Khan and the Mongols conquered land all across Asia and are believed to have been responsible for millions of deaths.
Khan was one of the ultimate rulers, taking land far and wide, but new research has suggested that he may have been given too much credit.
It was believed that the Mongols invasion led to the demise of central Asian medieval river civilisations throughout the 13th century.
But new research suggests the peoples of central Asia and their habitats may have actually been destroyed by climate change.
Archaeology news: Climate change and not Genghis Khan responsible for societal collapse (Image: GETTY)
Researchers investigate an abandoned medieval canal, Otrar oasis, Kazakhstan.
Credit: University of Lincoln A new study challenges the long-held view that the destruction of Central Asia s medieval river civilizations was a direct result of the Mongol invasion in the early 13th century CE.
The Aral Sea basin in Central Asia and the major rivers flowing through the region were once home to advanced river civilizations which used floodwater irrigation to farm.
The region s decline is often attributed to the devastating Mongol invasion of the early 13th century, but new research of long-term river dynamics and ancient irrigation networks shows the changing climate and dryer conditions may have been the real cause.
The Aral Sea basin in Central Asia and its major rivers, the Amu Darya and Syr Darya, were the center of advanced river civilizations, and a principal hub of the Silk Roads over a period of more than 2,000 years. The region’s decline has been traditionally attributed to the Mongol invasion of the early-13th century CE. But a new study, published in the
Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, challenges this long-held view.
Toonen
et al. challenge the long-held view that the fall of Central Asia’s river civilizations was determined by warfare and the destruction of irrigation infrastructure during the Mongol invasion. Image credit: National Library, Berlin.
Wednesday, December 16, 2020
LINCOLN, ENGLAND According to a statement released by the University of Lincoln, dryer conditions may be to blame for the collapse of medieval civilizations along Central Asia’s rivers, rather than the Mongol invasions led by Genghis Khan in the early thirteenth century. Mark Macklin of the university’s Centre for Water and Planetary Health said that communities that practiced large-scale, irrigation-based agriculture in Central Asia recovered quickly after Arab invasions in the seventh and eighth centuries A.D. because of favorable, wet conditions. However, Macklin and his team members found that the abandonment of irrigation systems fed by the Arys River coincided with a phase of riverbed erosion and a period of low river flow between the tenth and fourteenth centuries. Drought and food shortages, he suggests, may have reduced the ability of these city states to recover from Genghis Khan’s attack. To read about Genghis Khan s winter camp, go to
Central Asia’s River Civilizations Vanished due to Climate Change, not Mongol Invasion
Written by AZoCleantechDec 16 2020
According to a new study, the long-held view that Central Asia’s medieval river civilizations were destroyed directly due to the Mongol invasion in the early 13
th century CE is not right.
Researchers investigate an abandoned medieval canal, Otrar oasis, Kazakhstan. Image Credit: University of Lincoln.
The Aral Sea basin located in Central Asia and the significant rivers flowing via the region were previously home to modern river civilizations that used floodwater irrigation for farming.
Related Stories
The destruction of the region is usually attributed to the catastrophic Mongol invasion of the early 13