The problem with that strategy is you can never stay too long in one place or you'll exhaust the food supply (for both your soldiers and your horses). If you're ever rebuffed and you don't have supply lines delivering you food, you just starve.
he developed ortogh trading systems, instituted methods of tax collection, and established regional bureaucracies which controlled legal and economic affairs
just collecting the taxes on such a huge territory sounds like a pretty big undertaking, let alone all these other things mentioned
Supply chains in the sense of a centralized (or multi-centralized) logistics no, supply chains in the sense of mobile pastoral groups supporting armies' further extension yes. These did not stretch all the way back to central Asia. Groups like the White and Blue hordes, which later combined into the Golden Horde, were basically autonomous within the territory allotted them by the Qaghan -- they mostly owed the central authority a share of spoils, support for the postal system (örtöö or yam), and their presence when convened on matters of state. Armies would bring limited supplies with them as they campaigned, replacement horses and some small livestock, while the main group continued to focus on caring for the bulk of their herds. While not actively expanding their borders, steppe nomads usually moved between relatively well-established seasonal camps rather than continuously roaming.
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They needed supply chains? I thought mongols were wild horse people who rode around in hordes living off the plains and prairies.
The problem with that strategy is you can never stay too long in one place or you'll exhaust the food supply (for both your soldiers and your horses). If you're ever rebuffed and you don't have supply lines delivering you food, you just starve.
Also you have to stick to grasslands which is supposedly one of the other reasons why the Mongols didn't venture to deep into Europe.
Wikipedia on Ogedei:
just collecting the taxes on such a huge territory sounds like a pretty big undertaking, let alone all these other things mentioned
Supply chains in the sense of a centralized (or multi-centralized) logistics no, supply chains in the sense of mobile pastoral groups supporting armies' further extension yes. These did not stretch all the way back to central Asia. Groups like the White and Blue hordes, which later combined into the Golden Horde, were basically autonomous within the territory allotted them by the Qaghan -- they mostly owed the central authority a share of spoils, support for the postal system (örtöö or yam), and their presence when convened on matters of state. Armies would bring limited supplies with them as they campaigned, replacement horses and some small livestock, while the main group continued to focus on caring for the bulk of their herds. While not actively expanding their borders, steppe nomads usually moved between relatively well-established seasonal camps rather than continuously roaming.
Hunter-gathering only works as long as you know which local plants are good and which are poison, I'd assume.
They weren't hunter-gatherers, they were pastoral and nomadic. Their diet was a lot of milk and meat.
They even had a fermented milk drink that was highly praised in Marco Polo's book.
What did the horses eat?
Hunter gatherers don't live off of domesticated horses
Mongol hordes do.
Mongol hordes aren't hunter gatherers.
You sure know a lot of facts and logic.
Hunter-gathering? you missed by 4+ish millenniums. These were people who had written laws and express mail relay system across the entire Eurasia.
You can ask locals about that.
The locals…of the territory you just conquered?
Yes.
What are the locals going to do?
Refuse? Ok, then they kill you.
Lie? They force you to eat some.
A-ha.
Do you have actual argument here, or is contentless sneering the extent of your capabilities?
No (thereare5lights made a good point, deflating my sneer) and no (this is self-evident).
Maybe the supply lines were for all the loot they were sending home.