ABSTRACT
This chapter contextualises the rise of Chinggis Khan and his polity amidst the backdrop of steppe politics in the thirteenth century. The political culture of the nomads, embodied in Chinggis’ polity, was integral in establishing a state which encompassed a diverse and expansive Eurasia. Steppe traditions embodied in a Mongol worldview gave the descendants of Chinggis Khan the tools to be able to unify Eurasia. It led to the creation of a Mongol political formation which included China, Central Asia, Iran and Iraq and Russia. The make-up of the military and civil administration followed a combination of nomadic and sedentary principles which allowed for the continuation of a Mongol ideology which was expressed through the person of Chinggis Khan and his yasaq (legal code) that percolated down in the region for centuries after Mongol rule itself ceased. The system which was thus created in Eurasia reflected Mongol traditions which were adapted to and responded to local conditions to tailor optimum policies. The Mongol philosophy informed by nomadic traditions was the foundation which, with its inbuilt flexibility, created a comprehensive and connected Eurasian polity.
