How Barbaric were
the Barbarians?
YOU BE THE JUDGE.
Who were they?

A small tribe from the grasslands of central Asia

Created one of history’s largest empires

Conquered 4,860,000 square miles in total

Genghis Khan
How barbaric were they?

In total killed around 40 MILLION people throughout Empire’s rule

estimate that they killed a full three-fourths of the Khwarezmid
Empire’s population

Genghis Khan was ruthless and used extreme battle tactics
Document 3 – Carpini on Battle
Tactics

Used children and women to give enemy the idea that their numbers
were larger

Used captive men as front line

Surrounded fortresses, letting no one enter or leave

Never stopped fighting, divided up forces and took turns fighting, this
would wear their enemies down with sleep deprivation

Burned human fat as Greek fire (Napalm) and catapulted it onto
enemy
Document 4

Plundered Persian city

Killed everyone

Placed served heads in piles
Document 5
However…

Along with their barbaric ways, the Mongols were
- very influential in spread culture and interacting with others
-cultured society
-open to religion
-booming international trade, the empire thrived
You be the judge!

How barbaric do you think the Mongolians were?
Write a few sentences..
-summarizing the brutality of the Mongols
-Do you think that for a total empire take over these brutal acts were
justified?
-
Did they do more bad than good?
- What about their cultural influences and tolerance?