The Timur Podcast

A map illustrating the military campaigns and the expansion of Mongol territory under the leadership of Genghis Khan after the founding of the Mongol Empire in 1206 AD, until his death in 1227 AD. Genghis Khan (1162-1227) rose from relative obscurity on the Mongolian plateau to establish the largest land empire that ever existed, spanning the entire Asian continent from the coast of the Pacific to Hungary in the heart of Europe. At its peak, the Mongol empire covered more than 11 million square miles (close to 30 million square kilometers), an area as big as Africa. Yet, in this Pax Mongolica, a letter from Tabriz could be safely delivered to Beijing (a distance of 5,000 miles / 8,000 km) in about a month. This humongous empire was carved out through vision, capable administration, multiple weakened Asian states, and on the backs of the "devil's horsemen," the greatest, fastest, most versatile cavalry ever. Genghis' descendants expanded the realm as far as Korea, Syria, Vietnam, and Poland, enduring through the Yuan dynasty in China, the Chagatai khanate in Central Asia, the Golden Horde in southern Russia, and the Ilkhanid dynasty in Greater Iran. © Simeon Netchev #archaeohistories