Barbarians - The Mongols


Through out ancient times another era that existed was the barbarian era. The barbarian era like Greece and Rome's era faced the same difficulties with being able to have a sustainable living environment. The mongols a nomadic tribe whom first appeared in Chinese texts were mainly located on the steps of central Asia. This location did not provide any usable farming land seeing as it was very dry, treeless grassland with infertile soil. Due to their location they were mainly hunters and gatherers, which proved them very self reliant. The made their own milk, cheese, and alcohol. This was good because they did not have to rely as much on their land, the problem they faced though was that the animals that they hunted would eventually leave, or the specific species would become extinct in that area therefore they would have to pack up and follow the animals. This resulted in a very good trading system with china. They traded with China for grain, luxuries, and metals/weapons. This trading relationship helped better the Mongols army. By the Mongols receiving weapons from China they had an added advantage while being in battle with other barbarian tribes or other villages. This proved to be one of the main factors as to why they could so easily win battles. With their dominating force they were able to invade and conquer areas including central Asia and eastern Europe; China, Korea, modern day Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Ukraine, and Hungary. By the Mongols being able to conquer all of these places they became one of the most feared barbarian tribes of all time. The Mongols would not have focused so much on their military, or their trading partnerships if they did not focus mainly on the animals which they needed, to supply to the community as a source of food. If they would have had fertile land to farm on they would not have been so reliant on hunting and gathering and focused more on farming which would not have lead them to be the dominant, feared tribe that they were.