The aftermath of Mongol conquest — how the largest empire in history fragmented and how the civilizations it destroyed (or didn't) shaped the modern world.
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Highlights
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The Pax Mongolica — destruction created the conditions for unprecedented exchange
After the conquests, Mongol control of Eurasia created the safest trade routes in history. Technologies, ideas, and diseases flowed between civilizations that had never been in contact.
The Black Death was an unintended consequence of Mongol connectivity
Cooper connects the Pax Mongolica directly to the Black Death: the trade routes that carried silk, spices, and paper also carried plague bacteria from Central Asia to Europe.