Empires have been built throughout history.Apart from those that are built of religion, what would be the real reasons for their expansion?
1. Would it more material greed or more of noble visions of the leaders? For example to achieve unity amongst nations, to provide prosperity for humanity, etc?
2.To enhance the expansion, the conquerers have to enlist the conquered people as part of their army. How would they be sure of the loyalty of the soldiers?
3. in the particular case of the ransack of Baghdad, the Mongols basically destroyed the city and its people. What much benefits would be a destroyed city to the Mongols? Also the actions would bring much hatreed and enmity amongst the survivors. Would it not be much better to only attack the vital parts of the city?
Empires have been built throughout history.Apart from those that are built of religion, what would?
Answers (1)
Whilst my history is nowhere near solid enough to be able to quote specific cases, as a more general answer it seems.....
1 Leaders who seek expansion do so to have more power and impose their own ideas on other peoples. They will usually hide that base aspiration behind lip service to noble ideals. There is a modern equivelent, it is the desire of the West to bring those non-democractic countries to a democracy and they usually screw them up in the process, need I cite Iraq and Afghanistan? Yet the vast majority of the citizens of the West are persuaded that it would be a good thing for everybody to become democratic, its a noble truth as it were.
2 They do not necessarily have to incorporate some of the conquered into their army. The romans used mercenaries as an adjunct, but not as part of their main forces. It is easier to keep them supressed by giving power to those of the conquered who will keep their own in order, hence the term puppet govt, a technique much used by Russia in the days of the USSR.
3 If it seen that what is conqeured will remain a thorn in the side, if not worse, better to get rid of it than have the problems. The recent hammering into the ground of the city of Gaza by Israel is an example of that, even though it wasn't conquered, it was a right pain in the butt to them.