The Mongol Empire Fragments

PAX MONGOLICA : THE STEPPE EMPIRE OF THE MONGOLS HIST 1301 | History The Mongol Empire Fragments Möngke Khan's ascent in 1251 did, in fact, portend a bright future for the Mongol Empire, conjuring up images of a united Eurasia ruled by the Mongols. However, the aspiration of establishing a long-lasting dominion over the broad reaches of the world's knowledge proved to be short-lived, as the descendants of Chinggis Khan started to harbour animosity and an unquenchable desire for power. Although Möngke Khan's reign was first characterised by expansion and consolidation, the Mongol realm's internal conflict eventually brought Möngke Khan to an end. The centrifugal forces ripping at the integrity of the Mongol realm were mirrored in the division of the empire into four primary khanates: the Yuan dynasty in China, the Khanate of the Golden Horde, the Il-Khanate, and the Chagatai Khanate. Although all four khanates officially acknowledged the Great Khan's sovereignty, in reality, a Chinggis Khan descendant controlled each one separately, creating a feeling of familial rivalry and competition for dominance. The leaders of these khanates were not immune to the attraction of religious conversion as a way to justify their authority and strengthen their base of power, even if they had a common ancestor and cultural history. Islam was a faith that had slowly crept into the territories of the Mongol emperors of the Il-Khanate, the Golden Horde, and the Chagatai Khanate. These monarchs frequently followed Islam alongside their citizens. However, as geopolitical aspirations and personal grudges continued to fuel strife and carnage across the Eurasian steppes, the acceptance of Islam did nothing to heal the growing rift between the many khanates. As opposing khans fought for power and control over territory, the Mongol Empire was plagued by the threat of internal strife. The successors of Chagatai Khan engaged in constant power battles that ultimately caused the Chagatai Khanate, located in Central Asia, to break up into rival groups by the middle of the fourteenth century. Similar to this, the Golden Horde —which had its beginnings in the western parts of the empire—fell into disorder and anarchy as competing Mongol rulers fought for possession of rich trade routes and arable territory. Meanwhile, the Islamization of the Il-Khanate, which included sections of the Middle East and Persia, did little to end the internal conflict that afflicted the state. The Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt and the newly formed Ottoman Empire were two of the many rivals and alliances that the Mongol emperors of the Il-Khanate encountered. The Il-Khans found it difficult to establish their dominance over the divided regions they attempted to rule, despite their intermittent attempts to increase their domain, such as the disastrous operations against the Delhi Sultanate in India. Amid the disorder and instability that enveloped a large portion of the Mongol Empire, the Yuan dynasty in China stood out as a symbol of strength and stability. The Yuan dynasty, which Kublai Khan established in the late thirteenth century, gave some semblance of order to China's war-torn regions and ushered in a period of both cultural and economic success. However, as the Red Turban Rebellion and other uprisings that shook the dynasty in the fourteenth century attest, internal strife and regional autonomy posed serious challenges to Yuan authority even in the empire's core. The ideal of a single Mongol Empire encompassing all of Eurasia ultimately proved unattainable, crushed by the aspirations and rivalries of Chinggis Khan's lineage. The Mongols left a lasting legacy, but their empire—once the envy of the world—was relegated to oblivion, a dim recollection of a time when conquest and triumph were commonplace.