Genghis Khan

The exhibition I went to see at the Royal Armouries was 'Genghis Khan - How the Mongols changed the world'.  I had no real knowledge of this part of the world or this period of history and there was almost too much to take in without any prior knowledge to hang facts on. I enjoyed it nevertheless and came away with a few interesting nuggets to ponder upon.  

The first piece of information is that 'Genghis Khan' is an anglicised version of his name, and he should be called Chinggis Khan, which the exhibition adopted throughout. He was born around 1162 and died in 1227 (so that corresponds to our English Plantagenet dynasty from Henry II onwards). He was born into poverty but his charismatic personality and ability to form alliances meant a gradual rise to prominence and his military campaigns started to expand the Mongol empire. 

The second interesting fact is that no portraits of him were made during his lifetime - so any pictures of him are a kind of stylised representation - and no-one really knows for sure where he is buried. He married Börte, who remained his 'senior wife' and was a powerful and influential woman in her own right, giving birth to four sons and five daughters who all became significant figures in the empire. He had 'junior wives' too! 

Fact three: women were significant and powerful in this culture, as well as men. (Kind of ironic when you think how women are treated now across parts of what was the Mongol empire.)

The exhibition contained many artefacts from different eras of the Mongol empire, most on loan from the Chinngis Khaan National Museum in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. The empire continued to expand after Khan's death, under the leadership of his sons. It split into four independent khanates but they started to fight each other rather than co-operating. The empire gradually foundered due to any number of different pressures - economic, political and administrative - in the late 1300/early 1400s.

The items above are from the Xiongnu period (3rd century BCE - 2nd century CE); those below from the 13th/14th century. I loved the little silver bowl on the left, with such delicate engraving. 

Fact four: the Mongols were nomadic people, moving across the steppes in large groups called 'hordes', which were effectively travelling cities. They lived in strong, round, felted wool tents called gers. A few settlements like Karakorum acted as administrative and cultural centres.

Fact five: as a mainly nomadic people, horses were of crucial importance. Children learned to ride by the age of three. Horses - small, stocky but resilient - were used for transport, chores and herding livestock. The national beverage - airag - was fermented mare's milk. Horses were crucial in the military successes of the expanding empire; skilled riders could accurately fire arrows at full gallop. The empire also had an established system of communication using post riders and strategic waystations across the vast lands. 

The exhibition had a replica saddle to try out.

I loved the charming picture (below) of a horse and its minder being buffeted by the high winds across the open steppes. 

It seems that the whole culture was well established and innovative. I was interested in the armour their warriors used - some chain mail such as you find in our own history but also the lamellar armour (below), made of leather and metal discs, that was designed to be less restrictive for fighting on horseback. 

As I said, it was a fascinating exhibition with far too much really to take in - but well worth seeing.