If you were living in the 13th century, as either a Samurai in Japan or a Teutonic Knight in feudal Germany, you would have nothing in common. One Christian, the other pagan. One feudal, the other imperial.
One dresses up like a demon, the other wears a cross. One rich, the other swearing a vow of poverty. One meant to be a ruthless warrior, the other meant to care for the sick. And so on and so on..
In fact, if you were one in the 13th century, you would have no idea the other even existed. The two could not be more different.
Except, they had one thing in common — an enemy. A terrifying enemy.
The Teutonic Knights in Germany and the Samurai in Japan were both fighting the same enemy — at the same time — while being ignorant even of each other's existence.
Who was this enemy fighting at different sides of the globe?
The most feared military force in the history of man — The Mongol Empire.
I'd like to tell you a remarkable story about their great leader, Genghis Khan.
He had many titles, but he is most famous for the one he gave himself — The Scourge of God.
The phrase comes from what is probably the Khan's most famous quote, but the story originating the quote is little-known.
It is the story of how the "Great Khan" came to discover Western Civilization, and changed the direction of human history in the process....
The Khwarezmians and Abbasids
Did you know, for more than 8 hundred years, Spain was ruled by Muslims?
From 711 to 1492. Most of us don't learn that in school anymore.
But nonetheless, the Arab empires of the medieval world held on to huge portions of Western Europe for centuries.
Not just Europe, in fact. The entirety of North Africa was controlled by Muslims within a century of Muhammad's death.
Most of these territorial expansions occurred under the first great Arab empire and Muslim caliphate — the Umayyad Caliphate.
The Umayyads would begin a centuries-long period of Arab military and cultural dominance over Western Europe, ranging from the 8th century into the late 12th century.
By the early 13th century, the Umayyads were gone, but they were replaced by the Abbasid Caliphate.
The Abbasid Caliphate was one of the largest and wealthiest empires in the world at its prime.
The capital city of Baghdad was a cultural and military superpower. It had over one million inhabitants by the start of the 13th century.
Second to the Abbasids were the Khwarezmians, who ruled a large empire to the northeast of Saudi Arabia in much of modern day Iran.
Why am I giving you a brief lesson in Arab history? Because it is with the Khwarezmians that our story begins...
The Khan of Khans Comes To The West
By the year 1215, Genghis Khan had conquered China.
He had unified the Mongols. He had subjugated all the surrounding nations beneath his rule.
He was, for all intents and purposes, the Supreme Ruler of Asia. "The Khan of Khans."
In point of fact, "Genghis Khan" was not Genghis Khan's name. It was his title. It means "Great King" or "Supreme Ruler."
"Genghis Khan" is just the anglicization of "Chinggis Khan" which sounds far less terrifying if you ask me.
What's more, his actual name was "Temujin" [Tem-u-gin], which just doesn't strike the same fear into your heart does it?
So I'll stick with Genghis Khan.
By 1216, Genghis was looking to the west for a powerful commercial partner. He thought he had found it in the vast empire of Khwarazm.
His conquests of Asia were over, and Genghis was getting a little on the older side. He was ready to settle down, pasture the hordes, make friends with trading partners, etc.
It was time to enjoy the fruits of his conquest in peace.
As such, he sent a caravan to a minor settlement in the Khwarezmian Empire called Otrar. The caravan came requesting trade and friendship.
The governor of this town was a feudal prince caught up in the stagnating politics of the Muslim world at this time. So naturally, he did the right thing, and promptly arrested the entire caravan.
Genghis then sent three ambassadors (one a Muslim) to the Shah of the Khwarezmians demanding the release of the caravan. In addition, he demanded the governor of Otrar be handed over for punishment.
The Shah had the two Mongols shaved and sent them back to the Khan carrying the head of their Muslim companion. He also executed the entire caravan for good measure.
Thus it was that the poor decision-making of one feudal prince and a paranoid Shah would decide the fate of over one million poor souls.
Ruler of The Setting Sun — The Fall of The Muslim World
The Shah of Khwarazm was called "Ruler of The Rising Sun." In one of the great ironies of history, Genghis Khan was also known as "Ruler of The Setting Sun."
The sun was about to “set” on the Khwarezmian Empire. Sadly, it was about to set on the entire Muslim world.
In 1219, Genghis — infuriated by the Shah — launched a full scale invasion of Central Asia and the Middle East.
In less than two years, the vast Khwarezmian empire was decimated. Gone forever.
To understand the significance of that, remember that the Christians had been fighting them for 400 years to no avail. Genghis had done what no European King could ever dream of.
The level of brutality and terror used by the Mongols had never been seen before, even by the Mongols. Genghis Khan’s earlier campaigns had not actually been terribly bloody.
It was the Mongol invasions of the West that would earn them a reputation for brutality. They would continue nursing that reputation for the next three generations.
The Scourge of God — Samarqand, Georgia, and Baghdad
The capital city of the Khwarezmian Empire was Samarqand. The leaders of Samarqand had built one of the best defended cities in the Western world.
The Muslim engineers at the time had estimated that Samarqand could last as long as five years against a Mongol siege.
It lasted 3 days.
On the fourth day of the siege, the city surrendered. Genghis arrived at the palace's council chambers and gathered the lords of the empire.
During his speech, he delivered a line that was immortalized forever:
Oh people, know you have committed great sins. If you ask me what proof I have of these words I say it is that I am the scourge of God. If you had not committed such great sins, God would not have sent such a punishment like me upon you.
Samarqand was abandoned and dismantled. The entire account of the attack was chronicled in horrifying detail by Persian historian Ata-Malik Juvayni.
After the fall of Samarqand, Subotai (Genghis's greatest general) continued a campaign through the rest of the empire.
After 1221, Subotai formed a cavalry scouting force that would famously travel into the Kingdom of Georgia and soundly crush the greatest Christian army in the world at that time. Twice.
By 1260, the great Muslim Empires were destroyed. The peak of Mongol brutality came in the annihilation of the greatest city in the world — Baghdad.
A force of 150,000 men laid siege to Baghdad in 1258. It was the largest army the world had ever seen to that point. Baghdad's leaders refused to surrender.
Angered by the impotence, the Mongols slaughtered everyone in the city when they finally broke through.
More than one million people died in Baghdad.
The Mongols tore down the city brick-by-brick and in its place erected a series of pyramids built from the skulls of Baghdad's inhabitants.
A French chronicler traveling with the Mongols at the time detailed the whole assault. He was supposed to report back to France on the Mongol's potential weaknesses.
When he returned to France, he declared France would have no hope if the Mongols should invade Western Europe. The Mongols fought like devils, he said. They could not lose.
In short, they were the Scourge of God.
Comments