Political Power and Imperial Toolkits During The Mongol Empires

Name:
Tutor:
Course:
Date:
Critical Analysis
This paper will examine the fourth chapter of Burbank and Copper’s book Empires in World History: Power and Politics of Difference and consider the author’s argument that political power and imperial toolkits were bequeathed and modified to suit the demands and exigencies of imperialist polities during the Mongol Empires. The chapter “Eurasian Connections: The Mongol Empires” narrates how the Mongols took advantage of the technology and administrative brilliance of previous pastoral tribes of the steppes by adopting the tactics of their predecessors and including some of their own as the basis for the illustrious but short-lived Mongol empires. The chapter starts by explaining how Chinggis Khan, the founder of the Mongols Empire, deviated from the formal qualities required of a khan such as acclamation, diplomacy, and kinship by creating the mystique of an indomitable leader favored by good fortune, even taking the honorific title of spirits that ruled the earth (Burbank and Cooper). Khan ascended the rungs of Mongol leadership to become the most excellent steppe leader by stressing bonds of personal loyalty rather than filial ties and warriorhood for conquest booty.
He would set the precedence for succeeding Khans, who applied his political agility to rule large land filled with diverse people. The chapter demonstrates how the Mongol Empire worked beyond the facet of aggressive expansion to adaptation, transformation, and bequeathing of imperial technologies to succeeding khans. Even after the death of Khan, the imperial success of succeeding khans was hinged on their ability to include the varied beliefs, religions, practices, and administrative structure into the polity while constructing or maintaining distinctions between themselves and the people they ruled (Burbank and Cooper). This pragmatic rule of imperial politics transformation and tolerance resulted in several years of peace within the Mongol empires. Cultural, social, technological, religious, and scientific connections were made across Eurasia and shaped the global order.
The authors present a new image of “Empire” that departs from the traditional nation-centered viewpoints by illustrating how the Mongol empires relied on political agility and diversity more than brute might. For instance, the rise and reign of the Mongol khans did not rely on conquests and strategies of domination but modifications in the management of people and accommodation of the differences among populations. The versatility and tolerance of the khans are what helped them rule over vast lands with distinctly different faiths, cu...