The Devil's Horsemen: The Mongol Invasion of Europe

Rating:
Summary: Awesome read on the Mongol Empire's high point
Review: Chambers' book is an exciting and interesting read on the Mongol campaigns into Europe. It starts shortly after the unification of the different Khans under Chingis Khan (another Romanic spelling of the name, and the one used in the book) and then their conquest of the Persian area. From then on it discusses the Mongol invasion routes not only into Russia and eventually eastern Europe, but also the Middle East as well - an area that I had never known they entered.

It goes into great detail in Chapters 4 and 5 on Mongolian customs, and it will surprise many who are used to the stereotype of a ruthless Chingis Khan. It describes how he "tolerated all monotheistic religions...and when the first western visitors reached Karakorum they were amazed to find a city where churches, mosques and temples stood side by side." (pg. 45) The Chapter also points out how he did away with many ancient Mongolian practices and developed his laws to respect the human rights we often strive for today. For example "there was no discrimination between the subject peoples of the empire" and "women were emancipated to make them equal with the Mongol women of the steppes." (pg. 44)

Chapter 5 goes into detail about the tactics of the Mongol army - and if you pay attention you will find every thing mentioned being used later in Europe. When the Mongol army conquered an area "permanent staging posts were established along a road behind it and these became an extension of a highly organized system of communications similar to the pony express in the 19th century United States." (pg. 61) These roads, with a fresh horse given to the messenger at every post, would be used by three monks sent by the pope as ambassadors to the Mongol capital. An interesting practice by the Mongol army was every year they held a kind of Great Hunt: two large wings of a Mongol force would advance towards each other, each wing eight miles long. They continued to chase their game until they had completely surrounded it. It was to "generate a 'team spirit' through out the army, temper its discipline and swell its moral." (pg. 59) Ironically, such a tactic would be used by the Mongol army later in Europe - except the game this time would be Hungarian horsemen at Mohi.

I think the fascinating part of this book was realizing just how many times the Europeans had an opportunity to stop the Mongols. The Russian princes had never seen the south as any great threat, and when the Mongols conquered the Bulgar state in the middle Volga the Russians "had seen the campaign against the Bulgars as just another raid." (pg. 71) When King Bela IV of Hungary received refugees from Russia he realized that Hungary would be next and pleaded to Europe for help, but at the time Frederick II, Duke of Austria, and the pope were having their own cold war inside the Holy Roman Empire, making any serious help impossible. In fact, Frederick II only arrived when the Mongols were on the verge of attacking Bela's forces and then only to cause more discord among the Barons and Hungarian allies. He saw "Bela's defeat at the hands...of no more than nomad raiders presented a welcome opportunity for the achievement of his ambition." (pg. 92) As soon as he had caused conflict in the Hungarian army and done as much damage as possible, he turned and headed back for Austria.

The amazing thing, though, is that the Europeans perhaps were victims of their own superstitions. There was one belief that the Mongols were "King David of India" (misinterpreted as King David of Israel) who was arriving to reclaim the Holy Land from the Muslims. When the Mongols invaded Azerbaijin, some people explained that "King David would not be advancing into the Holy Land until he had prepared for his invasion by securing his right flank." (pg. 36) When the Mongols invaded Russia the David supporters backtracked and said that King David was sending his army to "punish the followers of the eastern orthodox church who had broken away from the true faith and the dominion of Rome." (pg. 37) Another theory was that the Mongols were "the children of Gog and Magog, who had been driven beyond the pass by Alexander...released again by the devil to bring about the destruction of Christendom." (pg.37) There was some relevance to this idea: according to legend, Alexander the Great had "driven back the children of Gog and Magog and shut them up in the Caucasus behind the Iron Gate." (pg. 34) With the Mongols invading from the Caucasus into Christian domains, it almost seemed like the Gog and Magog theory was sound. Because many people, especially religious leaders, believed these myths the defense against the Mongol attacks was too little too late.

As a final note on the book, it was amazing that it was not military defeats that stopped the Mongols from their conquests. In Europe they stopped just 40 miles from Venice, and in the Middle East they reached Ain Jalut in the area of the modern day Israel-Syria border. Instead, the chief Khans died at critical points in the campaign, and Mongolian leaders were needed back at the capital in Karakorum to elect a new Khan from the royal blood. As Chambers says in the final chapter: "if Ogedei and Mangku had not died when they did, the largest empire that the world had ever known would have been bounded in the west not by the Carpathians and the Euphrates, but by the Atlantic Ocean." (pg. 168)

Rating:
Summary: Historical Discovery
Review: I had been in the dark about the Mongols, relegating them to the endless and anonymous Steepe invaders of European history. I learned the Mongols stood out as one of the most impressive armies in history. They rank as the most powerful army (in relative terms) ever, perhaps rivaled only by the American forces in 1945, and as the most brutal, even more ferocious and destructive than the Japanese Imperial Army. They are the standard for which all other armies should be measured, yet strangely they have been relegated to as asterisk in history. I am in awe of the Mongols under the supreme command of Genghis Khan and his peerless generals Subedai and Obedai. This book was one of the most concise, chronological, and logical historical books that I have ever read about any historical subject. This hidden treasure of a book owes much to the brilliant subject, the well-studied author and the unpretentious storytelling. It gets my highest recommendation; prepare to be impressed. I am very lucky to have found this book.

Rating:
Summary: an excellent book of a less known period of european history
Review: I read the french translation of this book "les cavaliers du diable". It is an excellent book about the invasion of europe by the Mongols. It gives an idea of the strength of their armies compared with the european armies of poor armed conscripts but also compared with the elite knights. The important battles like Liegnitz are vividly written. You almost think you are participating in it. The first chapters of the book describe the conquest of the Kwarezm empire, georgia, the Bulgarian empire and the Russian principalities. The book closes with the defeat of Hulagu by the Mamluks. The way of warfare is also well detailled.

Rating:
Summary: Recommended by My 4-Star US Army General Mentor
Review: I read the french translation of this book "les cavaliers du diable". It is an excellent book about the invasion of europe by the Mongols. It gives an idea of the strength of their armies compared with the european armies of poor armed conscripts but also compared with the elite knights. The important battles like Liegnitz are vividly written. You almost think you are participating in it. The first chapters of the book describe the conquest of the Kwarezm empire, georgia, the Bulgarian empire and the Russian principalities. The book closes with the defeat of Hulagu by the Mamluks. The way of warfare is also well detailled.

Rating:
Summary: The Mongols are Comming!
Review: The Devil's Horsemen is a short book (about 160 pages)on the Mongolian conquest of most of the known world during the 12th and 13th centuries. As the title says, it centers on their push toward Europe. It also has a lot of information on Genghis and Batu Khan. The military tactics of Genghis Khan have been studied and used throughout history(Napoleon and Rommel come to mind). The thing I liked about this book was the information on Genghis Khan and the Mongols' tactics, survival skills, how they practically lived on their horses. Their organization and discipline was second to none. Drawbacks to this book are that you want more, more info on Genghis Kahn would also be nice. While reading the second half, I kept having to flip back to see what year we were in, so more dates would also be nice. What the Mongols accomplished can only be compared to Alexander the Great. Overall, I enjoyed James Chambers' book and recommend it for anyone interested in this time period or military history.

Rating:
Summary: Not recommended for its scholarship
Review: This book start off with a bang with Genghis(Chingis) Khan's destruction of Present day Iran. He provides excellent background on who everyone is, what happens, and how it all works out.

Unfortunatly, as the book progresses, the book speeds up and Mr. Chambers starts skipping over important historical information. I admit, how do you squish 30 years worth of data into a chapter? But by the end, I was still lost over who was fighting who.

Overall, I was extremely entertained, and learned much about the Mongols. I would advise this book as an excellent overview of the Mongol empire at its peak. But, There are bound to be better books out there that go over Mongol specifics.

Rating:
Summary: relevant for today
Review: this book was a tough read but once you stop getting hung up on the names from the causcus region and get into the flow it becomes a very timely journey. the roots of todays conflict in the area of the causcus, and the divisions between islam and christianity emerge loud and clear...trudge through it and you will be rewarded....

Rating:
Summary: RECOMMENED ADDITION TO YOUR COLLECTION
Review: This is an excellent book. Like anyother work, it should not be taken as the beginning and the end of the subject, but rather an addition or supplement. As one reviewer pointed out, some of the research noted here, may be questionable, but when you review the research of the individuals (scholars) making this claim, you find the same problem with their own work..so...all in all, this is a good one to add to your collection. It is well written, injoyable and above all, informative.

Rating:
Summary: They Were the Devil's Horsemen
Review: What can really be said about the Mongol army. They had an excellent leader (Gengis Kahn) and they understood, and were trained for warfare like no other army before them, and I dare say after them. They were Brutal and swift. James Chambers does an excellent job showing how the Mongols nearly conquered the entire world. Had Odgedei Kahn not died an untimely death, the golden hoard would have swept through Europe. One could only imagine how history could have been changed if the armies had not retreated. Which leads to another point Mr. Chambers makes which adds to his work. The fact that as their empire expanded, they did not have the manpower to effectively rule what they conquered. This was demonstrated by infighting among princes ruling in the outlying conquered territory. They, in essence, began to crumble from within. As the Chinese explained it to Gengis Kahn, what you conquer by horseback you can not govern by horseback. In essence it is what happened to the Mongols. Check this book out if you want an easy to read, concise history, of the Mongol army.

Rating:
Summary: They Were the Devil's Horsemen
Review: What can really be said about the Mongol army. They had an excellent leader (Gengis Kahn) and they understood, and were trained for warfare like no other army before them, and I dare say after them. They were Brutal and swift. James Chambers does an excellent job showing how the Mongols nearly conquered the entire world. Had Odgedei Kahn not died an untimely death, the golden hoard would have swept through Europe. One could only imagine how history could have been changed if the armies had not retreated. Which leads to another point Mr. Chambers makes which adds to his work. The fact that as their empire expanded, they did not have the manpower to effectively rule what they conquered. This was demonstrated by infighting among princes ruling in the outlying conquered territory. They, in essence, began to crumble from within. As the Chinese explained it to Gengis Kahn, what you conquer by horseback you can not govern by horseback. In essence it is what happened to the Mongols. Check this book out if you want an easy to read, concise history, of the Mongol army.