Title: Effects of the Mongol Empire on Europe
Headings: Effects of the Mongol Empire on Europe
Effects of the Mongol Empire on Europe
Key Takeaways: Genghis Khan's Impact on Europe
The Mongol Invasion of Europe
Positive Effects of the Mongols
Spread of Technology
Effects of the Mongol Conquest
Transfer of Scientific Knowledge
Unification of Russia
The Beginnings of Modern Fighting Tactics
Additional References
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Content: They wiped out the populations of some entire towns that resisted, as was their usual policy, depopulating some regions and confiscating the crops and livestock from others. This type of total warfare spread panic even among Europeans not directly affected by the Mongol onslaught and sent refugees fleeing westward. Perhaps even more importantly, the Mongol conquest of central Asia and eastern Europe allowed a deadly disease—the bubonic plague—to travel from its home range in western China and Mongolia to Europe along newly-restored trade routes. The bubonic plague was endemic to fleas that live on marmots in the steppes of eastern central Asia, and the Mongol hordes inadvertently brought those fleas across the continent, unleashing the plague on Europe. Between 1300 and 1400, the Black Death killed between 25 and 66% of the population in Europe, at least 50 million people. The plague also affected northern African and large parts of Asia. 2 ﻿﻿ 3 ﻿
Positive Effects of the Mongols
Although the Mongol invasion of Europe sparked terror and disease, in the long run, it had enormous positive impacts. The foremost was what historians call the Pax Mongolica, a century of peace (circa 1280–1360) among neighboring peoples who were all under Mongol rule. This peace allowed for the reopening of the Silk Road trading routes between China and Europe, increasing cultural exchange and wealth all along the trade paths. Central Asia was a region that had always been important to overland trade between China and the West.