Mongol Tumen Military-Civilian Organization

Timeline

1. 1206–1227Source of the Onon River · Khentii ProvinceIn 1206 Genghis Khan divided lands and enfeoffed meritorious retainers, establishing the three tiers of hundred, thousand, and ten thousand households, with ten households to a paizu and ten paizu to a jia; noyans (nobles) mostly served as commanders of ten thousand, handling conscription, garrisoning, and wartime detachments, with civil-military integration replacing the old tribal alliance structure.
2. 1219–1250Conquered zones from Central Asia to North China · North ChinaTumens were continually added during conquest, with surrendered peoples organized into thousand-households. Under Ögedei and Güyük, commanders of ten thousand received fiefs (tou-xia) and also managed civilian taxes and labor. By around 1250 the empire had some dozens of nominal tumens, with actual strength fluctuating due to battle losses and enfeoffments.
3. 1251–1260Karakorum and the various expedition fronts · MongoliaMöngke Khan dispatched tumens as units: Kublai against Song, Hulegu westward against Persia, and Berke to hold Rus'. In 1259 Möngke personally campaigned at Diaoyu Fortress, mobilizing tumens along several routes; in 1260 Kublai and Ariq Böke contested the throne, each relying on tumen forces, making the tumen system the military basis of imperial power struggles.