Powers and Thrones: A New History of the Middle Ages

by Dan Jones

The Mongols pioneered the administrative tools of a global empire: a world-class postal system, universal law code, rationalized and decimalized military reform, and an extremely harsh but efficient approach to metropolitan planning. Their imperial systems set a gold standard that had not been seen on such scale since Rome’s demise and arguably would not be seen again until the nineteenth century. More than any empire since pre-Christian Romans, they were largely relaxed about religious dogma (although Genghis Khan forbade Islamic ritual halal slaughter of animals), relatively flexible about permitting local customs under the umbrella of Mongol rule, and respectful of religious leaders without preferring one sect or faith to another. As a result of these achievements and more, historians have credited the Mongol khans with everything from revolutionizing medieval banking to forging the worldview of American founding fathers. In their own day they inspired both envious admiration and sheer, slack-jawed terror.