I got to thinking about this after learning that the Wild West wasn't really that violent as we were led to believe through Western movies. I know the Mongols were violent, but I'm wondering if they were much worse than the people they conquered.
Also, did anything positive come out of the mongol empire?
Ok this is a pretty sensationalised topic. I'll start by saying the sources we have on this are far from ideal. Those written by contemporaries are almost invariably written by victims of the Mongol invasions thus they have a tendency to play up the horror of the Mongol invasion. Indeed the numbers cited are often almost impossibly high.
That said the Mongols undeniably did not have much of an issue with mass slaughter if it suited them. Now while I'm not sure how this compares to the attitudes of other empires at the time I'm not sure. I would however comment that in the long run the scale of their devastation was likely far harsher than other recent conquests.
Now why was this? Basically the sheer scale of their invasions caused mass abandonment of agricultural land making which would have had a large impact on the population. This would have been made even worse by the Mongol policy of turning large tracts of agricultural land into pasture in order to sustain their horses. Then take into account the exploitative levels of Mongol taxation that would have made it hard for farmers to make a living and reclaim available agricultural land. The effects would have been even worse in Iran where the mass abandonment of agricultural land caused the degradation of a fantastic (and vital) irrigation system. All this said there were later on attempts by the Mongol dynasties in the areas they conquered to help revive agriculture.
Ok for your last question about did anything positive do you mind if I answer tomorrow? It's midnight where I am and I have to get up early. If I were to answer it now I would not do justice to a really interesting (and very big) question as I wouldn't spend enough time on it.
hi! there have a been a few related threads; check these out for more info
Were they more violent than the conquered? Don't recall seeing any comparisons, but here are posts on "how bad was it":
Did anything positive result? Here are posts discussing their legacy; whether impacts are deemed positive or negative depends on one's perspective:
What is the impact of the Steppes invasions (Mongols, etc.) on the course of western history?
Did the Mongols leave any long-term institutional or cultural legacy in the places they conquered?
What impact did the Golden Horde have in Russia?
What benefits did the Mongolian Conquests have on the world?
In an older book about the mongol empire (1950s-era?) there was a description of them answering to closed chinese cities by driving a big population before the army to lock them in between the army and the fortifications. Is there for example any truth to this?