What weapons did the ancient Mongolian hordes use? (for a Pathfinder game)

[realbombchu]

I'm making a cavalier. Order of the dragon, and it's going pretty well, but I want a different tone, so I'm trying to base him loosely on the ancient Mongolian tribes.

That's going pretty well too, writing-wise, but my knowledge in that area of history is not the best and I honestly don't know if the mongolians were part of the iron age or the bronze age. Judging by Kahn's birthday, I would say iron age, but I'm not sure, because of regional differences.

I also don't know enough about the weapons they used. I know they were known for horses, bows, and lances, but what other weapons were carried by an ancient mongolian soldier? Thanks for your help.

[bobthe6th]

Schimitars are a good bet(short slashing weapons can be nasty from horse back), and daggers are more of a general purpose tool.

[Krobar]

if I recall correctly, they were master horsemen and experts with a bow. They may have also used scimitars as well.

[Malroth]

Calvary archers using composite shortbows with scimitar backup, They won so often because of better carrying capacity of supplies combined with vastly superior mobility.

[avr]

Oh, they had a whole bunch of weapons, and each warrior was expected to have some skill with them all. The bows used from horseback were the most famous, but they also carried lances/spears, swords and long daggers.

[Ninjaxenomorph]

The Mongols were famous for their mounted archers.

[Morgarion]

That's going pretty well too, writing-wise, but my knowledge in that area of history is not the best and I honestly don't know if the mongolians were part of the iron age or the bronze age. Judging by Kahn's birthday, I would say iron age, but I'm not sure, because of regional differences.

There's nothing 'ancient' about the Mongolians. The Golden Horde and Mongol Empire were formed well into the middle ages.

[Bhaakon]

2/3rds light missile cavalry w/ leather lamellar armor, composite longbows and scimitars.

1/3 heavy cavalry w/ steel lamellar and matching barding, lance, and battle axe or scimitar.

Exceptionally ruthless tactics (razing cities, using captives and civilians as human shields/fodder, driving civilians into besieged cities to use up supplies).

Luring cavalier or emissary archetypes would work. Order of the cockatrice fits insofar as the Mongolians were strong on intimidation tactics, but the fluff doesn't really fit. Ronin/Knight Errant is probably better.

[Jeff the Green]

Well, first off, if you're talking about the Khanate it's neither the bronze nor iron age, but the Middle Ages.

At least according to Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mongol_military_tactics_and_organization), the others above have the straight of it. 60% were horse archers using laminate bows, while the remaining were heavier cavalry with lances. Each soldier would also have had a close-range weapon such as a scimitar (which was more like a cavalry saber than the stereotypical Arabic sword) or axe.

Edit:
Horse archered. :smallsigh: The moral is clearly that I shouldn't research before answering.

[Lightlawbliss]

They carried just about any weapon you might find in the area. Obviously, some were more common then others but just a quick "looted ____ from a battle" would be enough to justify any weapon you may want.

[Jeff the Green]

They carried just about any weapon you might find in the area. Obviously, some were more common then others but just a quick "looted ____ from a battle" would be enough to justify any weapon you may want.

Well, some are realistically improbable to use from horseback (daggers won't reach from your horse, greatswords could just as easily decapitate your horse as your enemies), but yeah, if you're part of a horde that has conquered two continents in seventy years, you could easily have picked up any style weapon you want.

[Bhaakon]

They carried just about any weapon you might find in the area. Obviously, some were more common then others but just a quick "looted ____ from a battle" would be enough to justify any weapon you may want.

True, but it's not really what one thinks of when considering the iconic warrior of the mongol horde. If you want people to look at a build and thing "That's a Mongol," then we're talking light horse archers and more heavily armored lancers (though not as heavily armored as a European knight in plate armor).

Most of the armies they were facing had one or both of those types of troops (though perhaps not quite up to the same standard of training or experience), plus the benefit of knowing the lay of the land and the ability to levee large numbers of infantry from the local population. What set the Mongols apart (as is often the case with societies/generals that conquer large swaths of land in a generation or two) was organization, ruthlessness, and the ability to exploit terror as a weapon.

[Jeff the Green]

Most of the armies they were facing had one or both of those types of troops (though perhaps not quite up to the same standard of training or experience), plus the benefit of knowing the lay of the land and the ability to levee large numbers of infantry from the local population. What set the Mongols apart (as is often the case with societies/generals that conquer large swaths of land in a generation or two) was organization, ruthlessness, and the ability to exploit terror as a weapon.

Emphasis mine. They had something like four horses per soldier so they could trade off when one got tired (which allowed them incredible strategic speed, even though tactically their horses were slower), pony express-style outposts to allow extremely rapid communications, had spies in place up to a decade before invading an area, and very well coordinated supply trains. The Golden Horde was probably the most well-organized army in Europe since the Roman legions.

[lsfreak]

The Golden Horde was probably the most well-organized army in Europe since the Roman legions.

And most of the worst fantasy villains are strictly little league in comparison.

I vaguely remember reading something - probably in the Real World Weapons & Armor thread - that every warrior was supposed to be proficient with dagger, spear, two kinds of bows, and wrestling. But this is off the top of my head, I may be misremembering.

[nedz]

Mainly horse-archers as has been said, but don't forget the Yaks. :smallamused:

They also impressed the armies of conquered peoples. Their two attempted invasions of Japan utilised mainly Chinese troops.

[Gettles]

Also, they had skilled siege engineers and made heavy use of the catapult.

[Mystral]

The (wait for it...) Mongols were neither iron age nor bronze age, but medieval people (~1200). Their ancient horseman equivalent would be the Huns.

The Mongols used composite bows, Sabres, Lances/Spears and Polearms which could be used from horse back, as well as laquered leather armor, shields and metal helmets. They also used modern(for their time) siege engines, like the Trebuchet.

[Grayson01]

Deadliest Warrior had a episode with Gangis Kahn VS Alexander the Great (Alexander lost so I generally boycot this episdoe) that showed their weapons so that would be a good place to look. Plus has their tactics.

[nedz]

Also, they had skilled siege engineers and made heavy use of the catapult.

Principally Chinese siege engineers; though some from other nationalities as well, no doubt.

[Ossian]

In case it helps,this video has cool materials (no idea if 100% accurate, but it seems so)

Good for gaming anyway

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMRDfaNH4Oc

[realbombchu]

Wow, thanks everyone for the great replies. The two (or more) people who mentioned that the horde was post-iron age are indeed correct, thank you for that. I checked, and the Kahn was born in the 1100s and therefore well into the middle ages. I guess that means I don't have to worry about using bronze. I must think of it as longer ago than it was.

Good weapon advice, and I like that some heavier armors were used. I'll grab a scimitar and dagger, in addition to my lance and shortbow. Anyway, thanks again.

[MirddinEmris]

Also they were using lassos ("arkan" or "uurga" - singular term) and was very good at them - the best were able to rip ONE flower from a blooming tree while riding on a full speeding horse. Its convenient weapon because it can be equally lethal and nonlethal in a proficient hands.

[John Longarrow]

In addition to their supurb cavalry, most of their infantry carried bows in addition to sword and shield/spear and shield/poleaxes. They also had no problem conscripting local forces to provide troops (much like the Romans did) and utilized most anything they could get.

Timur the Lame had Elephants and cannons as a standard part of his army.

[Palanan]

Originally Posted by realbombchu
Good weapon advice, and I like that some heavier armors were used. I'll grab a scimitar and dagger, in addition to my lance and shortbow. Anyway, thanks again.

So, details on your build? I'd be interested in seeing what your character looks like. The Central Asian nomadic warrior is a great concept to work with.