Part 8/15:
The most impressive conquerors in human history hail from the steppe: the Huns, Turks, and Mongols. The Mongol Empire, in particular, was a global phenomenon—stretching from Korea to Hungary and India—arguably the largest contiguous empire ever built. These nomadic empires shared a common trait: their ability to leverage mobility, strategic genius, and a relentless warrior culture.
Genghis Khan’s rise exemplifies this pattern. Born amidst chaos and hardship, he remade the Mongol identity from fragmented tribes into a unified military machine loyal to his leadership. His conquests destroyed the existing social and political order of Asia and Eurasia, ripping apart the economic and cultural fabric of the Silk Road regions, contributing to the decline of advanced urban civilizations there.