Compare and contrast sudanic and mongolian empires

While the West African Sudanic Empire and Mongols were similar because they both had great centers of trade, such as Timbuktu and the Silk Road, and had a flourishing economy, the Sudanic Empire was greatly influenced by Islam whereas the Mongols accepted many different faiths and the Mongol Empire rose though war and conquest through violence, while the Sudanic Empire rose through more peaceful strategies. The Mongols and the Sudanic empires both had successful economies. The Mongols conquered China in 1220 and established control there. This control enabled them to have ownership of the Silk Road, which brought in plenty of cash due to the demand for Chinese products such as porcelain, silk, etc. The Mongols also took taxes and tributes from their subjects, which provided them with money for their military campaigns. The Sudanic Empire had control of the trans-Saharan trade, which included centers of trade such as Timbuktu. Under Sunni Ali, the empire reached high levels in trade and economic success. While the Sudanic Empire was greatly influenced by Islam, the Mongols did not follow any one religion. Through trade and interaction, the religion of Islam was spread to the Sudanic Empire. Because it was accepted by many rulers, much of the population converted to Islam. The religion became so popular that, in the 1500s, the trading city of Timbuktu had a prominent Islamic university &180 schools that taught the Quran. The Mongol Empire had a polytheistic religion in the beginning, but had no governing organized religion system. Through interaction, many Mongols converted to faiths such as Islam and Christianity because they were stationed in areas where those religions were popular, such as Persia and Baghdad. There was never any extremely popular faith that the Mongos followed. Although the Sudanic and Mongol empires had different faiths, they were both tolerant to other religions. The Sudanic Empire continued to let the African polytheistic religions practice their faith and the Mongols did not disturb the religions of the places they conquered but rather assimilated to them. The Mongol Empire rose though war and conquest through violence, while the Sudanic Empire rose through more peaceful strategies. The Mongols were known for their great skill on the battlefield. It was through this skill that they conquered their subjects. Killing and looting was the Mongolian past time and was a fun experience for them. Under Genghis Khan, the Mongols massacred and devastated civilizations. The Sudanic Empire was much less destructive, compared to the Mongols. There was some violence for example when the Mali Empire replaced the Ghanaians, but it was not as large scale as the Mongols massacring Baghdad.