Mongols utilized a non-Sedentary lifestyle and Brutal ethics to conquer more land than the Romans and in less time. I found two sources that show how this was possible. My secondary source is a WordPress website and my Primary source is an image of what is possibly a Mongol saddle. The article goes into why nomadic armies are so effective. I read that it was important for nomadic armies to utilize horses to make up for their lack of agriculture. In fact, sedentary lifestyle was nearly impossible to control. “In general, sedentary attempts to control the steppe were money-losers: for rulers, agricultural land is highly profitable (and indeed, the basis of government finance), whereas steppe land never produces as much tax revenue as it costs to control it”. This is why non-sedentary rulers were so successful in the steppes. The saddle was made out of various types of animal hide and leather. It is also made out of silver which doesn’t seem to be very functional. I always saw the Mongols as a society that revolves around functionality, but I guess you have to have some aesthetic appeal.
These two sources interconnect due to the necessity for speed. The Mongols utilized horses for their speed. In order to ride longer distances the Mongols used saddles with their horses. It allowed them to conquer vast territories in far less time than would be expected. The saddle also reinforced the ideas the article put forth. It talks about how the Mongols were still using old technology. The important part is that they mastered this old technology.
The Majority of the issues with these sources spout from my primary source. I found the image on the website for the Met Museum and they are not really sure if it is in fact Mongol. It’s possible that it could be Korean as well. It’s also pretty new. Since it’s 19th century it’s only about 200 years old. The reason that it doesn’t matter is that it is in fact a saddle. It could be argued that saddles were the most important tool the Mongols possessed. The article seems to be pretty solid without any issues.
Minnesotans and Mongols are really not that different. This statement is mostly based and the barren landscape of the steppes and the barren, frozen wasteland that is Minnesota in the winter. “Normally the nomads used their military superiority to ensure that their trade with the sedentary world was carried on under very favorable terms”. Let’s create a scenario. It is the dead of winter with a wind-chill of -30 and you are living in an apartment with a roommate. You really want some Oreos and your roommate has two boxes. Do you think you might use some power to ensure fair trade? Or maybe it might not be so fair. This is very similar to the Mongols. They don’t have very many resources so they have to use power to ensure they can trade to get needed resources.
History at Normandale 