The benefits of the Mongols and their empire outweighs the harms.

Sorry for the delay I do not forfeit debates so here are my arguments: Religious Tolerance: Before the Mongols, there was little to no cross pollination of religion. There was Islam in the Middle East, Hinduism in India, Confucianism in China, and Christianity in Europe. Once the Mongols gained power, however, they were not so good at administration, and therefore moved people who were useful to them around their empire, creating a cross pollination of these religions. This lowered religious tensions and allow religions to spread across Eurasia like never before. So for the first time in history, Christians, Muslims, and Confucian scholars were all working together in the same city. Best example of the is capital city Karakorum. Feminism: The Mongol empire conquered two great empires: the Abbasid Empire and the Song Dynasty. Under both, women rights were the terrible. The Song's Neo-confucianism placed so many restrictions on women and, even though Islam began as a more egalitarian religion, the Abbasids skewed it so that women had no to little rights. When the Mongols conquered these empires, women's rights increased dramatically because the Mongol nomadic life style created a more egalitarian culture. Best examples of this is Genghis Khan's wife and the fact that Mongol women fought and were promoted in the Mongol army. All my opponent's examples of famous women lived a hundreds of years before the Mongol Empire existed. Silk Road Trade: Yes, the Silk Road existed for centuries before the Mongols, but the Silk Road fell into disused because of the high risked involved with it. Furthermore, the Song Dynasty did not value trade whatsoever, under Neo-confucianism, the merchants was at the bottom of the male social ladder. Little contact happened between the Song and Abbasids. The Mongols reinvigorated this trade, and ideas, products, people, and religions traveled along the Silk Road. One of the best examples of this is Marco Polo who traveled throughout the Empire using the trade routes that the Mongols established and reinvigorated. This newfound trade created a cross pollination of culture and lives improved dramatically due to this trade. Basically Mongols created a crazy Eurasian NAFTA. Renaissance: The man, Mehmet II, responsible for the fall of Constantinople was a descendent of the Mongols. Also the Mongols established the trade routes that Venice and Florence used to gain enough money for a renaissance. The Mongols destroyed the feudal system in Europe, which was needed for trading to happen on an international trade to happen and ideas traveled using the trade routes of the Mongols that created the conditions for a renaissance. Some historians would actually argue that the Renaissance, at least in Italy, began during the Mongols reign due to this trade. And if my opponent does on buy this, the Mongols started the process that lead to the renaissance. Genghis Khan's Massacres: It is war, in order to create the Empire, Genghis Khan had to kill, rape, pillage etc. However, he only leveled a few cities, and if the city surrendered, he would not pillage and burn the city. Furthermore, what he did was nothing new, all the Empires before the Mongols did the same thing. The reason why his numbers are so large is because he conquered more territory than any other general did before him. Mao Zedong and Hitler: My opponent's argument is seriously flawed and I lumped these together because my argument for both is basically the same. The persons responsible for the massacres that my opponent brought up are Mao Zedong and Hitler, not Genghis Khan. If Hitler did not exist, but Genghis Khan existed, the Holocaust would never had happen, nor WWII for that matter. But if the Genghis Khan did not exist and Hitler did exist the Holocaust would have happened. Same argument for Mao Zedong. Conclusion: The Mongol Empire created a new world where trade increased, women's rights increased, and generally livability increased throughout Eurasia. And even though this empire resulted from deaths, the benefits of the Mongolian empire far outweighs it. Thank You