Skip to content

Comment on Climatic and environmental aspects of Mongol withdrawal from Hungary (2016)

Comments

Unseasonably warm weather stopped the Mongolian horde from conquering Europe. Hmm

Right? The conclusion is quite suspect because the Mongols eventually did conquer southern China where it is perpetually warm and humid. What they ended up doing was solidifying their control of northern China and then adopting infantry based tactics and riverine warfare in addition to adopting trebuchets from the Middle East/Europeans. The Mongols were quite adaptable. I doubt warmer weather would be enough to stop them on its own.

Warm? The TFA says

This wooden chronicle revealed that a cold and wet period set in for years, leading "to reduced pastureland and decreased mobility, as well as hampering the military effectiveness of the Mongol cavalry", according to a press release.

The way I read it was the early spring thaw was to blame.

The extra moisture and early spring thaw turned the Hungarian plains into marshes and swampland.

As in, they expected frozen ground not marshland that time of year. But reading the abstract of the original source, it seems like it was a combo.

Documentary sources and tree-ring chronologies reveal warm and dry summers from 1238–1241, followed by cold and wet conditions in early-1242. Marshy terrain across the Hungarian plain most likely reduced pastureland and decreased mobility, as well as the military effectiveness of the Mongol cavalry
AboutSource Built by g1lg1l

Hackerly is an independent reader for Hacker News, built on the public HN API. Not affiliated with Y Combinator.