Assessing The Mongols

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Assessing the Mongols

Introduction

Mongol Empire recognized as one of the most influential nations in the history of human beings. It is an established fact that the approach of excessive power is used by the Mongols to rule different parts of the world. They are known for their acts of brutality and immense authority to impact the lives of other nations. It is interesting and crucial to explore the empire of Mongols in various social contexts other than their approach to violence and the extensive use of power. When it comes to the consideration of the Mongols Empire as the dominant civilization than there are many different factors of consideration. A critical exploration of the cultural, social, and religious perspectives of Mongols is also important to make better inference about the influence of Mongols as the powerful civilization. The theoretical foundations set by Rubruck in case of civilization can be used to comprehensively observe the overall approach of Mongol civilization. Exploration of different aspects of Mongols further helps to identify the foundations that can be used to determine Mongols as civilization. Here, the particular focus is to critically analyze Mongol’s culture considering Rubruck’s account to make better inferences about the perspective of civilization for Mongols. DiscussionDeep observation of the social factor of culture is mandatory to define a nation under the perspective of civilization. The benchmark of culture is used by Rubruck to investigate the account of civilization specifically in case of Mongols. At the first step, it is essential to understand the theoretical foundations of the concept of civilization to determine the social position of Mongols. The prospect of civilization defined as the proper combination of the aspects of culture, science, industry, and the government ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"LZFYzthD","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Brown)","plainCitation":"(Brown)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":2037,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/lMSdZ3dY/items/FDIVZ99F"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/lMSdZ3dY/items/FDIVZ99F"],"itemData":{"id":2037,"type":"webpage","title":"What Is a Civilization, Anyway?","container-title":"World History Connected","author":[{"family":"Brown","given":"Cynthia Stokes"}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2009"]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Brown para 4). This particular interpretation assists to consider the major characteristics of the civilization in case of different nations. Culture is illustrated as one major standard to define the position of any nation in the form of civilization. This particular standard of civilization can also use in case of Mongols to determine their position as a civilized nation. The cultural perspective of Mongols can be observed in many different forms such as their everyday religious practices and different customs. Early Western accounts of Mongols focused by Rubruck to provide comprehensive and valuable knowledge about the cultural practices of Mongol people. Social and religious customs practiced in the Golden Horde (Mongol empire) are clear signs to identify Mongol’s position as a civilized nation. The element of Mongol’s celebrations is used as the standard by Rubruck to discuss the social and religious aspects of Mongol Empire. Events of Mongols’ celebrations illustrated by Rubruck are the clear indication of their inclination to follow rich cultural norms and customs. “Brother of the master” is the clear symbol of their trust in the religious standards and values that eventually helps to define their cultural domains ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"mIPVOVlL","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Saad)","plainCitation":"(Saad)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":2036,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/lMSdZ3dY/items/VEDC9RYM"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/lMSdZ3dY/items/VEDC9RYM"],"itemData":{"id":2036,"type":"book","title":"William of Rubruck's Account of the Mongols","publisher":"Lulu.com","URL":"https://books.google.com.pk/books?id=kORJdSrWuG8C","ISBN":"978-1-4116-5876-9","author":[{"family":"Saad","given":"R."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2005"]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Saad 10). There are many examples of their events of festivity shared by Rubruck that assist to recognize Mongols in the form of civilization. Making capital drinks in winter is another prominent cultural aspect of the Mongol Empire.

Adoption of cultural rituals was established as part of their faith that appeared in the form of different activities. Celebration practices adopted by Mongols clearly indicates about their sense of connectivity with each other as a group. This specific argument can evident through the example of the festival provided by Rubruck. He explained the whole event in detail when they enjoy feasting collectively and there was no distinction between men and women when it comes to express their happiness through drinking wine. Consideration of food is another major paradigm that helps to understand the cultural approach of the Mongol Empire. Details provided by the Rubruck shows that Mongol people strictly followed their traditional aspects when it comes to consuming different food items. They used any form of a dead animal as their food without any kind of distinction. This particular phenomenon reveals that the Mongols people were striving to eat meat regardless of creating any difference. Particular customs were also followed by them when it comes to their prospect of eating. Animals are used as an integral part of the diet of Mongols. It is observed by Rubruck during his journey that they were even motivated to consider rats and other small animals as their options of food.

Critical observation and analysis of the particular funeral practices of Mongol people can also be an effective approach to better understand the specific culture of the Mongol Empire. Loud crying was the basic funeral ritual followed by Mongol people when someone dies from them. Another clear fact about their funeral practices is that they buried their noble individuals in different tombs and regularly visit those places. Another interesting traditional feature was the custom of the Mongol Tribe that they buried treasure with their dead bodies. This particular practice indicates about unique cultural perspective practiced by the people of Mongol Empire. Setting a statue of the dead person was the common tradition that was built in some specific manner to depict their unity. Development of pyramids was another funeral practice adopted by Mongols as their basic cultural practice. The strong traditional paradigm of Mongol people can also be observed in a manner when people were not allowed to visit any sick person. This certain traditional practice helps to consider that they strictly followed some superstitious beliefs in their lives. Consideration of the religious customs of Mongols is another clear aspect to identify the actual culture prevailed in the Mongol Empire. The pyramid structure of authority applied in Mongol Empire that developed basic principles of faith for everyone. Practices for different days of month decided by them by following their adopted rules of astronomy that were set by their chief.

Conclusion

In a nutshell, it is essential to mention that the civilization of the Mongol Empire was rich in culture as Mongol people followed their traditions in different aspects of life. Their cultural practices can clearly be observed in the case of the aspects of religion, food, festivals, and funeral practices. The description of traditional norms shared by Rubruck is a useful source of information to observe the lives of Mongol people other than their popularity of improper approaches of power and brutality.

Work Cited

ADDIN ZOTERO_BIBL {"uncited":[],"omitted":[],"custom":[]} CSL_BIBLIOGRAPHY Brown, Cynthia Stokes. “What Is a Civilization, Anyway?” World History Connected, 2009.

Saad, R. William of Rubruck’s Account of the Mongols. Lulu.com, 2005, https://books.google.com/books?id=kORJdSrWuG8C.