Good morning, good afternoon, or good evening, depending on when you are reading this. Today I am moving forward in time and looking at a documentary on the Mongols. I am checking out a Free Documentary Channel. This is from the series The Rise of Great Powers and is the third episode in the series. This episode is called Empire of the Mongols and has a run time of 48:12.
Mongols had built a large empire that claimed half the world in under a century. This empire spanned from the Korean Peninsula to Europe. It began with 100,000 men. The Mongol invasion of Europe began with the fall of Kyiv and struck panic into the people. How could such a small group of men bring Europe to its knees? What technology was available at the time to enable such an expansion? Who was the leader of the Mongols? This documentary looks at the rise of the Mongol Empire. Is it 1240 and a horde of cavalry is launching an attack on Kyiv? Despite the citizens’ best efforts, Kyiv fell to these hordes. They had never seen such a cavalry nor such weapons. This horde continues to move forward, making its way into Central Europe. Central Europe is on notice and in panic. They had never seen this horde before. This calvary splits up into two groups, one group heading north and the other heading south. It was in the Middle Ages, and Europe was poor. Nobody invaded them before, however after Kyiv fell, things started to change with the refugees. Panic began to spread as horror stories spread about these invaders. Krakow, Poland still commemorates the Mongol attack. A trumpeter blows a warning over the city, but he never gets to the end of the tune symbolizing that the original trumpeter was killed. It took less than a month for Krakow to fall. After Krakow, the Mongols headed toward Germany. Henry II Duke of Silesia lead his troops against the Mongols; however, these troops would be annihilated. The Hungarians would try different tactics; however, they too would be defeated. It shocked the people and showed that knights could not defend the kingdom. The Mongols would burn and loot their way through Hungary. Would anyone be able to stop the Mongol invasion? What made the Mongols such fierce warriors? How could they be stopped? What were the secrets of the Mongols? The Mongols would destroy the city, rape the women and kill all the men. There were also exaggerated stories that fueled the nightmares. Some people believed that they were sent by God as a punishment. The Mongols themselves continued to fuel those rumors wanting to break the spirit of the people. Vienna and Paris were going to be in the crosshairs. However, the Mongols never invaded. The Great Khan died and so the Mongols had to return to Mongolia. The warriors had to go back and vote for the newest leader. The European rulers were relieved that the Mongol invasion had stopped. However, they had to take stock of how the Mongols were able to invade without being challenged. The Hapsburg Army managed to capture a Mongol officer. To the army’s great surprise, the captured man was an English man. He apparently had gone to Mongolia after fleeing England. The Mongols brought on soldiers from the lands they conquered and they used siege weapons from China. They were quick to adopt Chinese military technology. Baghdad would fall in ten days employing a variety of tactics and technology. They would adopt Arabian technology too in their fighting. Was adapting new technology the Mongols’ secret? What other tactics did the Mongols adapt in their fighting? Tune into the rest of this episode to find out more about the rise of the Mongols! This was a very well-produced and well-done documentary. The graphics were pretty interesting and it was interesting to see the weapons that were used by the Mongols. It reminded me of the Secrets of the Dead: Amazon Warrior Woman episode and the discussion on the bow that the Mongols used. It was rather interesting to learn that there was an Englishman discovered in the Mongol Army. The information was rather good, interesting, and surprising to this would be something I would show to a history class.
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