TatarMongol

The term TatarMongol, sometimes rendered as MongolTatar or Tatar-Mongol, is a historical designation that has been used to describe the peoples who formed the Mongol Empire. It is important to note that this term is a composite, often arising from a blend of ethnonyms used by both the Mongols themselves and by external observers, particularly Europeans. The empire, founded by Genghis Khan in the early 13th century, encompassed a vast swathe of Eurasia and was composed of numerous Turkic and Mongolic tribes, along with other ethnic groups. The term "Tatar" was frequently used by Europeans to refer to any nomadic group encountered in the East, and it became conflated with "Mongol" due to their shared presence and the significant role of Turkic peoples within the Mongol armies and administration. The Golden Horde, a successor state to the Mongol Empire, particularly exemplifies this historical usage, as it was predominantly Turkic in its population and culture, though founded by Mongol leadership. Modern scholarship generally prefers more specific ethnic and tribal designations rather than the broad and often imprecise "TatarMongol" label, but the term persists in historical discourse, reflecting the complex ethnic composition and historical interactions of the period.