– English Lyrics

Lyrics & Translation

[English]

Mongols Season 1 Full - from Genghis to Kublai

KINGS & GENERALS

Hard places often breed hard people and Mongolia is one of the most inhospitable lands in the world

This is the story of the people who came out of the steppes and built the biggest empire in history

This is the story of Temujin and how he became Genghis Khan

The history of the eastern part of the Asian steppe is shrouded in mystery

and so the early history of the Mongols is still debated

At the beginning of the 10th century, the proto Mongolic Khitan people formed an empire called the Great Liao

the Khitans fought many wars in Korea China and Central Asia,

but by 1125 were defeated by the Chinese Jin dynasty

and moved to establish a new Khitan state called Western Liao

To the north in modern-day Mongolia, a number of nomadic tribes united in a tribal confederation

called Khamag Mongol, which can be translated as the Whole Mongol

one of the clans within the confederacy was the Borjigin

and its representatives were elected the khans of the union multiple times in the 12th century

Khamag Mongol was in a long-term rivalry with the Tatar confederacy, which also nomadizes in the region

This struggle weakened the Mongols

and their Confederacy almost ceased to exist in the second half of the 12th century

The chief of the Borjigin clan at the time Yesugei was trying to reunite the tribes once again

in 1171 He arranged a marriage between his 9-year-old son Temujin

and the daughter of the chief of a nearby clan, Börte

Some sources claim that Yesugei was poisoned by the Tatars during the wedding

Temujin attempted to assume the role of chieftain but he was rejected and exiled with his family

For the next six years Temujin lived in poverty and was even enslaved on occasion

Eventually, Temujin started forming his tribe with the help of his blood brother Jamukha

and the leader of the Karaite tribe Toghrul Khan

Temujin and Jamukha raided other tribes together, but eventually they had a falling-out

Jamukha supported the traditional Mongolian aristocracy

while Temujin gave positions of power to capable people outside his tribe

Threatened by Temujin rise in popularity Jamukha attacked him in 1187 with an army of thirty thousand men

Temujin's twenty thousand men were decisively beaten at the Battle of Dalan Balzhut

Not much is known about Temujin life in the next ten years

but in 1197 we see him commanding a united force of the Mongols the Karaite

in the war against the Tatars initiated by the Jin dynasty

Temujin would avenge his father in this conflict

The leaders of the Tatar tribes were executed while the non aristocrats were invited to join his ranks

He delegated authority based on skill and loyalty rather than tribal affiliation or blood

As an incentive, Temujin promised civilians and soldiers a portion of the war spoils

His new rules laid the foundations of a code of law, which would eventually be developed and applied to his empire

His father's death influenced Temujin. And one of the laws was that hospitality was sacred

Guests and envoys should not be harmed

Temujin revolutionized the steppe world

Each victory brought more warriors to his site and he reformed the Mongols into an army

The decimal system was implemented

and the army was divided into tens hundreds thousands and ten thousands

Transfers between the units were forbidden and if one man deserted the other nine in his unit were put to death

Commanders were chosen by their men except for the commanders of the ten thousands

so-called Tumen who were handpicked by the Khan himself

This chain of command allowed flexibility discipline and loyalty and was vital to performing sophisticated maneuvers

Every able-bodied man had to be a part of this structure

In 1201 a number of opposing clans called the council Kurultai in the Mongolian language and

declared Jamukha the Khan

this sparked a five-year war between him and

Temujin and the latter managed to defeat his former blood brother at the Battle of the Thirteen Sites

that same year Temujin assembled another council of the Mongol chiefs

who elected him as their leader giving him the title of

Genghis Khan the leader of all

For the first time, the warring tribes united as one nomadic nation under one banner and one authority

In 1209 the Mongols began their first invasion against the powerful Western Xia state to the southwest

The details of this conflict are not clear, but it seems that Genghis Khan was successful in open battles

But had difficulties taking the well-fortified cities

The Mongols learned the importance of siege warfare in this campaign

the surrounded city slowly succumbed to starvation and

Diseases and the Xia Emperor had to submit to Genghis Khan and become his vassal

Up until this point the Jin dynasty

Underestimated the Mongols as a nuisance on their northern border and even refused a call to aid by the Liao

But by 1211 they were on high alert

They even demanded Mongol submission which led to war

In March 1211 GenghisKhan summoned all Mongol chieftains and prepared to wage war against China

The Jin had a massive population and mobilized around

800,000 infantry most of which were untrained peasants with low morale and

150,000 highly-trained heavy cavalry

This vast army, however, was spread across the Great Wall and Garrison's separate fortresses

Meanwhile, the Mongols had a 90,000 strong cavalry army, which had three main components

Like cavalry scouts horse archers armed with composite bows and heavy cavalry

With lances and curved swords, all of these men were highly trained and loyal

After they bypassed the hopelessly ineffective Great Wall the Mongol split into two armies

The main army was led by the Great Khan himself and was 60,000 strong

While the other 30,000 were taken by his son Ögedei to attack the city of Datong

Genghis Khan headed for the strategic Juyong Pass protecting Beijing

but along the way, he was stopped at the pass of Yehuling

where the bulk of the Jin army awaited him

For months the Mongols waited for the Jin to make a move, but they held their ground

while waiting Genghis sent his trusted generals Jebe and Subutai

To lead a small force which attacked the western front from the rear in the Battle of Wusha Fortress

The Jin army and their commander were annihilated

Once the secondary army quickly grouped up with the main force, which was still waiting in Yehuling

The Mongols attacked the defenders in the mountainous terrain and pushed the Jin forces back

Genghis sent men over the peaks surrounding the pass which the Jin generals thought was impossible and

attacks the much larger army from both sides

Jebe, one of the best Mongol generals used the trademark Mongol tactic of a feigned retreat

after a short skirmish the Mongols pretended to flee leaving loot as they fled

the Jin defenders took the bait and left their fortifications trying to chase them down

Little did they know they were falling into a deadly trap where thousands of them were attacked from all sides by Mongol archers

With the gates of China now open, Genghis Khan began raiding the countryside before he withdrew for the winter

The following year the Mongol struck again

only this time they besieged Datong where Genghis was wounded by an arrow

The city held out against the invaders who once again retreated for the winter

This time with even more knowledge about their enemy and siege warfare

In 1213 when the Mongols invaded again

Their mobility prevented the Jin from organizing a successful resistance as their countryside was raided

The Mongols began besieging multiple fortresses and cities

and waited for the enemy to attempt to break the siege only to be ambushed and defeated

The Mongols were fighting guerilla warfare within a foreign land

The cities that surrendered had most of their inhabitants murdered or enslaved

however engineers artisans merchants doctors teachers priests

and administrators were spared and asked to join the Mongol horde

Many others were taken and used as meat shields for the following sieges

Marching in the vanguard to block arrows or discourage the archers from firing

After securing all Jin lands north of the Yellow River

Genghis moved against the capital of Beijing and besieged it

The Mongols tried to starve the city out, but after a few months an epidemic spread through their camp

And they had to negotiate with the Jin emperor Xuanzong

He agreed to peace in exchange for a tribute of loot men

horses and his daughter along with subjugation to the Mongol Khan

Thus the Mongols left China and returned to Mongolia with their treasure

but just outside the Great Wall a messenger galloped to Genghis Khan the

Emperor had moved his court to Kaifeng to the south

This enraged the Great Khan as it signaled that the Jin planned to retaliate

The Mongols quickly returned to Beijing and precedes the city with the help of thousands of Chinese engineers

The city was surrounded breached and raised

For weeks thousands of carts hauled loot back to Mongolia

The fires in the city burned for over a month while its people were massacred

what was once considered a nuisance had brought a twenty million strong nation to its knees and

Now the Mongol devastation was heading west

The Naimans were one of the tribes defeated by Genghis Khan in 1205

After the defeat the Prince of the tribe Kuchlug fled to the west

In 1208. He was defeated by Genghis yet again and found refuge in the nearby Western Liao empire

He was welcomed and even married the daughter of the Emperor, Zhilugu

Two years later Kuchlug rebelled against his father-in-law and took control of the Empire

In 1216 Kuchlug attacked the city of Almaliq, which was under Mongol protection

Genghis Khan sent his best general

Jebe, who defeated Kuchleg in the Battle of Balasagun

and in two years the entire empire was under Mongol rule

Now they were bordering the great Khwarezmian empire that was ruled by a Persianate Turkic dynasty

Genghis Khan sent a caravan with precious gifts to Shah Mohammed II hoping to establish trade

However, the governor of the Khwarazmian's city of Otrar

Inalchuq had the members of the caravan arrested claiming

They were spies

Genghis Khan then sent three ambassadors to the Shah himself to demand the merchants be set free

Mohammad refused the merchants along with one of the ambassadors were executed

the rules of hospitality

Which Genghis Khan considered sacred were broken and he started planning his retribution

He gathered information from the Silk Road about his enemies

assembled siege engineers from China and created a plan involving

Separating his army into three columns

The numbers for both sides are highly disputed

but most scholars agree that at the start of the campaign the Mongols

outnumbered the Khwarazmian forces with

100,000 against 60,000

In the winter of 1219

Genghis Khan sent his oldest son Jochi and Jebe to cross the Tian Shan

Mountains to ravage the Fertile Fergana Valley with around 20,000 men

It was risky

But paid off as they slipped through the defensive lines

and confused the enemy who thought this was the main force

meanwhile, another army under his second and third sons

Chagatai and Ögedei passed through the Dzungarian Gate with haste and

Besieged Otrar, which had a garrison of 20,000

After five months a deserter opened the gates and allowed the Mongols into the city

Otrar became the first of many settlements

to have its entire population slain or enslaved before it was razed to the ground

Inalchuq was captured and reportedly had molten silver poured into his eyes and ears

Mohammed II was preparing a strong defense around his capital Samarkand,

but Genghis tricked him by traversing

300 miles across the Kyzylkum Desert, which was considered impossible

Hopping from Oasis to Oasis

The Mongols found themselves had the gates of Bukhara

The city's defenses were weak

So the desperate defenders tried to sally out and meet the Mongols in open battle

where they were massacred on mass

Next came the Khwarazmian capital of Samarkand the Mongols closed in during March of 1220

The Mongols assaulted the city and it's 40,000 strong garrison

using prisoners as meat shields on the third day the garrison launched a counter-attack

feigning retreat Genghis drew approximately half of the garrison including war elephants outside of the

fortifications of Samarkand and slaughtered them in the open fields

Shah Mohammed II attempted to relieve the city twice but was driven back

on the fifth day, all but a handful of soldiers surrendered

the city's inhabitants numbering around 100,000 were slaughtered

The Shah and his son managed to escape to the west

so Genghis Khan ordered his generals Subutai and Jebe to hunt them down

with a force of around 20,000

the legendary expedition of this army deserves its own episode and will be covered soon

After finishing the destruction of Samarkand

Genghis Khan moved against the wealthy city of Urgench from the south

While his son Jochi attacked it from the north

Despite the stout defense, the city was taken but that created a new complication for the Mongols

Jochi was given the right to loot the city for himself

but preferred to negotiate with the locals to avoid property damage

While his brothers who disliked him argued against this unusual behavior

Genghis removed his oldest son from command and appointed his third son Ögedei instead

who in turn ordered the city to be destroyed

This decision would have a significant impact on the Mongol Empire in the following decades

as it forever alienated Jochi from the rest of the family

While Urgench was being destroyed,

Tolui, Temujin's youngest son took 50,000 men into the region of Khorasan

He occupied and razed the cities of Balkh, Meru, and Nishapur in rapid succession

Herat at surrendered and was spared as was any other city that surrendered without a fight

The Mongols couldn't control such a vast population

So they used practical brutality as their primary method to subjugate a nation

the massacres were committed without religious or cultural reasons and they wanted everyone to know it

as a method to prevent resistance

Until now the Mongols never allowed their enemy to raise an army

using psychological warfare and picking off smaller parties

Also, they were never at one spot all at once

While a city was besieged another army was patrolling and pillaging the countryside

The son of Mohammed, Jalal ad-Din

Managed to recruit an army of Turkic and Afghan warriors numbering 60,000 which was not expected by the Mongols

As soon as news of this reached Genghis Khan, he sent an army of 30,000 men led by a tartar nobleman Qutugu

Jalal ad-Din moved to Parwan 50 miles north of Kabul Afghanistan where he awaited the inevitable battle

Qutugu decided not to wait for the orders of their Khan and engaged the enemy

At Parwan, the two sides met in a narrow valley

unsuitable for cavalry maneuvers

Jalal ad-Din took the initiative

Ordering his right wing of Turks to dismount and engage in a skirmish

pouring arrows onto the Mongols

His archers were winning the skirmish

as the dismounted archers were more accurate and deadly than the mounted ones

Both sides held their ground until the following morning

when the Afghan warriors noticed the Mongol army was being reinforced

This alarmed the commanders but Jalal ad-Din calmed his officers and instead of retreating

Ordered his entire line to dismount and engage

In reality the Mongols had put straw men on the usual three to four spare horses they had with them as a bluff

Seeing the entire line dismounted Qutugu ordered his horsemen to attack the Afghan left-wing with a barrage of arrows

But they were repelled by the unwavering archers

Then the Mongols charged along the entire front

Hard pressed by the rough narrow terrain

Which rendered the usual tricks of feigned retreat and encirclement impossible

the famous Mongol discipline

Disintegrated for the very first time against a foreign foe

as the riders faced the arrows of the numerically superior force head-on

At this point, the Mongols began to retreat and Jalal ad-Din saw his chance

He ordered his men to remount and counter-attack

Half of the Mongol army was obliterated while the other half escaped

This defeat broke the illusion of Mongol invincibility

and the cities who had peacefully surrendered rose up in arms

Which forced Genghis and his son Tolui to spend extra month subduing the revolts.

But the army of the Khwarazmian Prince started to fall into discord immediately after the victory

Left with only 20,000 men to Jalal ad-Din headed for the Indus River to find refuge in India

The Great Khan immediately made his way to Parwan

After a two-day race across Punjab Genghis Khan caught up to Jalal ad-Din at the Indus River

Just before the prince was able to cross

The mongols rested for the rest of the day and at dawn charged the enemy

Pressed up against the river while their flank was covered by the mountain

The initial charge was repelled and Jalal ad-Din ordered a counter-attack, which nearly broke the Mongol army

Genghis then sent his reserve of 10,000 around the mountain to flank Jalal Aldean's army

With his forces attacked from two directions and collapsing into chaos. Jalal Aldean decided to escape

Following the victory, Genghis sent one of his commanders along with 20,000 men to chase down the prince

But the prince was nowhere to be found

Regardless most of the Khwarazmian territory was annexed

and it's Shah died on an island in the Caspian Sea

as for its people, it is said that the Mongols reduced the population of this prosperous region to

200,000 from the initial 2,000,000

The Mongol invasion of Asia was just starting

After Mongol general Subutai and Jebe and their

20,000 Warriors failed to catch up to the Khwarazmian Shah

they spent the winter of 1220 in Iran and Azerbaijan

raiding and looting while preventing the Western Khwarazmian forces from assisting Jalal ad-Din to the east

Here they conceived the idea of conducting the most audacious reconnaissance in force in history

in 1221 the army first entered the kingdom of Georgia where they pillaged the countryside for supplies

The King George IV seeing his lands ravaged by the invaders

Assembled an army which included many knights who had pledged to join The Fifth Crusade

in the ensuing battle at Sagimi Subutai feigned a retreat

which lured the slower heavily armored cavalry away from their infantry

before he encircled and massacred them.

The Mongols then returns to Azerbaijan and Iran and burned and pillaged a few more cities in

A few months, Georgia was invaded by Subutai yet again

George IV attempted to stop the invaders near Tbilisi, but his army was ambushed yet again

These battles weakened Georgia and allowed the Mongols to pass through the Caucasus Mountains

Subutai pushed his forces through the mountains during the winter.

His troops took heavy casualties and were exhausted

when they descended from the mountains

Their army was met by a coalition of the local Lezgins, Alans, Kipchaks, and Volga Bulgarians

The enemy army had more than 50,000 troops

At first the Mongols charged, but were repelled

The coalition decided to hold their ground and wait for the Mongols to die of starvation

Low on supplies and unable to outmaneuver his opponent

Subutai secretly sent bribes to the Kipchaks

who made up most of the force appealing to them as fellow nomads

in the middle of the following night, the Kipchaks left and headed home

Subutai immediately charged the remaining troops and defeated them

However, he didn't stop there and ordered his horsemen to chase after the Kipchaks

who were slowed by the baggage train of treasures they had received

The Mongol slaughtered them as well and then raised the wealthy city of Astrakhan on the Volga River

Finding themselves on familiar flat terrain with plenty of villages to pillage Jebe and Subutai now parted their forces

Jebe travelled towards the Dnieper River while Subutai moved south to the Crimea

Subutai and the local Venetian Trading Post entered an alliance and the Mongol general

promised to destroy any non Venetian colonies in the area

Indeed he attacked and razed so dire

and in return, the Venetians provided the Mongols with information about the kingdoms of Europe

Meanwhile, the surviving Kipchaks fled and informed the Rus princes of their plight

The area of modern Russia and Ukraine was controlled by a number of Rus' principalities

They united into one alliance to defend against the Mongols

With the addition of the Kipchak forces this alliance had a combined force of around 60,000 troops mainly cavalry

The Mongols united into one army also and then sent

ambassadors to the Rus princess

Telling them to stay out of the conflict

as it didn't involve them and the Mongol quarrel was with the Kipchaks alone

But the princess broke the golden rule, they killed the envoys

The allied army caught up to the Mongols on the banks of the Dnieper River and tried to encircle them

Subutai sacrificed a rearguard of a thousand men who held the enemy

while the rest of the army crossed the river and retreated east

the Russians now discussed how to follow up this minor victory

Some urge to pursue the Mongols while others argued to hold the frontier

But it was the vengeful Kipchaks who tipped the scales and the princes decided to chase the Mongols

Each Prince marched separately from the others miles apart

For nine days, the Mongols retreated just ahead of their pursuers

They used hit-and-run tactics while leaving behind loot prisoners and livestock

giving the Russians a sense that they were winning

However, this was a trap.

By the end of the ninth day, the Kipchak vanguard was way ahead of the rest of the army and smashed against the Mongols

Subutai ordered a retreat

Crossing the small Kalka River with the Kipchak hot on their tail

and the Russian princes lagging behind even more

With all the pieces in place,

Subutai sent his heavy lancers charging against the unprepared Kipchaks from the front

While his horse archers attached the Rus with arrows to further slow their advance

Undercover of arrows the heavy Lancers kept plowing with ever-growing momentum

against the unorganized Rus

who were charging at them one prince at a time?

Every Rus who was not slain during the initial impact was funneled by the arrow fire into a narrow

Corridor, which forced them to smash against the forces behind them creating a domino effect

The battlefield became the most chaotic at the river itself

The only army with the resemblance of a formation was that of Mstislav of Kiev who had previously advised caution

He rallied his 10,000 and many of those who were retreating to meet the charging Mongols

Baggage trains were arranged into a fortified circle on high ground to become a beacon for the fleeing soldiers

the Mongols soon surrounded this position

Here Mstislav held out for three terrible days

while being showered with whistling arrows and bombarded with smoke bombs

The defenders were left with no water and had to accept the Mongol offer of a peaceful surrender

But as soon as they left the protection of their camp, they were attacked

the Allies were surrounded on all sides

except for a small gap

Intentionally left open giving hope to many who took this chance to escape

Subutai laid this trap as he preferred to have those men be killed in smaller groups by the

faster horse archers who picked them off one by one

Only 1 in 10 warriors in the allied army managed to avoid death or capture

as for Mstislav of Kiev and the Rus Nobles they were tied up and placed beneath a wooden platform on which

The Mongol generals feasted while the Russians were crushed beneath them

Subutai then passed through the other side for the Caspian Sea

defeating even more Kipchaks and Volga Bulgars on the way back to Mongolia

While the Mongols didn't conquer new lands on this grand expedition.

They gained knowledge about the landscape the people and their armies

Upon returning from the great raid Subutai wasted no time resting as he was assigned a new mission

punishing the vassal kingdom of Xi Xia for not contributing to the Mongol campaigns

Genghis Khan never tolerated betrayal and so he mustered a colossal force

only this time the Mongols knew the territory and the art of the siege the

Kingdom quickly fell and the emperor was murdered

However, before the invasion began Genghis fell from his horse and injured his shoulder

He quickly developed a high fever and was advised to go back to Mongolia and rest,

but the Great Khan pushed forward

Life is full of irony and the Xi Xia would be the very first and the very last people conquered by Genghis

On August 18th, 1227 at the age of 66 Genghis Khan passed away

Genghis' empire endured after his death through a series of laws

He developed and the capable children he had raised

He had tried multiple times to deal with the looming question of succession

before the campaign in Khwarazm

He gathered his four sons in a tent and prepared to break another Mongol tradition

According to which when a father died,

his domain was inherited by the youngest son while the herd was divided between the rest

Genghis Khan, however, urged his sons to maintain the unity of the Empire

They helped him build and asked Jochi to take the floor and speak his mind

Before he could say a word

Chagatai who rumors claimed was the real firstborn to Genghis

Insulted him saying that he was not one of them and that he would never follow him as Great Khan

Genghis decided the best way to keep the Empire intact was to give each son lands where they could settle and rule

as long as they respected the Great Khan

The third son Ögedei would be the one to ascend to the throne

Jochi was promised Persia and Europe, Chagatai was given Central Asia

Ögedei would get China while the youngest Tolui would take care of Mongolia and

So this family dispute over the Empire of one man led to lines being drawn all over the known world

Creating a division which put the Mongol legacy in danger

Genghis Khan passed away in 1229 and his son Ögedei became the Great Khan

he was a talented administrator who transformed the Mongols from a tributary to a tax based Empire and

commissioned the construction of the capitol Karakorum

he developed the Yasa law, created a postal service, introduced paper currency, and

created civil service exams open to everyone while implementing a culture of religious tolerance

This colossal shift from nomadic to bureaucratic governance led to a period of prosperity

Called the Pax Mongolica

In the next few decades Mongol conquests had three main directions

central and southern China

Central Asia Iran the Caucasus and the Middle East and

modern-day, Russia and Eastern Europe

As these three were often detached theatres. Each of the next three videos will focus on one direction

starting with the invasion of Europe

In 1235 the Mongol Kurultai decided to

send a big army to conquer Europe

130,000 commanded by the son of Jochi, Batu headed to the region

By 1237 Volga Bulgaria was conquered

Crimea and the lands of the Kipchaks, Alans, and others were next and by the end of summer of that year

All the lands to the east of the Don River belonged to the Mongols

In November Batu Khan sent his envoys to the court of Prince Yuri II of Vladimir-Suzdal and

Demanded his allegiance

it is not clear what happened during this embassy

but in February of 1238, the capital of the princedom Vladimir was razed by the Mongols

the chronology of events are open to debate, but we know that in 1238 and 1239

many Rus princedoms were destroyed and their capitals were razed

the Mongols moved fast, dividing and conquering along the way not allowing the Rus to unite their forces

The biggest open battle of this campaign happened near the River Sit and the Mongols prevailed

The only major cities to escape destruction were Novgorod and Pskov. as they accepted Mongol Authority

By the end of 1239 the Mongols returned beyond the Don.

Batu had to send some of his forces south to help in the conquest of the Caucasus

while the forces of Möngke were recalled to Mongolia

so the Mongols spent the spring of 1240 recruiting troops from local tribes

In the summer of the same year the Mongols restarted their offensive

The biggest most prosperous Rus city, Kiev was besieged in September

The Envoy sent in were killed and the city fell after a three-month long siege

All 50,000 locals were massacred

With the Rus' principalities belonging to the Golden Horde, the Mongols now looked towards Central Europe.

The Venetians delivered on their deal with Subutaï

and provided him with valuable information on the kingdom's they were facing

Which allowed him to plan a devastating campaign against all of Europe.

In December of 1240 the Mongols were ready to pounce on Poland and Hungary

Batu sent several messengers to the high duke of Poland Henry II and the king of Hungary Bella IV.

Both of these envoys were killed.

The Mongols invaded Central Europe in three columns

The first group was tasked with distracting Poland. Baidar, Kadan, and Orda with two Tumens.

the second mainly Batu and Subutaï with three to four Tumens,

crossed the Carpathian Mountains through the Verecke pass and a third followed the Danube River

In late 1240 the first force advanced against Poland with a remarkable speed of 50 miles per day

Sacking Lublin and Sandomierz on the 13th of February 1241

They then split their force

One Tumen under Orda moved to central Poland and another and Baidar and Kadan swept south

Defeating a small contingent at the Battle of Tuskov in late February 1240

the capital of Poland Krakow was abandoned looted and then burned

Then the Mongols advanced on the central city of Silesia Wroclaw

Which was left undefended by the Polish nobility in the hope of buying more time to assemble an army

While setting up for a siege of the city Baidar and Kadan received reports that a great host was marching towards them

So they turned from Wroclaw to intercept the Polish army before it got a chance to unite with the big Bohemian army

The two armies met on April 9th at the field of Legnica

the Polish army led by Henry II had around 7 to 8 thousand troops most of them from Poland

with contingents from Moravia, Bavaria, and the Teutonic order

while the Mongol force under Baidar was slightly less numerous

with around 6,000 troops

the Polish force consisted of heavy cavalry, infantry, and peasants

while the Mongol force was made up of the usual horse archers and heavy Lancers

The battlefield was a plain surrounded by small rivers

the center of the Christian army consisted of three lines of cavalry with

Infantry on the flanks and a smaller reserve under Henry in the rear

Baidar divided his troops into four divisions each with a mix of horse archers and lancers

The first line of the Polish cavalry charged against the Mongol vanguard,

but was pushed back after some initial success

Henry then sent the rest of his cavalry forward and this time under the pressure the Mongols began to withdraw

the allied cavalry gave chase

separating themselves from the infantry

a signal was given by the Mongol commander to set fire to the plants growing on the field

This created a dense smoke and smell unbearable to the Christian army,

and it's infantry on the flanks failed to see the battlefield clearly

In that moment the Mongol horse archers began firing at the confused riders disorientated by the smoke

The cavalry was annihilated and that left only the unarmored peasants on the flanks completely exposed

With no support, the Polish wings were massacred. Henry attempted to flee from the battlefield

But was caught killed and beheaded

His severed head was displayed on a pike in front of the town of Legnica striking fear into the populace

While Baidar was busy slaughtering the Polish nobility at Legnica

600km to the south king Bella of Hungary was lining up his armies for battle

after Six days of chasing the main Mongol force under Batu and Subutai in a campaign eerily similar to Kalka

He ordered a fortified camp of wagons to be constructed near the Sajo River refusing to take the bait

While the terrain was plain the river had flooded and could only be crossed vara narrow 200 metre long bridge

The Mongols had around 15 to 20,000 troops and were outnumbered by the

40,000 strong Hungarian army of which about 15,000 were cavalry

The Hungarians had contingents from Croatia Austria and the order of the Templars

After hearing that the Mongols were crossing the bridge under the veil of darkness

the Hungarians moved marching 7km in the dark

and descending upon the bridge at midnight

The Mongol Vanguard was destroyed as their horse archers were exposed during the night

and unprepared for the enemy crossbowmen

The Hungarian army left a small force to guard the bridge

as they returned to camp to celebrate

thinking that the invaders had been repulsed

on the morning of April 11th, 1241

Subutai sent a force north to cross through a shallow spot in the river

while he was making his way south for a makeshift bridge

Meanwhile, Batu ordered seven heavy catapults to bombard and distract the crossbow man guarding the bridge

After stalling for a while, the northern troops descended upon the bridge guards from the rear and routed them

At the Hungarian camp a great argument broke out as the king was blamed for not preparing his force for another engagement

This gave time for the Mongols to cross the river

Still the Hungarians were once again gaining the upper hand as Batu failed to organize his troops in a proper formation

As the Mongols were being pushed against the river with nowhere to run

Subutai miraculously joined the engagement and attacks the Hungarians from the rear

Subutai then rallied the troops who had seen heavy casualties

and ordered them to surround the Hungarian camp

to which Bella had retreated

Their mangonels bombarded the camp with stones while archers shot flaming arrows

The Hungarians attempted to break the encirclement on three occasions but were repelled each time

Once again, the Mongols left a gap giving Hungarian troops hope of escape

Most of the defenders fled for their lives only to be chased down by more archers lying in ambush

This trick meant that the Mongols would be killing the enemy while they were running

Instead of fighting for their lives which allowed them to avoid extra casualties

The Hungarian army ceased to exist

Bella made it to safety. But the entire population of Hungary was left at the mercy of Subutai's troops

In the span of two days the strongest kingdoms of Central Europe were defeated

With free reign over Hungary the Mongols did what they did best ravaged the countryside

Starting with peast more than half of the settlements in the plains of Hungary were destroyed

It is said that Hungary lost around 500,000 of its population

the Mongols then invaded Serbia and Bulgaria

these lands were ravaged and Bulgaria was forced to become a tributary to the Mongols for several decades

as the situation was only getting direr the Pope called for an anti Mongol crusade

Meanwhile, the Holy Roman Emperor began to levy his troops and organize a defense

The Mongols were planning to reach the Atlantic Ocean and there was no army strong enough to stand in their way

However, this was not to occur

the Great Khan Ögedei passed away in December of 1241

and Batu along with most of his troops had to return to Mongolia

to participate in the elections of the next leader of the Mongol Empire

Europe was saved

After his defeat at the Battle of the Indus River in the spring of 1221 the Prince of the Khwarezmian Empire

Jalal ad-Din continued retreating deeper into Punjab

Soon the Mongol troops stopped chasing him

Jalal ad-Din spent the next three years gathering his forces in the area and even took over most of Punjab

He attempted to get the Mamluk Sultan of Delhi to ally against the Mongols

But the latter wasn't eager to draw the ire of Genghis

Instead in 1224, the sultan attacked Jalal ad-Din

The prince was forced to leave Lahore.

He raided Gujarat and then returned to Iran in the same year

As his father was long dead Jalal ad-Din claimed the throne of Khwarazm

Iran and the Caucasus had been weakened by Jebe and Subutai a few years before

so he had an easy time consolidating the region

He destroyed the state of the Atabeks of Azerbaijan and moved his capital to Tabriz away from Mongol reach

In the same year, he vassalised the Shirvinshahs and attacked Georgia

In 1226, the Georgians were defeated at the Battle of Garni

Tbilisi was captured after that and both the Christian and Muslim population of the city were massacred

The Mongol sent a small army to Iran in 1227, but Jalal Ad-Din crushed it near Ray

His activity in the area provoked a response

the Sultan of the Seljuks of Rum Kayqubad I,

Ayyubid sultan Al Kamil

and the king of Cilicia Armenia Hethum I

United their forces against him in 1228

and the Khwarezmian forces were soundly defeated near Erevan

This war weakened him

and all over Iran and the Caucasus rebellions against him began

The Great Khan Ögedei used this and sent an army under Chormagan to conquer Iran once again

The Mongols won a battle against the Shah somewhere in central Iran in 1231

Jalal ad-Din retreated all the way to modern Turkey with the Mongols chasing

Finally, Jalal ad-Din was assassinated in Sylvan and the Khwarezmian Empire ceased to exist

The Seljuks Silesia and Georgia became the vassals of the Great Khan

Little of note happened in the region in the next decade as the Mongols were busy with the campaign in Eastern Europe

But when Ögedei passed away in 1241

The Mongol governor of the region Baiju asks the Seljuk Sultan Kaykhusraw II to renew his vassal oath

The latter refused and raided another Mongol vassal, Georgia

Baiju pushed the Seljuks back and moved towards Erzurum

The envoys sent to the city

Were not killed but insulted

Still, Erzurum was taken and its population was massacred

The Mongols then retreated to amass more troops in Georgia and Armenia

Sultan Kaykhusraw II asked his allies to help and received minor assistance from Nicaea

Trapezun the Ayyubids and even recruited some mercenaries from among the Crusaders

the 30,000 strong Mongol army moved into Seljuq territory in 1243

and Kaykhusraw 60,000 met them in June at Köse Dağ near modern-day Sivas

We know very little about the ensuing battle

But the mongols feigned retreat yet again and forced the Seljuk vanguard which had around

20,000 troops to chase them as

Soon as a significant gap formed between the vanguard and the rest of the Sultan's forces the Mongols turned back

surrounded and crushed the soldiers

The Sultan and his advisors retreated and the seljuqs were forced to become Mongol vassals yet again

In Mongolia

Möngke became the Great Khan in 1251 and gave his brothers Kublai and Hulagu

supervisory roles in China and Persia respectively

In 1256 Hulagu entered the Middle East with more than 100,000 warriors

He conquered the remnants of the Khwarazmian Empire

and then moved against the legendary Ḥashashiyan order

These renowned and feared assassins held dozens of fortresses

But a combination of infighting and the fact that by now the Mongols were experts at siege warfare

Inflicted heavy casualties upon them their Grandmaster surrendered and handed all the fortresses to Hulagu

With all of Iran secured Hulagu sent words to the Abbasid caliph, Al-Musta'sim

Demanding his obedience, but the latter refused

on January 11th, 1258 the Mongols approached Baghdad

the biggest and most prosperous city of its time

Al-Musta'sim, finally decided to meet them in battle and sent out a force of 20,000 cavalry to attack the Mongols

These troops defeated the Mongol vanguard, but rather than retreat to the safety of the city walls

they set up camp and enjoyed a feast of celebration

the next morning, they were surrounded by the Mongols on one side and by the river on the other

Those who were not killed in the slaughter drowned

The Mongols built walls around the city to provide safety for the siege engines

as well as to prevent the defenders from breaking out

Al-Musta'sim made attempts to negotiate peace, but that ship had already sailed

By February 10th 1258 the city surrendered under a constant barrage of catapult fire

The sacking continued for seven days and only the Christian population of the city was spared

The grand library of Baghdad was burned to the ground

This destruction put an end to the Islamic Golden Age and moved to the center of power from Baghdad to Cairo

For the first time in Muslim history Islam had no caliph

Hulagu didn't intend to stop as he pushed forwards toward Syria

Aside from the coastal territory belonging to the Crusader States

Most of the Levant was still under the control of the Ayyubids Sultanate

which was weakened by the loss of Egypt to the Mamluks

The Ayyubids offered to pay tribute, but Hulagu was not interested

He was joined by the Georgians Armenians and the troops of the Crusader Prince Bohemond VII

and On January 18th, 1260

Aleppo was besieged and suffered the same fate as Baghdad

This caused massive panic and resulted in the cities of Homs and Damascus

willingly surrendering sparing themselves from destruction

But suddenly grave news was delivered to Hulagu

the Great Khan Möngke died of sickness during the war against the Song Dynasty in China

This sent a ripple through the empire and halted the massive campaigns

The Empire was on the brink of Civil War and Hulagu left the Levant for Mongolia

One or Two Tumen stayed in the region under the command of Kitbuqa

The Mamluks were offered peace, but they knew that Hulagu left with the majority of his troops,

so the Mongol envoys were killed

Kitbuqa tried to form an alliance with the Crusader States. However, that attempt failed

Mamluk sultan Qutuz assembled his army and moved to Palestine

When news of this reached Kitbuqa, he prepared to meet the Mamluks army,

but a rebellion in Damascus slowed him down

Meanwhile, the Mamluks moved north and camped outside of Acre

Mongol spies reported back to Kitbuqa that the enemy army outnumbered his at least two to one

Still the Mongol general left Damascus with an army of some 25,000 men

made up of Mongols Georgians and Armenians

in Early, September 1260. He crossed the Jordan River and entered the valley near the village of Ain Jalut

Where according to legend David slew Goliath

The Mongol cavalry charged the Mamluk Vanguard commanded by Baibars

This group broke under the charge and fled up the valley,

Kitbuqa gave chase

but in reality

The Mongols were falling for their own trick

as Baibar's was luring his enemies in with his retreat

The Mongols pursued the broken vanguard to the valley

where Qutuz awaited with most of his forces

Baibars his troops finally reached the mainline

Despite having vastly superior numbers the Sultan was cautious and stayed in position

Kitbuqa used that and decided to commit all of his troops.

The Mongols were to engage the entire Mamluk army

The Mongol second line was ordered to wheel right

and run the Mamluk front ranks towards Qutuz' left-wing

The entire left flank of the Muslim army started crumbling under the Mongol pressure

the Sultan tried to regain his left side for hours

his troops from the right flank were sent to the left

and eventually, the Mongols were pushed back and the left side was restored

Qutuz sent his reserves to the extreme wings

It was the moment for the final attack

and Qutuz personally led his bodyguards into battle

The Mongol army fought well,

but they were pinned in place by the overwhelming numbers of their foe

When all the Mongol troops were engaged

Qutuz sent his extreme flanks into the attack

The Mongols were close to being surrounded

and when their leader died in the center they started to flee

They lost between five and ten thousand warriors

The Mamluks won at Ain Jalut using their superior numbers

and by mirroring the usual Mongol tactics

Ain Jalut also made the Mamluks into the most significant Muslim power of its time

Internal conflicts over the succession delayed the Mongol response

and while they didn't know it yet

This would be their Zenith

and the beginning of the end of the greatest empire the world had ever seen

The Great Khan Möngke died in 1259 while campaigning against the Song

His youngest brother Ariq was in the capital Karakoram while Kublai and Hulagu were campaigning

Instead of returning home, Kublai decided to finish his fight against the Song

Ariq declared himself the Great Khan with the support of the noble houses

who saw Kublai as too soft because of his Buddhist beliefs

Upon learning this Kublai declared himself Khan and marched against his brother starting a civil war

Meanwhile to the west, the Muslim leader of the Golden Horde Berke wasn't going to forgive the sacking of Baghdad

He used the fact that Hulagu was on his way to China to start raiding the territories of the Ilkhanates

the territory of the house of Chagatai

Separated the two civil wars within the Mongol Empire

But it would be used as a political chip in the conflict.

The Empire was now divided into five parts

The war between Ariq and Kublai is known as the Toluid Civil War

We know very little about this conflict, but it started in 1260 and lasted for four years

During this war, Kublai made the crucial decision to leave South China and focus on the north

while the Song were retaking some of their lost territories with nearly no resistance

Ariq attacks the Western Xia territories that was repelled

Kublai then advanced on Karakoram which was left abandoned and razed it to the ground

At the same time, both Ariq and Kublai attempted to place their candidates on the throne of the Chagatai Khanate

Ariq intercepted Kublai's nominee and assassinated him Chagatai's grandson Alghu was made the Khan

However when Ariq's situation deteriorated Alghu declined to help him in the war and even killed his envoys

Kublai failed to use that to his advantage as he had to pull back his forces to parts of China which were in open rebellion

This allowed Ariq to go to war against Alghu and while he did win this conflict over the Chagatai Khanate

He did so with heavy casualties

As a result, many of his allies deserted him including his own son.

Who stole the seal of the Great Khan and delivered it to Kublai

Left with no supporters or supplies

Ariq traveled to Shangdu alone and personally surrendered himself to his brother

Kublai became the new Great Khan

apart from bringing discord to the Empire

This civil war pushed Kublai towards an even stronger affiliation with the Chinese troops bureaucrats and population

Meanwhile, Hulagu and Berke were fighting along their borders in the Caucasus and Khurasan

Hulagu returned to the area in 1262

In the same year his son, Abaqa moved into the Golden Horde territory via Central Asia who had suffered a defeat

Emboldened Berke's army supported by Ariq counter-attacked but lost decisively somewhere to the east of the Caspian Sea

Hulagu then decided to use the route taken by Subutai and moved into the Horde's territory using the pass of Durban

Initially this campaign looked promising and the enemy retreated under the pressure

Hulagu sent a portion of his force led by his son to pursue the foe

They came upon a deserted but world provisioned camp and decided to rest and feast

This however was a trap and they were surprised by the main force of the Golden Horde

After heavy fighting the Ilkhanate's troops began to retreat over the frozen Terek River

With the ice cracked under the weight of men and horses and many drowned in the freezing water

Hulagu was forced to retreat to the south and Berke regained much of his lost territory

Neither side had enough strength to continue the war

and when Ariq surrendered to Kublai the Golden Horde also accepted his authority

in 1265 Hulagu passed away followed by Berke in 1266

That ended the hostilitiesk

But still the Mongol Empire was broken and the legacy of Genghis was represented by four different states

With the civil wars over Kublai Khan worked tirelessly to transform the Mongol Empire into the Yuan Dynasty

The capital was moved to a city called Khanbaliq or Dadu which would later become Beijing

in 1271 Kublai declared himself Emperor

He and his descendants slowly became more Chinese than Mongol

He built over 20,000 public schools was a patron of the arts

and constantly met with people from all around the world including Marco Polo

the Emperor issued

Incorruptible paper bills backed by silver which were accepted across the entire Mongol Empire

Something unheard of until then

Kublai transformed the vast network of

1,400 postal stations to work as trading outposts as well opening China to the world like never before

this spread ideas

gunpowder other inventions and unfortunately the Black Death

he created a highly efficient centralised government and

Transformed the army

gone were the days of the horde his army now consisted of a small Corps of Mongol warriors

and a massive number of Chinese troops

Kublai decided to take on the Song again, but he knew that he had to adopt new strategies

Song China had no hope of stopping the Mongols in open battle,

but they had some of the best fortresses of their time

The best of those was the one in Xiangyang which had supplies for years and had tall double walls

Kublai knew that in order to fulfill his grandfather's vision of conquering China he had to evolve his army

5,000 Yuan ships were built and crews of

Experienced North Chinese and Korean sailors were recruited

with the purpose of taking the rivers of China and blocking enemy supplies

This new navy came with 70,000 trained marines and was a testament to how adaptable the Mongols were

The siege of Xiangyang went on for six years as it held the most valuable

position in China and its defenders knew that if the city fell the whole of China would follow

Multiple attempts were made by the Song to break out from all reinforce the city, but they didn't stand a chance

What finally broke the fortress was a new design of counterweights trebuchet that was able to fire

300kg stones from a distance of 500 meters

Xiangyang, which had held out for years fell in days in 1273

Kublai's forces quickly swept through southern China and although their position was now hopeless the Song court raised

Eight-year-old, Zhao Bing to the throne

The Song sent emissaries to negotiate a peace, but they were rejected

They ran from city to city seeking salvation and eventually boarded a huge fleet

Kublai moved his navy to attack the Song vessels and the decisive battle of this campaign

hmppened at Yamen on March 19th,1279

The remainder of the Song fleet consisted of 1,000 ships,

but most of them were transports with a vast number of civilians on board

Meanwhile, Kublai's fleet had around 300 warships manned by 20,000 experienced marines

And he also had the advantage of holding the nearby lands and supplies

some within the Song forces suggested that the Navy should first claim the mouth of the bay

to secure their line of retreat to the west

Their commander Zhang Shijie turned down this suggestion

in order to prevent his soldiers from fleeing the battle

He ordered the burning of all palaces houses and forts on land for the same reason

Next the entire fleet of 1,000 ships was to be chained together forming one

Horizontal line with the Emperor's ship at the center

This was done to prevent desertion and to show that it was the last stand

The battle started with the Yuan forces filling small boats with combustible materials

and sending them towards the Song formation

The Song anticipated this move and already painted their ships with mud

They were also equipped with large poles that used to prevent the fire ships from coming too close

The Yuan then blockaded the bay from either side

and forced the Chinese to eat dry food and drink river water for a few days

This still was not enough to break their spirits

Seeing as their enemy wouldn't budge the Yuan divided their force into four units

and began attacking from all sides on separate smaller fronts

As the Song ships were chained together. They were sitting ducks unable to change formation and work together

The Yuan hit them from the north when the tide was low and from the south when it was high

Not allowing them a moment to rest

Still the Chinese fought bravely and inflicted heavy casualties on the Mongols with their arrows

Suddenly these attacks stopped

Festive music and laughter started coming from Kublai's ships

Thinking that the Yuan were now distracted the Song warriors decided to rest

However, this music was a signal for a general attack

The whole Yuan Navy was sent into the center under the cover of arrow fire

All the Song soldiers could do from the flanks was watch as their comrades were being slaughtered by the thousands including civilians

Seeing that all hope was lost. One of the Song emperor's close advisors grabbed him and jumped into the water committing suicide

Zhao Bing would be the last Song emperor

China was once again unified under the Yuan the first foreign dynasty to do so

Although the Mongol realm was now shattered. The story of Genghis descendants was far from over

We would like to express our gratitude to our patreon supporters and channel members who make the creation of our videos possible

Now you can also support us by buying our merchandise via the link in the description

This is the kings and Generals channel and we will catch you on the next one

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
empire /ˈɛmpaɪər/ B1	noun - a group of countries or regions ruled by a single leader or government
steppe /stɛp/ B2	noun - a vast grassland in Europe and Asia
khan /kɑːn/ B1	noun - a title for a ruler in the Mongol Empire
tribes /traɪbz/ A2	noun - a social division in a traditional society consisting of families or communities
confederacy /kənˈfɛdərəsi/ C1	noun - a union of people or groups for a common purpose
nomadic /noʊˈmædɪk/ B2	adjective - moving from place to place, especially in search of grass for livestock
rivalry /ˈraɪvəlri/ B2	noun - competition between two or more parties
exiled /ˈɛksaɪld/ B1	verb - to send someone away from their country or home
enslaved /ɛnˈsleɪvd/ B1	verb - to make someone a slave
aristocracy /ˌærɪˈstɒkrəsi/ C1	noun - a class of people who have a high social rank and special privileges
popularity /ˌpɒpjʊˈlærɪti/ B1	noun - the state of being liked, admired, or supported by many people
loyalty /ˈlɔɪəlti/ B1	noun - the quality of being loyal
spoils /spɔɪlz/ B2	noun - goods or benefits taken from an enemy in war
hospitality /ˌhɒspɪˈtælɪti/ B2	noun - the friendly and generous reception of guests
revolutionized /ˌrɛvəˈluːʃənaɪzd/ C1	verb - to completely change something
decimal /ˈdɛsɪməl/ B2	adjective - based on the number ten
Kurultai /ˈkʊrʊltaɪ/ C1	noun - a political and military council of the Mongol Empire
siege /siːdʒ/ B2	noun - a military operation to surround and attack a fortified place
guerilla /ɡəˈrɪlə/ B2	noun - a member of a small independent group fighting a larger army
massacre /ˈmæsəkər/ B2	noun - the killing of a large number of people