In the early part of the twelfth century there were many small nomadic tribes scattered all over Central Asia. In the later part of this century, one of the most powerful chiefs of these tribes called Gengis Khan brought all the other tribes under his control and laid the foundation of the Mongol empire.
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The Mongolians were tough fighters and in battle they mostly rode on horseback and controlled their hourses with their feet thus allowing them to use their hands for shooting arrow or fighting with swards. Their bows were powerful and made of horns and wood while the arrows had tips which were capable of piercing armour. In the hands of expert Mongolians archers these were a deadly combination. The Mongolians were trained in the art of fighting on plain lands but were incapable of attacking fortified towns. They soon learned the skill of doing so from the Chinese soldiers they captured in battles.
The Mongols used a lot of new things in battles for the first time. They made bombs with the help of gunpowder and used smoke screens during battles. The miltary operations of the Mongols were minutely planned and executed with speed. They relied on sheer surprise and terror and wherever they went they looted and burnt any thing that came in their paths.
In 1213 they broke through the great wall of Chine and captured Peking. When Gengis Khan died in 1227 his empire extended from the Black sea to modern day Korea and in the south upto the Middle East and the Himalayas. After his death the empire was divided into four parts or ‘Khanates’ called the Khanate of Jagtai, the Khanate of Hulagu, the Khante of Kublai Khan and the Khanate of the Golden Horde, which were ruled by four different rulers.
The Mongolians were basically nomds who wandered on their land with their cattle, sheem and goats. They lived in round tents called ‘ Yurts’ which are still used by the Mongols.
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