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Article: The Mongol empire: One steppe back.(1242)(Brief Article)
- Article from:
- The Economist (US)
- Article date:
- December 25, 1999
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1999 Economist Newspaper Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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1242
THE Mongol horsemen had swept westward from what is now Russia into Hungary, Poland and eastern Germany. A year later, in 1242, to European bafflement and relief, they turned round and went back again. The main force, led by Batu, a grandson of the legendary Genghis Khan, retreated to the Black Sea steppe. Batu's cousin Guyuk, joint leader of the expedition, carried on still farther eastward, making for the Mongol capital at Karakorum. The conquest of Europe could wait: the "great khan" Ogedei, son of Genghis and father of Guyuk, was dead, and the Mongol empire, stretching from northern China to southern Russia, needed a new boss. Guyuk proposed to stake his ...