Temujin becomes Ghengis Khan 'All of them, after consulting together, said to Temujin, 'We appoint you as our

Khan. If you Will be our Khan, we will fight against the multitude of your enemies. All the beautitul girls and married women that we capture and all the fine horses, we will give to you. When hunting is afoot, we will be the first to go into the battue [animal trap] and will give you the beasts that we surround and catch. If in time of battle we disobey your orders or in time of peace we act contrary to your interests, part from us our wives and possessions and cast us out into the wilderness.' "Such was the oath they made to serve him. They made him Great Khan, with the name Ghengis."
Adapted from Arthur Waley, trans., The Secret History of the Mongols, quoted in Merry Weisner, et. al., Discovering the Global Past: A Look at the Evidence, Vol.1, Boston, Houghton Mifflin, 1997, p.363.

Russia after the Mongol Conquest: An Eyewitness Account "The Mongols went against Russia and enacted a great massacre in the Russian land, they destroyed towns and fortresses and killed people, they besieged Kiev which had been the capital of Russia, and after a long siege they took it and killed the inhabitants; for this reason, when we passed through that land, we found lying in the field countless skulls and bones of dead people; for this city had been extremely large and very populous, whereas now it has been reduced to nothing: barely two hundred houses stand there, and those people are held in the harshest slavery."
From: Archbishop Piano Carpini, papal legate, who crossed Southern Russia in 1245-1246 on his way to Mongolia; quoted in Nicholas Riasanovsky, The History of Russia, New York, Oxford University Press, 1969, p.79

Tamerlane destroys Damascus, 1401 "'I am the scourge [whip] of God appointed to chastise you, since no one knows the remedy for your unfairness except me. You are wicked, but I am more wicked than you, so be silent!' Thus spoke the all-powertul Mongol conqueror Tamerlane to a delegation of citizens outside the city of Damascus, the greatest city in Syria, in early 1401. The citizens had come to protest that the tribute demanded of them was beyond their means,... Even after they had paid up, however, Tamerlane was not satisfied, and he handed the city over to his soldiers. What happened next was described by the Arab historian ibn-Taglrribirdi: 'They were beaten with canes, crushed in presses, scorched in flames, and suspended head down; their nostrils were stopped with rags filled with fine dust, which they inhaled each time they took a breath so that they almost died.' After setting fire to the ransacked city, Tamerlane withdrew his army from Syria and marched on toward his next target."
Adapted from: The Age of Calamity: AD 1300-1400, Alexandria, VA., Time Life, 1989, p.71.

China under Mongol Rule "Foremost among Yuan [the Mongol dynasty founded by Kublai Khan in 1271] achievements was its transportation system. The Mongols, maintaining the world's largest empire, depended upon efficient transportation to hold the empire together. Roads were built throughout the empire, and all of them were linked with the nerve center, Tatu [today's Beijing]. Travelers and traders used them in peace time, and in time of war, troops could be dispatched quickly to trouble spots. An efficient postal system was maintained to transmit messages between Tatu and the provinces; and the Yuan regime also built the Grand Canal to link the Yangtze and [Huang He]".
Adapted from: Dun J. Li, The Ageless Chinese: A History, New York, Chas. Scribner, 1971, p.262.

N Battle of Panipat, 1526: Babur founds Mughal Dynasty "Thundering into history out of the steppes of Central Asia, the Mughals changed India's fortune and the destiny of her peoples. At Panipat in 1526 war elephants of the sultan of Delhi were no match for the army of Babur [the Tiger], ... Outnumbered four to one, Babur's forces triumphed with matchlocks and mortars, probably from the Ottoman Turks, the artillery masters of his day, and flanking tactics by the cavalry mounted on fast Mongol ponies. Babur became the first of six emperors esteemed as Great Mughals, establishing a line that ruled in the subcontinent for more than 300 years. Art lovers, these Muslims adopted styles from the Persians such as miniature painting."
Adapted from: Mike Edwards, "Paradise on Earth: When the Moguls Ruled India". National Geographic, April 1985, Vol.167, No.4, pp. 462-493 Questions: 1. Identify qualities of these leaders that are similar/ different. 2. What can you deduce, from the Russian experience, regarding European view of direct Mongol rule?