Pages: 17-25

When evaluating the role of the empire ruled by Genghis Khan and his successors in world history, one should not overlook the fact that the Mongol conquests brought death and destruction to many peoples and civilizations. However, at the same time, it would be incorrect to exaggerate the degree and character of the devastation perpetrated by the Mongols. As a result, stable and wide-reaching networks of cultural and technological contact between diverse peoples and states. This became the foundation of fruitful technological and cultural exchange, and facilitated the implementation of new possibilities and unique discoveries, which were fated to radically change the world in a few centuries’ time. The most important positive effect that the Mongol Empire had on world history was forging a single, unified system of land and sea routes used for international trade. This phenomenon could boldly be termed the medieval, or Mongol globalization of the 13th and 14th centuries.

Keywords: Mongol Empire, Old Rus, Europe, 13th—14th centuries, globalization, nomads, cultural connections.

Information about author:

Nikolay Kradin (Vladivostok, Russian Federation). Doctor of Historical Sciences, Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Institute of History, Archaeology and Ethnology, Far-Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences . Pushkinskaya St., 89, Vladivostok, 690001, Russian Federation.
E-mail: [email protected]