In short, we imagine the Mongol Empire as stereotypically barbarian. And that's not entirely wrong. But if you've been reading recent world history textbooks, like we here at Crash Course have, you might have a different view of the Mongols, one that emphasizes the amazing speed and success of their conquests. How they conquered more land in 25 years than the Romans did in 400. How they controlled more than 11 million contiguous square miles. And you may even have read that the Mongols basically created nations like Russia and even Korea. One historian has even claimed that the Mongols smashed the feudal system and created international law.