Another great advantage of the militant nomads over their victims was their ability to ride the horse. Everywhere else in the ancient world, this animal was used only to draw the heavy war chariots. The Mongols, fearing nothing, mastered the horse and became expert cavalrymen. The resulting mobility was a tremendous asset in warfare. Without the horse, the Mongols would never have been able to conquer such vast territories. Learning to ride as children of three or four, they were superb horsemen in their early manhood and hunted with consummate skill. When they appeared upon the horizon in a cloud of dust and with a clatter of hooves, it was only a matter of minutes before each dropped down like an eagle upon his prey.
Of even more strategic importance was their conception of the fifth column. Poor always, in comparison with their neighbors, whose lands and goods they coveted, they—like their Russian descendants—developed a technique of boring from within. Ahead of them were sent humble-looking barterers or beggars, who easily bribed and cajoled their way inside the walls of a city. At the critical moment, the unfortunate citizens would find their gates open and hordes of wild tribesmen bursting in upon them with bloodcurdling yells.
Whether at home or in the field, these nomads lived in yurts, or domelike tents, made of felt and mounted on wooden carts, drawn by oxen. They spent most of their days on horseback, hunting, fishing and constantly fighting among themselves and with neighboring clans. Often they remained in the saddle for days, eating little or no food.
Between each major conquest, there were long periods when fighting was confined to the steppe lands. It was only when an outstanding genius appeared that they attempted the invasion of the more civilized countries—Europe, China or the Near East—which, throughout the ages, were constantly on the defensive against them.
One of the first of these tribes that grew to world power was led by Attila the Hun, in the Fifth Century. Slashing and murdering his way through Europe, he terrorized the entire continent and captured the greatest city of antiquity, Rome. Earlier, when Rome fell to the Goths, the citizens though that surely the end of the world had come. It was not until the Huns attacked, however, that they felt the full fury of Asiatic destruction and torture.
Attila was a typical Mongol of his day. Shaggy-headed, dirty and disheveled, his gorilla-like appearance evoked as much terror as if he had been a wild animal. With as little regard for human suffering as for the priceless treasures of Rome, he was lustful only for power, wine and women. He is said to have kept a huge harem, and, like his followers, to have left countless children by captured slaves all over Europe and Asia. Because of his merciless brutality, plundering and rape, he was called by his victims, “The Scourge of God.”
In 451 A. D., Attila was finally defeated, and while celebrating the addition of a new beauty to his harem, he died. He had taken from the world, by force, everything he wanted, because he knew no other way to get it. His vast and powerful empire collapsed like a house of cards and fell into utter ruin.
Approximately seven hundred years later came the most brilliant, the most destructive, and the most incredible of all the forerunners of Communism, Genghis Khan. He conquered not only the major part of Europe and almost all of Northern Asia, but also established powerful dynasties in Persia and China.
Born in 1162 A. D., Genghis Khan, at thirteen, succeeded his father as Chief of the Yakka Mongols. A robust lad, he was tall and broad-shouldered. His eyes set far apart, unlike those of the Mongols, did not slant and were a curious shade of green. He had high cheekbones and a sloping forehead beneath abundant red hair, which he wore in long braids down his back. His was a striking personality. He was as different from the other members of his horde in appearance as he was in mentality.
In his early years, Genghis wore the simple clothing of his tribesmen, consisting of skins sewn together with sinews. Frequently he greased his body to keep out the cold and moisture when it was necessary to sleep in the snow. He ate raw meat, and drank mare’s milk and sometimes blood which he let from the veins of his horses’ legs. Mentally the equal of any Caucasian, he undoubtedly had European blood in his veins. Perhaps that of a Princess, who knows?