AT THE MERCY OF THE MONGOLS

They pulled off one of the most astonishing campaigns of conquest in history. But how did they treat their subject populations once the dust had settled?

- Nicholas Morton

One curious and less-well-known impact of the Mongol empire’s explosive expansion was a huge surge in the hunting of owls – almost to the edge of extinction in some regions. And it all stemmed from a striking and powerful foundational myth.

According to legend, long before they embarked on their far-reaching campaigns of conquest, the Mongols lived on the far side of a mighty mountain range. It was impenetrable but for one single road running through an abandoned fortress. That castle, though, sparked immense fear: anyone venturing too close would be assailed by terrifying noises that caused them to flee in panic. So the Mongols remained hemmed in.

One day, the story goes, a rider engrossed in a hunt found himself unexpectedly at the daunting fortress, where he was filled with terror – until he spotted an owl on its gate. Emboldened, he ventured inside and discovered that those eerie noises were merely the wind whistling among the stones. Thus the only impediment barring the Mongols from marching forth was removed.

That legend was brought to the west by Dominican missionary Riccoldo of Montecroce in the early 14th century. Just how accurately his version reflects the tale told by the Mongols themselves is hard to say but it’s linked to a powerful economic truth.

In later years, the Mongols recalled the owl with reverence, as a divine messenger guiding them on their journey. For this reason, they wore owl feathers in their hats, paying a hefty price to merchants bringing them to their courts. Hunters began to kill owls in huge numbers, eager to sell feathers to the khans.