How the Mongols Lived in the Steppe

The meteoric rise of Chinggis Khan's Mongol Empire of the 13th century was perhaps one of the most remarkable of Central Asia's steppe nations ever to exist, and changed the world forever. As we at Kings and Generals have covered before in a previous series, over a period lasting about half a century, the tribes north of China embarked on a blistering series of conquests, which concluded with a vast majority of Eurasia subject to the Khan's iron will by the Mongol horse and arrow. However, grand military campaigns are not the only aspect of history worth covering, a view that we hope to prove in this video. Welcome to our video on the life of average people within the Mongol Empire, beginning with life on the Great Eurasian Steppe. Don't forget to check out our podcast on the history of the Mongols, the link is in the description. Unlike the Mongols of Chinggis, you don't live on the steppes and do have access to the products of the sponsor of this video Manscaped, so no excuses! 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Get 20% off plus free international shipping when you use promo code GENERALS20 at MANSCAPED.COM. While the vast wealth of the empire, generated by the conquests of Genghis Khan and his successors, eventually led to many Mongol tribes becoming one with their sedentary conquered populations, this was not always the case. After all, it was the harsh life and conditions on the steppe which allowed its militaries to field such stereotypically fearsome armies of horse archers, which swept away all in front of them. So, what was daily life like in the steppe regions of the Mongol Empire, what were the nomadic customs, and how did the average man or woman make their way in the world? Although Mongol is often the collective term for nomadic tribes on the eastern steppe among the common person, this is purely because of the dominance of Genghis and his imperial successors. They were also known as Tatars before the Great Khan due to the status of the Tatar tribe as the most powerful and dominant group within that particular geopolitical world. This was particularly common in contemporary Europe, where the word Tatar corresponded with the Christian concept of Tartarus or Hell. The major tribal confederations are often divided by historians into groups such as Mongols, the aforementioned Tatars, Naimans, Merkits, Karaites, and others. However, these groups weren't by any means distinct in terms of ethnicity or language. For example, Mongols could be found in Naiman tribes and vice versa, while a form of Turkic language would frequently be found as the primary language in any number of non-Turkic polyglot groupings, simply because it was a commonly spoken tongue. In the Secret History of the Mongols, there is a reference to Eurasian steppe tribes as the peoples of the nine tongues, a phrase perfectly encapsulating both the recognized diversity of languages among the tribes and a certain degree of unity. For an everyday person, religion was probably not a divisive issue from day to day, with most tribes encompassing a variety of faiths and beliefs which coexisted with one another without rivalry and even adapted to one another. Shamanism was the most common religion among the Eurasian tribes, but among certain tribes, the Naiman and Uyghurs for example, other foreign faiths such as Nestorian Christianity and Buddhism were dominant. A Nestorian Christian might privately worship in their yurt and go out to hunt with comrades who were Buddhist and traditionally shamanistic, for example. Instead of religious uniformity, loyalty and identity for a regular Mongol tribe's man or woman was associated with individuals such as tribal leaders, and through them, one's ancestors. The tribe itself was considered the basic cohesive unit of society, and however diverse a particular tribe's languages and ethnicity considered itself the descendant of common ancestors. This was usually the case no matter how questionable and mythical that ancestry might have been in reality, as it helped to foster a common sense of belonging. Inter-tribal warfare, which was commonly seen on the steppe, shows us that they were often ferociously independent and would violently resist any attempt to draw them into a supranational authority unless the forfeit of one's autonomy promised incredible rewards, mostly in terms of wealth and booty. Wealth in Mongol society was not wealth in our sedentary terms, paper money or coins of gold and silver, but was instead measured by the possession of livestock such as horses and sheep. Therefore, protecting and amassing such beasts was a crucial concern of the tribes. These groups lived and pastured their flocks of animals over a vast area, stretching all the way from Eastern Europe to the region north of China, where the Mongols made their home. South of the massive Central Asian plateau, the steppe transforms into a desert, a vast dry zone dotted with islands of urban and agricultural settlement. Tribes might enter into formal or informal relationships with these settlements, often with mutual benefit. In return for products gained from hunting, such as furs and other items that could only be gained on the steppe, sedentary populations might offer luxury goods or agricultural products. In contrast to this frontier area, the prairies and gentle mountain slopes of the steppe proper were totally blank in terms of static settlements and towns. Those who would dwell on this barren but often beautiful landscape were the stereotypical pastoral nomads and hunters, with life necessitating a seasonal migration in constant search of water and grass which the tribe's animals could live on. After all, if you stay in the same area for years with a ton of animals, you will strip the area clean of fodder. Though the nomads mostly disregarded fixed dwellings, their migration routes were often rigid, so they would travel around to the same places each year. As a result of this repeated use of the same territory year after year, cultivation of crops was practiced on a limited scale. They would sow crops for the area, go to their other regions, and then return to harvest on their return migration. Nomads were constantly on the move, alert to any environmental, climatic, and human changes around them, and were always prepared for danger and threats. Because of this, the pastoral population was a natural martial force. Warfare on the steppe was the business of every single male, who doubled as a fighter and raider in addition to their primary civilian occupation, a hunter for example. Even some women were trained to fight when necessary. The culture of the steppe was ripe with tales and songs of warrior heroes, much like the sagas of the Vikings. In essence, these nomadic groups were nascent armies waiting to be unleashed. Of course, hunting with bows and arrows on the steppe, also known as the nege, was essentially a natural kind of military training undertaken from an extremely early age, and it produced a population of expert horsemen and extremely talented archers. Therefore, horse archers became their dominant troop type. Though herds of cattle and other animals were the primary commodity of steppe peoples, the other basic need among tribes was women, as they were functionally the means through which a population was continued. They were also hunted in a similar manner to animals, because most tribes were strictly exogamous, meaning that they only married outside of their own clan. While this institutionalized kidnapping of human prizes would frequently lead to intertribal conflict, marriage alliances between different tribes were very common and served as a stable bond between parties. This is not to say women were only commodities to be traded in steppe culture, and women often played a crucial role in the functioning of tribes in Turko-Mongol society. They played a role in all aspects of life, including warfare against other tribes. Political power that women often exercised is demonstrated by the regencies of Turgenei Khatun from 1241 to 1246 and Oghul Gaimish from 1248 to 1251. These two Mongol empresses were perhaps the most influential women in the history of the world. When speaking of such political power in tribal terms, it usually lay with its khan or chief. He generally rose from the tribe's aristocratic elite, but it is worth noting that it was nowhere near as rigid and strict as, for example, European aristocracy. A talented lowborn warrior could rise to become chief if he was deft enough. The choice of a new leader was made in a semi-meritocratic way, demanding that succession fall to the best qualified and most competent candidate, rather than merely going with the son of a previous chief. While this was the case, candidates would most often be selected from among members of the traditionally chiefly house, but we can see Genghis Khan as a clear example of where this rule wasn't followed. As the head of a tribe, the chief or khan's primary responsibilities included the allotment of pastures among his tribal clans, the plotting of migration times and routes, and decisive, often ruthless leadership. Far from being a tribal form of autocratic dictator, the chief's authority was counterbalanced by his lesser nobles, shaman, and other influential individuals. In effect, the tribe was a relatively simple administrative structure with two main levels, the tribal chief at the top exercising direct control over his of commoners who were answerable to them alone. When one of the many historical tribal empires or confederations came about, it became necessary for a lower khan to surrender his tribe's independence for the survival of his tribe. The reality of the step was that weaker tribes had to be subjugated beneath the strong. However, a royal lineage or even an imperial one, such as the Burjigin of Chinggis, became a larger-scale unifying force with which an extra sense of unity and identity was derived. The Supra-tribe could be joined by a smaller group in three ways, it could pledge loyalty and be incorporated in its entirety, could be broken into smaller units and absorbed after a defeat, or assigned to individual military commanders. Another center of power in the tribe was independent of tribal nobility known as the shaman or bogey. This religious figure was the ordinary tribesman's link with the spiritual world. His ability to foretell the future and bring order from the apparent chaos of the steppe gave a tribe's shaman enormous prestige and authority, with many khans and chieftains using their shamans as key advisors, a smart move in their eyes, as the shaman had magical holy power at their command. However, it was sometimes the case, as we mentioned before, that a shaman might form a rival political authority within the tribe to the khan, or even become the chief himself. It was a flexible system in that way. In a religious capacity, the shaman's talents were called upon for choosing favorable days for celebrations, important events, commencing battle with an enemy, advice on electing new leaders, and many, many more things. Shamanism probably originated from some form of ancestor worship, and most Mongol tents or yurts contained images of the family ancestors. On top of this, Tengri, heaven, was worshipped as a god and Mother Earth, or Itugen, was venerated, and between them numerous lesser spirits. The opinion of a shaman was disregarded at the chief's peril, because the entire tribe believed in his holy power and the authority of his words. This was made even more real, because a tribal shaman was often associated with a larger guild of fellow shamans linked with other clans and tribes. The flexibility of Central Asia's tribal nations extended to inheritance customs at almost all levels. A dead father's camp or ordu and his possessions, including his wives and slaves, were inherited by the youngest son of the chief's wife, though it should be added that it wasn't the child's actual mother. In step tradition, while the youngest son inherited possessions, it was the eldest who would retain seniority and inherit the ulus, or subject people furthest from the family's homeland. Middle sons would inherit lands between the extremities. At the highest possible level, Chinggis Khan followed this tradition with Jochi, his firstborn, who received lands far to the west, while his youngest, Tolui, received the Mongol steppe itself. We'll talk more about the Mongols in the coming weeks, so make sure you are subscribed and have pressed the bell button to see the next video in the series. Please, consider liking, commenting, and sharing – it helps immensely. Our videos would be impossible without our kind patrons and youtube channel members, whose ranks you can join via the links in the description to know our schedule, get early access to our videos, access our discord, and much more. This is the Kings and Generals channel, and we will catch you on the next one.