moscow and the slow end of Mongol overlordship.
The Mongol Postal System and the Pax Mongolica
How the Mongol yam relay stations, travel passes and protected roads supported messages, trade and travelers across Eurasia in the 13th and 14th centuries.
The Siege and Fall of Baghdad
How a Mongol army under Hulegu besieged and took Baghdad in 1258, ended the Abbasid caliph's rule, and what the sack meant for Iraq and the Islamic world.
Related topics
More in the wider medieval world
The Islamic World and Caliphates How the Abbasid, Fatimid and Andalusian worlds worked and what they shared with Europe. Medieval Russia and Eastern Europe Rus, Poland, Hungary and Bohemia between the Latin and Orthodox worlds. Africa and Asia in the Middle Ages Mali, Ethiopia, Song China, Japan and India during the European medieval centuries. Scandinavia and the North Iceland, Norway, Denmark and Sweden after the Viking Age.