There was a point in history when almost every major armed group was focused on the mongols. Even to the point of putting old fights on hold until the Mongol invasions could be repelled for good.

The funny thing is that, by this point, the mongols were vastly over extended but somehow gave Europeans and Arabs a lot of trouble regardless. The only people who defeated the Mongols decisively that I know of are the Japanese (sorta got lucky) and the Delhi sultanate

And Vietnam. Mongols experienced military defeats but Vietnamese agreed to pay tribute...

The Vietnamese were actually insane defenders lol

IIRC they fought off Chinese invasions like 3 times or more, always remained independent

Repelled the French, Americans and Chinese in the span of about 50 years.

Hungary defeated the Mongols the second time, and after their initial incursions into Germany, the Emperor put into place fortification plans to beat them, but the Mongols never returned.

True but also the mongols never sent a real army (only raiding parties) and they retreated on their own after the emperor died to elect a new one.

I think if the mongols pushed hard into Europe like they did with Persia and China, it would’ve been over. The mongols had no issue with adopting new technology like siege engines and whatnot. China actually had better forts than Europe at the time

China administered Vietnam from 111 BCE to 967 CE, with a few breaks, and then 1407-1427.

well i have seen similar things as a player of Medieval Total War , so I readily believe it. Timurids were worse

Religious wars. The ultimate oxymoron.

Mongols would have had a lot of difficulty with central European terrain, and the sheer density of fortifications - Europe had a lot of castles, forts, and fortified cities, since they were constantly at war. Fortifications in Europe and Asia were also quite different.

It would have been a very difficult campaign for the Mongols.

> Mongols would have had a lot of difficulty with central European terrain, and the sheer density of fortifications - Europe had a lot of castles, forts, and fortified cities, since they were constantly at war.

Isn't this the "Dothraki wouldn't do well in Westeros" argument? Which makes sense, given the influences GRRM drew from.

Germany alone today has tens of thousands of castles (though not as many in the 13th century). It would have been a strange place for the Mongols, especially as the Emperor's orders were to heavily stock the castles and cities, avoid direct engagements, and force the Mongols into sieges.

This AskHistorians reply goes into more detail aa well., including other, more important factors.

Didn't the Mamluks also decisively defeat them too?

Yes, Battle of Ain Jalut in 1260. Probably where the Crusaders in OP's article were giving them safe passage to go. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Ain_Jalut