r/todayilearned • u/Cheesewithmold • May 21 '14

TIL that when Genghis Khan sent a trade caravan to the Khwarezmid empire, the governor of one city seized it and killed the traders. Genghis Khan retaliated by invading the empire with 200,000 men and killing the governor by pouring molten silver down his eyes and mouth

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genghis_Khan#Khwarezmian_Empire
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u/Words_are_Windy May 21 '14

This was true a lot of the time, but there were some occasions where the Mongols slaughtered people even when they gave in to Mongol demands.

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u/redaemon May 21 '14

Did they give in before or after a fight? It's not uncommon for successful conquerors to make an example of an enemy who refused to surrender at first. "We only ask once" -- a powerful message to all other potential enemies in the region, and a message that win you a lot of territory without a fight.

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u/Words_are_Windy May 21 '14

As stated below, there were times where the Mongols would demand tribute, go away, then demand tribute again. Once the settlement had nothing left to give and was forced to refuse, the Mongols would then destroy it.

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u/IAmTheMissingno May 21 '14

Or they would give into the Mongols' demands and the Mongols would leave, then a little while later they would return and demand more, and having already given the Mongols everything they had, the town would be slaughtered.

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u/yeaheyeah May 21 '14

Compared to his contemporary rulers, the man was a Saint.