Hardcore History 46 – Wrath of the Khans IV (Dan Carlin)

Date: November 13, 2012
Host: Dan Carlin
Episode Overview:
This episode is the fourth installment in Dan Carlin’s epic exploration of the Mongol conquests. Here, Carlin details the era following the death of Genghis Khan, focusing on the leadership of his son Ögedei Khan, the continued expansion of the Mongol Empire into China, the Middle East, and especially Europe, culminating in the cataclysmic invasions of Russia, Poland, and Hungary. The episode grapples with themes of succession, historical legacy, and the tension between civilization and the nomadic steppe way of life.

Episode Structure

1. Introduction: “Historical Arsonists” and the Legacy of Conquerors (00:00–13:00)

• Carlin opens with reflections on how society often views brutal conquerors (the “historical arsonists”) through the hindsight of their eventual impact.
• Quote, Carlin (03:35):

  “What makes the person who just left the scene in this story... head and shoulders above most of these historical arsonists is what happened after he died. Because in general, these people are so unique and so gifted and so special that it takes their unique talents for the whole thing to work. And when they leave, it tends to fall apart.”

• Comparison to other figures: Hitler, Napoleon, Attila the Hun, and Alexander the Great.
• Genghis Khan’s uniqueness: ensured continuity via careful succession planning.

2. Succession and Ascendancy of Ögedei Khan (13:00–36:00)

• Detailed account of Genghis Khan’s death, the process for selecting his successor, and the “arrow bundle” anecdote stressing unity.
• Quote, Carlin (18:52):

  “Instead of just designating a successor, he gets them together and they have a conversation about it... He pulls out an arrow in front of his sons and holds it up and snaps it in front of them. And then he takes a bundle of arrows, puts them together, and... can’t snap it. And he tells his sons... if you stay together like the bundle of arrows, you will be undefeatable.”

• How the empire was “divided and unified”: steppe lands apportioned to sons (old tradition), newly conquered “imperial” lands ruled collectively.
• Ögedei as a ruler: chosen not for ruthlessness but for being the “most lenient and most tolerant.”
• Ögedei’s character: more sensitive, but from the “enemies’ perspective, still a monster.” Noteworthy flaw: alcoholism and family concern over substance abuse.
• The Chinese advisor’s observation:
  Quote (31:10):

  “The empire your father created was won on horseback, but it won’t be governed on horseback.”

3. The Mongol Machine: Governing and Expanding Empire (36:00–55:00)

• Infrastructure and administration:
  • Establishment of the Yam system (courier/relay system akin to the Pony Express).
  • Taxation and bureaucratic reform advised by former Chinese officials.
  • Karakorum, the fortified Mongol capital.
• The new Mongol outlook: “Universal Empire” mindset—divinely ordained right/duty to rule the world.
  • Cambridge History of China quoted (54:25):

    “The sovereignty bestowed on Chinggis Khan and subsequently bequeathed to his successors was universal in character... The Mongols claimed the right, if not the duty, to bring all the world under their dominion.”

4. Campaigns in East Asia: Fall of the Jin and Rise of the Yuan (55:00–01:21:00)

• The Jin–Song–Mongol dynamic:
  • Mongols and Southern Song cooperate to destroy the Jin.
  • Use (and confusion over) gunpowder weaponry in sieges.
  • The Mongols employ systematic devastation, bypassing fortified places to devastate countryside and starve defenders out.
• Gruesome fates for Jin emperors; Mongol brutality standard.
• After Jin collapse, Song makes the “great mistake” of claiming disputed territory, angering the Mongols and starting a war that will ultimately end with the Mongol conquest of the Song and their acceptance as the Yuan dynasty by Chinese historians.
• Quote, Carlin (01:19:00):

  “No other steppe people in history even come close to conquering all of China. They will become so legitimate... as one of the Chinese dynasties."

5. The Push West: Middle East and Gathering Storm in Europe (01:21:00–02:09:00)

• Continual presence in the Middle East; terror near Baghdad.
• Ögedei’s major council of 1235: decision for the largest Mongol invasion yet, aimed westward at Russia and Europe.
• Massive pan-Mongol force: up to 150,000, with princes and legendary general Subotai.
• Mongols first obliterate the Kipchak Turks, Bulgars; survivors flee west, fleeing disaster to come.

6. The Russian Campaign: Catastrophe on the Steppe (02:09:00–02:32:00)

• Letter from Batu Khan to Bela IV of Hungary (02:16:15):

  “I am the Khan and representative of the Heavenly King... I am aware you are a wealthy and powerful monarch... It would be better for you and healthier, were you to submit willingly... as for you who dwell in houses and have fortresses and cities, how will you evade my grasp?”

• Russians’ collective defiance, despite memory of Mongol terror.
• Mongol invasion of 1237: Russians defensively unprepared; Mongols exploit winter’s advantage for rapid movement.
• Description of Ryazan’s Fall (02:23:24):
  • Mongols storm wooden fortifications, massacre the city; chroniclers describe impalement, immolation, and atrocities.
  • Carlin’s dark humor:

    “But to be honest, it’s not a Mongol thing... it is not unusual for cities to receive this kind of treatment all throughout history.”

• Kiev capitulates after a brutal siege; John of Plano Carpini’s account of “countless skulls and bones.”
  • Quote, Carpini (02:30:55):

    “Kiev had been a very large and thickly populated town, but now reduced almost to nothing.”

7. Western Europe's Blindness: The Coming of the Mongol Storm (02:32:00–02:48:00)

• Europe’s disunity and underestimation: instead of preparing, they exploit Russian weakness.
• Mongols exploit Europe’s “feuding principalities.”
• King Béla IV of Hungary, refuges, and the Cuman crisis—culminates in the murder of Cuman leader Kután by a Hungarian mob, sowing further internal chaos.
  • Quote, Roger of Várad (02:43:00):

    “Kill him! Kill him! He is the one who has brought on the destruction of Hungary... King Kután and his people drawing their bows and arrows refused to admit them into his presence.”

8. The European Catastrophe—The Battles of Leignitz and Mohi (02:48:00–03:26:00)

• Mongol flanking forces devastate Poland, defeating Duke Henry the Pious at the Battle of Leignitz (April 9, 1241).
  • Carlin’s analogy: Mongols as professional sports team, Europeans as disorganized amateurs.
• Ear collection for body counts:
  • Quote (03:10:00):

    “They fill up nine large bags, each bag takes a whole wagon to move, with one ear off each corpse that they count.”

• In Hungary, Mongols use feigned retreat, psychological warfare, gunpowder weapons, and encirclement to annihilate Béla’s army at the Battle of Mohi (Sajo River).
• Chroniclers’ visceral descriptions of slaughter, terror, and strategic sophistication.
  • Quote, Thomas of Spalato (03:21:20):

    “The unheard of cruelties of the Tartars... they concerned themselves solely with the pursuit of men... blood flowing like a torrential river... their unhappy country reddened by the bloodshed of her fallen children far and wide.”

• Subotai’s herding tactics; Batu’s confidence in Mongol advantage over European armies.

9. Miraculous Halt: The Death of Ögedei Khan (03:26:00–03:31:00)

• Mongol vanguard seen in Austria and Italy when news arrives of Ögedei’s death.
• Mongol advance abruptly stops to allow the princes to partake in the succession, sparing Europe further devastation.
• Quote, Carlin (03:27:30):

  “All of Europe trembled. Nothing like this had been seen in a thousand years. Europe was praying for a miracle. And all of a sudden... they got one. Word arrived that the great Khan Ögedei had died.”

• Teaser for Wrath of the Khans Part V: coming leadership crisis, legacy of Genghis Khan’s unification, and the eventual unraveling of the Mongol “bundle of arrows.”

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Genghis Khan’s “Bundle of Arrows” lesson on unity (18:52)
• Chinese advisor to Ögedei:

  “The empire your father created was won on horseback, but it won’t be governed on horseback.” (31:10)

• Cambridge History of China’s summary of Mongol worldview: (54:25)
• Batu’s threat letter to King Béla:

  “As for you who dwell in houses and have fortresses and cities, how will you evade my grasp?” (02:16:15)

• John of Plano Carpini on the aftermath in Kiev:

  “We came across countless skulls and bones of dead men lying about on the ground.” (02:30:55)

• Thomas of Spalato on the Hungarian disaster:

  “[The] country reddened by the bloodshed of her fallen children far and wide... the greatest part of the Hungarians were all swallowed and vanished into the water and the mud.” (03:21:20)

• Carlin’s sports team analogy (re: Mongols and European knights):

  “It would be as though... the coach... meets them... and the other team shows up and they’re the Dallas Cowboys.” (Around 03:09:00)

Key Insights and Themes

• Continuity after charismatic conquerors:
  Genghis Khan’s legacy endures because he ensured orderly succession (unlike Attila, Hitler, Napoleon, Alexander).
• Administrative innovation:
  Mongols adapted and incorporated practices from conquered civilizations, especially Chinese, to govern their vast, multiethnic empire.
• Universalist and divine mission:
  The Mongols, by this period, believe it is their destiny—sanctioned by heaven—to conquer the world.
• Military innovation and psychological warfare:
  Use of gunpowder, sophisticated sieges, winter campaigning, and strategic manipulation of panic.
• Civilizational consequences:
  Cataclysm for Russia (devastation and subjugation for centuries). Europe nearly falls, only saved by a quirk of fate in Mongol succession.
• Historical “what-ifs”:
  Carlin ponders alternate realities had other conquerors successfully institutionalized their empires post-mortem (esp. Nazi Germany).
• The fatal consequences of division:
  The failure of European and Asian states to unite or even anticipate the Mongol threat is a recurring, tragic motif.

Timestamps for Important Segments

| Timestamp | Segment | |:---|:---| | 00:00–13:00 | Historical arsonists; the paradox of conqueror’s impact; Genghis Khan and succession planning | | 13:00–36:00 | The selection of Ögedei, family unity and division, tale of the bundle of arrows | | 36:00–55:00 | Governance: Chinese advisors, Yam system, Karakorum, “Universal Empire” concept | | 55:00–01:21:00 | Campaigns against Jin and Song China, gunpowder, devastations, the birth of Yuan dynasty | | 01:21:00–02:09:00 | Mongol moves in the Middle East and preparations for the European campaign | | 02:09:00–02:32:00 | The Russian disaster: Ryazan, Kiev, and the Mongol onslaught | | 02:32:00–02:48:00 | Europe’s blindness, the Cuman crisis in Hungary | | 02:48:00–03:26:00 | The battles of Leignitz (Poland) and Mohi (Hungary): devastation, tactics, and aftermath | | 03:26:00–03:31:00 | The miracle of Ögedei’s death; Mongols withdraw; preview of the coming succession crisis |

Tone and Style

• Carlin’s delivery maintains its signature blend of intensity, dark humor, and vivid, dramatic narrative.
• He often digresses into historical “what-ifs,” modern analogies (sports teams, magic 8-balls), and uses primary source quotes for visceral impact.
• The horrors of Mongol warfare are recounted in unflinching detail, balanced by larger reflections on history and the fate of empires.

For Listeners Who Haven’t Heard the Episode

This episode is essential listening for anyone interested in the dynamics of empire, the mechanics of war—and the moment when Europe itself teetered on the verge of annihilation at the hands of a power previously unknown to the West. It demonstrates both the fragility and resilience of civilizations, the enduring power of leadership, and the relentless pace of historical change, all brought to life by Dan Carlin’s characteristic voice and exhaustive research.