The Mongol Empire was once the world’s largest dominating empire, but the Mongols were never able to take over Europe, even though the initial campaigns created a “winner like chopping bamboo”.
In the 13th century, the Mongol army with a powerful spirit intended to conquer all of Europe. This made European countries tremble because the potential of the Mongols was too great.
Genghis Khan died before he could launch a campaign to conquer Europe.
Genghis Khan’s real name is Thiet Moc Chan, and his childhood was extremely difficult. The father was poisoned by a neighboring tribe, so the family of Genghis Khan lost all power and had to live a difficult nomadic life.
In 1182, Genghis Khan was captured by his former tribesmen in an ambush and imprisoned with cuffs around his neck, only to be able to escape thanks to a jailer. During this time, the mother taught Genghis Khan many things, from surviving the harsh weather conditions of Mongolia to the need for alliances with others. Since then, Genghis Khan has always had thoughts about the unity of the Mongol tribes.
In an attempt to unite the factions, Genghis Khan broke with Mongolian tradition. Instead of killing his enemies or enslaving them, Genghis Khan pledged to protect them and persuade them to participate in future conquests. Genghis Khan was also willing to favor talented, loyal and sensitive people, rather than favor members of clans and families.
It was the different ideas of that period that helped Genghis Khan’s alliance constantly grow. As a result, in 1206, Genghis Khan completely unified the Mongol tribes, setting the stage for the formation of the largest empire in world history.
The different climate and infectious disease stopped the Mongol army.
By 1220, the Mongol empire stretched from the Korean peninsula to the Yangtze River in China in the south and the Himalayas and the banks of the Euphrates River (modern-day Syria) in the west. The Mongols from time immemorial mastered the flash attack tactic that the Nazis later adopted. The enemies who stubbornly resisted were surrounded until exhausted.
Genghis Khan immediately divided his army into two sides. The main army led by Genghis Khan fought through Afghanistan and northern India to return to the Mongolian steppes. The remaining army of about 30,000 men, led by Triet Biet and Toc Bu Dai, marched through the Caucasus and into Russia, attacking deep into Armenia and Azerbaijan.
Genghis Khan then sent a small army to scout Poland and Hungary with the ambition to move west, into Europe. This army soon withdrew to Mongolia in 1223.
It is not clear why the decision to invade Europe was abandoned. Historians consider the Mongols invincible to other armies, but helpless when attacked by armies of malaria-transmitting mosquitoes , especially those stationed in the Caucasus and along the Black Sea.
Genghis Khan himself at that time also suffered from chronic malaria. Later historians mostly agree that Genghis Khan died in 1227 at the age of 65, from various illnesses caused by a weakened immune system since contracting malaria.
The resting place of Genghis Khan remains a mystery to this day. The Mongols did not take the threat posed by malaria seriously at the time, even though the empire at the time of Genghis Khan’s death was still very strong.
After Genghis Khan’s death, his son, Wau Kuotai, came to power, launching a campaign to invade Europe from 1236-1242. The Mongol army made its way through eastern Russia, capturing the Baltic states, reaching Budapest, Hungary, and the Danube in December 1241. From Budapest, the Mongols advanced deep into Austria and then south, but finally turned eastward in the Balkans in 1242.
The Mongol army once advanced to the Danube but then retreated.
The Mongols retreated with the sudden death of Wo Kuotai, leaving none of the generals in the mind to move further west.
The late British Prime Minister Winston Churchill once wrote: “There was a time when it seemed as if all of Europe would fall into the hands of the Mongols from the East. The Mongol army on horseback, proficient in archery overran Russia, Poland, and Hungary in 1241. They defeated the Germans and European cavalry near Buda and then suddenly retreated, Western Europe was lucky to escape.
The weak point of the Mongols was that they could not adapt to hot and humid climates, with mosquitoes raging . Heavy rains turn the Magyar grasslands of eastern Europe into a marshland, like a paradise for mosquitoes that transmit malaria. It was the mosquito that helped prevent the Mongols from invading the West , “drying up” their dream of conquering Europe.
Although the Mongols had some limited success in their invasion of Europe, they were repeatedly forced to retreat in the face of malaria, other diseases, and strong alliance defenses. alliance of European countries. The Mongols did not pay much attention to scientific and technical research and research, only living on nature, unable to prevent the breeding of mosquitoes.
Historian John Keegan, who has studied Mongolia for many years, says : “The Mongols failed to project military power from the semi-temperate and desert regions to the heavy rain regions of Europe, and they had to accept defeat.”
Until the end of the Mongol empire in 1368, mosquitoes and malaria parasites were still mentioned as one of the main causes , besides division and civil war among the Mongol tribes.