Preview

Vitues and vices of mongols

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
389 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Vitues and vices of mongols
A European Assessment of the virtues and vices of the Mongols
1. What might the qualities of the Mongols that Piano Carpini emphasizes tell us about his own society and its values or shortcomings?
The qualities of the Mongols such as the arrogance, the lies, and cruelty towards those that are not of their own is not as common in Carpini’s society as it is in the Mongol society.
2. How are the Mongol virtues he extols linked to the achievements of the Chinggis Khan and the stunning Mongol conquest?
The Mongolian virtues that Carpini extols, such as when riding they can endure extreme cold and at times also fierce heat, and the fact that they are harsh towards others and get what they want shoes that they are strong and because of their strength they are able to conquer.
3. To what extent would they be typical of nomadic societies more generally?
The Mongols were like all nomads, they roamed around hunting and using whatever they could find. The Mongols were just better at working together.
4. In what ways might his account of Mongols vices be simply dismissed as “sour grapes” resulting from European defeats?
The Europeans probably underestimated them because they were nomadic and didn’t have as much people as them, they could have dismissed the fact that they might have been crafty and sly with others but when it came to their own they would help out. They also can bear extreme heat and cold, which made them strong warriors.
5. In what ways might these vices be linked to the hardships of Mongol life?
The Mongols were able to bear extreme heat and cold and was not sensitive to the weather, probably because they had to deal with it all their lives. Whenever the Mongols would fight another they would finish off the weak which would bring out skillful warriors.
6. How useful do you think this stereotyping is? Why have observers from nearly all cultures resorted to these sorts of generalization when describing other people and societies?
Although

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    The Mongols were very barbaric, their reputation was not pretty, they slaughtered entire cities and left one person alive so they could tell the terrible story.…

    • 261 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Mongol army went into battle with a brutal well planned tactic with the intent of causing maximum damage, “I’ll trick them and make them come out in the open. I’ll pretend to retreat and when they come out I’ll attack them,” this contributed greatly to the success of the Mongols (Doc: 1). Marco Polo’s biased description the soldiers stuck out from the documents “their arms are bows, iron maces, and in some instances, spears” (Doc: 3). The fact that Polo was sent by the Mongol ruler to administer the realm contributes to this bias. The warriors of the Mongol army were disciplined “their obedience and submissiveness is such that if there be a commander of a hundred thousand between whom and the Khan there is a distance of sunrise and sunset, and if he but commit some fault, the Khan dispatches a single horseman to punish him” (Doc: 4). A document from the perspective of one of the conquered civilizations would be very useful because it would give insight on how events took place.…

    • 522 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Mongols conquered and controlled most of Asia during the early civilizations. Unfortunately, the manner in which they acquired this land was ruthless and barbaric. The Mongols started out as simple nomads grazing the pastures. They lived in steppes and had to learn to survive the harsh temperatures there. The different tribes often got into disputes over land for their animals and fought very often. This made the Mongols tough mentally and physically.…

    • 619 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    2: There was disease that killed many of the Chinese soldiers, and their having of horses also helped the Mongols win the war very much.…

    • 658 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    There were many great warriors throughout the Middle Ages, however none so prominent as the Mongols. While the Carolingian “war machine” conquered a sizable expanse of land, it was a miniscule feat when compared to the enormous empire the Mongols ultimately created. Though they prospered for a relatively short period of time, they succeeded in generating a lasting impact. The traditional stereotypes of the 13th century Mongols were influenced by stories from Russia, China, and Persia, which insinuated that the Mongols were barbaric raiders contingent upon destroying everything in their path. This perception is not entirely true, while the Mongols were still a fierce war machine,…

    • 1118 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    A picture of a Mongol horse-mounted bowman demonstrates how skilled these soldiers were in their combat. We can assume the artist admires the Mongols method of fighting by their interpretation of a skilled archer turning a full 180 degrees to shoot an arrow, all while riding a horse. If the time period of Mongol conquest matches closely to the time the painting was done, we can mark this source as reliable. Marco Polo recorded in 1298 about his travels eight years before when first handedly seeing the Mongols army. “They are brave in battle, almost to desperation, setting little value upon their lives, and exposing themselves without hesitation to all manner of danger… No people on earth can surpass them in fortitude under difficulties, nor show greater patience under wants of every kind. They are most obedient to their chiefs, and are maintained at small expense.”. Though this is an eyewitness account, we are forced to question on its reliability since it wasn’t written down until eight years later. This document is unbiased because it was observed and written by a person who was neither Mongol nor a Mongol enemy. A biased record of admiration is present in the document written by Juvaini, a high ranked official of the Mongol who shortly after writing this document was appointed as the governor of Baghdad. He states, “For they have divided all the people into companies of ten,…

    • 999 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Analyze the impacts of the Mongol Empire on Eurasia during their conquest and domination during the 13th and 14th centuries? Identify and explain the need for an additional type of document(s) that would help you further assess the impacts.…

    • 278 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    To improve transportation and communication throughout China, “the Mongol emperors built canals” (Halperin). The Mongols were accepting to other people of other religions and believed that “Just as God gave different fingers to the hands so has He given different ways to men” (Rubruck). The citizens of the Mongol Empire “showed considerable respect to each other and are friendly together, and they willingly share their food with each other, although there is little of it” (Plano Carpini). Along with keeping their integrity and not taking anyone but their own belongings, the Mongol citizens were well mannered and deferential to one another. The Mongols improved their empire by understanding the importance of communication and uniting all men, who were and were not their citizens.…

    • 639 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    The Mongols were a group of pastoral nomadic peoples whose expansion into Central Asia led to the dispersion of ideas, culture, and technology throughout the continent. Until 1206 AD, the Mongols were a group of warring tribes. The Mongols centralized, expanded and transformed under their charismatic leader, Genghis Khan. The Mongol empire expanded into Russia, Afghanistan, Persia, and Ukraine. The Mongols consumed most of Central Asia through a series of brutal invasions but soon absorbed the religious and political traditions of the Chinese.…

    • 1217 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Mongol Empire Dbq

    • 871 Words
    • 4 Pages

    During the 1200s, many people were affected by the violence and brutality of the Mongols. Their empire spread from northern China all the way to Russia and Europe, just on the backs of their horses. Every Mongol leader had one motive in mind - to conquer and kill. These ruthless soldiers spent their lives travelling and conquering many towns and major cities, leaving nothing behind but messages of their defeat. The Barbarians were proved to be truly ¨barbaric¨ by the writings of John of Plano Carpini, Mongolian leaders, and outlooks of non- Mongolian people.…

    • 871 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Mongols as Villians

    • 681 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The Mongols were some of the most innovative and intelligent people of their time. They were also some of the most vicious and barbaric villains of the 13th century. With genius war tactics and fearless warriors, they were the most advanced villains of their time period. Using cruel methods of punishment, such as boiling their warriors, showed clear evidence of barbaric activity. While using those cruel methods they also had intelligent ways of biological warfare such as catapulting plague ridden bodies over the walls of Caffa at the Siege of 1346. While many of their actions were truly barbaric, they were very successful in conquering most of China. Although they were most definitely not heroes, they were much more successful in war and conquering seeing that they conquered more land in 25 years than the Romans did in 400 years.…

    • 681 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Mongols had many important aspects, but their strength lay in their strong military organization. The Mongols believed that good fighting came in quality of fighting not quantity, so they had smaller armies of very well- trained soldiers. Most troops were no bigger than 1000 people. The Mongols also believed that the commanders and leaders of the troops should be chosen by other leaders as they would probably have the best votes. They also had very thought out perfected plans. One of the commanders, Subedei is known as one of the smartest military masterminds because of his use of intelligence and psychological warfare. The Mongols had a very strong military organization, but they also had many other strong aspects as well.…

    • 518 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Genghis Khan Thesis

    • 716 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World is a systematic history of one the world's greatest leaders and empires. It abolishes misconceptions about the Mongol Empire and challenges Eurocentric ideas of history. It dispels the innate stereotype that Genghis Khan and the Mongols were bloodthirsty barbarians and show them in a new light as the truly innovative fighters and just, progressive leaders they were. Although he came from humble beginnings, the son of a kidnapped woman and raised in a yurt. Genghis Khan gained power…

    • 716 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    DBQ Mongols 2013

    • 1782 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Central Question: How did the Mongols accomplish the conquest of such a large territory within such a short period of time?…

    • 1782 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays