Yes, the Mongols were famously tolerant of other religions, and the religious toleration of the Mongols was a major feature of the Mongol state. The Mongols made no attempt to convert the peoples that they conquered, and they allowed their subjects to practice their own faiths. The religious toleration of the Mongols was based on a combination of practical and ideological considerations, and it was one of the keys to the success of the Mongol Empire.
The religious toleration of the Mongols was codified in the Yassa code of law, which established the principle of religious freedom and required the Mongols to tolerate all religions. The Yassa also prohibited the Mongols from favoring one religion over another, and it required the Mongols to allow their subjects to practice their own faiths.
The Practical Reasons for Toleration
The most important of the practical reasons for the Mongol religious toleration was the need to maintain the loyalty of the subject populations. The Mongols were a relatively small ruling class ruling over a vast population of culturally distinct peoples, and they could not afford to antagonize the religious leaders of the conquered peoples. The religious toleration was, in effect, a way of ensuring the cooperation of the religious leaders, and it was a major factor in the ability of the Mongols to rule their vast empire.
The second most important of the practical reasons was the need to recruit administrators, engineers, and craftsmen from the conquered peoples. The Mongols needed the skills of the conquered peoples, and they could not afford to alienate the skilled workers by persecuting their religions. The religious toleration was, in effect, a way of ensuring the cooperation of the skilled workers, and it was a major factor in the ability of the Mongols to build the infrastructure of their empire.
The Ideological Reasons for Toleration
The most important of the ideological reasons for the Mongol religious toleration was the belief that the gods of all religions were manifestations of the same divine power. The Mongols believed that the divine power was manifest in many different ways, and that all religions had a right to exist. The religious toleration was, in this sense, a natural extension of the Mongol religious beliefs, and it was a major factor in the ability of the Mongols to maintain a cosmopolitan religious culture.
The second most important of the ideological reasons was the belief that the khan was the chosen of Tengri, the eternal blue sky. The Mongols believed that the divine power had chosen the khan to rule the world, and that the divine power had also chosen the various religions of the world. The religious toleration was, in this sense, a recognition of the divine plan, and it was a major factor in the ability of the Mongols to maintain the religious pluralism of the empire.
The Practice of Toleration
The religious toleration of the Mongols was not merely theoretical; it was also practical. The Mongols patronized a wide variety of religious institutions, including Buddhist monasteries, Christian churches, Muslim mosques, and Confucian temples. The most important of these institutions was the Buddhist monastery, which was a major recipient of the imperial patronage.
The Mongols also appointed religious leaders to high positions in the imperial administration. The most famous example is the appointment of the Taoist monk Qiu Chuji to be the spiritual adviser of Genghis Khan. The Mongols also patronized Christian missionaries, including John of Plano Carpini and William of Rubruck, who were given access to the imperial court and who were allowed to preach their religion.
The religious toleration of the Mongols was also visible in the legal system. The Yassa code of law required the Mongols to tolerate all religions, and it prohibited the Mongols from favoring one religion over another. The legal system was enforced by the imperial administration, and the religious toleration was a major feature of the legal system.
The Limits of Toleration
The religious toleration of the Mongols was not, however, unlimited. The Mongols reserved the right to punish religious leaders who engaged in political activity, and they did not allow the religious leaders to incite rebellion or to disobey the imperial government. The Mongols also reserved the right to intervene in religious disputes, and they sometimes intervened in disputes between the Buddhist and the Muslim communities.
The religious toleration of the Mongols was also tested by the conversion of the Ilkhanate to Islam in the late thirteenth century. The conversion of the Ilkhanate led to a series of persecutions of the Christian and Jewish minorities, and the religious toleration of the Ilkhanate was significantly reduced. The religious toleration of the Yuan Dynasty in China was also tested by the conflicts between the Buddhist and the Taoist communities, and the Mongols eventually intervened to suppress the Taoist communities.
The Legacy of Mongol Religious Toleration
The legacy of the Mongol religious toleration is visible in a number of ways. The most obvious is in the modern world, where the principle of religious toleration is a major feature of international law. The Mongols were, in this sense, ahead of their time, and the religious toleration of the Mongols was a major contribution to the development of the modern concept of human rights.
The legacy of the Mongol religious toleration is also visible in the cultures of the successor states of the Mongol Empire. The most obvious is in the cultures of the Ilkhanate in Persia and the Yuan Dynasty in China, where the religious pluralism of the Mongol period was a major influence on the subsequent development of the cultures. The other examples include the cultures of the Golden Horde and the Chagatai Khanate, where the religious toleration of the Mongol period was a major influence on the subsequent development of the cultures.
Sources
- Jack Weatherford, The Secret History of the Mongol Queens (New York, 2010).
- Anatoly M. Khazanov, Nomads and the Outside World (2nd ed., Madison, 1994).
- David Morgan, The Mongols (2nd ed., Oxford, 2007).