Book contents
- The Cambridge History of the Mongol Empire
- The Cambridge History of the Mongol Empire
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Figures in Volume I
- Figures in Volume II
- Maps in Volume I
- Maps in Volume II
- Tables in Volume I
- Contributors to Volume I
- Contributors to Volume II
- Acknowledgments
- Notes on Dates and Transliterations
- Abbreviations
- Volume I
- Introduction
- Volume I Part 1 Political History
- Volume I Part 2 Thematic Histories
- 6 Mongol Imperial Institutions
- 7 Imperial Ideology
- 8 The Military Machine
- 9 Economic Exchange
- 10 Religious Exchange
- 11 Scientific Exchange
- 12 Artistic Exchange
- 13 The Climate and Environment of the Mongol Conquest
- 14 Women and Gender under Mongol Rule
- Volume I Part 3 Views from the Edges
- Volume I Part 4 External Histories
- Epilogue
- Volume II
- Index to Volume I
- Index to Volume II
- References
13 - The Climate and Environment of the Mongol Conquest
from Volume I Part 2 - Thematic Histories
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 01 January 2024
- The Cambridge History of the Mongol Empire
- The Cambridge History of the Mongol Empire
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Figures in Volume I
- Figures in Volume II
- Maps in Volume I
- Maps in Volume II
- Tables in Volume I
- Contributors to Volume I
- Contributors to Volume II
- Acknowledgments
- Notes on Dates and Transliterations
- Abbreviations
- Volume I
- Introduction
- Volume I Part 1 Political History
- Volume I Part 2 Thematic Histories
- 6 Mongol Imperial Institutions
- 7 Imperial Ideology
- 8 The Military Machine
- 9 Economic Exchange
- 10 Religious Exchange
- 11 Scientific Exchange
- 12 Artistic Exchange
- 13 The Climate and Environment of the Mongol Conquest
- 14 Women and Gender under Mongol Rule
- Volume I Part 3 Views from the Edges
- Volume I Part 4 External Histories
- Epilogue
- Volume II
- Index to Volume I
- Index to Volume II
- References
Summary
This chapter explores the climatic and environmental conditions in the regions that were invaded by the Mongols during the first decades of their conquest. Its main goal is to trace possible connections between environmental conditions and economic, military, or political aspects of the Mongol conquest. Four separate regions are considered: Mongolia, northern China and Manchuria, arid Central Asia, and Russia and Eastern Europe. For each region, the chapter presents a survey, based on current scientific literature, of the prevailing paleoclimatic conditions pertaining chiefly to temperature and precipitation, thus attempting to assess possible connections between environmental and historical factors. The most relevant findings are to be registered in relation to environmental conditions that may have supported or hindered large-scale Mongol military operations. It should be noted that climatic reconstructions contain a high level of uncertainty and are based on different types of proxy data that are difficult to interpret.
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- The Cambridge History of the Mongol Empire , pp. 603 - 627Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2023