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How Many People Did The Mongols Kill?
Enough people to make Hitler, Stalin, and Mao blush
The Mongols were ruthless conquerors. During the 13th century even the thought of a Mongol incursion could send shockwaves and panic through a population. The Mongol terror was very real. The reason for the panic is because the Mongols were notorious killers. The Mongols routinely slaughtered entire populations in devastating shows of force.
The rumors of Mongol destruction spread throughout the world ahead of their armies. The Mongol armies sacked cities from Beijing to Moscow. From Baghdad to Kiev. During their conquests the Mongols killed a lot of people. While the rumors told about just how many are likely exaggerated there is no denying that the number of deaths attributed to the Mongol conquests is astounding.
So how many people did the Mongols actually kill?
By The Numbers
Nailing down actual numbers from the past can be notoriously tricky. Historians are infamous for inflating numbers far beyond what they actually were. Records are often lost or intentionally destroyed in the wake of events like conquest, a city being sacked and mass destruction. However, there are ways to estimate the exact number killed.
Low Estimate
The lower estimates put the number of people killed during the Mongol invasions at 10 million. Even that is an eye-popping figure especially considering that there were far less people on Earth during this time than there are now. That number reflects the number of people likely physically killed by Mongol swords and does not count the people who died from famine, disease and the collapse of the local societies.
High Estimate
The high estimates put the number of people killed during the Mongol invasions at 60 million people. That number is stomach churning. In order to justify the 60 million number you would have to account for every person who died as a result of the invasions rather than by the spears and swords themselves.
The Mongols destroyed countless acres of farmland, spread the Black Death and left entire communities in rubble. These actions left people weak, hungry and homeless which in…
