The military reforms of Genghis Khan transformed the Mongol people from a collection of divided tribes into the most effective military force in the world. The reforms were carried out over a period of more than two decades, from the late 1180s to the early 1200s, and they created the military institutions that would be the basis of the Mongol Empire for the next century and a half.
The reforms were comprehensive: they touched on every aspect of military organization, training, tactics, logistics, and discipline. The result was an army that was, by the standards of the time, the most disciplined, the most flexible, and the most effective military force in the world. The Mongol army that Genghis Khan created was, in many ways, a model of military organization that has been studied by military commanders for centuries.
The Decimal Reorganization
The most important of Genghis Khan’s military reforms was the decimal reorganization of the army. The traditional steppe army had been organized along tribal lines, with each tribe providing a contingent of warriors who owed loyalty to their tribal chieftain. This organization had a number of disadvantages: it was difficult to coordinate the actions of the different tribal contingents, and the loyalty of the warriors to their chieftain was often stronger than their loyalty to the supreme khan.
Genghis Khan replaced the tribal organization with a decimal organization. He divided his followers into units of ten (the arban), a hundred (the zuun), a thousand (the mingghan), and ten thousand (the tümen), and appointed his own commanders to each unit. The decimal organization had a number of advantages: it was based on the personal loyalty of the warriors to their commander, and the commander was responsible to the khan for the conduct of his unit.
The decimal organization was not merely a reorganization of the army. It was also a fundamental change in the social structure of the Mongol people. The warriors were no longer identified by their tribal affiliation, but by their unit of service. The unit became the primary social group, and the loyalty of the warrior to his unitmates was more important than his loyalty to his clan. The change was, in effect, a social revolution: it broke the power of the old aristocratic lineages and created a new class of warriors whose only loyalty was to the khan.
The Imperial Guard (Keshig)
The second major reform was the establishment of the imperial guard, called the keshig. The keshig was a body of ten thousand men, drawn from the most loyal and able of Genghis Khan’s followers, who served as the personal guard of the khan. The keshig was quartered at the imperial court and served as the training ground for the future commanders of the Mongol army; many of the most famous Mongol generals, including Subutai and Jebe, served in the keshig before being given field commands.
The keshig was also the center of the imperial administration. It was the keshig that kept the imperial records, communicated the khan’s orders, and served as the first line of defense against rebellion and assassination. The keshig was, in effect, the imperial headquarters, and it was the model for the imperial guards of the khanates that would follow.
The Promotion of Merit
The third major reform was the promotion of men of low birth to positions of command on the basis of their ability. The traditional steppe society had been organized around the aristocratic lineages, and the right to command had been reserved for members of the Borjigin clan and the other noble families. Genghis Khan, who had risen to power by breaking the power of the old aristocratic lineages, was determined to build his army on a different basis.
The promotion of men of low birth was, in effect, a continuation of the social revolution that Temüjin had begun in his early career. The new commanders were chosen for their ability, not for their birth, and they were fiercely loyal to Genghis Khan, who had elevated them. The new commanders included such men as Subutai, the son of a blacksmith, who would become the most successful general in the history of the Mongol Empire; Jebe, another commoner, who would lead some of the most daring cavalry raids in the history of warfare; and Mukhali, a member of the Jirgin clan, who would serve as the chief administrator of North China under Genghis Khan.
The promotion of merit had a profound effect on the morale of the army. The warriors knew that they could rise through the ranks on the basis of their ability, regardless of their birth, and they were fiercely loyal to the khan who had given them this opportunity. The promotion of merit was, in this sense, the foundation of the Mongol military tradition, and it was continued by Genghis Khan’s successors.
The Standardization of Equipment and Training
The fourth major reform was the standardization of equipment and training. The traditional steppe army had been a heterogeneous force, with warriors using a wide variety of weapons and armor and following a wide variety of training practices. Genghis Khan standardized the equipment of the army: every warrior was equipped with a recurved composite bow, a short sword, a lance, a lasso, and a set of leather armor. The standardization made it easier to maintain the army in the field and to coordinate the actions of different units.
Genghis Khan also standardized the training of the army. Every warrior was required to practice archery from horseback, and every unit was required to drill in the standard tactics of the Mongol army. The training was rigorous, and the warriors were expected to maintain their skills through constant practice. The most famous of the training exercises was the nerge, a great hunt in which the entire army was mobilized to surround and kill a large herd of game. The nerge served as both a training exercise and a source of food, and it was a major feature of the Mongol military tradition.
The Use of Spies and Intelligence
The fifth major reform was the systematic use of spies and intelligence. Genghis Khan understood that military success depended on good intelligence, and he established a network of spies and informants that covered the territories of his enemies. The spies provided information on the movements of enemy armies, the strength of enemy fortifications, and the political situation in enemy courts. The intelligence was used to plan military campaigns, to identify weaknesses in enemy defenses, and to identify potential allies in enemy courts.
The use of intelligence was, in the thirteenth century, a relatively new development. Most armies of the time relied on scouts and messengers for information, and the use of long-term intelligence networks was a distinctive feature of the Mongol military tradition. The intelligence network was, in effect, a military asset, and it was a major factor in the success of the Mongol campaigns.
The Yassa Code of Military Discipline
The sixth major reform was the promulgation of the Yassa code of law, which included a number of specific provisions for the discipline of the army. The Yassa required every warrior to report for duty when called, on pain of death. It required every warrior to maintain a certain number of horses and a certain amount of equipment, on pain of death. It required every warrior to share his booty with his commander and with the khan, on pain of death. It required every warrior to obey his commander in the field, on pain of death.
The Yassa was enforced with extraordinary severity. A warrior who failed to report for duty was executed. A warrior who failed to share his booty was executed. A warrior who disobeyed his commander was executed. The enforcement of the Yassa was a major factor in the discipline of the Mongol army, and it was one of the keys to the success of the Mongol campaigns.
The Integration of Conquered Peoples
The seventh major reform was the integration of conquered peoples into the army. The traditional steppe army had been a homogeneous force, drawn from the Mongol tribes and the other Turkic peoples of the steppe. Genghis Khan opened the army to warriors from all of the conquered peoples, including the Uighurs, the Keraits, the Naiman, and eventually the Chinese, the Persians, and the Europeans. The integration of conquered peoples gave the Mongol army a much larger pool of manpower than it would otherwise have had, and it was a major factor in the success of the Mongol campaigns.
The integration of conquered peoples was carried out on a selective basis. The best warriors from the conquered peoples were incorporated into the army, while the rest of the population was required to provide logistical support, taxation, and conscription. The integration was a major factor in the cultural diversity of the Mongol army, and it was one of the most distinctive features of the Mongol military tradition.
Sources
- Timothy May, The Mongol Art of War (Barnsley: Pen & Sword, 2007) — the best single treatment of the Mongol military system in English.
- John Man, Genghis Khan: Life, Death and Legacy (London: HarperCollins, 2004), ch. 8.
- Paul Ratchnevsky, Genghis Khan: His Life and Legacy (Oxford: Blackwell, 1991), ch. 7.
- David Morgan, The Mongols (2nd ed., Oxford: Blackwell, 2007), ch. 2.
- Igor de Rachewiltz, ed. and trans., The Secret History of the Mongols (2 vols., Leiden: Brill, 2004–2013), vol. 1 commentary.
- Christopher I. Beckwith, Empires of the Silk Road (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2009), ch. 6.
- René Grousset, The Empire of the Steppes: A History of Central Asia (New Brunswick: Rutgers, 1970; trans. Naomi Walford from the 1939 French original).