I think that Genghis Khan ( 12th-13th century), who was of course Mongolian, was a very interestingly represented leader in western society. When we hear his name we think of a merciless tyrant, ruthless murdering and pillaging, a bunch of guys riding around on horses slaughtering everything in their path and whatnot. While this representation may have it’s accuracy, it is incomplete and does not include some positive elements of his campaigns and reign.
Movie: “Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure”
Most historians attribute his reign to the deaths of approximately 40 million people. That is the most of any leader or empire in history. I believe the next closest was Joseph Stalin (the young USSR) at roughly 20 million. Pol Pot of Cambodia was attributed 3 million or so. Khan’s empire was in landmass the largest in history.
The Mongol Empire reached as far as Eastern Europe.
Without condoning such death, I can’t remember hearing or seeing any hint of the sophistication of his empire and particularly his form of government in popular culture. This is conveniently left out in western representation of the Mongol empire.
His from of government, meritocracy, seems very idealistic. In short it means reward and advancement through your merits or achievements…so something like “IF you conquer these lands or establish these libraries of languages or whatever civil, military or economic accomplishment, THEN you will rise to this level in my organization.”
He was fed up with oligarchies or people who rose to power by bloodline/family, nepotism or other “non-meritorious” activity.
So who wouldn’t like meritocracy? Well of course, people in power (current leaders) wouldn’t like it. It means if someone is doing a better job than themselves, they could be replaced.
In our day there is one shining example of this type of government and that is Singapore. I’ve made a few friends there and I’m sure they are very proud of this fact. Singapore is basically an island of wealth and industry, surround by ‘less developed’ nations in southeast Asia. When I visited there it was ranked 2nd lowest level of corruption in the world (New Zealand was first) although I think it has since slipped into 3rd place since.
The Mongols also “encouraged’ active participation in government from those land that we conquered. In this way the people of those lands felt more motivated as ‘active participants” rather than a demoralized and subjugated people. This also contributed to its stability and growth.
So that’s a little deeper look into the Mongol Empire- one beyond the solely “barbaric” image.
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