What forces led to the rise of the Mongols?

Answer 1

During the time that the Mongol Empire rose to power in the 13th century, the usually cold and dry steppes of Asia experienced mild and wet conditions that had not been seen in more than 1,000 years. This is thought to have greatly increased the strength of the Mongol military through a rapid increase in livestock and war horses.

Answer 2

Here are a couple examples of the causes of the Mongol Empire...

- their aggressive behavior

- they owned a lot of horsemen, hence they were aided in wars

- military strategies

- they were nomadic

Answer 3

The rise of the Mongol Empire basically was the result of one man's drive and energy: Genghis Khan. He was a prodigious (and progressive) law-maker establishing religious feedom and forbidding the sale of women, but most importantly for the empire's expansion, he forbade any fighting between Mongol clans and appointed his generals and high officials on the basis of capacity instead of - as had been the custom before - on the basis of personal and clan status. Apart from that, he was a poweful personality, a great commander-in-chief and a shrewd politician, who knew when and where to pick his fights .

After his death the empire expanded further under his equally energetic son Ogedei Khan. After Ogedei's death his widow took over, which lead to the first of a series of power struggles and civil wars that would bedevil the Mongol empire for the next forty years.

The last of the powerful Khans, Kublai Khan, focused his energy on capturing China, which the Mongols would continue to dominate over the next many centuries. Mongol rule over much of the rest of Asia continued for the next fifty years or so. but then local rulers started to succesfully drive out the Mongols. Their efforts were much aided by infighting among Mongol clans and pretenders and by the outbreak of the Black Plague in Mongolia which in time was to spread to Europe and decimate its population there in the 14th century. By around 1300 AD the Mongol Empire had fallen apart into a number of States.

Its legacy was mainly that it united Russia and caused its start as a nation; and that it would shape China for centuries to come. Mongol rule also started extensive trade and other contacts with the West over the so-called 'silk road' that would only be superseded by the discovery and development by oversea trade routes to Asia some 300 years later.