The image of the mongol conquerors in western and eastern sources (experience of a comparative analysis)

Abstract

The article is devoted to the comparison of information from Western and Eastern sources about the Mongols of the period of the unified Mongol Empire. Examples taken from the writings of medieval historians, diplomats, and clergymen show that the views of the West and the East on the Mongol invaders had more differences than similarities, which is due to both significant differences in mentality and historical factors. In general, Eastern, primarily Chinese authors report more accurate and detailed information about the Mongols, they assess the new political force soberly. For them, the Mongols were another wave of "northern barbarians", to which Chinese culture has been well adapted over the centuries. They do not talk about the Mongols' claims to possess "the whole universe". On the contrary, for many Western observers (belonging to both Christian and Muslim civilizations), the Mongols were seen as a people devoid of human qualities, trying to subjugate the whole world, and sent by the Lord as a punishment for their sins. The active or fatalistic position of medieval authors correlates well with the mood of a society faced with the Mongol threat. The views of Western and Eastern contemporaries could complement each other in identifying the true goals of the Mongols and the conquering plans of Genghis Khan himself, as well as help in reconstructing the features of acceptance of the Mongols by different peoples.