Reading Questions
Explain the process of state building and decline in Eurasia over time.
A. What was life like for the Mongols north of the Gobi Desert? How did their environment impact their culture?
B. Who was Genghis Khan? How did he become the leader? How did he earn his reputation as a brutal leader?
C. Mongols at War
D. How were Mongol women treated within the empire?
Explain how the expansion of empires influenced trade and communication over time.
A. As the Mongolian empire expanded people were surprised by his leadership. Why?
B. What was Pax Mongolica? What important developments or social policies emerged from it?
C. What role did Genghis Khan and his soldiers take with the Silk Roads? How did they change them?
Explain the significance of the Mongol Empire in larger patterns of continuity and change.
Yuan Dynasty
The Il-Khanate
What was the long term technological impact of the Mongols on Afro Eurasia?
How did the disease and the Mongols impact all of Afro Eurasia?
A. What was life like for the Mongols north of the Gobi Desert? How did their environment impact their culture?
B. Who was Genghis Khan? How did he become the leader? How did he earn his reputation as a brutal leader?
C. Mongols at War
- What made Mongolian soldiers so efficient?
- What strategies did they commonly use?
- What happened to those who did not surrender to the Mongols?
- How did the Mongols use siege weapons and the pony express to their advantage?
D. How were Mongol women treated within the empire?
Explain how the expansion of empires influenced trade and communication over time.
A. As the Mongolian empire expanded people were surprised by his leadership. Why?
B. What was Pax Mongolica? What important developments or social policies emerged from it?
C. What role did Genghis Khan and his soldiers take with the Silk Roads? How did they change them?
Explain the significance of the Mongol Empire in larger patterns of continuity and change.
Yuan Dynasty
- What was it/when was it established:
- What was the immediate impact:
- How was it governed:
- Why did it decline?
- What were the long term impacts of Mongol rule there?
The Il-Khanate
- What was it/when was it established:
- What was the immediate impact:
- How was it governed:
- Why did it decline?
- What were the long term impacts of Mongol rule there?
- What was it/when was it established:
- What was the immediate impact:
- How was it governed:
- Why did it decline?
- What were the long term impacts of Mongol rule there?
What was the long term technological impact of the Mongols on Afro Eurasia?
How did the disease and the Mongols impact all of Afro Eurasia?
The Mongol Conquest Eurasia
The Mongols were different small tribes of central Asian nomads led by Khans. Due to this nomadic life, women held significan roles in the society. For example, women shared the daily chores and hardships of steppe life with men and were largely responsible for tending animals, setting up camps, childrearing, producing food and cooking it. Having rather more rights than in contemporary cultures to the east and west of Mongolia, women could own and inherit property, were involved in religious ceremonies and could be shamans, and the wives of senior tribal leaders could voice their opinions at tribal meetings.
The Mongol tribes were united under one leader. His name was Temujin. His father had been a tribal chief who was murdered causing his family to go into exile. He would grow up to become a respected warrior that would unite all the different tribes. Once in power, he took the name Genghis Khan (Universal Ruler). While he valued personal loyalty over everything, Ghengis was seen as a just and fair leader who would share in the spoils of victory.
The main reasons that the Mongols were able to take over most of Eurasia was that they were skilled equestrians, they were skilled equestrians and archers. Leaders were selected on merit and were rewarded with war booty. The Mongols uses of feigned flight, surprise attacks, hostage taking, psychological warfare and human shields. The size of the Mongol army was exaggerated by placing dummies on the backs of horses and lighting strings of bonfires at night. There were also able to adopt new military technology from conquered territories like gunpowder from the Song and siege engines from the Abbasids.
Although the Mongols were brutal, rumors and stories of their atrocities was often much worse than the reality. One 13th-century illustrated English manuscript showed a pair of Mongols roasting a skewered victim and the legs of another. The Mongols sometimes ate the livers and hearts of their slain soldiers in hopes of obtaining their spirit and strength but as far as we know people were not a source of meat.
Genghis' ruthless and cruel tactics terrified the people in the cities and fortress he was approaching. Genghis gave his conquered people a choice: give up or death by strangulation with a string. Many cities and fortress capitulated before his army even showed itself on the horizon. Not all the cities were butchered, but some became examples to sow terror in others. It was psychological warfare. Cities that offered no resistance were often spared, escaping violence by offering tributes and letting Mongol soldiers loot unimpeded. As a result of Mongol conquests many cities were destroyed and it is estimated that 35 million people were killed.
The Mongol tribes were united under one leader. His name was Temujin. His father had been a tribal chief who was murdered causing his family to go into exile. He would grow up to become a respected warrior that would unite all the different tribes. Once in power, he took the name Genghis Khan (Universal Ruler). While he valued personal loyalty over everything, Ghengis was seen as a just and fair leader who would share in the spoils of victory.
The main reasons that the Mongols were able to take over most of Eurasia was that they were skilled equestrians, they were skilled equestrians and archers. Leaders were selected on merit and were rewarded with war booty. The Mongols uses of feigned flight, surprise attacks, hostage taking, psychological warfare and human shields. The size of the Mongol army was exaggerated by placing dummies on the backs of horses and lighting strings of bonfires at night. There were also able to adopt new military technology from conquered territories like gunpowder from the Song and siege engines from the Abbasids.
Although the Mongols were brutal, rumors and stories of their atrocities was often much worse than the reality. One 13th-century illustrated English manuscript showed a pair of Mongols roasting a skewered victim and the legs of another. The Mongols sometimes ate the livers and hearts of their slain soldiers in hopes of obtaining their spirit and strength but as far as we know people were not a source of meat.
Genghis' ruthless and cruel tactics terrified the people in the cities and fortress he was approaching. Genghis gave his conquered people a choice: give up or death by strangulation with a string. Many cities and fortress capitulated before his army even showed itself on the horizon. Not all the cities were butchered, but some became examples to sow terror in others. It was psychological warfare. Cities that offered no resistance were often spared, escaping violence by offering tributes and letting Mongol soldiers loot unimpeded. As a result of Mongol conquests many cities were destroyed and it is estimated that 35 million people were killed.
Mongol Administration
The Mongols would unite Eurasia under one empire. The Mongols capital was Karakorum. They would divide the area they conquered into four Providences. Once the Mongols conquered a territorry, they would use local administrators to continue to govern. The Mongols were tolerant of all religions and the leaders who practiced them. Mongols women continued to hold significant power as advisers. The Mongols enforced a sigle unifed law in the entire conquered areas. They would often capture artisans, scholars and engineers from conquered territories and relocate them were needed. Efficient administration of the empire led to a period of stability and peace called Pax Mongolica. That Mongol peace led to he facilitation of trade in the Silk Roads.
Towards the end of Mongol rule, the Mongols had problems with succession. The provinces become four (4) Khanates. They began to compete against one another and not as allies. Additionally there are mass rebellions against Mongol rule.
Towards the end of Mongol rule, the Mongols had problems with succession. The provinces become four (4) Khanates. They began to compete against one another and not as allies. Additionally there are mass rebellions against Mongol rule.
Mongol Administration of the Silk Roads
Mongol stability would facilitate trade in the Silk Roads. The Mongols saw a benefit to respecting merchants and increasing trade. They could tax more. For example, they would use the military to keep order in the urban areas and to protect merchants in the Silk Routes. The Mongols built roads and bridges. They also had a system of passports where anybody carrying the passport was guaranteed safe travel along the Silk Roads. That meant merchants could travel safely vast distances across Afro-Eurasia easier.
The Yuan dynasty’s use of paper currency was intended to facilitate greater internal and international commerce. The Yuan government realized that using paper currency would make commercial activity easier for the merchant networks (ortaq) that were supported by the Yuan government and operated across China and beyond. Merchants would use the paper currency because they knew it was supported by the Yuan dynasty
The Mongols also continued to use currency that made trade easier and safer. Increased trade had a positive effect in that technology and ideas were increasingly exchanged but so were diseases.
The Yuan dynasty’s use of paper currency was intended to facilitate greater internal and international commerce. The Yuan government realized that using paper currency would make commercial activity easier for the merchant networks (ortaq) that were supported by the Yuan government and operated across China and beyond. Merchants would use the paper currency because they knew it was supported by the Yuan dynasty
The Mongols also continued to use currency that made trade easier and safer. Increased trade had a positive effect in that technology and ideas were increasingly exchanged but so were diseases.
Impact of the Mongols on different regions
Yuan DyanstyThe conquest of China took about 70 years and brought plunder and murder on a massive scale. The Mongols took over China in 1279 and used many of the Chinese governing techniques to rule and were tolerant of all religions. Kublai Khan, Genghis Khan's grandson, claimed the Mandate of Heaven and initiated the Yuan Dynasty. They used the same taxation system and postal system. The Mongols also moved their capital to Beijing. They improved roads and built canals. Mongol rulers also began using traditional Confucian rituals and built some Daoist temples. They were also very tolerant of Buddhism particularly Tibetan Buddhism.
Despite these adaptations, the Mongols were still harsh and were resented by the Chinese. The Mongols abolished the civil service exam and relied mostly on foreign officials to rule their empire. Mongols were at the top the the social hierarchy followed by foreign officials. One such official was Marco Polo under Kublai Khan's court. The Chinese were at the bottom. Few Mongols learned Chinese. The Chinese scholars were forbidden to learn Mongol script. Intermarriage was illegal. Mongol women kept many rights and never adopted Chinese foot binding. Many Mongols continued to live in yurts even within the city. The Mongols made two attempts to expand their empire from China by invading Japan twice but failed. Eventually, due to plague, famine, and peasant rebellions, the Mongols would be expelled back to Mongolia and Mongol rule would end. Chagatai KhanateGenghis Khan (c. 1167–1227) had four sons by his principal wife, Borte. Chagatai, the second oldest, received the central portion of the empire. The other sons received areas with rich resources, large sedentary populations, and long established traditions of governance. The Chagatai Khanate had shifting boundaries, tribal populations with weak state institutions, and relatively sparse resources. Although the Chagatai Khanate was poor in resources, its central location along the Silk Road allowed it to collect abundant taxes and tolls. Samarkand would become one of the largest cities on Earth due to that trade.
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Il KhanateThe Mongols sacked Baghdad in 1258 killing about 200,000 people. By 1260, the Il-Khan state was established Hulegu another one of Genghis Khan's grandson. Mongol rule brought heavy taxes on the peasants. The qanat system was destroyed. Mongol sheep, goats and horses turned farmland into desserts. Nonetheless, wine production and silk production would increase.
The Mongols in the Middle east, like the Mongols in China, used Persian bureaucrats to rule. They then made an effort to repair the qanat system. Eventually, The Mongols would convert to Islam. The Mongol rule of this region ended in the 1330's because the Mongol Khan did not have a suitable successor. Unlike the Mongols of China, were not kicked out. They assimilated into the population. Golden HordeUsing the catapults and battering ram technology from China and the the Abbasids, the Mongols took over the region that would later be called Russia. The Kiev Rus Princess were not united enough to stand the Mongol invasion. The Mongols would, like in every other place, kill and rape on a massive scale. They would also take the skilled artisans from Russia and relocate them. The Mongols would not use the administrative techniques other than tribute. The Russian rulers remained in power but had to give tribute to the Mongols who remained in the grass lands outside of Kiev. The direct result of that would be that the Mongols would not assimilate into the Russian culture as they had to some extent in China and completely in the Middle East. Instead the Mongols would rule from afar.
For the Europeans who lived quietly under Mongol rule, this was the era of the Pax Mongolica. Improved trade and communications routes made the flow of goods and information easier than ever before. The Golden Horde's justice system made life less violent and dangerous than before in medieval Eastern Europe. The Mongols took regular census counts and required regular tax payments, but otherwise left the people to their own devices so long as they did not try to rebel. As the Mongol empire fell slowly in Russia and the Russian empire began to rise. Timur (Tamerlane) dealt the tottering Golden Horde a crushing blow in 1395 through 1396, when he destroyed their army, looted their cities and appointed his own khan. The Golden Horde stumbled on until 1480, but it was never the great power it had been after Timur's invasion. In that year, Ivan III drove the Golden Horde from Moscow and established the nation of Russia. |
Khanates and Disease
Due to increased trade, diseases spread easier during Mongol rule. The increased trade on the Silk Roads led to the spread of the Black Death epidemic. The Black Dead began possibly in China and diffused along the trade routes. It would kill approximately 25% of Eurasia and weaken Mongol power of their subjects. Ultimately, the Black death's effect on the Mongols was that it led to their downfall. This was the end of nomadic pastoralist influence in the world stage.
Long Term Impact- Innovations
The Mongols were responsible for diffusing new technology and ideas. Because of the Mongols gunpowder diffused across Eurasia. Some historians even argue that the gunpowder cannon is a Mongol invention (they combined Chinese gunpowder, Muslim flamethrowers, and European bell-casting methods). Knowledge Islamic scholars (Greek/Roman works, medicine and Arabic numerals) diffuse to Europe because of the Mongols. Walled cities and castles become absolute after Mongol innovations. Many historians regard Mongol Rule and the spread of Technology as the beginning of the modern period.
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The Movie below is not required but it is very interesting