Strongest possible recommendation: Dan Carlin's Hardcore History episode - "Wrath of the Khans"<p><a href="http://www.dancarlin.com/product/hardcore-history-wrath-of-the-khans-series/" rel="nofollow">http://www.dancarlin.com/product/hardcore-history-wrath-of-t...</a><p>It's sobering to think how utterly helpless Europe was against the Mongols. It really was dumb luck that prevented the Khans from driving all the way to the Western shores of Spain.
Contrast the Mongolians celebration of their imperial glory with western guilt about imperialism. Why is one OK and the other not? Is it just a matter of timescale or perspective? It makes me think about how the Georgians celebrate Stalin, whilst everyone else seems to consider him a butcher.
The photo in this article inspired me to do a google image search on mongolia. Never did I realise how much beauty is over there. For some reason I just gathered Mongolia consisted of either just desert, snow, or desert and snow. Just beautiful, perhaps one day I will make it there.
This wikipedia entry on Mongolian Military Tactics is well worth a read: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mongol_military_tactics_and_organization" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mongol_military_tactics_and_or...</a>
I don't like the reverential tone here; Ghengis Khan is one of the top contenders for the title of Worst Human Being in History, if the criteria are body count and suffering inflicted. We have a tendency to worship power and dominance even today, but there is no virtue in power for the sake of power.
If you are interested in this check out the Expedition Unknown episode on Genghis Khan's tomb. They basically know where it is but aren't allowed to uncover it.
I'm completely amazed (and a bit disgusted) at how they don't want the tomb to be found "out of respect".<p>The guy was responsible for the eradication of many civilizations, and a ridiculous amount of plundering, death, and destruction. How can you act "out of respect" to that?