The Silk Road

One of the most ruthless, yet efficient, parts of Genghis Khan’s reign was his brutal conquest of the Silk Road,

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the main trade route between Asia and Europe, and one of the largest (if not the absolute largest) sources of income for the Mongol empire. Realizing that even his massive army could not fully conquer and keep the 6,437-kilometer (4,000 mi) route, he adopted a secondary strategy. Genghis started destroying every single Arabic and Turkish settlement on the road, until every city and oasis on the whole stretch was either in ruins or on their knees before him. This took a lot of time, and he did not live to see his plan take full effect, but once the Mongols finally gained control of the route, they hung onto it: The Silk Road was entirely under Mongol control for the majority of the 14th and 15th centuries. Surprisingly (considering how it was achieved), Mongol rule was not a death knell for the road. They treated traders well and managed to not only encourage, but actually invigorate, caravan trade between the Mediterranean and China. However, passing through the Mongol-era Silk Road was not cheap: Most of the revenue its trade created went straight into the deep pockets of the Mongols, in the form of various tolls and taxes.