Roman Empire vs the Mongol Empire (Part 2)

In Part 1 of this series comparing the Roman and Mongol Empires, we took a brief look at the rise and fall of these two great empires.  In Part 2, we compare the two and see which one was greater.

Lands

During its peak, the Mongol Empire occupied twice as much as land as the Roman Empire.  It is known as the largest contiguous empire in history (the later British empire was larger, but not contiguous).  This was partially due to Geography – the Mongols were very adept horse warriors, and the wide sweeping plains of Central Asia enhanced their mobility.  They did less well in mountainous regions such as Korea and northern India.  The Romans had to deal with starting out on a peninsula, had to build a navy as well as a land military force, and had fairly well-armed opponents, making it much harder for them to expand to the same reach.   Thus, by sheer size alone, the Mongols win hands down.

Time

The Roman Empire, at least the East side, lasted over a thousand years (1500 if you count from the founding of the Republic), while the Mongol Empire grew and fell relatively quickly in about a century and a half.  Even the less-successful East side of the Roman Empire still lasted an impressive 400-500 years.  The Romans take the cake here.

Peace and Trade

Both Empires had created a Pax (peace) across their empire which allowed trade to flourish.  Both built a system of roads across their empire which allowed rapid communication.  Goods from one end of the empire could reach the other easily, and sometimes quite far beyond. The Monglian routes were fast – some estimate messages could be carried as fast as 200km a day.  They also formed a sort of insurance system where if merchants were attacked they could get reimbursed from the imperial treasury.  The main reasons for the Pax Mongolica’s decline were the outbreak of the Black Death and the fracturing of the Empire due to political and religious differences. 

Rome’s peace, on the other hand, was less effective.  While the Pax Romana indicated a period without civil unrest, the Empire was rarely at peace with its neighbors and often had to quell revolts.  While the Mongol Peace lasted only about half the time of the Roman Empire’s, it was much more effective. Thus, the Mongols win here.

Population

Because world population changed through time and the empires were not direct contemporaries, it is more fair to compare them based on percentage or proportion of the world’s population under their control rather than absolute numbers.  The Romans controlled nearly 55 million people for a whopping 1/6^th to 1/4^th of the world’s population.  The Mongols controlled 110 million people for slightly more than 25% of the world’s population.  Thus, here we are going to give it to the Mongols, though not by much.

Weapons

While both empires used many different weapons in the course of carving out their lands, we’re going to focus on the swords they used. The Mongol Empire used weapons similar to Chinese Dao – single-sided swords that were easy to use from horseback.  As the Empire reached farther west, they adopted Persian weapons such as the Scimitar.

The Romans, on the other hand, used Gladius – double-sided swords about 40-60cm in length early on.  Later, they also adopted the use of Spatha – larger swords which were closer to a metre in length.

There’s no clear superiority here, as the weapons were used in different situations and for different purposes.  They excelled at what they were meant to.  So, here we’ll give them a tie.

Conclusion

With a score of 4-2, the Mongols win here.  They controlled more land and people, built a more effective peace, and used their weapons to great effect.  The Romans were less effective, though still great by any measure. 

See Our Swords

source https://www.bladespro.co.uk/blogs/news/roman-empire-vs-the-mongol-empire-part-2

Chinese Women Warriors

Besides Hua Mulan, there have been many other Chinese warrior women throughout history.  Today, we are going to take a look at 3 very special women.

Fu Hao

One of the earliest female Chinese leaders we know of, Fu Hao was, until recently, fairly unknown due to most records of her accomplishments not surviving due to her life preceding the invention of paper.  However, with her tomb recently unearthed, we have began to understand just how interesting a woman she really was.

One of Shang Dynasty King Wu Ding’s 64 political wives, she rose to become a wife in truth, the second in rank of only 3.  While she had a child through difficulty, Prince Jie, it seems her primary role was as a military leader.  She commanded a retinue of 13 thousand soldiers with at least two generals serving under her, making her the most powerful Shang leader of the time. Her people had had been fighting a group known as the Tu-Fang for generations.  She managed to end the generational conflict in a single decisive battle.  She also fought numerous engagments with other nearby nations.

It seems she was particularly revered by the emperor – after her death, he would offer ritual sacrifices at her burial place, asking her spirit for help in battle.  Strangely she was buried away from the royal family across a river, Thankfully for us, this means her tomb is the only royal Shang dynasty burial place that has survived unlooted, letting us learn about her through oracle bone inscriptions as well as the many personal items filling her tomb.

Xun Guan

Xun Guan was possibly the youngest female Chinese military leader.  Her father, the governor of Xiangyang, was attacked by one of his officials in a coup attempt . The only way to survive was if a small force could break through the siege and commandeer reinforcements from a nearby city.  The only one with a plan the governor thought could work was Xun Guan – his 13-year old daughter.  The young but very brave leader managed to lead a sneak attack at night that got them through enemy lines, allowing them to make it to Pingnam, where she requested help.  Her father’s ally General Shi Lan was willing, but unsure if he had enough troops to turn the battle.  He suggested she write a letter to a nearby General Zhou Fang in another city and request more troops.  She did, and together the 3 leaders and their forces headed back to save her father.  Her father recognized the opportunity, and, with a two-pronged attack, the 3 leaders managed to destroy the siege and route the attackers.

Ching Shih

Considered the most successful pirate in all of history, she started her life as a lowly prostitute on a floating Chinese brothel.  A successful pirate Cheng I took notice of her and married her.  Apparently well-aware of her valuable non-sexual attributes (some wager the real reason for their marriage), he entered into a contract with her that gave her 50% ownership and control over all his endeavors.  Shih and Cheng adopted one son Cheung Po Tsai for the purposes of legal succession and Shih bore two others.  Cheng and Shih used soft and hard power to form an alliance with other pirates, forming the Red Flag Fleet.

When Cheng I died, Shih acted quickly to gain the loyalty of the other captains and fill the leadership vacuum.  Working together, Shih and her stepson Cheung managed quick success, which apparently led to them becoming lovers.  In time, they managed to assemble a fleet of several hundred ships with crew numbering in the tens of thousands.  They were so successful that, in their heyday, they fought against the British, Portuguese, and Qing.  Easily winning against the Qing dynasty ships, they struggled against and were finally forced to surrender to the Portuguese navy.  That same year, the Qing dynasty gave an amnesty to all the pirates (minus a few hundred to set an example), and Ching Shih and Cheung Po Tsai accepted it.  Asking for their legal status as mother and child to be dissolved, which was approved, they got married and had two children.  She opened a brothel and lived to a ripe old age of 69, dying surrounded by family.

See our Swords

source https://www.bladespro.co.uk/blogs/news/chinese-women-warriors