A History Violence

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have heard of Alexander the Great and Hannibal, but it’s likely that the greatest general and military strategist of all has passed you by. He led the largest and most devastating horse-borne force ever seen, and conquered territories stretching from Hungary and Syria in the West, to Vladivostok and the Sea of Japan in the East. He pioneered siege engines and battlefield explosives, and devised new longbow designs. He laid the groundwork for modern warfare, from the Blitzkrieg strategy of the Nazis, to the use of chemical weapons and improvised explosive devices (IEDS). His name was Subotai the Valiant, and whilst Genghis Khan gained credit for the achievements of the Mongol Horde, it was Subotai who was the brains of the outfit.

Subotai was born near Lake Baikal, Siberia in 1175. As a child, his brother, Jelme, was pledged into the service of the Borjigin, the clan of Genghis Khan. He worked his way up to become a valued advisor, and when Subotai came of age and decided to turn his back on the family business of blacksmithing, it was Jelme who introduced him at court.

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