Mongolia Lesson #1

The Mongol Empire was governed by civilian and military code, called the Yassa code.

An interesting aspect of Mongol Empire was it did not emphasize the importance of biological and cultural ethnicity and race among nomadic groups. The exception was the role of Genghis Khan and his family. The Mongol Empire was therefore one of the most ethnically and culturally diverse empires in history, as befitted its size. Many of the empire’s nomadic inhabitants considered themselves Mongols in military and civilian life, including Turks, Mongols, Arabs, and others.

There were to some degree ideals such as meritocracy among the Mongols and allied nomadic people in military and civilian life. There were tax exemptions for intellectuals like teachers and doctors. The Mongol Empire practiced religious tolerance to a large degree because it was generally indifferent to belief. The exception was when religious groups challenged the state. Those Ismaili Muslims that resisted the Mongols were exterminated.

The Mongol Empire linked together the previously fractured Silk Road states under one system and became somewhat open to trade and cultural exchange. However, the Mongol conquests did lead to a collapse of many of the ancient trading cities of Central Asia that resisted invasion. Taxes were also heavy and conquered people were used as forced labor in those regions.

Modern Mongolian historians say that towards the end of his life, Genghis attempted to create a civil state under the Great Yassa that would have established the legal equality of all individuals, including women [1]; however, there is no contemporary evidence of this or of the lifting of discriminatory policies towards sedentary peoples such as the Chinese. Modern scholars refer to a theoretical policy of encouraging trade and communication as the concept of Pax Mongolica (Mongol Peace).

source: Wikipedia.org