The Man Who Nearly Conquered the World - Genghis Khan

Recommendable!

Ancient DNA reveals the multiethnic structure of Mongolia's first nomadic empire, the Xiongnu

Amazing stuff! I was not aware or I forgot there was another huge Mongol empire before the well known Mongol empire of the 13-14th century.

"Long obscured in the shadows of history, the world's first nomadic empire—the Xiongnu—is at last coming into view thanks to painstaking archaeological excavations and new ancient DNA evidence. Arising on the Mongolian steppe 1,500 years before the Mongols, the Xiongnu empire grew to be one of Iron Age Asia's most powerful political forces—ultimately stretching its reach and influence from Egypt to Rome to Imperial China. ...
Economically grounded in animal husbandry and dairying, the Xiongnu were famously nomadic, building their empire on the backs of horses. Their proficiency at mounted warfare made them swift and formidable foes, and their legendary conflicts with Imperial China ultimately led to the construction of the Great Wall. ...
Although recent archaeogenetics studies have now traced the origins of the Xiongnu as a political entity to a sudden migration and mixing of disparate nomadic groups in northern Mongolia ca. 200 BCE ...
an international team of researchers ... conducted an in-depth genetic investigation of two imperial elite Xiongnu cemeteries along the western frontier of the empire: an aristocratic elite cemetery at Takhiltyn Khotgor and a local elite cemetery at Shombuuzyn Belchir. ...
Researchers found that individuals within the two cemeteries exhibited extremely high genetic diversity, to a degree comparable with that found across the Xiongnu Empire as a whole. In fact, high genetic diversity and heterogeneity was present at all levels—across the empire, within individual communities, and even within individual families—confirming the characterization of the Xiongnu Empire as a multiethnic empire. However, much of this diversity was stratified by status. ...
A second major finding was that high status Xiongnu burials and elite grave goods were disproportionately associated with women, corroborating textual and archaeological evidence that Xiongnu women played especially prominent political roles in the expansion and integration of new territories along the empire's frontier.
At the aristocratic elite cemetery of Takhiltyn Khotgor, researchers found that the elite monumental tombs had been built for women, with each prominent woman flanked by a host of commoner males buried in simple graves. The women were interred in elaborate coffins with the golden sun and moon emblems of Xiongnu imperial power and one tomb even contained a team of six horses and a partial chariot.
At the nearby local elite cemetery of Shombuuzyn Belchir, women likewise occupied the wealthiest and most elaborate graves, with grave goods consisting of wooden coffins, golden emblems and gilded objects, glass and faience beads, Chinese mirrors, a bronze cauldron, silk clothing, wooden carts, and more than a dozen livestock, as well as three objects conventionally associated with male horse-mounted warriors: a Chinese lacquer cup, a gilded iron belt clasp, and horse tack. Such objects and their symbolism convey the great political power of the women. ..."

From the abstract:

"The Xiongnu established the first nomadic imperial power, controlling the Eastern Eurasian steppe from ca. 200 BCE to 100 CE. Recent archaeogenetic studies identified extreme levels of genetic diversity across the empire, corroborating historical records of the Xiongnu Empire being multiethnic. However, it has remained unknown how this diversity was structured at the local community level or by sociopolitical status. To address this, we investigated aristocratic and local elite cemeteries at the western frontier of the empire. Analyzing genome-wide data from 18 individuals, we show that genetic diversity within these communities was comparable to the empire as a whole, and that high diversity was also observed within extended families. Genetic heterogeneity was highest among the lowest-status individuals, implying diverse origins, while higher-status individuals harbored less genetic diversity, suggesting that elite status and power was concentrated within specific subsets of the broader Xiongnu population."

Ancient DNA reveals the multiethnic structure of Mongolia's first nomadic empire

Genetic population structure of the Xiongnu Empire at imperial and local scales (open access)

Excavation of the Xiongnu Elite Tomb 64 

Fig. 3. Genetic diversity of the Xiongnu

Khutulun: Warrior Princess

Recommendable! Among other things, she was a competitive wrestler who would only marry the man who can beat her in wrestling. The French had Joan of Arc and the mongols had Khutulun.

Mongol Female Warrior & Princess Khutulun

Posted: 1/12/2019

Just a few days ago I watched this incredible YouTube biography of Khutulun, who lived from 1260 to 1306 AD. Wikipedia describes her as a “... Mongol noblewoman and wrestler. The most famous daughter of Kaidu, a cousin of Kublai Khan, her father was "most pleased by her abilities", and she accompanied him on military campaigns”

“Marco Polo described Khutulun as a superb warrior, one who could ride into enemy ranks and snatch a captive as easily as a hawk snatches a chicken. She assisted her father in many battles, particularly against the Yuan Dynasty of her cousin the Great Khan – Kublai (r. 1260–94).

Khutulun insisted that any man who wished to marry her must defeat her in wrestling. Winning horses from competitions and the wagers of would-be suitors, it is said that she gathered a herd numbering ten thousand.” (Source 2; emphasis added)

Many men tried, but were defeated by her in wrestling.

Friedrich Schiller, Giacomo Puccini, and others memorialized this Mongol warrior in their works.

Apparently, there were other influential Mongol women in history (see Source 3).

By the way, this Biographies channel by host Simon Whistler on YouTube offers lots of great, concise biographies.

Sources:

1. Khutulun: The Mongol Warrior Princess
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khutulun
3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Secret_History_of_the_Mongol_Queens

Biological Warfare Is Ancient

Trigger

Following article just reminded me that the history of biological warfare goes way back centuries:

http://www.fee.org/the_freeman/detail/black-death-and-taxes

I quote from the beginning of this article:

“Besieging the Black Sea port of Caffa, the Mongols … While the Genoese they wanted to capture were safe within the city, Mongol bodies piled up outside its walls.

The Mongols of the Golden Horde then did something unprecedented in both the history of warfare and the history of disease [ca. 1347 AD]. They piled their dead into catapults and hurled them over the city walls, raining diseased corpses on the besieged Genoese. These Italian merchants—visitors at the edge of the Mongol Empire—boarded their ships to flee the Crimea. It seems they brought the plague [Black Death] home with them. “

Moral Of The Story

Although, the Mongols certainly did not understand much about pathology, but they grasped that infected corpses could spread the disease and this could be used as a weapon.

It happened then, it can happen again. Humanity ought to be keenly aware of this.

Just imagine religious fanatics get hold of biological weapons.