The reign of Genghis Khan. Genghis Khan's reforms

Genghis Khan's first state decision carried out a military reform of society. The commanders received awards according to merit, and not by right of birth. The soldiers were deployed in tens, hundreds and thousands and were required to serve from fourteen to seventy years of age. To monitor order, in addition to the army of one hundred thousand, a guard of ten thousand was created, which served as the guard of the khan's yurt. The guard (keshiktash) was created from noble warriors who were personally loyal to Genghis Khan. The guard also included a thousand of the most loyal and powerful warriors - “bagaturs”.

The legislation was based on the military regulations. Two punishments were established: the death penalty and “exile to Siberia” - to the deserted north of Mongolia. A distinctive feature of this establishment was the introduction of punishment for failure to provide assistance to a comrade in trouble. This law was called Yasa, and Genghis Khan's second son, Chagatai, was appointed keeper of the Yasa (supreme prosecutor). In such a warlike and diverse crowd of people, it was necessary to maintain strict order, which always requires real force. Genghis Khan foresaw this and, from among the most proven warriors, created two guards, day and night. They were on round-the-clock duty in the horde, were constantly with the khan and obeyed only him. This was the Mongolian coercive apparatus, placed above the army command staff: an ordinary guardsman was considered higher in rank than a thousand-man officer. 95 noyons elected by the army were appointed as thousands.

The Mongol army was a close-knit equestrian formation. Unlike other nomads, the Mongols’ tactics included the principle of ramming - compact masses in deep formations, which were supposed to increase the impact (shock) force to the possible limits with the aim, for example, of breaking through the enemy’s center, one of its wings, etc. But the Mongols, in addition, had a high degree of maneuverability, and their light cavalry played a very active and not at all secondary role in battle.

The first cavalry units not only carried out a crushing blow to one or another section of the enemy front, but could push him to the flank, and also be thrown to his rear. Thanks to this ability to maneuver, there was no need to identify the point for the main attack in advance: it could be determined during the course of the battle, depending on the prevailing situation. The light cavalry not only reconnaissance and cover, but mainly performs the task of actively preparing the impending decisive strike. This is the famous "Mongolian lava". Maneuvering in front of the enemy’s front with extraordinary mobility, the horsemen jumped into his flanks, and, when appropriate, into his rear. These dexterous riders, armed with throwing weapons, sitting on their horses, trained like dogs, now breaking apart, now gathering into more or less dense groups, sent clouds of well-aimed arrows and darts into the enemy’s ranks, threatening him with one thing or another place attack and, usually not accepting the enemy’s close attack, turned to feigned flight, luring him and leading him into ambushes.

With such actions they frustrated and exhausted the enemy physically and mentally to such an extent that he sometimes surrendered the rear even before the Mongol heavy cavalry entered the picture. If the enemy turned out to be persistent, then the actions of the light cavalry, in any case, made it possible to determine its location, weak points or the most advantageous areas for delivering the main attack, where heavy cavalry masses were quickly and secretly, with skillful use of the terrain, brought up in deep closed formations , built in several lines.

Thanks to their high maneuverability, these masses had an advantage even over the valiant knightly cavalry of Europe, famous for its powerful striking force and the art of single combat, but extremely clumsy.

As a feature of Mongolian tactics, it can also be noted that the cavalry on the battlefield usually maneuvered “silently,” i.e. not by commands, but by conventional signs given by the badge (flag) of the boss. In night battles they were replaced by colored lanterns. Drums were used to give signals only in camp settings.

In accordance with the tactical techniques of the Mongol army, the armament of its two main “arms” was determined - light and heavy cavalry, otherwise called archers and swordsmen. As the name itself shows, the main weapon of the first was the bow and arrow; they themselves and their horses had no or only the most primitive and light protective devices; the archers had two bows and two quivers, one consumable, the other spare. The spare quiver was designed to protect the arrows from moisture. The arrows were extremely sharp. The Mongols were masters at making and sharpening them. Accustomed to archery from the age of three, the Mongol was an excellent marksman. Some of the archers were additionally armed with darts. Light sabers were available as additional weapons for possible hand-to-hand combat.

In the heavy cavalry, men wore chain mail or leather armor; their headdress consisted of a light leather helmet with a strong backplate to protect the neck from saber strikes. The horses of the heavy cavalry had protective weapons made of thick patent leather. The main offensive weapons of the swordsmen were curved sabers, which they wielded perfectly, and pikes; in addition, each had a battle ax or an iron club, which was hung from the belt or from the saddle.

In hand-to-hand combat, as well as during skirmishes in small parties, the Mongols tried to throw or pull enemies off their horses; For this purpose, hooks attached to lances and darts were used, as well as lassos made of horsehair, which were thrown at the enemy from some distance. Captured by the noose of the lasso, the enemy rider was pulled off his horse and dragged along the ground; the same technique was used against a foot enemy.

Large and medium-sized military units, such as thousands or hundreds, were mounted on horses of the same color. This is reliably known regarding the guards’ “thousand bagaturs,” which all had black horses.

The most important point in the structure of the Mongol army, in contrast to other nomadic peoples, was that they widely used various engineering devices to siege cities: catapults, rams, mining techniques, etc. Captured Chinese were used as specialists. For example, during the Central Asian campaign we see within the Mongolian army an auxiliary engineering division serving a variety of heavy combat vehicles, which were used mainly during sieges, including flamethrowers. The latter threw various flammable substances into the besieged cities: burning oil, the so-called “Greek fire”, etc.

As E. Khara-Davan points out, preparations for one or another campaign were carried out according to the same scheme:

1. A kurultai was convened, at which the issue of the upcoming war and its plan was discussed. There they decided everything that was necessary to form an army - how many soldiers to take from each ten tents, etc., and also determined the place and time for collecting troops.

Spies were sent to the enemy country and “tongues” were obtained.

3. Military operations usually began in early spring, when the grass was growing, and in the fall, when the horses and camels were in good health and the water obstacles were frozen. Before the opening of hostilities, Genghis Khan gathered all the senior commanders to listen to his instructions.

The supreme command was exercised by Genghis Khan himself. The invasion of the enemy's country was carried out by several armies in different directions. From the commanders receiving such a separate command, Genghis Khan demanded to present a plan of action, which he discussed and usually approved, only in rare cases introducing his own amendments to it. After this, the performer is given complete freedom of action within the limits of the task given to him in close connection with the headquarters of the supreme leader.

4. When approaching significant fortified cities, the main armies left an observation corps to monitor them. Supplies were collected in the surrounding area and, if necessary, a temporary base was set up. Usually the main forces continued the offensive, and the observation corps, equipped with machines, began to invest and siege.

5. When a meeting in the field with an enemy army was foreseen, the Mongols usually adhered to one of two methods: either they tried to attack the enemy by surprise, quickly concentrating the forces of several armies to the battlefield, or, if the enemy turned out to be vigilant and surprise could not be counted on, they directed their forces in such a way as to achieve a bypass of one of the enemy flanks.

But their military initiative was not exhausted by these methods. For example, a feigned flight was carried out, and the army with great skill covered its tracks, disappearing from the eyes of the enemy until he fragmented his forces and weakened security measures. Then the Mongols mounted fresh clockwork horses and made a quick raid, appearing as if from underground before the stunned enemy. In this way, the Russian princes were defeated in 1223 on the Kalka River. It happened that during such a demonstrative flight, the Mongol troops dispersed so as to envelop the enemy from different sides. If it turned out that the enemy was staying focused and prepared to fight back, they released him from the encirclement in order to later attack him on the march. In this way, in 1220, one of the armies of Khorezmshah Muhammad, which the Mongols deliberately released from Bukhara, was destroyed.

They also point out this interesting fact: before the battle, the Mongol put on silk underwear (Chinese chesucha). This tissue has the ability to be drawn into the wound along with the tip, delaying its penetration. The tip cannot pierce the fabric, and the tip removal operation becomes simple.

So, the consolidated Mongol ethnic group arose because of wars and only for wars. And they were not long in coming...

Bibliography

Gumilev L.N. In search of an imaginary kingdom. Trefoil mound. / gumilevica.kulichki

Khara-Davan E. Genghis Khan as a commander and his legacy. / gumilevica.kulichki

Two main Mongolian ethnic groups. Reasons for the unification of the Mongol tribes.

When both enemy leaders had the same desire to fight, they lined up their troops outside the camp in battle formation in several lines. The units that made up each line were at least 8 rows deep.

Not everyone knows that by 1236 - the year of the invasion of Rus', and later Eastern Europe - the Mongols had already conquered China and most of Asia, representing a well-trained and uniquely organized military force.

Composition of the army and methods of war.

Formation of the Mongolian state, the Mongol-Tatar invasion of Rus'. An organized Mongol army that preserved family ties. The defeat of Central Asia, the invasion of Iran and Transcaucasia. The Battle of the Kalka River, the influence of princely feuds on its outcome.

Consideration of the history of creation, composition (squad, cavalry, rook fleet), strategy and tactics of military operations of the Russian army of the 9th-10th centuries. Study of changes in the structure of the armed forces of Kievan Rus in the 11th-12th centuries. Organization of feudal-patrimonial Rus' in the XIII-XIV centuries.

Marco Polo, who lived for many years in Mongolia and China under Kublai Khan, gives the following assessment of the Mongol army: “The armament of the Mongols is excellent: bows and arrows, shields and swords; they are the best archers of all nations.” Riders who grew up riding horses from an early age.

Formation of the Great Mongol State at the beginning of the 13th century. necessitated the development of general, written legal norms and legislative codes for the management of a vast power.

Reforms of Genghis Khan. Military organization of the Mongols Genghis Khan, with his first state decision, carried out a military reform of society. The commanders received awards according to merit, and not by right of birth. The soldiers were deployed in tens, hundreds and thousands and were required to serve from fourteen to seventy years of age. To monitor order, in addition to the army of one hundred thousand, a guard of ten thousand was created, which served as the guard of the khan's yurt. The guard (keshiktash) was created from noble warriors who were personally loyal to Genghis Khan. The guard also included a thousand of the most loyal and powerful warriors, the Bagaturs. The legislation was based on the military regulations. Two punishments were established: the death penalty and exile to Siberia and the deserted north of Mongolia. A distinctive feature of this establishment was the introduction of punishment for failure to provide assistance to a comrade in trouble. This law was called Yasa, and Genghis Khan's second son, Chagatai, was appointed keeper of the Yasa (supreme prosecutor). In such a warlike and diverse crowd of people, it was necessary to maintain strict order, which always requires real force. Genghis Khan foresaw this and, from among the most proven warriors, created two guards, day and night. They were on round-the-clock duty in the horde, were constantly with the khan and obeyed only him. This was the Mongolian coercive apparatus, placed above the army command staff: an ordinary guardsman was considered higher in rank than a thousand-man officer. 95 noyons elected by the army were appointed as thousands. The Mongol army was a close-knit equestrian formation. Unlike other nomads, the Mongols’ tactics included the principle of ramming - compact masses in deep formations, which were supposed to increase the impact (shock) force to the possible limits with the aim, for example, of breaking through the enemy’s center, one of its wings, etc. But the Mongols, in addition, had a high degree of maneuverability, and their light cavalry performed very well in battle...

Proclamation of Genghis Khan's reforms

The surviving aristocrats and commanders of various tribes, venerable elders from the clan of Genghis Khan, arrived at the Diet, where they elevated him for the second time not to the shaky throne of a small motley group, but to the throne of the great Mongol power. The Sejm of 1206 confirmed for him the title of Genghis Khan, adopted back in the Khural of 1182. This was how Temujin was formally legitimized as the ruler of the main Mongol-speaking steppe ethnic groups. But the main significance of the Onon Khural of the Year of the Tiger, of course, was not this.

After the unification of the tribes and the conquest of actual power, formal procedures turned out to be only a symbol, albeit an extremely important one. The act committed at the Onon Khural, which turned the course of world history, was the proclamation of the reforms of Genghis Khan.

The ruler of the nomadic power proclaimed the organization of the decimal system not only in the army, as before, but also in the state. The entire multi-tribal people were subject to registration and allocation into tens, hundreds, thousands and tumens. The former tribal structure lost its relevance, retreated into the realm of certain rituals, and in relation to some ethnic groups almost disappeared. Now any family (group of families) from a once-existing tribe could at any moment be raised from its place, sent far away under the rule of another noyon-thousander, included in a new place in a new ten, in a new hundred, etc.

The names of the tribes remained formal reminders of the past. Only as a special favor were the comrades of Genghis Khan awarded the right to gather their tribe and preserve it. This was granted to the Bayauts, Barguts, and some others. Numerous Tatars, Kereites, and Merkits suffered a different fate, who were ordered to “distribute each and every one of them in different directions.” The Khori-Tumats were initially included in the Oirat association, where they later formed several large ethnic groups, but at least one more main group of Khori never completely lost their internal unity and self-awareness, later returning to Buryatia.

Military structure as a state structure

The extension of the military structure to the entire people (the nation - in the words of G.V. Vernadsky), its introduction as a state structure greatly increased controllability, discipline, accounting, the fiscal system and much more. The mobility of nomads for urgent military mobilization, rescue from natural disasters, and collection of taxes also increased, and at the same time, the stability and cohesion of the Mongols as a single nation increased.

The risks of strengthening the aristocratic opposition were reduced: princes, heads of clans and tribes were relegated to the level of traditional rituals. Their role in military and state building became directly proportional to their real merits, and not to the antiquity of their pedigrees. The opportunity arose for humble but talented Mongols to be promoted to high positions. On the banks of the Onon, the emperor himself fully demonstrated this possibility through a series of decrees and appointments.

At the Onon Khural, Genghis Khan proclaimed the Great Yasa, a set of laws binding on the Mongols. Much in Yas was taken from the past, but most importantly, the code streamlined the customs of different tribes.

Night Guard Hebteul

There, at the Diet of 1206, Genghis Khan rewarded his comrades, decided the fate of some tribes, and reorganized the guard and secret police. The guard now had a thousand Khorchin riflemen, a thousand bagaturs-at-arms, and the number of the so-called Turhaud Day Guard was increased to seven thousand. At the same time, the men-at-arms united with the Turkhauds, thereby bringing the total number of the Day Guard to eight thousand. Selected Khorchin guard shooters were introduced into the structure of the Hebteul Night Guard.

The hebteuls themselves were replenished, first to eight hundred, then to a thousand. The mysterious Night Guard was endowed with security functions, and, in addition, it was entrusted with supervising the food supply of the Khagan headquarters, supervising its migrations, which, however, was also associated with protecting the highest officials of the empire from assassination attempts. Hebteuls were introduced into the bodies of control over the arsenal; they were also entrusted with looking after the khan's and prince's wives and court ladies, the banners of honor, as well as the herds, livestock and vehicles of Headquarters.

What is most noteworthy is that hebteuls were introduced into the judicial body of Zargo as assistant judges. And they also received the right to sometimes independently conduct investigative measures, and in special cases - even to carry out punishment on the spot. Unauthorized observation and other collection of information about hebteuls was strictly prohibited. The Night Guard became a full-fledged and very privileged intelligence service of the Mongol Empire, the support of the Hagan.

Selected warriors from thousands, as well as the sons of centurions and foremen, were recruited into the guard. The young men entering the guard mainly came from among the officers, but not from the aristocratic elite. The Hagan, thereby, in the person of these young men, relied on the backbone of the imperial army, and the army relied on the Hagan. The sons of officers were constantly with the ruler, becoming a human shield and a guarantee against military revolts.

According to the behests of Genghis Khan

Together with their reform of 1206, the Mongols created a unique system, many elements of which are today indispensable attributes of the state. The Onon Khural legitimized the creation of mechanisms perfect for those times to govern the most warlike ethnic groups of Eurasia.

The nomads, united by the laws of the Diet of the Year of the Tiger, received their own alternative for the development of their civilization. The Mongols, guided by the provisions of the Sejm and the covenants of Genghis Khan, waged a struggle unprecedented in history, proving to the world and time the effectiveness of their model of state and society.

Warriors and intellectuals, raised in the spirit of the codes of 1206, determined the appearance of the political and ethnic map of the central belt of Eurasia for centuries to come. For a long time they managed to push external threats away from their borders and instill in the world respect for their potential. The significance of the Onon Khural for the Mongols’ awareness of their unity, the commonality of their political interests and cultural priorities remains to this day.

summary of other presentations

“Tatar-Mongol yoke in Rus'” - The troops of the Volga horde got lost in the Carpathians and suffered serious losses from hunger. In 1238, Batu Khan approached the borders of Kievan Rus. There was no Baska institution here, typical of other principalities. In the end, Moscow won. The princes were obliged to periodically send their troops to participate in joint campaigns with the Mongols. The Horde ravaged the outskirts of Novgorod, and Russian troops failed to take Volkovysk.

“Power of the Golden Horde” - Russian lands under the rule of the Golden Horde. Duties of the Russian population. Ulus. Consequences of Horde rule. Get involved in learning activities. Give yourself a mark. Dependence of Russian lands. Define the concept. Fill out the table. Correct execution of tasks. Evaluate your work. Golden Horde. Representatives of the Mongol khans. Degree of assimilation. Write down the definition of concepts. Received knowledge.

“The Mongol invasion of Rus'” - Ryazan fell. Consequences of the Mongol-Tatar invasion. Certificate for reign. Basic points of view on the relationship between Rus' and the Horde. The filthy ones approached the city. The Mongols came to Vladimir. Horde exit. Siege of the city. The road to Novgorod. The conquerors besieged the small fortress of Moscow. Horde yoke. Tithe Church. Prince of Ryazan Yuri. Mongol generals. The Tatars fought near the city. The Tatars broke into the Ryazan walls.

“Battle of Kalka” - Solving the crossword puzzle. Nickname of Mstislav. The conquests of Genghis Khan. Allies of the Russian princes. A detachment of Mongol light cavalry. The smallest military unit. Center for ART Education. Father-in-law of Mstislav the Udaly. Russian Land. Khan Kotyan. Mongols and Russians. Period in history. Subjugation of the Buryat tribes. Qualitative characteristics of the army. Prince of the Vladimir-Volyn principality. Kurultai at the source of the river.

“History of the Golden Horde” - Civil strife in the Golden Horde. The reign of Tokhtamysh. Consequences for the Chuvash Bulgarians. Confrontation between Tokhtamysh and Tamerlane. Great changes have occurred in the history of the Golden Horde. The defeat of the city of Bolgar by Tamerlane. Tokhtamysh. Genuine civil strife in Ulus. Collapse of the Golden Horde. Idegey. Fall of Idegei. Making a dream come true. Idegey's plans.

“Standing on the Ugra River” - The end of the confrontation. Akhmat managed to come to an agreement with the Polish-Lithuanian king Casimir IV. Akhmat with a large army moved to the Russian borders. In 1476, Grand Duke Ivan III stopped paying tribute to the khan. On October 3, Ivan III left Moscow and headed to the city of Kremenets. Tatar army. On October 8, Akhmat tried to cross the Ugra. Confrontation on the Ugra. Negotiation. Ivan III began to gather troops to the banks of the Oka River.

, especially for the site “Secrets of History”

By 1204, Genghis Khan (? - 1227), having subjugated and united almost all the Mongol tribes, began building his state. Innovations affected, first of all, the following areas of activity: the structure of the military-police apparatus, justice, foreign policy, and management of the ulus economy.

The first reform was transformations in the army, the main one of which was the rejection of the tribal principle of recruiting the army: “While maintaining outwardly the old decimal system inherent in the nomads of Central Asia, divided into wings - “left” (Dzhungar), “right” (Barungar) and “center” "(kel), who were subordinated to the closest associates of the kaan, Genghis Khan filled it with new content - the formation of tens, hundreds and thousands was carried out not according to the old principle of tribal militias, but according to the decisions of the highest authority of the state, that is, the kaan himself. These decimal units were now formed from different, not necessarily related, “wagons,” which made it possible to rationally distribute, so to speak, “conscript contingent” among unified military units […] For such a homogeneous military system, Genghis Khan could now appoint officers and commanders to positions people of your inner circle, without looking back at family traditions.”

In 1206, the Mongol army numbered 95 thousand people and Genghis Khan distributed it among the thousand-strong noyons. “Thousanders can be divided into three categories. The first were long-time associates of Chingis (20%), who received high ranks and special privileges for their service. It was from this group that the most famous Mongol military leaders emerged. The second group consisted of thousands of thousands associated with Genghis Khan through marriage or adoption (10%), who played a prominent role in government and army leadership. The overwhelming majority of thousands (70%) did not previously have any connections with Genghis Khan […] and were not subsequently promoted to major positions.”

The largest tactical unit in the Mongol army was the tumen, consisting of 10 thousand soldiers. In those tumens that were subordinated to the relatives of Genghis Khan, most of the thousands were necessarily recruited from warriors who had proven their loyalty to him.

Another innovation was the creation of a special guard corps of Keshikten bodyguards, subordinate directly to the khan. It was created from Genghis Khan's personal guard, initially numbering 70 turgauds (day guards) and 80 kebteuls (night guards). During 1206, the number of Keshiktens was increased to the tumen (Turgauds - 8 thousand, Kebteuls - 2 thousand). Keshikten were recruited from among the sons and younger brothers of noyons, thousanders and centurions. Those recruited into the keshig became guarantors of their families' loyalty to the khan and formed the first significant group of nobility, which owed their position to Genghis Khan.

The Keshikten, first of all, were responsible for the life of the khan; in addition, their function included maintaining order in the new state: “For the actual police functions, in the 10,000-strong Keshige Guard, there was a division of Kebteuls numbering 2,000 people. They, like the rest of the guards, carried out guard duty to protect the kaan and its headquarters, but they also had additional responsibilities […] their main occupation was police and, more broadly, law enforcement activities.”

In order to achieve loyalty from the Keshikten and finally remove them from the influence of tribal leaders, they were given significant privileges: “Genghis Khan issued a decree in which he ordered that his employees be considered to be of a higher rank than ordinary soldiers and military leaders who formed the basis of the regular army: “ My keshikten is taller than any army noyon-thousander, and my keshikten’s stirrup is taller than an army noyon-centurion or foreman.”

The creation of the keshig gave Genghis Khan:

firstly, a weapon in the fight against the traditional tribal way of life;

secondly, leaders into new management structures;

thirdly, a body for performing various kinds of security functions.

In the field of domestic policy, the main thing was the creation of a written law, which became the legal basis of the new state. This was the “Great Yasa” introduced by Genghis Khan at the kurultai in 1206. The scope of application of the new law applied to almost all areas and departments of law - state administrative, criminal, trade and economic, military and tax. Yasa regulated almost all the basics of life in the Mongol Empire, from everyday life to the principles of diplomacy and warfare.

The introduction of written laws required the creation of the position of a person responsible for their implementation - the supreme judge. “Moreover, the functions of the supreme judge […] also included supervision over the execution of duties and the collection of taxes. This stemmed from the fact that in the initial Mongol state, duties and taxes were not clearly differentiated, therefore, those who controlled the execution of duties (it is logical that a law enforcement structure was chosen for this) automatically assumed the functions of the tax authority in general.”

Thus, the main innovations that allowed Genghis Khan to create a centralized state and a strong army were: reforms in the army, the creation of a keshig, and the introduction of Yasa.

For the sake of truth, it should be said that all these innovations were invented before Genghis Khan and were already used, separately, by various nomadic peoples. For example, the Khitans were the first to introduce strict discipline; the guard, as a body of power, separated from clan traditions and subordinate only to the khan, was among the Kereits; The Huns and Turks had written laws. The merit of Genghis Khan was that he was able to introduce all these innovations in his new state.