Changes

The Mongol invasions of the 13th century affected much of Eurasia, where at one point, the Mongols had conquered lands stretching from China to Eastern Europe. While these invasions have been depicted as very destructive and disruptive to trade and urban life in many regions, several new developments fundamentally changed the course of history for Europe and Asia. Many of these impacts are not obvious, but the Mongols' influences, in effect, can still be felt today.

This also likely reflects a greater presence of Turkic populations as they increasingly moved across Central Asia during conquests that saw major cities and populations removed. Such migrations had begun in the 11th century but increased further. Many regions remained relatively depopulated for centuries, such as Iran and Iraq, where those regions had once supported far larger populations, and those levels of populations did not fully recover until perhaps the 20th century. This also meant these regions became less significant in global affairs, as new powers arose to replace them in the Near East and surrounding regions.

In general, Central Asia and the Middle East became more depopulated. As they also lost their ability to control trade routes after navigation improved to circumvent the Silk Road routes, this created new opportunities for populations from the eastern parts of Central Asia to increasingly move into other regions of Central Asia and the Middle East. Eventually, this led to more influence and the rise of Turkic based dynasties, which had begun already before the Mongols, and the Ottoman Empire in Turkey. <ref>For more on demographic and political changes due to the Mongols, see: Harris, P. M. G. (2001). <i>The History of Human Populations.</i> Westport, Conn: Praeger.</ref>

The outside began to look like an uncivilized place, where the Mongol destruction was still relatively fresh on the mind of Chinese rulers, leading to a greater focus away from the rest of the world. This had long-term consequences for China. It led to its economic and eventually political decline in the latter half of the 2nd millennium and leading up to the early 20th century. In effect, one of the great global powers began to become insular.<ref>For more on the impact of the Mongols on China, see: Langlois, J. D. (Ed.). (, 1981). <i>[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0691101108/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0691101108&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=8934fcf4610d9efa9b62653d7cf5b7eb China Under Mongol Rule].</i> Princeton, N.J: Princeton University Press.</ref>

The Mongol invasions were among the most devastating invasions in global history. Few recorded events in history caused by human actions have been as destructive, and wars may not have reached a comparable scale until the 19th and 20th centuries. However, there were greater impacts based on invasions. Mainly it also created opportunities for some regions while others saw their fortunes fall. Perhaps Europe benefited from the invasions as it helped lower prices in trade goods that now began to flow more greatly. The new knowledge also flowed to Europe that helped to combine with shifting attitudes, which eventually launched the Renaissance.

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