“Throughout its history, Central Asia has often provided the ancient civilized empires on its borders with new Emperors, Sultans, or Sons of Heaven. The periodic invasions of Central Asian nomads onto neighboring agricultural states became one of the geographic laws of history. But there was another, opposing law of history, by which the ancient civilized lands of Eastern, Southern, and Western Asia slowly absorbed their nomadic Central Asian invaders. Despite being conquered, these civilizations—China and Persia in particular—would eventually always vanquish their conquerors, intoxicating them with the pleasures of settled life, lulling them to sleep, and assimilating them culturally”

René Grousset, French historian of Central Asia, The Empire of the Steppes: A History of Central Asia, 1939

Prompt:

Does Grousset accurately portray the fall of the powerful Mongol empire?