In the year 1162 in the Kentee Mountains of what is today Northeastern Mongolia, a baby by the name of Temogen was born.

He would go on to become the world's single greatest conqueror and establish the largest contiguous empire in history.

His empire would reverberate throughout history and is still being felt today

both politically and genetically.

Learn more about Gingus Khan and the Mongol Empire on this episode of from the fact that I have a whole bunch of

episode ideas that deal with the Mongol Empire, but I've never really done an

episode explicitly about the Mongol Empire. So I figured it was time to give an overview of the Mongol Empire so I have a reference point for future shows.

The Mongol Empire was not like any other empire in world history before or since. What made this empire different started off with the

Mongols themselves. The Eurasian steps were home to many different tribes of

nomadic herdsmen. The Eurasian steps are a massive grassland that stretches from northeast

China and Mongolia through Central Asia all the way to Eastern Europe. These steps are great

for growing grass and pretty much nothing else. The people who live there weren't

engaged in agriculture but raising livestock. Horses, goats, sheep, cattle, and camels were

central to the lives of these people.

Their diets were almost exclusively dairy and meat, with most of the meat coming from

hunting game.

Their livestock produced milk for food, wool to make tents and clothing, leather for saddles, and even dung which was used as fuel for their fires.

The number of horses and livestock that someone had was a reflection of their wealth.

Because their lives were centered on their herds, they had no permanent settlement. of their

life lives were centered on their herds, they had no permanent settlements. They lived in fell tents and would move seasonally

so their animals could have fresh pasture.

What I've just described is antithetical to every other civilization which created a great empire.

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