Why were the mongols so successful?

As it says, why was it that the mongols went from a backwater collection of disunified tribes to the premier military power of the world and uncontested hegemon of Asia? What might have been some other courses for the mongols after unification, and what other possible 'barbarian' mega-empires might you have seen before?
 
The ambition and genius of one man? Military prowess and tactics that outstrip many of its neighbours and incompetence plus infighting did help the mongols conquer their enemies.There could have been other tribes that could have taken the mongols place but it took a genius to actually do achieve it. As for the alternative route for the Mongols post unification they where always destined to class with the Chinese states it's just a question of how successful they could be.
 

Artaxerxes

Banned
Military reform, clear chains of command, meritocracy in the positions of responsibility, excellent logistics.

Plenty of other factors but those are the military ones I think.

edit: Oh yes, excellent adaptive tactics and learning from foes.
 
Military reform, clear chains of command, meritocracy in the positions of responsibility, excellent logistics.

Plenty of other factors but those are the military ones I think.

edit: Oh yes, excellent adaptive tactics and learning from foes.

These were big ones. Additionally - a military society. Most medieval societies in Europe, China, and almost everywhere inbetween were agricultural and peasant based - you couldn't pull men away from the fields for too long or people would starve. This stopped the formation of professional soldiers, standing armies, or large fighting forces. The Mongols had no such problems - no agriculture, and every man was trained to fight from a young age.

Cheers,
Ganesha
 
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