In the late 12th and early 13th centuries, you have a leader by the name of Timujin arise in Mongolia. And he's able to unite the various nomadic tribes and declares in 1206 a Mongol Empire, you see here in this yellow color. He is eventually called Genghis or Genghis Khan, the Great Khan, the Great Ruler, or the Universal Ruler. Now even though the Mongols were not a focus point of world history up until this point, they did have several very significant things going for them at this point in history. As nomadic tribes of herders, they were excellent horsemen, and they were also excellent archers, capable of shooting an arrow in any direction while riding a horse. So as a military, they were incredibly nimble, they were incredibly fast, they were incredibly brutal, but they were also incredibly adaptable. As they conquered more and more people, they learned from them.