Sergi Bodrov’s Mongol: The Rise of Genghis Kahn can just be seen as a movie that shows gory battle scenes and a journey of a man; however, Bodrovs movie also shows elements of how the Mongols created the largest empire in the premodern world and kept it going for a century. Mongol: The Rise of Genghis Kahn particularly reflects the harshness of the people and of the conditions they lived in, the divine power and their mission from God, their value of knowledge, and the fairness they had towards their people.
The Mongols lived in the steppes of China where the terrain was rough and the environment was harsh. The terrain consisted of barren flat lands and the air was blustery. The harshness of the terrain in Mongol: The Rise of Genghis Kahn is shown when Temudgin and his clan are moving nomadically across the lands to feed the cattle (Roux, 2003, 114). Being that the Mongols were nomadic, they needed some shelter to sleep in because of the usually harsh conditions they lived in Yurts. Yurts are “houses in which they sleep, they base upon a round frame of wickers interlaced compactly: the roof consists of wickers, meeting above into one little roundel, out of which ascends a neck like chimney” (Roux, 2003, 115). These yurts were easy to set up and take down. They were also easily portable because they had to move with their herds of cattle as they searched for food. The Mongols were naturally tough people because the conditions they lived in so they had to be tough to survive. The Mongols were also very harsh when it came to conquering cities or other clans. The clan that poisoned Temudgins father was very harsh to the people of Temudgins clan. Borte tells Temudgin that “all they do is kill and steal, they don’t even spare the children” (Bodrov, Mongol, 2008). Another quote is “Slay them and destroy their place, so that the others who hear and see should fear and not act the same” (Weatherford, 2004, 111). These quotes mean that the Mongols were relentless and they would do anything just to conquer anyone even if that meant killing everyone that they were wanting to conquer. Whoever presumed to oppose and resist the Kahn was utterly destroyed, together with all his followers’ children, partisans, armies, lands, and territories (Roux, 2003, 124). The Mongol warriors “were armed with lances, maces, and bows and rode small Manchurian steeds” (Haskew, 2008, 73). Being armed with this type of artillery meant that the Mongols were prepared for hand to hand combat as well as their specialty, archery, which made them the most feared because of the distance they were able to shoot. Also, they used these weapons to a degree that would install fear into people that the Mongols are looking to conquer also …show more content…
The Mongols had their own skills in certain areas such as warfare but they also had their weaknesses like literacy and skilled craftsmanship. We know that most of the Mongols were illiterate when Temudgin is asked to save the monastery but he says “I can’t read” (Bodrov, Mongol, 2008), so why should they save the monastery? The Mongol empire made sure that many of the skilled workers were saved when they were conquering cities. The Mongols admired the skills of the workers and it is shown in “Genghis Kahn and the Mongol Empire”. This quote says “The conquerors had not carefully spared the lives of so many artisans during the plunder of cities only to let them sit idle, and so the artisans continued to work even as fighting continued” (Roux, 2003, 74). The Mongols also valued the scholars of China and it is shown when the monk asks Temudgin to spare the monastery because it has many sacred books inside (Bodrov, Mongol, 2008). In the end of the movie it does say that the monastery survived and the Mongols kept the sacred books. The value of other people’s knowledge that the Mongols had was different from other dynasties because usually the new dynasties wanted to make their own records and scholarly works rather than save someone else’s. The Mongols also treated their people fairly unlike other
The Mongols lived in the steppes of China where the terrain was rough and the environment was harsh. The terrain consisted of barren flat lands and the air was blustery. The harshness of the terrain in Mongol: The Rise of Genghis Kahn is shown when Temudgin and his clan are moving nomadically across the lands to feed the cattle (Roux, 2003, 114). Being that the Mongols were nomadic, they needed some shelter to sleep in because of the usually harsh conditions they lived in Yurts. Yurts are “houses in which they sleep, they base upon a round frame of wickers interlaced compactly: the roof consists of wickers, meeting above into one little roundel, out of which ascends a neck like chimney” (Roux, 2003, 115). These yurts were easy to set up and take down. They were also easily portable because they had to move with their herds of cattle as they searched for food. The Mongols were naturally tough people because the conditions they lived in so they had to be tough to survive. The Mongols were also very harsh when it came to conquering cities or other clans. The clan that poisoned Temudgins father was very harsh to the people of Temudgins clan. Borte tells Temudgin that “all they do is kill and steal, they don’t even spare the children” (Bodrov, Mongol, 2008). Another quote is “Slay them and destroy their place, so that the others who hear and see should fear and not act the same” (Weatherford, 2004, 111). These quotes mean that the Mongols were relentless and they would do anything just to conquer anyone even if that meant killing everyone that they were wanting to conquer. Whoever presumed to oppose and resist the Kahn was utterly destroyed, together with all his followers’ children, partisans, armies, lands, and territories (Roux, 2003, 124). The Mongol warriors “were armed with lances, maces, and bows and rode small Manchurian steeds” (Haskew, 2008, 73). Being armed with this type of artillery meant that the Mongols were prepared for hand to hand combat as well as their specialty, archery, which made them the most feared because of the distance they were able to shoot. Also, they used these weapons to a degree that would install fear into people that the Mongols are looking to conquer also …show more content…
The Mongols had their own skills in certain areas such as warfare but they also had their weaknesses like literacy and skilled craftsmanship. We know that most of the Mongols were illiterate when Temudgin is asked to save the monastery but he says “I can’t read” (Bodrov, Mongol, 2008), so why should they save the monastery? The Mongol empire made sure that many of the skilled workers were saved when they were conquering cities. The Mongols admired the skills of the workers and it is shown in “Genghis Kahn and the Mongol Empire”. This quote says “The conquerors had not carefully spared the lives of so many artisans during the plunder of cities only to let them sit idle, and so the artisans continued to work even as fighting continued” (Roux, 2003, 74). The Mongols also valued the scholars of China and it is shown when the monk asks Temudgin to spare the monastery because it has many sacred books inside (Bodrov, Mongol, 2008). In the end of the movie it does say that the monastery survived and the Mongols kept the sacred books. The value of other people’s knowledge that the Mongols had was different from other dynasties because usually the new dynasties wanted to make their own records and scholarly works rather than save someone else’s. The Mongols also treated their people fairly unlike other