ReignWulin:Mongolia

History

• 1206: By this year, Temüjin from the Orkhon Valley dominated Mongolia and received the title Genghis Khan, thought to mean Oceanic Ruler or Firm, Resolute Ruler
• 1207: The Mongols began operations against the Western Xia, which comprised much of northwestern China and parts of Tibet. This campaign lasted until 1210 with the Western Xia ruler submitting to Genghis Khan. During this period, the Uyghur Turks also submitted peacefully to the Mongols and became valued administrators throughout the empire.
• 1211: Genghis Khan led his armies across the Gobi desert against the Jin Dynasty of northern China.
• 1212: Subutai takes the city of Huan by storm and rises to the position of Genghis Khan's chief general.
• 1219–1221: While the campaign in northern China was still in progress, the Mongols waged a war in central Asia and destroyed the Khwarezmid Empire. One notable feature was that the campaign was launched from several directions at once. In addition, it was notable for special units assigned by Genghis Khan personally to find and kill Ala al-Din Muhammad II, the Khwarazmshah who fled from them, and ultimately ended up hiding on an island in the Caspian Sea.
• 1223: The Mongols gained a decisive victory at the Battle of the Kalka River, the first engagement between the Mongols and the East Slavic warriors.
• 1227: Genghis Khan's death; Mongol leaders returned to Mongolia for kuriltai. The empire at this point covered nearly 26 million km², about four times the size of the Roman or Macedonian Empires.
• 1229: Ogedei elected to position of Supreme Khan at the kuriltai following Genghis Khan's death - according to his deceased father's wish.

Culture

The Mongol Empire is governed by a code of law devised by Genghis Khan, called Yassa, meaning "order" or "decree". A particular canon of this code was that the nobility shares much of the same hardship as the common man. Under Yassa, chiefs and generals are selected based on merit, religious tolerance is guaranteed, and thievery and vandalizing of civilian property is strictly forbidden. Yassa also imposes severe penalties – e.g., the death penalty was decreed if the mounted soldier following another did not pick up something dropped from the mount in front. On the whole, the tight discipline makes the Mongol Empire extremely safe and well-run in comparison to many surrounding kingdoms. The Mongols commonly boast that a woman carrying a sack of gold could travel safely from one end of the Mongol territories to the other.

The Mongols are governed by a non-democratic parliamentary-style central assembly, called Kurultai, in which the Mongol chiefs meet with the Supreme Khan to discuss domestic and foreign policies. Kurultai is a general term for tribal assemblies convened to determine, strategize and analyze military campaigns and assign individuals to leadership positions and titles - most of the major military campaigns are first planned out at assemblies such as this and there are minor and less significant Kurultais under subordinate leaders and generals.

Trade routes and an extensive postal system (yam) cross the breadth of the Mongol nation. Many merchants, messengers and travelers from Song, Jin, Dali, and lands of the West use this postal system to communicate with distant lands and all merchants and ambassadors, having proper documentation and authorization, traveling through Mongol territories are protected by Yassa. However, any resistance to Mongol rule is met with massive collective punishment. Cities have been destroyed and their inhabitants all slaughtered if they defied Mongol orders.

Military

Genghis Khan organized the Mongol soldiers into groups based on the decimal system. Units are recursively built from groups of 10 (Arban), 100 (Yaghun), 1,000 (Minghan), and 10,000 (Tumen), each with a leader reporting to the next higher level. Tumens, and sometimes Minghans, are commanded by a Noyan, who was often given the task to administrate specific conquered territories. From two to five Tumens would then form a hordu meaning army corps or field army, from which the word "Horde" is derived, under the command of the Khans or their generals (boyan). The leaders on each level have significant license to execute their orders in the way they consider best. This command structure is highly flexible and allows the Mongol army to attack en masse, divide into somewhat smaller groups to encircle and lead enemies into an ambush, or divide into small groups of 10 to mop up a fleeing and broken army.

Six of every ten Mongol troopers are light horse archers, the remaining four are more heavily armored and armed lancers. All soldiers usually carry scimitars or axes as well. The Mongolian horses are relatively small, so they lose short distance races under equal conditions. But since most other armies carry much heavier armor, Mongols can still outrun most enemy horsemen in battle. In addition, the Mongolian horses are extremely endurable and sturdy, which allows the Mongols to move over large distances quickly, often surprising enemies that had expected them to arrive days, if not weeks, later.

Mongols are experts in laying sieges, often diverting rivers and food from cities. They also send off refugees to other unconquered cities, in order to strain enemy resources. Siege machines are an important part of Subutai's warfare, especially in attacking fortified cities. The siege engines are disassembled and carried on horses to be rebuilt at the site of the battle. The engineers building the machines are recruited among captives, mostly from China and Persia. When they slaughter whole populations, they almost always spare the engineers and technicians, swiftly assimilating them into the Mongol armies.

Disciplines

The great "three manly skills" of the Mongolian people are archery, horsemanship and wrestling. These skills are valued and practiced for their application to warfare, but are also competed with in the festival known as the Naadam.

Mongolian Archery

The Mongols, if right-handed, keep their bow in the left hand, pushing it forward as the right arm pulled the string all the way back to behind the ear. With the left arm fully extended, they prepare to release. However, because of the power and draw force required of the bow, a special technique to hold the string is used. During the drawing of the bow and before the arrow is released the string is held by the thumb, since this is the strongest finger and the thumb is supported by the index finger curling around atop the outermost joint, at the base of the nail. The other fingers are also curled, forming a fist. The thumb is usually protected by a thumb ring of leather, agate, jade, metal, bone, or other material.

Mongolian soldiers are trained to shoot while riding on horseback, and with deadly accuracy. This is done by skilfully timing the shots to the moment when the hooves of the horse were in mid-air, so as to avoid disturbing the aim when they hit the ground.

• 1 point:
• 2 points:
• 3 points: You may attack individual targets at extreme Long range (ranges where normally you would only be able to volley into formations). Such attacks suffer a -1d penalty, however.
• 4 points: You may attack two targets with a single shot. Roll your attack as normal and apply the success (if any) to both targets. If either target Parries, their Gobble Dice apply to the attack for both of them, but if they Dodge their Gobble Dice only apply separately. This shot must be your only attack in the round but it may be combined with non-attack actions.

Mongolian Horsemanship

Mongolian horse racing as featured in Naadam is a cross-country event, with races 9 to 18 miles long. The horses are organized into six different classes by age, with the youngest being two years old. After the races, the top five horses in each class earn the title of airgiyn tav and the top three are given gold, silver, and bronze medals. In addition, the horse that finishes last in the two-year-old class (the daaga class) is given a top-five award, in the belief that that horse will do better in the next race.

Mongolian Wrestling

Genghis Khan considered wrestling to be an important way to keep his army in good physical and combat shape. Wrestling was also used occasionally as a way of eliminating political rivals. There are known incidents of the Khan arranging to have political enemies killed via a wrestling match. Wrestling matches are held in the open on a grassy field, or bare dirt ground not too hard or littered with gravel. There are no weight classes. A small wrestler can end up wrestling someone twice his size.

Traditionally, match-ups are not based on an equal chance. The host of a naadam has the privilege to arrange matches- often, in ways that lend their favorites the upper hand. Sometimes such arrangement results in serious disputes between hosts and visiting wrestlers.

People

Da'erba

"The other Tibetan monk is called Da’erba; he has supernatural strength, and his kung fu is from the same school as Huo Dou."

Ogedei Khan

The Supreme Khan of the Mongolian Empire and third son of Genghis Khan, Ogedei Khan is now in his middle age (about 45 years in age). He was considered to be his father's favorite son, ever since his childhood. Ogedei is known for his ability to sway doubters in any debate he is involved, simply by the force of his personality. He is a large, jovial and very charismatic man, mostly interested in enjoying the priveleges of his rule. However, he is also intelligent and steady in character.

Known to be a humble man, who knows his human limitations, he does not believe himself a genius like his father was, and he's willing to listen and use the great generals that his father left him, as well as those capable people who present themselves to him now. Like all Mongols, he was raised and educated as a warrior from childhood, and as the son of Genghis Khan he was a part of his father's plan to establish a world empire. His military experience was notable for his willingness to listen to his generals, and adapt to the circumstances. His steadiness of character and dependability were the traits that his father most valued, and that gained him the role of successor to his father, despite his two older brothers.

Prince Hou Du

“I’m afraid that a man of his stature coming to create havoc here has an ulterior motive. His kung fu originates from Western Tibet; he arrived in the central plains at the beginning of the year."

Subutai

Born just west of the upper Onon River, he belonged to the Uriankhai tribe, a name Mongols gave to a number of tribes of forest people. Subutai's family had been associated with the family of Genghis Khan for many generations. His brother Jelme also served as a general in the Mongol army. Subutai joined Genghis Khan (or Temujin) while still a teenager. Within a decade he rose to become one of the senior officers, commanding one of roving detachments operating ahead of the main forces.

Subutai is now the chief strategist and general of Ogedei Khan and quite possibly the greatest strategist and general the world has ever seen. He gains victory by means of imaginative and sophisticated strategies, usually maneuvering the enemy into a losing position before even joining battle. At the age of 64 he is no longer in the fighting trim of a career soldier but he still has the vigor needed to travel and direct a battle from the rear lines (as the Mongol way is to keep the leaders far from the thick of fighting).

Touli Khan

Tolui Khan, at age 40, is the youngest son of Genghis Khan. His ulus, or territorial inheritance, at his father's death in 1227 was the homelands in Mongolia, and it was he who served as civil administrator in the time it took to confirm Ogedei as the second Supreme Khan. Before that, he had served with distinction in the campaigns against the Jin Dynasty and the Khwarezmid Empire, where he was instrumental in the capture and massacre at Merv.

When Genghis Khan was deciding who should succeed him he had trouble choosing between Tolui and Ogodei. Tolui had amazing military skills and was very successful as a general, but Genghis Khan chose Ogodei because Ogodei was more capable politically. Genghis Khan felt that Tolui would be too cautious to be an effective leader.

After Genghis Khan's death, Mongol nobles gathered together and elected Tolui as the new Khan, but Tolui rejected their decision and gave the Khanate to his brother, Ogodei, fulfilling his father's wishes. The Mongol nobles' moves were partly influenced by the tradition that the youngest son inherits his father's properties and partly because Tolui had the largest and most powerful army at the time.