[18] See page 462.
[19] See pages 362-363.
[20] See page 423.
CHAPTER XXI
THE MONGOLS AND THE OTTOMAN TURKS TO 1463 A.D.
175. THE MONGOLS
THE ASIATIC COUNTER-ATTACK
The extensive steppes in the middle and north of Asia have formed, for thousands of years, the abode of nomadic peoples belonging to the Yellow race. In prehistoric times they spread over northern Europe, but they were gradually supplanted by white-skinned Indo-Europeans, until now only remnants of them exist, such as the Finns and Lapps. In later ages history records how the Huns, the Bulgarians, and the Magyars have poured into Europe, spreading terror and destruction in their path. [1] These invaders were followed in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries by the even more terrible Mongols and Ottoman Turks. Their inroads might well be described as Asia's reply to the crusades, as an Asiatic counter-attack upon Europe.
MONGOLIA
The Mongols, who have given their name to the entire race of yellow- skinned peoples, now chiefly occupy the high plateau bounded on the north by Siberia, on the south by China, on the east by Manchuria, and on the west by Turkestan. [2] Although the greater part of this area consists of the Gobi desert, there are many oases and pastures available at different seasons of the year to the inhabitants. Hence the principal occupation of the Mongols has always been cattle breeding, and their horses, oxen, sheep, and camels have always furnished them with food and clothing.