Chapter 15 Section 1 The Western Expedition of Mongolia and its Influence on the Communication and Cultural Exchange between China and the West

After the rise of the Mongolian tribes in the grasslands of northern China, in 1206, Temujin (reigned 1162-1227 AD) unified the Mongolian grasslands and became the Great Khan of Mongolia, respectfully called Genghis Khan (meaning ocean-like Khan).At that time, Mongolia was bordered by Xiliao and Xixia in the west, and Jin Dynasty in the south.After the founding of the country, it continued to expand. While expanding to the south, it also launched a campaign to the west. In 1217, after Genghis Khan handed over the war of invasion of gold to his generals, he pointed the spearhead of conquest to the West.After conquering Xiliao, starting from 1219, Genghis Khan personally led the main force of 200,000 troops to start the Western Expedition.He robbed and killed the Mongolian caravan on the pretext of Khwarazmo, a big country in Central Asia (in today's Haidong, south of Syrah), and first targeted Khwarazmo.He first captured Samarkand, the capital of Khwarazmo, and razed it to the ground.Subsequently, the Mongolian army attacked westward into Kipchak (in the west of the Caspian Sea and north of the Black Sea), defeated the coalition forces of Kipchak and Oros (in the area of ​​Moscow and Kyiv in the former Soviet Union), and entered the southern border of Oros. In 1226, Genghis Khan returned to attack Xixia.The following year, Xixia was destroyed.

After Genghis Khan's death, his son Ogedei succeeded him.After Wo Kuotai conquered the Jin Dynasty in 1234, he launched the second western expedition of the Mongolian army from 1235 to 1244.This Western Expeditionary Army was led by the eldest son of Genghis Khan's four sons.Among them, Genghis Khan's eldest grandson, Batu, is the most important.In history, this Western Expedition was called the "Eldest Son's Western Expedition".After conquering Kipchak and pacifying Oros, the Mongolian army divided the route to attack Sorell (now Poland) in the west and Mazar (now Hungary) in the south. In 1243, Batu established the Kipchak Khanate (also known as the Golden Horde) in present-day Russia.

During the reign of Meng Ge, the third Mongolian Western Expedition was launched from 1253 to 1260.This time, the Mongol army was led by Hulagu, Meng Ge's younger brother, and first conquered Mulayi (now northern Iran), and then made an emergency landing in Baghdad, destroying the Arab Empire.Then the troops divided into three groups, crossed the Euphrates River, invaded Syria, and pressed Egypt. In 1260, Kublai Khan became the Great Khan and enfeoffed Xu Liegu.Hulagu's Ilkhanate stretched from the Amu Darya River in the east to Asia Minor in the west, Chincha Khan in the north, and the Indian Ocean in the south.

Mongolia's three western expeditions disturbed the entire civilized world of Eurasia at that time, temporarily connecting civilized areas that were originally isolated from each other due to various conditions such as geography, economy, and politics, and used violent means to temporarily connect them.During this period, the traffic and cultural exchanges between China and the West reached unprecedented heights in history. The Mongolian Expedition brought about a large-scale two-way population flow and migration in the ancient history of the world.With the western expedition of the Mongolian army, a large number of Mongolians, Han people, and people of various ethnic groups in Northwest China and Central Asia migrated from east to west, entering Central Asia, West Asia, Eastern Europe and even Western Europe.Later, with the establishment of the Khanates, many of these westward migrants settled down there, spreading East Asian civilization to the region.With the return of the Mongolian Expeditionary Army to the east, a large number of Central Asians, West Asians, Oros, and Kipchaks, or as princes and nobles who surrendered, or as captive craftsmen and slaves, came to the east. Also brought their civilization to East Asia.In the vast expanse of the Mongolian Empire, there were many merchants, envoys, and travelers coming and going, which also played a role in spreading culture and promoting exchanges.For example, the Taoist priest Qiu Chuji (named Changchun Zhenren) set out from Shandong to meet Genghis Khan under the edict of Genghis Khan, but he did not meet the Haiyang Khan until he walked to the Amu Darya River.His accompanying disciple Li Zhichang wrote "Journey to the West of Changchun Real Man" after returning, describing the situation in various parts of Central Asia.The Catholic priest Pulan Galbin and others, under the order of the Pope, traveled thousands of miles to Mongolia and wrote a book "History of Mongolia" after returning. describe.

Since the Western Expedition of Mongolia cleared the way west to Europe, and at the same time, the Qincha Khanate and the Ilkhanate still nominally obeyed the orders of the Great Khan (that is, the emperor of the Yuan Dynasty) in Khanbali (that is, the capital of the Yuan Dynasty, now Beijing), so the Yuan Dynasty At that time, the connection between China and Central Asia, West Asia and even Europe was much more convenient than before.As early as the Wokuotai period, a post road leading directly to the camp of Batu, the commander of the Western Expeditionary Army, had been set up.Later, the traffic from the Chincha Grassland and Russia to the East became more and more developed.Western businessmen and envoys often pass through Sarai (near today's Astrakhan), the capital of the Chincha Khanate, and arrive at Yulongjiechi (now Turkmen Kunya Urgench) in the lower reaches of the Amu Darya River. Arrived in Alimali (now Huocheng County, Xinjiang), the east-west traffic hub of Tianshan North Road, in places such as Kazakhstan (now Bukhara, Uzbekistan), and Samarkand.From there, you can take the Altai Mountain South Post Road to the north to Helin (the capital of Mongolia, the full name of Hara Helin, and the former site is in the north of Erdenizhao, Hangai Province, Mongolia People's Republic of China), and then there is a post road leading directly to the inland; you can also go east through Hami Li (now Hami, Xinjiang), went directly to the Central Plains along the old silk road.

The rulers of the Ilkhanate and the Yuan Dynasty were both descendants of Genghis Khan’s youngest son Tuolei, and the relationship between the two sides was closer.Since the founding of the Ilkhanate, the post-transmission system has been implemented all over the country, and it has direct contacts with the Mongolian Khan's resident.The envoy holds a gold medal and travels unimpeded everywhere.Therefore, the traditional Silk Road, which traveled through the territory of the Ilkhanate, flourished during this period.The scale of economic and cultural exchanges between the Yuan Dynasty and the Ilkhanate was unprecedented.A large number of Persians and Arabs from the Ilkhanate came to the Yuan Dynasty to serve as officials, do business, and engage in handicrafts.In the Yuan Dynasty, many Mongolian and Han officials, merchants, and craftsmen also went to settle in the Ilkhanate.The Ilkhanate took advantage of its convenient location in the transportation between China and the West, recruited scholars from China, Arabia, Persia, and Hebrew (another name for Jews) in astronomy and calendar calculation, and established the Malarag near Tabriz. A large-scale observatory has also established a library with a collection of 400,000 volumes. The Ilkhan Astronomical Table, completed around 1272, introduced the calendar and astronomical works of China, Greece, Arabia and Persia.This masterpiece in the history of world astronomy is the fruit of the cooperation of scientists from various nationalities gathered in the Ilkhanate.The Ilkhanate played an important media role in the cultural exchange between the East and the West.