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The Great Wall of China

According to Isaac Asimov’s Book of Facts, the Great Wall of China was not really built to keep out the Mongols but, rather, their horses. The wall is thousands of miles long and could not really be guarded at all times so it could obviously could be scaled by humans. As superb as the Mongols were at fighting on horseback, they were only average warriors on foot. The great feat of the Great Wall was that it forced the Mongols to dismount. They may climb over the wall but in leaving their horses, they left their advantage and the Forbidden City was quite a long way without a horse.