[marktwain]

800 years ago was also when Genghis Khan was at the height of his power.

He was a military genius.

But much of his power came from the Medieval warm period.

It brought mild winters and rain to the Asiatic steppes. This increased the number of Mongols and their horses; it allowed them to move freely across thousands of miles of what had been forbidding steppes without fodder.

Their numbers had been limited by frequent droughts. Now they had a couple of centuries to build up population and power.

When the Medieval warm period ended, so did their empire.

I came up with the theory myself, but found others had formulated it and verified it before me.

[dayglored]

> ...But much of his power came from the Medieval warm period...

So then, we can expect that among the manifold devastations brought about by Global Warming,... no, Climate Change,... will be...

The Mongol Hordes ???

Oh, noes, we're doomed...

[ohioman]

Genghis rose to power for a myriad of reasons and a warm period is always the time to do it. Cold is the real killer of people and empires.

[11th_VA]

But a new study in the journal Scientific Reports looked at a different kind of record to solve the mystery of the horde’s abrupt exit from central Europe: tree rings.

This wooden chronicle revealed that a cold and wet period set in for years, leading "to reduced pastureland and decreased mobility, as well as hampering the military effectiveness of the Mongol cavalry", according to a press release.

Who knew !!!