Mongol Empire

"A dark tide rises to the east—an army of such size and power that all the land is made quick with worry. Their leader is a man named Temujin, who has adopted the title Genghis Khan. He sweeps across the lands, conquering and subsuming all who stand in his way."

―Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad's Codex, page 29.^[src]^-[m]

Mongol Empire

Political information

Societal information

Nation

Mongolia

Languages

Mongolian
Turkic
Chinese
Persian

Main religions

Tengrism (unified empire)

Islam (Chagatai Khanate; from 1326, Golden Horde; from 1313, Ilkhanate)
Buddhism (Yuan dynasty)

Demonym

Mongol

Currency

Jiaochao (Yuan dynasty)

Coins (Chagatai Khanate and Golden Horde)

Historical information

Founder(s)

Genghis Khan

Date founded

1206

Date dissolved

1260 (fragmentation of the empire)
1368 (end of Yuan rule in China)

Last ruler

Möngke Khan (last ruler of unified empire)
Toghon Temür (last Yuan ruler of China)

The Mongol Empire was a pan-Asian and Eastern European empire originating from the Mongolian steppes of Northern Asia during the 13th and 14th centuries.

Expanding from a number disparate Mongolian tribes brought together by Genghis Khan, the Mongol Empire went on to become the single largest contiguous empire in recorded history. Beginning in the steppes, it eventually stretched from the Sea of Japan to the gates of Vienna, Austria, and from the Republic of Novgorod in the north, to the Indian subcontinent in the South.

History[]

War with the Assassins[]

During the latter part of the 13th century, the Mongols became the major enemy of the Assassins. In 1227, the Mentor of the Levantine Assassins, Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad, his son Darim, and the Mongolian Assassin Qulan Gal were responsible for the death of Genghis Khan, whom they suspected of wielding a Piece of Eden that had facilitated his rise to power.^[1]

Thirty years later, in 1257, the Mongols reached and besieged the Assassins' fortress of Masyaf, seizing it and forcing the Assassins to scatter throughout Europe, Africa, and Asia.^[1] After the siege, a Mongol patrol intercepted the fleeing Assassins and famed explorers Niccolò and Maffeo Polo and seized the Codex of Altaïr from them.^[1] Years later, Niccolò's son, Marco, traveled to the court of Kublai Khan, grandson of Genghis Khan, and retrieved the Codex from him.^[2]

In 1259, the Mongols assaulted Diaoyu Castle in China and fought against the soldiers of the Song dynasty. General Wang Dechen plotted to do a night raid after their previous incursions failed and selected commander Bayan and his men to take the lead.^[3] However, Dechen's ambush was discovered and a great number of his men, including the general himself, were severely injured or killed. This ambush led to a retreat, but not before Bayan managed to kill a Song commander, who was an Assassin of the Chinese Brotherhood. Dechen was soon taken in by the Mongol leader Möngke Khan to recuperate,^[4] but succumbed to his wounds.^[5] On 11 August 1259, the Khan himself perished, being assassinated inside his camp by Zhang Zhi in retaliation for her father's death.^[6]

Möngke's death temporarily halted the Mongols' plans,^[5] and they abandoned their siege of Diaoyu Castle as Möngke's son Asutai took his body to rest at Burkhan Khaldun.^[7] The Khan's demise also threw the Empire into disarray, with Möngke's younger brothers Kublai and Ariq Boke fighting for the title of khan. The subsequent civil war left the Mongol Empire fragmented, although Kublai eventually emerged victorious as the new Khan. He also succeeded in conquering China, establishing the Yuan dynasty, which lasted until 1368.^[8]

Although the Mongol Empire collapsed in the 14th century, the Mongols continued to pose a threat to various nations in Asia, most notably China. In 1532, the Templar Zhang Yong, one of the Eight Tigers, plotted to allow passage of the Mongols, led by Altan Khan, into China by opening the gates of the Great Wall. To prevent this from happening, the Assassins Shao Jun and Kotetsu closed the gates and eliminated the Mongol scouts along the Wall.^[9]^[10] A massive battle between the Mongol army and the Ming dynasty troops subsequently ensued outside the Wall, with the latter emerging victorious.^[11]^[12]