Alexander the great vs genghis khan biography

This question originally appeared on Quora.

Answer by Andy Lee Chaisiri, art director and game designer:

There’s more than 1,000 years separating these two conquerors.

Alexander the great vs genghis khan biography

The difference a millennium makes is:

Steel

Iron becomes steel when exposed to just the right amount of carbon, hardening it enough to keep an edge while maintaining enough flexibility to not be brittle.

In Alexander the Great’s time, steel was either unheard of or incredibly rare. (It’s disputed.) In Genghis Khan’s time, it was mass-produced by the ton to arm and armor entire armies.

Alexander’s forces mostly wore pressed-linen armor.

Parts of it were bronze and iron, but the majority was pressed linen, and it was good enough against the iron weapons of the time.

Genghis Khan’s forces wore layered silk, lacquered leather, and steel. They had steel swords, steel spears, and steel-tipped arrows.

Saddle and stirrups

Both of these incred