Mongol Society, Culture, and Daily Life

The Mongol people of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries were heirs to a rich and ancient steppe civilization, and the empire that they built was, in many ways, an expression of the values, customs, and traditions of the Mongolian steppe. The Mongols were a nomadic, pastoral people, organized into tribes and clans, and bound together by a complex system of customs and traditions. The empire that they built was, in many ways, a projection of this steppe society onto a continental scale.

This page is a complete overview of Mongol society, culture, and daily life. The narrative below is drawn from the Secret History of the Mongols, from the chronicles of Persian historians such as Juvaini and Rashid al-Din, from the testimony of European travelers such as John of Plano Carpini and William of Rubruck, and from the modern scholarship that has reshaped our understanding of the Mongol people in the last fifty years.

The Nomadic Pastoral Economy

The foundation of Mongol society was the nomadic pastoral economy, a system of livestock herding that was adapted to the harsh conditions of the Mongolian plateau. The Mongols raised horses, sheep, goats, camels, and cattle, and they moved their herds seasonally between summer and winter pastures. The animals provided the Mongols with food, clothing, shelter, and transportation, and they were the basis of the Mongol way of life.

The nomadic pastoral economy was profoundly different from the agricultural economies of the sedentary civilizations that surrounded the Mongols. The Mongols did not farm the land, and they did not live in permanent settlements. They moved their herds and their dwellings, the yurts, with the seasons, and they followed a regular pattern of movement that was dictated by the climate and the availability of pasture.

The nomadic pastoral economy had a number of important consequences for Mongol society. The first was mobility: the Mongols were always on the move, and they developed a culture and a way of life that was adapted to mobility. The second was egalitarianism: the pastoral economy did not produce the kind of social stratification that was characteristic of agricultural societies, and the Mongol people were, by the standards of the medieval world, relatively egalitarian. The third was militarism: the pastoral economy produced a culture in which warfare was a central feature, and the Mongols were, by the standards of the medieval world, a warlike people.

The Tribal Organization

The Mongols were organized into tribes, clans, and lineages, and the tribal organization was a central feature of Mongol society. The basic unit of the tribal organization was the patrilineal clan, the oboq, which traced descent from a common male ancestor and which was the basis of identity and obligation. The clans were grouped into tribes, and the tribes were grouped into larger confederations.

The tribal organization was based on a complex system of customary law, which regulated marriage, inheritance, hospitality, and conflict. The customary law was enforced by the chiefs of the clans, who were responsible for the conduct of their members. The chiefs were assisted by councils of elders, who advised on questions of war, migration, and dispute settlement.

The tribal organization was significantly transformed by Genghis Khan, who broke the power of the old aristocratic lineages and replaced them with a new system based on the decimal military organization. The decimal organization was a major social revolution, and it had the effect of transferring the loyalty of the warriors from the clans to the khan.

The Mongol Religion

The Mongol religion was a complex mixture of shamanism, ancestor worship, and the worship of the eternal blue sky, Tengri. The religion was a central feature of Mongol life, and it was a major factor in the political and military success of the Mongols. The Mongols were famously tolerant of other religions, and they made no attempt to convert the peoples that they conquered.

The Mongol religion was based on a system of shamans, called bökö, who communicated with the spirits and who interceded with the unseen powers. The shamans were important figures in Mongol life, and they played a major role in the political and military decisions of the khan. The shamans were also important in the religious life of the Mongols, and they performed the rituals that were central to the Mongol religion.

The Mongols were also tolerant of other religions, and they allowed their subjects to practice their own faiths. The Mongols patronized Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, and Confucianism, and they established religious institutions of all these faiths in their capitals. The religious toleration of the Mongols was a major feature of the Mongol state, and it was one of the keys to the success of the Mongol Empire.

The Mongol Yurt

The yurt was the characteristic dwelling of the Mongol people, and it was perfectly adapted to the conditions of the nomadic pastoral economy. The yurt was a portable, round tent made of a wooden frame covered with felt, and it could be assembled and disassembled in about an hour. The yurt was the home of the Mongol family, and it was the center of the Mongol way of life.

The yurt was a sophisticated piece of design, and it was the result of centuries of development on the steppe. The yurt was designed to be light enough to be carried by a few camels or horses, but sturdy enough to withstand the harsh conditions of the steppe. The yurt was also designed to be warm in winter and cool in summer, and it was a major factor in the ability of the Mongols to live in the harsh conditions of the Mongolian plateau.

The yurt was also a symbol of the Mongol way of life, and it has remained an important symbol of the Mongol national identity to the present day. The yurt is still used in Mongolia today, and it is a major feature of the cultural life of the country. The yurt is also a major tourist attraction, and visitors to Mongolia often stay in yurts during their travels.

The Role of Women

The role of women in Mongol society was relatively high by the standards of the medieval world, and women played important roles in the political, economic, and religious life of the Mongol people. The Mongols were, by the standards of the medieval world, a relatively egalitarian society, and women had a number of rights that were unusual in the medieval world.

The most important of these rights was the right to inherit property. The Mongol customary law allowed women to inherit property, and the property was divided among the heirs according to a fixed formula. The right to inherit property was unusual in the medieval world, and it was a major factor in the relative independence of Mongol women.

The most important of the women in Mongol history was Sorghaghtani Beki, the wife of Tolui and the mother of Möngke, Kublai, Hulagu, and Ariq Böke. Sorghaghtani was a Nestorian Christian, and she was one of the most important political figures of the thirteenth century. She was the chief adviser of her sons, and she played a major role in the Toluid Civil War of 1260-1264.

The Mongol Diet

The Mongol diet was based on the products of the pastoral economy, and it consisted primarily of meat and dairy products. The staple food was meat, particularly mutton and horse meat, and the staple drink was airag, a fermented mare’s milk that was a major source of nutrition for the Mongols.

The Mongol diet was supplemented by a variety of other foods, including wild game, fish, and plants. The Mongols were also fond of tea, which they drank in a distinctive style with milk and salt. Tea was a major import, and the Mongols were major consumers of the tea of China and Central Asia.

The Mongol diet was well adapted to the conditions of the steppe, and it was a major factor in the health and the vigor of the Mongol people. The diet was, however, very different from the diet of the sedentary civilizations, and the Mongols who moved to the cities of China and Persia often had to adjust to a new diet.

The Mongol Arts

The Mongol arts were a distinctive feature of the Mongol cultural tradition, and they were characterized by a combination of steppe traditions and the traditions of the conquered peoples. The Mongols were famous for their music, which was based on a combination of Mongolian instruments and the instruments of Central Asia. The Mongols were also famous for their crafts, particularly metalwork, leatherwork, and textile production.

The Mongol arts reached their height in the Yuan Dynasty in China, where the imperial court patronized a wide range of artistic traditions. The most distinctive of the Yuan artistic traditions was the painting of the Yuan court, which combined Chinese brushwork with Persian colors and motifs. The architecture of the Yuan capital, Khanbaliq, was similarly cosmopolitan, combining Chinese, Tibetan, and Persian elements.

The Mongol Language and Writing

The Mongol language was a central feature of the Mongol cultural tradition, and the development of a writing system for the language was a major step in the development of the Mongol state. The Mongols adopted the Uyghur script, which was derived from the Sogdian script, in the early thirteenth century, and they used it to write the Secret History of the Mongols and other important texts.

The Mongol language was also written in a number of other scripts over the centuries, including the ‘Phags-pa script, which was devised in the late thirteenth century, and the Cyrillic script, which was introduced in the seventeenth century. The modern Mongolian language, Khalkha Mongolian, is now written in the traditional Mongolian script, which is a modified version of the Uyghur script.

Sources

This page draws on the following scholarship:

Jack Weatherford, The Secret History of the Mongol Queens (New York: Crown, 2010) — the most accessible popular treatment of Mongol women, religion, and culture.
Anne F. Broadbridge, Women and the Making of Modern Mongol State (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2018) — the standard scholarly treatment of Mongol queenship and the political role of women.
David Morgan, The Mongols (2nd ed., Oxford: Blackwell, 2007), ch. 1 and ch. 6.
Igor de Rachewiltz, ed. and trans., The Secret History of the Mongols (2 vols., Leiden: Brill, 2004–2013) — the standard scholarly edition.
Anatoly M. Khazanov, Nomads and the Outside World (2nd ed., Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1994) — the standard sociological treatment of Inner Asian nomadism.
Thomas J. Barfield, The Perilous Frontier: Nomadic Empires and China, 221 BC to AD 1757 (Oxford: Blackwell, 1989) — for the steppe–China relationship.
Christopher Dawson, ed. and trans., The Mongol Mission: Narratives and Letters of the Franciscan Missionaries in Mongolia and China in the 13th and 14th Centuries (New York: Sheed & Ward, 1955) — for the European eyewitness accounts.

Mongol Society, Culture, and Daily Life — The World of the Steppe