The Mongol Empire was the largest contiguous land based empire in history. So what would a modern Mongol state look like today if it hadn’t disappeared?
Well here are a few facts and a map courtesy of reddit user Trapper777_:
- It would be by far the world’s largest country at 35 million km2 (twice the size of Russia)
- It would be by far the world’s most populous country with 2.2 billion people (60% more than China)
- It would be by far the world’s largest economy at $29.2 Trillion USD (PPP) (70% bigger than either the US or China)
- It would have by far the world’s largest army with 9.75 million active military personnel (6.5X larger than the military of the United States)
- It’s biggest city would be Shanghai, which while not the largest metropolitan area on earth, is the biggest city based on city limits.
Many people on reddit have criticized the map because it’s based on modern borders, which while fair, misses the point slightly. Trapper777_ responded that:
First, how would you organize it otherwise? Especially with GDP and Active Military personnel, you would be hard-pressed to find good data at the subnational level.
Second, the modern borders match the old ones pretty closely. I count five countries – Russia, Turkey, Pakistan, Iraq, and Romania – where there is any ambiguity.
Given that this is just a thought experiment, I think that their approach makes the most sense. In case you’re wondering the amazing map below shows the actual growth (and partition) of the Mongol Empire overlaid on modern borders:
And finally there’s this map from The.World.In.Maps, showing a more detailed version of how far the Mongols expanded, from South Korea all the way to Poland.
Want to learn more about the Mongol Empire or other What If history? Then have a look at:
- Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World
- The Rise and Fall of the Second Largest Empire in History: How Genghis Khan’s Mongols Almost Conquered the World
- What If?: The World’s Foremost Military Historians Imagine What Might Have Been
Would you want to live in a modern Mongol Empire? Why or why not? Leave your comments below:
Arturo Palma says
the first map is absurd, as the mongols never reached the arctic ocean. the second map is more accurate
feef says
No they owed Siberia that word Siberia is Mongolian word. Also it its said that Mongolians came from Siberia. Most of Siberian indigenous people are similar to Mongols and their language is absolutely similar with Mongols.
Macker says
Would a modern Mongol Empire have any Mohammedans in it?
Otto von Bismarck says
Terrible first map-do you not even check? The Mongols did not rule over the entirety of Russia, Pakistan and Turkey as suggested here.
Tumurbaatar says
Overtime they could have
IZZY says
yeah otto !!!!
mP says
How could the economy be worth anything with all their raping and killing ?
IZZY says
THESE THINGS HAVE NO IMPACT ON STOCKS AND SHARES
Brendon Wall says
The point of the economy is based on the modern countries in which the empire would have occupied and their current GDPs, not the mongol’s former economy.
Lyn Hill says
So Genghis Khan only ruled for the first 20 years ? And the other Khans that came after are the ones who extended into this huge empire. Some only ruling for a couple years.
Yevon=Yu says
The Mongol Empire was not only vast, but militarily invincible.
The only thing that could defeat them was the weather (God).
And he ruled over almost all of the best regions of civilization. Virtually more than half of Earth’s civilization was in their hands.
The northern limit of its activity would correspond to the present-day Arctic Circle, so the first map may be fictitious, but I don’t think it’s entirely fictitious.