THE INFLUENCE OF THE CLIMATE FACTOR ON THE FORMATIONS OF THE EMPIRE OF GENGIZ KHAN

ABSTRACT

The purpose of the article is to consider the influence of natural factors on the formation of the empire of Genghis Khan. When writing the article, we used the principles of historicism, objectivism and historical anthropology. The main methods of the article are historical-comparative, historical-biographical, and systemic methods. It has been determined that the 13th century, the period of Mongol rule in Eurasia, was the peak of a decrease in atmospheric temperature.

Keywords: climatic factor, climate, Genghis Khan's empire, nomads.

The historiographical list of materials written on the history of Genghis Khan reaches 800. More than 160 dissertations have been defended on the “Secret History” of the Mongols alone.

The history of the emergence and development of statehood and law of the Mongol Empire during the Chingizid period has attracted the attention of many scientists, starting with L.N. Gumileva, V.A. Ryazanovsky, A.I. Guseinova, B.Ya. Vladimirtsova, G.K. Ginsa, K. Alinge and A.Y. Yakubovsky.

One of the fairly popular concepts connects the emergence of the Empire of Genghis Khan with global climate change. The idea that the drying out of the steppe influenced the invasion of nomads was expressed at the turn of the 19th-20th centuries. many thinkers, in particular such famous researchers as E. Huntington and M.A. Bogolepov. Subsequently, its active supporters were A. Toynbee and G.G. Grumm-Grzhimailo.

Another point of view connects the genesis of the Mongol Empire with global cooling. There is an opinion that in 1175-1260. There was a sharp drop in temperature in Mongolia and in a number of other regions of the world. This, according to G. Jenkins, could be the reason for the unification of the Mongols. Indeed, a certain connection between the dynamics of the development of civilizations and global temperature rhythms is theoretically possible: “Apparently, global warming on the planet as a whole led to an increase in the demographic capacity of territories (improving the conditions of survival with unchanged methods of environmental management), which entailed an increase in population density. During cold spells, on the contrary, relative overpopulation arose (increased demographic load on the territory due to a decrease in the food supply due to a decrease in the yield of cultivated crops), leading to mass migrations, social cataclysms, wars with a subsequent decrease in population density” [1].

However, the real historical process is subject to more complex fluctuations. A comparison of temperature curves with data from the economic and political history of agricultural civilizations also shows the absence of strict correlations. Some civilizations flourished during periods of maximum warming, while others flourished during periods of cooling. In addition, scientists do not always have a common opinion regarding the dating of a particular period of cooling/warming.

One of the first scientists to deeply study the history of the nomadic tribes of Central Asia was Lev Gumilyov, who gave the following description of the peoples who inhabited the Mongolian steppes: “Great Mongolia is a power that emerged in the first half of the 13th century. as a result of the wars of conquest of Genghis Khan and his successors and included the largest contiguous territory in world history from the Danube to the Sea of Japan and from Novgorod to Southeast Asia. The capital of the state was the city of Karakorum. During its heyday it included vast territories. In the second half of the 13th century. the collapse of the empire into uluses began, headed by the Genghisids” [2, p.2].

The territory of the Mongol Empire during the period of Genghis Khan was conditional. Many scholars write that the Mongol Empire, during its heyday in the 13th century. extended from Asia to the Black Sea and beyond. With the coming to power of Genghis Khan, the final unification of the Mongol-Tatar tribes took place and the gradual process of formation of an early feudal state began, and in the countries of Eastern Europe, parts of Central Asia, China, Transcaucasia and Rus', a reverse process of decomposition of feudal society into separate territories with the absence of centralized power took place. The developed feudal states of Eastern Europe, Central Asia and Rus', in comparison with the backward Mongolian tribes, could resist the Mongol-Tatar invasion, but Genghis Khan created a special military-tribal association according to the principle “there is no Mongolian population, there is a Mongolian army” [3, p. 35]. This principle made it possible to implement the commander’s plans to seize large territories. When Temujin was declared Genghis Khan in 1206, the first thing he did was carry out military reform. The nomadic way of life in a military-type empire was a specific feature of the Mongol tribes of that period. The entire system of pre-state administration was subordinated to the military organization; the military structure divided the army into tens, tens into hundreds, hundreds into thousands, and ten thousand is one “tumen”. Temuzhin, having subjugated many clans of the Mongols and Tatars, put forward the idea of ​​conquering the world, rallied the clan nobility around himself, and created a special military state administration. The military reform carried out by Genghis Khan yielded results [4, p. 85]. The entire control system was subordinated to one idea of ​​seizing other people's territories. That is why vast lands were quite easily conquered and the way of life of many peoples of Eastern Europe and Central Asia was changed, and some tribes and peoples were actually destroyed.

The internal factors in the formation of Mongolian statehood include the following:

- in the pre-industrial period there was no single administrative apparatus, as in the state, due to the nomadic lifestyle of the Mongols and Tatars. The Chinese adviser to Genghis Khan, Elyu-Chutsai, wrote: “An empire can be conquered on horseback, but it is impossible to rule it from the saddle” [5, p.105-106]. Genghis Khan, as a talented commander and leader, understood that it was impossible to rule in the vast territories he captured without a control system, leading a nomadic lifestyle.

- the kurultai was the main governing body where representatives of the tribes could make important inter-clan decisions.

Thus, the concept of “kurultai” came into use, and Genghis Khan attached great importance to kurultai. It was in 1206 that the legal basis for the “Great Yasa” statehood and the decision to seize China and Central Asia were adopted at the kurultai. It was during the conquest of China that Genghis Khan understood that in order to effectively manage the captured lands it was necessary to divide them into certain territories - uluses.

After the unification of the tribes and the convening of the kurultai in 1206, a pre-state formation arose on the territory of the Mongolian steppes with the gradual formation of the Mongol Empire. It already had a governing apparatus, a single territory on the Mongolian steppes of Central Asia, a single political power, but these were not all the signs of statehood. Its formation took place, and this process was gradual. The Kurultai, as a congress of tribes, contributed to the implementation of the leader’s plans.

The existence of a dichotomy in the interpretation of a significant figure shows the development in society of a “hot memory option”, characteristic of traditional societies in a complex historical situation.

According to established opinion, the 13th century, the time of the creation of the Empire of Genghis Khan and the period of Mongol dominance in Eurasia, was the peak of a decrease in atmospheric temperature. However, according to other sources, in the period 1120-1280 there was the so-called medieval maximum of average annual temperature and solar activity.

References:

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