In the 13th century BC, the Mongols rose to power and conquered an empire that has not yet been matched in size. The Mongols conquered countries like China, leaving them with such lasting influence that their legacy still lives on. However, despite the success of the Mongols, their actions have left constant debate over whether they were barbarians, seen and portrayed by the various societies of their time as people without modern morals or civility, or as people civilized people simply feared by other societies. Although the Mongols are now generally considered barbarians because of their violent and barbaric warfare tactics that they used to instill fear in people, they are actually civilized because they had a strategically organized army and because they accepted the customs of other peoples. These two elements will ultimately lead them to their success. The Mongols could be considered barbarians because of the violent and barbaric warfare tactics they used to instill fear in people. They often took advantage of their organized army to implement many of these military tactics. When the Mongols attacked places such as fortresses, they would first surround them, dividing their army into groups and changing them periodically so that they could attack day and night while the inhabitants of the fortress tired out trying to protect themselves (Doc 3). When they failed to capture the fortress in this way, they took the fat of the enemies they killed and, after melting it, they catapulted it onto the houses and set them on fire; these fires were almost impossible to put out (Doc 3). The Mongols also often took control of entire towns, killing all its inhabitants and burning them after taking all their valuables. ...... middle of paper ...... promote loyalty and increased trust between the two peoples. The Chinese would be more willing to follow the new policies under Mongol rule, even though they were no longer at the top of the social class. The Mongols were civilized because they accepted the customs of different peoples and used them to their advantage. Although the Mongols could be considered barbarians because of the way they used war tactics to both instill fear in people and reach the lands that made up their territory. their large empire, their acceptance of other customs caused the conquered peoples to be more loyal to them and their organized army also helped them quickly take control of large amounts of land. These are the reasons why the Mongols succeeded and became civilized. Allyson Persaud