The Mongol Empire in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries

Positioned in the heart of Central Asia, Mongolia has a privileged position in connecting eastern and western Asia. At least two major silk routes ran through Mongolia for this reason, and the civilizations that lived around them were shaped by the many cultures and influences that passed along these roads.  The expansion of the nomadic Mongol Empire in the thirteenth century also facilitated trade by safeguarding the routes and the merchants who travelled them.