Exhibit E:
Did the Mongols commit genocide?

Source: Genocide Memorial, schacon, Flikr

The Mongols inflicted death on a large scale. In battle, their powerful bows caused heavy enemy casualties. Moreover, mass slaughter of defeated enemy soldiers and civilians was used as a deliberate policy of terror in order to

• decrease the enemy's will to fight.
• persuade cities to surrender without fighting, thus avoiding long sieges, which the Mongol army could not afford because it needed to keep moving to find grazing land for its horses.
• avoid the risk of leaving enemies behind that might be capable of renewing resistance.
• reduce the size of the occupying detachments needing to be left behind.

The total death toll directly inflicted by the Mongols during the period of their conquests, spanning nearly two centuries, may have been several millions. This includes the deaths by hunger and disease that were by-products of Mongol military operations and rule.