Sometimes these were undertaken by armies numbering as many as 100,000 men, as well as by smaller groups of nomads. China’s northern border continued to suffer a very large number of attacks. The barrier’s military effectiveness, however, is somewhat harder to assess. So far, its victory against erosion is an unqualified success. From the 15th century on, the dynasty moved more and more onto the defensive. But going on the attack would prove disastrous in 1449, when they suffered a devastating defeat at the Battle of Tumu. China’s new reigning dynasty, the Ming (1368-1644), began an aggressive campaign to prevent the Yuan from attempting to return to power. The Mongol court fled the capital and took refuge on the steppes.

It was overthrown by a peasant revolt in 1368. His grandson, Kublai Khan, would succeed in capturing all of China and founding a new dynasty: the Yuan. Temüjin-who had become emperor of the Mongols under the name Genghis Khan-attacked northern China in 1211 and captured the capital in 1215.

Then, in the 13th century A.D., a chief called Temüjin unified the Mongols, shifting the balance of power in favor of the northerners. Over the next thousand years, relations continued in this fashion. Instead of ceasing their attacks, the northerners learned that not only could their incursions gain them quick access to goods, but they could also be used as a threat to request even more aid from the Chinese. But these tactics failed to stop the invaders. They paid subsidies while simultaneously conducting campaigns on the steppes and building a new defensive wall. The emperors of the succeeding Han dynasty attempted economic as well as military strategies to deal with outsiders.

The first emperor of a united China, Qin Shi Huang Di (221-210 B.C.), created one of the first unified lines of fortifications along the entire northern border, linking existing structures built by previous states. However, there was an imbalance in these trade relations: The Chinese could manage without horses, but the Mongols could not forgo food or clothing.Ĭhinese emperors resorted to numerous strategies to keep the nomads out, including engineering, warfare, and diplomacy. They could not raise the large number of mounts they needed in Chinese stables, and the nomads seemed to have more horses than anyone else. The Chinese, meanwhile, coveted the nomads’ small horses for war. There was also high demand among nomadic tribes for textiles such as silk and cotton, as well as metal to make weapons. On the steppes, the Mongols couldn’t grow many crops, making agricultural trade with the Chinese essential. Contact between northern nomads and the people of China was based as much on trade as war.

How long is the great wall movie