Living in an environment that did not support agriculture, the nomadic pastoralists of the central and north Asian steppes depended on their herds and frequent trade with sedentary neighbors for survival.
Mongol armies strategically utilized skilled units of archers and cavalry to mount quick, precise attacks that overwhelmed both nomadic and sedentary opponents.
Genghis Khan also sought to promote imperial stability by consulting with Muslim and Confucian advisors to create an administrative framework, law codes, and a Mongolian written script for record keeping.
At the time of Genghis Khan’s death (1227), the Mongol Empire was divided into four khanates that continued to project Mongol power from eastern Europe to China.
In China, Kublai Khan rejected Confucian suspicion of merchants, and large navies were assembled to promote and protect maritime commerce as well as invade neighboring states.
The Silk Roads had been neglected after the end of the Tang Dynasty, but the protection of trading caravans and general political stability provided by the Mongols reinvigorated the trade routes.