Butterflying Mongol Empire

What precisely happened to the logistic of crossing Eurasia on horseback to cause Mongol Empire to form in 13th century?

There had been a number of united empires in Mongolia. Xiongnu. Rouran. Göktürk Khaganate. Uyghur Khaganate.

Göktürk Khaganate actually invaded as far west as Crimea and attacking Sassanids (which they lost). The others were confined to East Asia.

Could some butterfly prevent or thwart Mongol invasion of the West, with the result that Mongol Empire never expands past Otrar, like Xiongnu, Rouran and Uyghurs had not? Or indeed that Mongolia remains disunited between squabbling tribes for some more centuries, as it had been since fall of Uyghurs in 9th century?

Could a major cavalry invasion of the west from east, resulting in political control of Near East or Europe from East Asia, take place instead of 129 AD at some other time, like 219 BC or 1619 AD?
 

Philip

Donor
What precisely happened to the logistic of crossing Eurasia on horseback to cause Mongol Empire to form in 13th century?

I don't think there was anything special about the 13th Century that allowed it.

Could some butterfly prevent or thwart Mongol invasion of the West, with the result that Mongol Empire never expands past Otrar, like Xiongnu, Rouran and Uyghurs had not?

Seems to me that just about any butterfly could prevent this.


Could a major cavalry invasion of the west from east, resulting in political control of Near East or Europe from East Asia, take place instead of 129 AD at some other time, like 219 BC or 1619 AD?

By 1619, the spread of firearms starts to make the success of such an invasion less likely.
 
The Mongols of Chingis Khan's time were lucky to have experienced some exceptionally inspired leadership. Temujin instituted some military tactical reforms in his own forces that promoted personal valour and military talent over noble birth (apart from his own brothers and sons, of course), and created squadrons composed of warriors from seperate tribes. Before him, other confederations of Mongol and Tatar clans existed, and would periodically fall apart on the death of their leaders, whom would have held their alliances and coalitions together through force of personality alone. Chingis Khan would recruit men of certain skills from the foreign peoples he conquered, whether they were Chinese, Uyghers, or Muslims, using them to form the beginnings of a new civil service.

Maybe the Mongol's exceptional success of rising from a militant nomadic alliance to a continental empire in such a short period was due to knowledge of past empires preceding them, frequent contact with settled former nomads like the western Turks and Uyghers, and their appreciation that control of certain monopolies, like the Silk Trade, could help pay for maintaining armies, the postal system, and the burgeoning bureaucracy. Alot of educated Uygher officials might have found employ within the Khan's court before his conquests of the Jurchens and the Tanguts in northern China. Far-sighted and clever Temujin might have been, but perhaps those exiles also gave him the information he needed to manage his growing empire.
 
Top