That story of Mongol conquests is simply not true. Horse archer steppe nomads existed for many centuries before Mongols, and often tried to conquer their neighbors, with mixed success. What happened in the 1200s is that Mongols had a few exceptionally good leaders. After they died, Mongols lost their advantage.
Calling states like Khwarazmian or Jin Empire “small duchies” is especially funny.
What happened in the 1200s is that Mongols had a few exceptionally good leaders
It’s consistent with the overhang model that a new phase needs ingredients A, B, C, … X, Y, Z. When you only have A, … X it doesn’t work. Then Y and Z come, it all falls into place and there’s a rapid and disruptive change. In this case maybe Y and Z were good leaders or something. I don’t want to take too strong a position on this, as given my research it seems there is still debate among specialists about what exactly the key ingredients were.
That story of Mongol conquests is simply not true. Horse archer steppe nomads existed for many centuries before Mongols, and often tried to conquer their neighbors, with mixed success. What happened in the 1200s is that Mongols had a few exceptionally good leaders. After they died, Mongols lost their advantage.
Calling states like Khwarazmian or Jin Empire “small duchies” is especially funny.
It’s consistent with the overhang model that a new phase needs ingredients A, B, C, … X, Y, Z. When you only have A, … X it doesn’t work. Then Y and Z come, it all falls into place and there’s a rapid and disruptive change. In this case maybe Y and Z were good leaders or something. I don’t want to take too strong a position on this, as given my research it seems there is still debate among specialists about what exactly the key ingredients were.