ABSTRACT

The modern definition of world domination is that all aggressive political, economic and military leaders are James Bond villains, men who or empires which want to take over the world. Of course there are historical parallels with Alexander the Great, the Romans and the Ottomans offering very good examples. However, the Mongols were not James Bond villains, they did not fit this pattern as is certainly evident in their Hungarian, Russian, Korean and Southeast Asian invasions, as well as Hulagus invasion of the Middle East. Mongols did not want to dominate the world in terms of conquest. Along the marches of the lands they governed an empire much smaller than modern geographical projections where they were protected by very strong natural boundaries, they did not conquer but simply invaded. Beyond the Iranian march, from which the Ilkanhid dynasty governed, little administration and few soldiers were left behind in Baghdad and Aleppo.