Year 12 IB Extended Essays 2017

gjy664 – Chinggis Khan and the Mongol Empire

2

Abstract

It is unclear how the Mongol Empire of the 13 th and 14 th Centuries was created by an assortment

of independent, nomadic tribes from the cold, parched steppes of Central Asia. A typical Euro-

centric response accounts for the Mongol expansion by emphasising their military skills and barbaric savagery. John of Plano Carpini, writing in the 13 th Century in Ystoria Mongalorum,

commented on the Mongols ‘great havoc’, slaughtering and ‘countless skills’. Carpini infers

that the Mongol’s fierceness and ‘uncivilised’ nature caused the collapse of resistance against

their unrelenting expansion. This European view is a gross oversimplification. Indeed, it

minimises other positive aspects of Mongol society that were a causal factor.

This research paper analyses two contrasting primary sources that offer different perspectives

on how and why the Mongols managed to expand their empire. Specifically, my analytical

focus deals with the question of to what extent Chinggis Khan was the main causal factor in

the creation and expansion of the Mongol Empire? To answer this question, an objective

analysis of Chinggis Khan’s leadership skills as a causal link with Mongol expansion needs to be established. Thus, my research methodology compares Carpini’s 13 th Century report to the Papacy, Ystoria Mongalorum, with the 14 th Century manuscript, The Secret History of the

Mongols, by an unknown Mongolian author. My interpretation of these primary sources was

guided by a range of recent books and scholarly articles.

My original hypothesis placed a great deal of weight on the ferocity of the Mongol warrior and

the military lifestyle, as documented by Ystoria Mongalorum . However, my final thesis

changed and I determined that the main cause of the Mongol expansion was due to Chinggis

Khan’s organisational skills, political acumen, military tactics and expansionist policy. In

reaching this conclusion, I have apportioned greater credibility to the organic Mongol sources.

Word count: 298