Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World
Reading Notes Series #1
This is my first piece in Reading Notes Series. I will keep each piece concise, while also incorporating my personal interpretation and reflections.
In this piece, I will be sharing five key takeaways and three misconceptions I had about Genghis Khan and Mongolia before finishing the book, "Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World".
The book and Author
Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World is written by anthropology professor Dewitt Wallace, who spent years in Mongolia to collect pieces of the puzzle for this book. The title of the book accurately reflects its content.
Five Takeaways
The concept of redundancy: Genghis Khan provided each of his warriors with five war horses for expeditions. This is an example of the principle of margin of safety in action.
Defeating an army is not the same as obtaining a country: To truly conquer a country, one must also win the hearts and minds of its people, which is often more challenging than defeating its army.
The importance of environmental conditions: a Mongol general will lose a war if overlook the humid enviroment’s influence on his soliders and their weapons. One key lesson learnt repeatly by reading history is the importance of environmental condition can never be emphasized enough.
Factors affecting the course of a war are often found outside of the battlefield, such as domestic issues. A good leader, like a skilled chess player, will take the entire situation into account. This is also true when researching the development of a company or industry.
One poorly understood cognitive model: People have a strong need to rationalize the incomprehensible, which is why first revolutionaries often mythologize themselves to win support.
Three Misconceptions
First and foremost, the valuable heritage of Genghis Khan is not just land and wealth, but also includes free commerce, open transportation, knowledge sharing, coexistence of religions, and a legal system.
Furthermore, Mongolian success was not solely based on the bravery of warriors or advanced weapons, but also on factors such as organizational capability, mechanism design, and respect for knowledge.
Lastly, the Mongol army was not technologically backward, as Genghis Khan placed great importance on technology and talent. This is evident in the pardoning and preferential treatment of skilled captives.
Thanks for your reading and I hope you enjoy it. Stay safe and see you next time.
This is The Meditations - the place where I write down my observations and thoughts, as a record for myself and for people that share a silimar mind.