19. The Mongols - Terror of the Steppe

In the far east of the Eurasian steppe, the sound of hoofbeats is growing. In this episode we travel along the vast grassland corridor of the steppe, to hear one of the most remarkable and unlikely stories from medieval history – the story of the Mongol Empire. Find out how this group of nomadic horse riders united the peoples of the Mongolian steppe, and forged them into a truly unique kind of state. Discover how they conquered much of the lands of Eurasia, and brought the distant cultures of China, Persia, the Middle East and Europe into contact. And hear the story of how the world’s largest land empire finally came apart, and left the world as we know it in its wake. On this episode we are joined by the virtuoso of Mongolian throat singing, Batzorig Vaanchig. 00:00 Introduction 09:31 The Steppe 50:51 Temujin 01:53:51 Chinggis Khan 02:18:28 China 03:02:42 Persia 03:33:27 Succession 04:02:20 Ogedei 04:19:41 Europe 05:01:23 Assassins 05:19:11 Kublai 06:03:20 The Fall 06:34:21 Ghosts of the Steppe