Destruction under the Mongol Empire Destruction under the Mongol Empire quantifies death toll and infrastructure damage ensuing from the 13th century Mongol conquests . Historian Wei - chieh Tsai has written , " The Mongol conquests shook Eurasia and were of significant influence in world history . " Historians regard the Mongol raids and invasions as some of the deadliest conflicts in human history up through that period . Brian Landers has offered that , " One empire in particular exceeded any that had gone before , and crossed from Asia into Europe in an orgy of violence and destruction . The Mongols brought terror to Europe on a scale not seen again until the twentieth century . " Diana Lary contends that the Mongol invasions induced population displacement " on a scale never seen before , " particularly in Central Asia and eastern Europe . She adds , " the impending arrival of the Mongol hordes spread terror and panic . " Background . The Mongol style of warfare was an outgrowth of their nomadic way of life , coupled with experience gained in fighting tribes such as the Naimans , Kerait s , and Uyghurs . Their strategies were swift and short attacks to plunder ( they supported their armies and shared food with all by law , Zasag / Yassa ) and disappear quickly . There was long - standing enmity between Mongol tribes and China because Mongol nomads wanted land to graze while the Chinese feudal lords wanted to rule and tax them heavily , imposing forced manual labour upon their nomadic way of life . Living on the Central Asian steppes was complicated by seasonal cold temperatures such as zud that resulted in large number of livestock being lost during the winter , which made subsistence difficult , while nomads were not allowed emergency shelter in feudal lord - controlled lands . The nomads on the steppes did not practice farming and as a result they were highly dependent on seasonal and weather changes . Winter was extremely cold in northern Mongolia with cold winds and blizzards blowing in from Siberia through the steppes ( that can ' t stop the wind because of the flat surface ) . For instance , the average winter temperature in Mongolia can be −30 °C ( −22 °F ) , which usually freezes the soil . The southern area of Gobi is basically uninhabitable for long durations because it is an extremely inhospitable desert . The Chinese sought to defuse the Mongol threat by fomenting inter - tribal strife amongst the various Mongol factions who were known to habitually feud amongst themselves due to numerous reasons such as robberies , misunderstanding and vendetta . The Mongols viewed China as rich who did not share food with anyone as the Zasag / Yassa enjoins while enjoining order in the feeding of captives in a manner that can be easily exploited ; the Chinese of the administrations and rulers viewed Mongols as non - Chinese not yet under their taxpaying peasant system , there to gradually disappear and be absorbed into the Empire . Strategy . Genghis Khan , his generals and successors preferred to offer their enemies the chance to surrender without resistance in order to avoid war , to become vassals by sending tribute , accepting Mongol residents , and / or contributing troops . The Khan s guaranteed protection only if the populace submitted to Mongol rule and was obedient to it . Sources record massive destruction , terror and death if there was resistance . David Nicole notes in " The Mongol Warlords : " " " terror and mass extermination of anyone opposing them was a well - tested Mongol tactic . " " The alternative to submission was total war : if refused , Mongol leaders ordered the collective slaughter of populations and destruction of property , as the source of oppressive evil . Such was the fate of resisting communities during the invasions of the Khwarezmid Empire . Terror . The success of Mongol tactics hinged on fear : to induce capitulation amongst enemy populations . From the perspective of modern theories of international relations , Quester suggests that , " Perhaps terrorism produced a fear that immobilized and incapacitated the forces that would have resisted . " Although perceived as being bloodthirsty , the Mongol strategy of " surrender or die " still recognized that conquest by capitulation was more desirable than being forced to continually expend soldiers , food , and money to fight every army and sack every town and city along the campaign ' s route , it might appear in the missing portions of the Yassa / Zasag and be in accordance probably with Chinese norms and codes ( dispensed optionally in cases of popular uprising and rebellion against the Celestial Empire , but recommendable by Confucius Minister of Crime or Interior apparently of the duchy of Fu ) . The Mongols frequently faced states with armies and resources much greater than their own . In the beginning , Temujine started off with a band of youths and some women , then he had troops of 20 , 000 initially facing the city states and interests of the Kin domain which mainly included China , with then probably a 2 - million strong army each city being populated with hundreds of thousands of inhabitants - and simply invading everyone was out of the question , nor was it the policy of a ruler who wished to be for all humanity via their ideals originally expressed since the days of the Huns ( simply meaning " People " through " hunnu " plural of " humun " , translated into Latin as " Alemanni " , " All People " , mankind being the term then in use , but in the Hun version meaning both , as in an Oriental dialect where " person " , " people " and " good " are all under the same syllable ) . Furthermore , a supine nation was more desirable than a sacked one , in fact , however , the Mongols spared scholars and the skilled and academics , ( including doctors by the time of Khubilai Khan ) and brought them for the spiritual and educational benefit of all people under their guidance through their leader or master to which the name Khan basically corresponds , in what they described as the Great United State of the Mongols ( this name meaning the followers of Wang Mang / short for the Mengshu Shiwei - Single Soldiers´Committees committed apparently to defend the people and the needs of the people , not too theistic and to some extent apparently including women ) While both provided the same territorial gains , the former would continue to provide taxes and conscripts long after the conflict ended , whereas the latter would be depopulated and economically worthless once available goods and slaves were seized , their word which is translated as " slave " conveys initially the idea of a wounded military prisoner pardoned by reason of his wounds , given the popular disposition of the vanquishing troops and more of the Generals and Khans - Masters , close to Lord in the less popular interpretation - ( cf . the word for martial piety , and clemency in an Oriental dialect ) and the execution commuted to tent work and functions , this custom in another allied culture being generally only in reference to females , whereas this included males . Thus whenever possible , by using the " promise " of wholesale execution for resistance to the primary and correct state for all humanity ( as thus definable in some later interpretations ) which was the basic idea behind Hunnu and Wang Mang , as well as the " deed " ( reference probably to Oriental legal custom of the supreme consummation , the most high , sublime , celestial enactment , both correct , in other words the supreme execution of the enemies of the people as ruled according to their needs outside their Great United State of the Mongols - Followers of Wang Mang , the blind peasant emperor , or short abbreviation for members of the Single Soldiers Committees ) , Mongol forces made efficient conquests , in turn allowing them to attack multiple targets and redirect soldiers and matériel where most needed . The reputation of guaranteed wholesale enactment ( mass execution following upon resistance , with exception under the Yassa / Zasag of minor infants , as corresponding to the definition under British Law ) on those who fought them , was also the primary reason why the Mongols could hold vast territories long after their main force had moved on , however they did not touch who submitted , apart from apparently popularly endorsed executions , ( " of the proud and arrogant " , the apparent popular rural Banquet ritual ) but sought the re - education of some of the oppressors through hard labour , military porter work etc . Even if the tumens ( tyumens ) were hundreds or thousands of miles away , the conquered people , or their neighbours or erstwhile rulers would usually not dare to interfere with the token Mongol occupying force , for fear of a likely Mongol return . The linchpin of Mongol success was the widespread perception amongst their enemies , that they were facing an insurmountable juggernaut that could only be placated by surrender . The Mongols may have counted on reports of horrifying massacres , i . e . the mass execution as by the decrees ( biliqs ) of the opponents of any nature other than infants as corresponding to British legal definition of any resistance to the Golden ( probably similar to Glorious ) Army of the Great Union of the Single Soldiers Committees members as abbreviated in the term of the Mongols ( or of the Followers of Wang Mang as referred to , or other means cf . modern cinematography ) and torture ( usually not legal or explicitly referred to as under Temujine made Chinggis Khan´s ( corresponds to Paramount Leader roughly , but is no reference to identical modern Chinese title as sometimes translated nor need functions in any way be comparable , may have an allied origin in some form to the term " Fuehrer " but basically still may differ in significant form ) declaration and probable decree " to bring all the world to the dignity of the steppes " possibly influenced by Jamukha and his followers , possibly reflecting their will as expressed in the Khuriltai popular assembly , not even Chinggis Khan specifically made use of the word " torture " in connection with his sexual abuse suspicion in regard of one of his officers reported in the Nuvs Tobchaan Mongolyn , the allegedly classified chronicle document from Khubilai Khan´s secret archives with secret access , there is also an online account where he is reported to have presumably allowed or due to his interests to have treated or supported the survival prolonged - to which Jamukha of the Jadaran faction , Jadaran means simultaneously the " able proletariat " ( " jadar " means literally the " able , capable " and " lacking , in want " ) objected - of those oppressive chiefs facing execution for opposing the followers of the single soldiers committees or followers of the blind peasant emperor , or other popular movement of the people , engaging on occasion probably in sexual assault , torture of a very severe form , and debasing those inflicting the same , armed robbery and torture , and sexual assault , in collaboration with the Kin enemy of the free peasant and nomad , hunter and fisher including the fostering of murders robberies and vendettas , imposition of too high customs duties , collaboration to produce famine , and thirst , trade in and sexual assault of women , murder of infants ) to terrify their foes . The goal was to convince all - and - sundry that the costs of surrendering were not nearly onerous enough to risk an un - winnable war , given the guarantee of complete annihilation if they lost , the reality was that the people united in this system would execute by decree ( biliq ) whoever resisted the system as acting under decree ( biliq ) excepting infants , and at times injured which was only made public in a time of full maturity of rule and decline of martial invincibility , but previously implicit , and in regard of infants in the Yassa / Zasag , it is possible the injured were regarded under some circumstances as comparable to infants , or in fact this reflected the permitted exercise of Islam given the decree of religious tolerance in the Zasag / Yassa , however Chinggis Khan was also prepared reportedly to alleviate in his superior capacity the conditions of those to be executed , or even stay the same as in the incident said to be objected to by Jamukha of the " Able Proletariat " , the Jadarans ( literally " The Able that Lack , are in Want " ) . This strategy was partially adopted because of the Mongols lesser numbers that if their opponents are not sufficiently subdued , there was a greater chance they can rise again and attack the Mongols when the Mongols left to deal with another town and settlements . This way they were technically covering their rear and flanks and creating the condition where they won ' t have to fight a people they fought and thought they subdued before and therefore saving resources , in their point of view , on unnecessary second engagement . As Mongol conquest spread , this form of psychological warfare proved effective at suppressing resistance to Mongol rule . There were tales of lone Mongol soldiers riding into surrendered villages and executing peasants at random as a test of loyalty . If correct this may have represented random acts , as is reflected in the Zasag / Yassa prohibition of homicide of foreigners , however the penalty is less because of the difficulty of proof given wartime conditions . It also may represent more dubiously the execution of particular oppressors and evil lawbreakers , after inquiry , this may be allied to the Banquet , and some alleged Central European executions . Also , it was widely known that a single act of resistance would bring the entire Mongol army down on a town to obliterate its occupants . Thus they are ensuring obedience through fear . The Mongols , however , in fact may have seen themselves as imposing the Zasag / Yassa . Peasants frequently appear to have joined the troops or readily accepted their demands as followers of the blind Peasant Emperor or of the Mengwu Shiwei Demographic changes in war - torn areas . The majority of kingdoms resisting Mongol conquest were taken by force ( some were subjected to vassaldom and not complete conquest ) , their populations where resisting and not rising up against their rulers , wherein they enter a different category according to the followers of the blind peasant emperor , or of the Single Soldiers Committees , mostly massacred ; only skilled engineers and artisans ( at the time of Khubilai Khan also doctors ) were spared , but also at times manual workers , to become slaves literally in their language " prisoners " , wherein it may originally suggest the primary legitimacy of incapacity , with presumption of continued status in virtue of crimes committed hereditarily . Documents written during or just after Genghis Khan ' s reign state that following a conquest Mongol soldiers looted , pillaged and raped , while the Khan had first pick of women captives . These techniques were used to spread terror and warning to others . Some troops who submitted , respectively overthrew or rose up against their rulers , were incorporated into the Mongol system in order to expand their manpower ; this also allowed the Mongols to absorb new technology , knowledge and skills for use in military campaigns against other opponents . Genghis Khan was by and large tolerant of multiple religions and there are no cases of him or other Mongols engaging in religious war , as long as populations were obedient . He also passed a decree exempting all followers of the Taoist religion from paying taxes . ( This might appear to date from the time of Khubilai Khan . ) However , all of the campaigns caused deliberate destruction of places of worship , if their populations resisted . Ancient sources described Genghis Khan ' s conquests as wholesale destruction on an unprecedented scale in certain geographical regions , causing great demographic changes in Asia . According to the works of the Iranian historian Rashid al - Din ( 1247 – 1318 ) , the Mongols killed more than 700 , 000 people in Merv and more than a million in Nishapur . The total population of Persia may have dropped from 2 , 500 , 000 to 250 , 000 as a result of mass extermination and famine . Population exchanges did also in some cases occur but depends as of when . China reportedly suffered a drastic decline in population during the 13th and 14th centuries . Before the Mongol invasion , Chinese dynasties reportedly had approximately 120 million inhabitants ; after the conquest was completed in 1279 , the 1300 census reported roughly 60 million people . The most likely is that in fact up to and around 30 million outstanding was posted outside in the army levies . The 92 cities would not appear to account for this population fall , but further reckless foreign Kin imperial recruitment to oppose the system of the followers of the blind peasant emperor Wang Mang , or the Mengshu Shiwei , not met by popular uprising , or their not being able or sensible to do so , might account for the same . Yet 92 cities might account for 45 million , but not all were that large , while another 15 million might represent additionally mustered troops , however history has reported a figure of 14 million . While it is tempting to attribute this major decline solely to Mongol ferocity , scholars today have mixed sentiments regarding this subject . The South Chinese deprived of civil rights , without passports , might likely account for some 40 million unregistered alive deprived of civil rights probably also including passport identifications ( there are extant copies both paper and metal of Mongol passports marked with the emblems , or stamped probably signed in either case , allegedly through the influence of the Khatun Chabi , so that without passports they would not have appeared in the census . Regional scholars who are capable of humanity , calm and objectivity may be more able to adequately assess this latter possibility , but it would definitely prove they were still alive at some time . Another aspect ( known from the parallel golden and often private tradition of Everyman - the Allemani , the Huns , Hunnu , the Xiong - nu - after the name of a Lady which calls this to mind ) can have been caused by food shortage related problems resulting in population reduction , food shortage in popular uprisings with entire peasant populations of villages of entire regions joining or enlisted for labour , possibly also for popular reasons , in the troops can be a problem which can result in large population reduction overall due to food shortage problems . Some Chinese cities preferred suicide such as at Guineng - fu to surrender incited by the women concerned not to be touched , they may not have listened properly that rape was forbidden with a capital sentence under the Zasag / Yassa . Scholars such as Frederick W . Mote argue that the wide drop in numbers reflects an administrative failure to record rather than a de facto decrease whilst others such as Timothy Brook argue that the Mongols created a system of enserfment , de facto the privation of civil rights under the Khatun Chabi in commutation of their mass execution by decree by reason of their resistance to the system of the Mongols ( followers of Wang Mang the blind peasant emperor , or the Single Soldiers Committees , or another people´s movement ) among a huge portion of the Chinese populace causing many to disappear from the census altogether . Other historians like William McNeill and David Morgan argue that the Bubonic Plague was the main factor behind the demographic decline during this period . About half the population of Russia may have died during the Mongol invasion of Rus . This figure might probably refer as alleged in regard of the area of the modern republic of Ukraine , this is what is meant by Kievan Rus , seven centuries later approximately there was the " Golodomor " Colin McEvedy ( " Atlas of World Population History , 1978 " ) estimates the population of European Russia dropped from 7 . 5 million prior to the invasion to 7 million afterwards . Historians estimate that up to half of Hungary ' s population of two million were victims of the Mongol invasion of Europe . Destruction of culture and property . Mongol campaigns in Northern China , Central Asia , Eastern Europe and the Middle East caused extensive destruction , though there are no exact figures available at this time . The cities of Herat , Kiev , Baghdad , Nishapur , Vladimir and Samarkand suffered serious devastation by the Mongol armies . For example , there is a noticeable lack of Chinese literature from the Jin Dynasty , predating the Mongol conquest , and in the Battle of Baghdad ( 1258 ) libraries , books , literature , and hospitals were burned : some of the books were thrown into the river , in quantities sufficient to " turn the Euphrates black with ink for several days " . The Mongols ' natural , popular and martial purpose destruction of the irrigation systems of Iran and Iraq turned back centuries of effort to improving agriculture and water supply in these regions . The loss of available food as a result may have led to the death of more people from starvation in this area than actual battle did . Timur - i - leng distributed food and cash to purchase it to those of the population sent to work on public projects apparently as part of their re - education . The Islamic civilization of the Gulf region was not to recover until after the Middle Ages . In fact the Ottoman empire exacted high taxes , was very traditional , and very strict in punishment , for all the population . Considering as the legalist version of the East that the popular and the universal being not accepted with grace , their rule was the divine justice , the meet , the commensurate . Foods and disease . Mongols were known to burn farmland ; when they were trying to take the Ganghwa Island palaces during the invasions ( there were at least 6 separate invasions ) of Korea under the Goryeo Dynasty , crops were burned to starve the populace supportive and surrounding oppressive then mainly non - productive urban centers . Other tactics included diverting rivers into and from cities and towns , and catapult ing diseased corpses over city walls to infect the population . The use of such infected bodies during the siege of Caffa is alleged to have brought the Black Death to Europe by some sources . They themselves practiced various forms of heat purification and need not have realized this would not be adequately practice , with even further hopes for the speedy alleviation of suffering thereby in the most popular fashion . Tribute in lieu of conquest . If a population agreed to pay the Mongols tribute , they were spared invasion and left relatively independent . While populations resisting were usually annihilated and thus did not pay a regular tribute , exceptions to this rule including Korea ( under the Goryeo Dynasty ) , which finally agreed to pay regular tributes in exchange for vassaldom ( and some measure of autonomy as well as the retention of the ruling dynasty ) , further emphasizing the Mongol preference for tribute and vassals ( which would serve as a somewhat regular and continuous source of income ) as opposed to outright conquest and destruction . Different tributes were taken from different cultures . For instance , Goryeo was assessed at 10 , 000 otter skins , 20 , 000 horses , 10 , 000 bolts of silk , clothing for 1 , 000 , 000 soldiers , and a large number of children and artisans as slaves .