The Mongolian yurt is no camping tent but a veritable mobile home – latch it to a few horses as the locals do and you might virtually call it an RV!
Yurts are much more complicated compared to Native teepee (also spelled “tipi” today) more acquainted to most Americans, but could be deployed in mere minutes: under ten, typically – causing them to be comparable to a camping tent in this consideration!
They are larger than teepees and house several pieces of full-sized furniture, yet with satisfactory manpower (generally a family of ten or so people) they are swiftly set up and can be just as quickly packed up.
The potency of the ancient Mongolian empires is usually attributed to their swift and hardy horses, and the people’s intimate relationship with them.
But a case can be made that their yurts were also a contributing factor, perhaps secondary in importance but deserving the recognition of a top-five placement nonetheless.
Far from being a thin camping tent, the yurt was a true home for these walking warriors of destiny, who followed treasure and adventure to create a history like no other in the world.
After all, though the ponies helped them ride for a while, it was the yurt that provided housing for their aid – wives, families, and non-fighters who brought them the necessary supplies.
Unlike the cities to which the Mongol warriors laid siege, their own homes were safely far behind, and the overall mobility the yurt provided became a great tactical in addition to strategic advantage.
The Mongols did not come by their empire because of fear and terror on it’s own, regardless of their historical status.
As much as their steeds and yurts helped them conquer, so too did a relatively enlightened hands-off policy help them maintain their holdings.
Subject towns, cities, and whole countries had but to acknowledge Mongol suzerainty, in effect having to pay a regular tribute, and were mostly left by itself to otherwise continue their matters in pretty much the same way as before.
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