Barbarians-The Mongols

Extra Credit

Mongols are Central and Northern Asian (Inner Asia) ethno-linguistic group. Although the largest Mongolic group are those of Mongolia, they also live as minorities across Northern Asia, including Russia, China, and many of the former Soviet Union states. Mongolic peoples belonging to the Buryat ethnic group live predominantly in what is now the autonomous Republic of Buryatia, Russia. In China, they live mainly either in Inner Mongolia or, less commonly, in Xinjiang. Mongolic peoples are bound together by a common culture and language, a group of related tongues known as Mongolic languages.

The Mongol Empire emerged from the unification of Mongol and Turkic tribes of historical Mongolia under the leadership of Genghis Khan. Genghis Khan was proclaimed ruler of all Mongols in 1206. The empire grew rapidly under his rule and then under the rule of his descendants, who sent invasions in every direction. The area around Mongolia, Manchuria, and parts of North China had been controlled by the Liao Dynasty since the 10th century.

The empire began to split as a result of wars over succession, as the grandchildren of Genghis Khan disputed whether the royal line should follow from Genghis's son and initial heir Ögedei, or one of his other sons such as Tolui, Chagatai, or Jochi.

The Battle of Ain Jalut in 1260 marked the high-water point of Mongol conquests, and was the first time a Mongol advance had ever been beaten back in direct combat on the battlefield. Though the Mongols launched many more invasions into Levant, briefly occupying it and raiding as far as Gaza after a decisive victory at the Battle of Wadi al-Khazandar in 1299, they withdrew due to various geopolitical factors.

By the time of Kublai's death in 1294, the Mongol Empire had fractured into four separate khanates or empires, each pursuing its own separate interests and objectives: the Golden Horde khanate in the northwest, the Chagatai Khanate in the west, the Ilkhanate in the southwest, and the Yuan Dynastybased in modern-day Beijing.

King Arthur

Extra credit

King Arthur, is a legendary British leader of the 6th centuries  according to medieval histories and romances, he led the defence of Britain against Saxon invaders in the early 6th century. His historical existence is debated and disputed by modern historians.

The legendary Arthur developed as a figure of international interest largely through the popularity of Geoffrey of Monmouth's fanciful and imaginative 12th-century Historia Regum Britanniae.

Arthur appears either as a great warrior defending Britain from human and supernatural enemies or as a magical figure of folklore, sometimes associated with the Welsh Otherworld.

Although the themes, events and characters of the Arthurian legend varied widely from text to text, and there is no one canonical version, Geoffrey's version of events often served as the starting point for later stories. Geoffrey depicted Arthur as a king of Britain who defeated the Saxons and established an empire over Britain, Ireland, Iceland,Norway and Gaul.

IVAN THE TERRIBLE

EXTRA CREDIT
Ivan IV Vasilyevich, known in english as Ivan the terrible. When he was just a kid his father died and 3 years later her mom died too, he had a terrible childhood. Ivan was crowned with Monomakh's Cap at the Cathedral of the Dormition at age 16. He was the first person to be crowned as "Tsar of All the Russias". By being crowned Tsar, Ivan was sending a message to the world and to Russia: he was now the one and only supreme ruler of the country, and his will was not to be questioned.  

The young ruler started out as a reformer, modernising and centralising the country. He revised the law code, created an elite standing army and introduced local self-management in rural regions.

In 1553 he suffered a near-fatal illness and several years later his beloved wife Anastasia died.  Suddenly, in the winter of 1564 Ivan secretly left Moscow declaring that he wanted to abdicate. The panicked population called for his return. After lengthy talks, Ivan agreed to come back but on his own terms, demanding absolute power to punish anyone he believed was disloyal. The next year, an instrument of his new rule was set up: a system called Oprichnina or “separate estate”. One of the most terrifying campaigns by the oprichniki was the 1570 massacre of the wealthy city of Novgorod. Suspecting its people of treason, Ivan personally led the troops. The city was ravaged and thousands murdered.

In 1581, during a violent dispute Ivan killed his eldest son, the groomed and chosen heir,  Ivan Ivanovich, hitting him with his pointed staff. 

He was a ruthless monarch and skilled manipulator, he was also a prominent theologian, an accomplished public speaker and one of the most well-educated people of his time.