The Mongol Empire
The largest contiguous empire the world has known
See it on the timeline →In depth
At its height the empire covered some 24 million square kilometres. Militarily it rested on discipline, intelligence, mobility and psychological warfare; administratively on religious tolerance, a meritocratic elite and a relay post system, the yam. The Pax Mongolica reopened the Silk Road and allowed Marco Polo and Ibn Battuta to travel. The price was enormous: the conquests of Khwarezm and Baghdad cost millions of lives, and the same routes carried plague westward a century later.
For children
Temüjin united the Mongol tribes and took the name Genghis Khan. With fast horsemen and bows, he and his descendants conquered an empire from Korea to Hungary. It was brutal — but it also meant you could travel safely right across Asia.
Connects to
Part of Terra Saga — the story of Earth on a timeline. terrasaga.org