Amen
Sometimes becoming powerful does not mean God's with you in the sense of giving power to validate your ideology. Some things happen for a purpose. Remember Nebuchadnezzar (Jeremiah 25:9), who grew in power and was called God's servant ( 2 Kings 24:1-3, 2 Kings 25, Ezra 5:11-13, Jeremiah 21:6-8 , Jeremiah 25:8-10 , Jeremiah 27:7-9 , Jeremiah 29 , Jeremiah 43:9-11, Ezekiel 29:18-20, Daniel 1-4 ) . He was humbled later, as many other empires - from the Mongols to the Romans to the Egyptians and many others have...but their actions were used by the Lord to ensure change in the world as needed to occur.
For an excellent presentation on Asia in the Medieval Times, here's something fascinating on the Mongols - people who truly stand out in numerous ways.
Mongols themselves were known to be very tolerant in their rule as the Mongols were often known for allowing much in terms of diversity and religious freedom (counter to what many cultures did ) - and yet they did not tolerate a host of things. Interesting to consider how Genghis Khan saw himself as Divinely appointed to rule the world - by the power of the God of Heaven. With regards to the ability of success for the Mongols, one must remember the Silk Road. The Silk Road in what it represented may've been of more significance for the economic significance of the Empire than the taxes themselves..
But then again, the Silk Road is something which has helped MANY empires come to power and actually do well economically. Amongst the most powerful empires ever to change the world economically (and religiously as well) due to the Silk Road were the Mongols
Years ago, I went to an exhibit at the Ferbank Muesuem of Natural History on Genghis Khan" (more here, here and here)....and it was wild learning on Genghis Khan being more than the stereotypical barbarian.
Apparently, from what I was able to learn with my friends/family, Genghis established freedom of religion and cultural expression in the lands he conquered, promoted a meritocracy and created the first efficient mail system...and he even popularized pants (much better for horseback riding). From an impoverished, illiterate and isolated youth, Genghis created a nation, a language, religious and political freedoms, a post office, Pony Express, diplomatic immunity, a network of international toll roads, and a host of other innovations in what was by far the largest empire in the history of the world. ...and in many respects, his empire was previous to other ones that were successful such as the Persian Empire (very majestic/beautiful and the envy of the West) when seeing how the Persians were often being beloved by their subjects for the ways they treated others/allowed a significant deal of multiculturalism and supported a policy of multi-religious views to flourish.
With the Genghis Khan exhibit, I really enjoyed it and seeing so many of the ways that the man/Mongolian Empire impacted the world - with many of the things we have today coming directly from that, be it paper money, forks, pants, eyeglasses, passports or national parks and many other things. Was tripped out seeing the ways that the Mongol Empire facilitated cultural, political, economic, and technological transfer across Eurasia and thereby helped to revitalize civilization in China, India, the Middle East, and Europe. It was even more of a delight for me to attend the exhibit on Genghis Khan in light of the ways that Eastern Christianity/ Church of the East greatly influenced the Mongol Empire (more discussed here /here/here/here/here/here /here/ here/ here/ here/ here/here & here in #84 ) - and I was really blessed seeing the multiple artifacts they shared at the exhibit on the issue of Eastern Christians - with it being the case that the Nestorians won many members of the Keralts tribe to their faith (and in the 13th century this tribe would produce Genghis Khan, the military leader who would unify the Mongol tribes ) and there were many Nestorian Christians in the court of Genghis Khan, including the wife of the khan himself. It was very amazing seeing how there were certainly Christian sects operating within the Mongolian sphere at the time in question, as the Nestorians had been converting Mongols since the 7th century and the Keraits, Merkits, etc., had large Christian beliefs. .and these Christians then intermarried with other Mongolian tribes - with at least two sons of Genghis Khan married Nestorian women...and the influences being so great that Genghis Khan also exempted Christian priests and scholars from paying any taxes. To see the intersections of Christians and Mongolians during the Medieval eras were noteworthy...
None of them owned half the world as Britain did, however. And none of them spread the Gospel as widely as Britain did. Certainly the hand of God might have been at work, but there are always other factors to consider, and the result is that we just don't know.
