Transcript Mongolian Empire

"The Bridge between
Eastern and Western
Cultures"
The Mongolian
Empire
All empires from sunrise to sunset have been given to us,
and we own them.
-Guyuk Third Great Khan of the Mongols
Mongol Images
Who were the Mongols?
Nomads who lived on horseback-from the
Asian steppes
Herded sheep and traded horses with the
ancient Chinese and Persians.
Transhumance—
circular pattern
of migration of
cattle, sheep, and goats
How did they live?
 Tribes:
– Divided into kin-related clans
– Traveled in small groups of two or three
families.
– When needed could combine into large
confederation
 Mobile
Disciplined
Siege Warfare
Short bows
350 yards
compared to
longbow’s 250 yards
Caravanserai
Yurts
Genghis Khan 1206-1227
 Born Temujin
 Father poisoned by rival clan leader
 Building the Mongol War Machine




Mounted warriors
Tumens,10,000 troops
Messenger force
Adopted gunpowder, cannons
Genghis Khan
 All who surrender will be
spared; whoever does not
surrender but opposes
with struggle and
dissension, shall be
annihilated.
--Genghis Khan
Genghis Khan
Temujin = Chinggis = Genghis
 United Mongols
– speed and mobility
– spies to gather information about the enemy
– formal code of honor with military forces
– messenger force to communicate between units
 Male dominated but women had influence within
the family
 Elected supreme ruler of all Mongol tribes in 1206
– Kuriltai [meeting of all chieftains]
Method
Motto:
of ruling:
submit and live, resist and die
People
could keep their religions, used their
knowledge to make the empire better
Always
open to new ideas/religions
Established
laws to make peace throughout
the Asian empire
Commerce
excelled because trade routes
were safe (silk road)
Pax
Mongolica = intercontinental trade
Genghis Khan’s death
 Upon Genghis’ death the Mongolian Empire
was divided into four successor empires or
khanates.
 China- Kublai Khan (Yuan Dynasty)
 Inner Eurasia- Chagatai
 Caspian and Black Seas, Russia- Khanate of
the Golden Horde
 Persia and Iraq (Ilkhanate)
Mongols in China
 12th century attacked the Jin Dynasty
– Method: if cities resisted attacks their
inhabitants were killed or made slaves
 1207 – forced NW Chinese kingdom to be a
vassal
Driving West…The Golden
Horde
 Took control of Kiev as it was becoming
vulnerable (1200’s)
 Russia was a vassal to the Mongols for 250
years
– Beginning of serfdom in Russia lasting until 1860’s
– Regardless, some cities grew due to the increase in
trade b/c of the Mongols (Moscow)
– Influenced military and political organization
– Isolated Russia from Western Europe and their
developments
Attack on Islam
 Hulegu = Ilkhanates
– Ends Abbasid Caliphate when they
sack Baghdad (1258)
– Local rulers were allowed to
continue ruling as long as they
taxed the people and maintained
order--facilitated trade
 Mamluk (slave dynasty in Egypt)
– Stopped the spread of Mongols in
Egypt
Effect on Europe
 Successive invasions
of Eastern Europe
 Destroyed Kiev,
supported rise of
Muscovy
 Invasions
halted/tempered by
succession disputes
Effect on South Asia
 Raided into Indus Valley for decades,
sometimes into Gangetic Plain
 Timur the Lame (Tamerlane) destroyed
Delhi 1398
 Periodic incursions until Mughal invasion
of early 1500s established Mughal Empire
north of Deccan
The conquest of
northern China
Beijing
Conquest of
western
Inner Eurasia
and northern
Iran
Conquest of Black Sea steppes
and invasions of Russia and
eastern Europe
•Mongols on the plain of
Hungary
•Mongol withdrawal from
Europe
Conquest of Southwest
Asia
•End of the Muslim
Caliph and the Abbasid
empire
•Mamluks stop the
Mongols in Syria
•Conquest of
southern China
•Attempted
invasions of Japan
(1274 and 1281)
Mongolian Empire at its height in
1200’s CE
Mongol Impact
 Pax Mongolica
– United large territory for about a century 2 continents
were united under one rule; safe trade; etc
 Cultural diffusion
– Gun powder
– Trade of food, tools, ideas
– Money for traders (esp. in Venice and Genoa)
– Bubonic Plague (AKA Black death)
– Killed 1/3 of W. Europe and 50% of the population in
other areas
• One cause for end of feudalism in W Europe
Kublai Khan
Yuan Dynasty




China—end of Song Dynasty
Capital in Beijing
Kept Mongols and Chinese separate
Government: only Mongols and foreigners
[Muslims] …no Chinese in high positions.
 Respected and were interested in Chinese culture
 Ended Civil Service Exam
 Postal/communication system connected Beijing
to Vienna using horses; 1400 postal stations; trade
flourished; merchants converted their money to
Chinese paper money
Women in Kublai Khan’s Court
 Mongol women would not blend with
Chinese culture (i.e.: foot binding)
 Kept their rights to property and freedom to
move around town as they pleased
 Many fought in wars too
 Chabi-Kublai Khan’s wife-she was a good
buffer between Mongol and Chinese society
Kublai Khan Continued
 Marco Polo
– From Venice
– Served in the court for 17 yrs
– Wrote about his travels to China…no one believed him
 Increased the status of artisans/actors/merchants
 Mongols built a navy and tried to invade
Japan…twice (1274 and 1281)
– Kamikaze (sacred wind)– this showed the Mongols
could be stopped
 Reduced peasant taxes; maintained their cropland
 Wanted to implement education to the peasants
Coast of Nagasaki Japan
An anchor stone from a Mongol vessel
Yuan Dynasty falls
 Defeat in Japan and Vietnam hurt their image
 Mongol rule got soft…inflation
 Kublai’s successors were weak
– Divided the empire among various generals by 1350,
most of the empire was reconquered by other armies
 White Lotus Society: dedicated to overthrowing
the Yuan Dynasty
 Ming Dynasty
– Ruled for 300 years
Trade
 Built up roads, extended the Grand Canal
in China
 Set up post offices/trading posts
 Protected merchants, gave them a higher
status
 Set up merchant associations
 Allowed safe passage to everyone
Religious Tolerance
No intention of spreading own
religion
Offered tax benefits to all religious
leaders
Muslims brought to China to help
with administration
Bridges
 More Asian products available
to Europe
 Europeans travel to Asia,
return with great stories
 Marco Polo spends 17 years in
Mongol court
 His book inspires European
imagination
Bridges
 Portuguese look
for quicker route
to Asia around
Africa
 Columbus sails
west with Marco
Polo’s journal trying to find
Mongol China
Bridges
 Would Columbus have been inspired
to sail the ocean blue without the
dreams of riches inspired by Marco
Polo’s writings?
 Can we give Genghis Khan and the
Mongols credit for the Age of
Exploration?
Summary
 Began as nomads and challenged the sedentary
peoples for control
 Often portrayed as barbarians; destructive
conquerors, but they brought peace, religious
toleration, laws and unity to their empire
 Empire included Central Asia, China, Persia,
Tibet, Iraq, Asia Minor, and Southern Russia
 Bridged gaps between East and West
Big Ideas
ANALYSIS:
 How did the geography of central Asia affect
the development of the nomadic cultures?
– How did these people adapt to their environment?
– What advantages did their adaptations give them?
 Discuss the military organization, techniques,
and strategies of these Asian nomads.
– How did these abilities make their military so
formidable?
Central Asia
Nomadic
Peoples
Byzantine
Empire
Ottoman Turks 1071
Battle of Manzikert
Constantinople
captured 1453
Turks
Transhumance
Seljuk Turks
Syria
Palestine
Overtook Abbasids
Central Asia
4. Golden Horde
Hegemony
Nomadic
Peoples
Byzantine
Empire
Ottoman Turks 1071
Battle of Manzikert
Constantinople
captured 1453
Transhumance
Genghis Khan
Mongols
Turks
Seljuk Turks
Silk
2. Chagatai
Road
1. Kublai Khan
Yuan Dynasty
Syria
Palestine
Overtook Abbasids
3. Ilkhanate
Hulegu
Baghdad 1258
Persia
Armesto Map
 http://media.pearsoncmg.com/ph/hss/hss_ar
mesto_theworld/interactive_maps/armesto_
maps/ch_13-1/