Conquests

Conquests in Early History

There were a variety of commercial, political, legal, cultural, and religious motivations for conquest in the ancient and medieval worlds. The development of a lucrative trade with Asia for silks, spices, and other valuable goods and a slave trading network with Africa provided commercial incentives for early exploration and conquest. Expanding an empire's boundaries through conquest also increased its tax rolls, plunder, and possible military conscriptions. The growing dominance of Christianity beginning in the Roman Empire and continuing into the medieval period gave rise to political and religious attempts to spread the Christian faith through both missionary work and conquest. The rise of Islam fostered similar attempts to spread the Muslim faith and culture.

Conquests were a key component in the building of early empires such as the Roman and Persian empires and Imperial China. Early religious-based conquests included those of the Muslims in the Near East, those of the Ottoman and Mughal empires, and the Christian Crusades in the Holy Land during the 12th and 13th centuries. Muslims (Moors) later advanced into Spain and Portugal, where they were eventually expelled. Genghis Khan of the Mongols (Tatars) and his elite military force created one of the world's largest empires in the 13th century, covering parts of present-day China, Korea, Russia, and eastern Europe. Subsequent Mongol rulers extended the Mongol Empire's conquests even further before internal dissension eventually broke up the empire by the late 14th century.

The Viking chieftain Rollo was granted territory in present-day France, and he and his descendants adopted French culture and became known as the Dukes of Normandy. The Normans then engaged in a series of conquests, such as an invasion of Sicily and southern Italy in search of wealth. The most famous of the Norman conquests was that of William the Conqueror, who conquered England in 1066 in an attempt to secure the crown he believed belonged to him. Scandinavian Vikings also led exploration and raiding parties into Europe, Greenland, and North America.

Conquests often resulted in cultural diffusion through the imposition or adoption of the conquering power's cultural practices. Knowledge was similarly spread. The lucrative Asian trade opened up commercial ties and extensive trade routes that linked numerous peoples. The maintenance of large empires proved difficult because of the need for a large government bureaucracy and military force to control diverse geographical locations and [Page 273]populations. The Roman Empire offered citizenship and its benefits to conquered peoples to gain their loyalty. These needs drained treasuries and sparked periodic wars and rebellions among conquered peoples.

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