i'd like to know WHAT book you're reading...
..having studied this stuff i got to say your book surprises me. as many people have pointed out to exhaustion already, some irrigation systems were destroyed. but, please let me make something very clear, the general historical consensus is that the mongols were BENEFICARY to many economies (although, obviously, not the one's that they just sacked)
Let me explain...
The sack of Baghdad is seen as a prime example of causing irreperable economic and cultural devestation. True, the caliphate never recovered, however this is generaly seen my regional specialists as beeing due to the long political decline that proceeded (indeed, made possibile)the mongol 'invasion' (which was actually more reconissance-in-force but anyway).
BUT!
this is not all there is to an economy!
the Mongols created the largest empire ever known. As a result, trade between the West & East increased exponentialy, as 'pax Mongolia' was pretty much definete... you could pay a pass in Moscow and travel completly undhindered to China...this, ladies & gentlemen, is the first tinme in history business was so easy. It lead to a massive increase in Chinese wealth even though at the same time Mongol politics were aiming at mass genodice during the Yuan dynasty. The Hansic League actually Prospered for a brief while by the chaos caused around Novgorod, actually the famous English saying "And what does that have to do with the price of fish.." has been very well demonstrated by an fascinating book (forgot by whom) who showed the corrolation between London fish prices and Mongol action via the Hansic League.
Right i gotta get back to work. I recommend any book by Dr. Morgan, the 'king of the mongols', to get yourself up to speed. Mongol influence was positve in the sense of development, as it increased innovation in Europe, India and even China, and made the transfer of such ideas (e.g. gunpowder, or the spinning wheel) much easier.
And of course the climate was a wee bit different back then but oh well...
..having studied this stuff i got to say your book surprises me. as many people have pointed out to exhaustion already, some irrigation systems were destroyed. but, please let me make something very clear, the general historical consensus is that the mongols were BENEFICARY to many economies (although, obviously, not the one's that they just sacked)
Let me explain...
The sack of Baghdad is seen as a prime example of causing irreperable economic and cultural devestation. True, the caliphate never recovered, however this is generaly seen my regional specialists as beeing due to the long political decline that proceeded (indeed, made possibile)the mongol 'invasion' (which was actually more reconissance-in-force but anyway).
BUT!
this is not all there is to an economy!
the Mongols created the largest empire ever known. As a result, trade between the West & East increased exponentialy, as 'pax Mongolia' was pretty much definete... you could pay a pass in Moscow and travel completly undhindered to China...this, ladies & gentlemen, is the first tinme in history business was so easy. It lead to a massive increase in Chinese wealth even though at the same time Mongol politics were aiming at mass genodice during the Yuan dynasty. The Hansic League actually Prospered for a brief while by the chaos caused around Novgorod, actually the famous English saying "And what does that have to do with the price of fish.." has been very well demonstrated by an fascinating book (forgot by whom) who showed the corrolation between London fish prices and Mongol action via the Hansic League.
Right i gotta get back to work. I recommend any book by Dr. Morgan, the 'king of the mongols', to get yourself up to speed. Mongol influence was positve in the sense of development, as it increased innovation in Europe, India and even China, and made the transfer of such ideas (e.g. gunpowder, or the spinning wheel) much easier.
And of course the climate was a wee bit different back then but oh well...
