Rise of the Mongols

A Ballad by Erika Grandstaff

The Mongols were the epitome of nomadic tribesThey herded animals and traded their hidesAlthough they intervened occasionally in world historyTheir ultimate rise would not begin until the 1170s

The rise of the Mongols first beganWith the birth of a boy named TemujinHe was the son of a Mongol chiefBut his early life would be brief

   Mongols herding their animals.

Poor Temujin had to grow up too fastAlas that his childhood couldn’t lastFor his father was poisoned by rivals,And the allies of Temujin’s tribe doubted the boy’s survival

Temujin was taken from his homelandThrown into slavery, captured by a warrior bandCaged like an animal, young Temujin was afraidBut he was a fierce Mongol, and his escape was made

   A captured Temujin.

He hid in the woods with his family and friendsBut soon he allied himself with a greater chieftainTemujin was safe and protected at lastAnd his rise to power would happen fast

In 1206 there was a kuriltai, a meeting of chieftainsAnd here Temujin was elected the khaganThe man who had been through so much was a ruler strongAnd he took the name of Chinggis Khan.

Here the Mongols first beganTo start campaigns under their KhanThe greatness of this Mongol chiefWould lead offensives that were brutal and brief

The Mongols were great warriorsOn horseback they were unequaled in furorWith deadly shortbows and a nature to matchThey pitied the fate of anyone they would catch

   Mongols in battle.

The warriors burst into the Chinese kingdom of TangutThey wreaked immense havoc and humbled itAnd any town that tried to fight backThe Mongols were guaranteed to sack

A conquered empire Chinggis soon reignedAnd received tribute from across the landHe turned his gaze south and eastTo see if the lands there would provide him a feast

He battled and won the Khwarazme empireAnd many Turk horsemen he was able to hireDespite the Khan’s fierce reputationHis rule brought peace to many nations

He consulted with scholars from foreign landsTrying to see and to understandThe lands he ruled had integrityAnd crimes were committed very rarely

   Chinggis Khan

Chinggis Khan of course still foughtHe wasn’t one for long political thoughtThe rest of his life he spent in China fightingBut of course Chinggis Khan had to end up dying

The rise of the Mongols still flourishedEven after Chinggis Khan had perishedHis empire was divided among his four sonsFor Mongol power would not die after Chinggis Khan

  

 The Mongol Empire after Chinggis

Khan's death.

This empire stretched from Siberia to IndiaAnd from the Middle East to ChinaThe life of Chinggis Khan was not an idle oneBut now the task of ruling fell to his sons

Ogedai, the new great KhagenWas a clever diplomat and chieftainUnlike his brawny brothers, he was more inclinedTo concentrate on matters of the mind

The Mongol army was directed to the West,Into Russia, but this collection of petty kingdoms was merely a testFor the real prize the Mongols sought –It was Western Europe for which they really fought.

Batu, the grandson of Chinggis KhanLed a fearsome force into lands RussianKnown as the Tartars, or “people from hell”Their coming was, for many, the death knell

   A Mongol horseman.

Many cities in Russia were razed to the ground;Kiev was no longer Russia’s crownAfter it had been destroyed and sackedBut cities who surrendered were spared any further attack

Europe had first thought of the MongolsAs a mythical kingdom of ChristiansRuled by the King called “Prester John”But when the Mongols arrived they proved them very wrong

Europeans crumpled before the Mongol armyAnd countries like Poland, Germany, and HungaryWere all in very dire danger of being overrunWhen the Mongols left all of a sudden

Since Ogedai had recently passed awayBatu was called back home one dayWestern Europe was spared further destructionBut the Mongols still owned everything Russian

  

 The Mongols' tourof Europe.

In the Islamic heartland, things went unhappilyAs the Mongols made another bloody forayThe caliph was killed and the land in a panicYes, things went badly for those who were Islamic

However, soon the invaders had to make tracksTheir home security had grown quite laxUnder pressure from the Egyptian Mamluks and the Golden HordeThey had to call for their plan to abort.

   A depiction of the attack on Baghdad.

Meanwhile in China the Yuan dynasty ruledOverseen by Kubilai Khan, who wasn’t cruelHe defended the Chinese and the lands they hadBut Confucian scholars still saw him as bad

“He was a Mongol, still,” they said“And the only good Mongol is one that’s deadHe wouldn’t reinstate the Confucian tests,And he says that merchants and actors are best

   Kubilai Khan

“He takes much advice from Chabi, his wifeThis man has no inkling of the Confucian lifeMark my words, his dynasty cannot lastThe Mandate of Heaven for him will run out fast.”

It was true that after the death of Kubilai KhanThings did not go too well for the YuanHis successors did not rule as noble kingsSo soon the dynastic cycle passed to the Ming

   

Chabi

The rise of the Mongols was great and strongAnd it all began with Chinggis KhanIt would end with a Turk named Timur the LameWhat a horrifying warrior he became

   A bust of Timur the Lame.

Timur utterly destroyed the lands he took overEverywhere he went people ran for coverFrom Russia to India he wreaked total havocAnd did nothing good to make up for it

Luckily for his subjects, Timur diedIn the year of 1405The last nomadic challenge had passedThe conquered could breathe easy at last

The Mongols weren’t all bloody and cruelThey brought many good things under their ruleFrom trade to militant strategies to cultural diffusionThe Mongols tried to make up for their intrusions

Although by accident they transmitted the plagueGood things about the Mongols will hopefully not fadeThey were bloody and brutal and warlike clansBut they brought good things to the regions they ran

The rise of the Mongols truly beganWith a Mongol by the name of Chinggis KhanIt would end with a Turk named Timur the LameWhat a brilliant empire the Mongols became!