The Mongols

Mongol OriginsThe Rise of the Mongol Empire

The Decline and Fall1. Early period of nomadism

(struggle for dominance in the region by the Turkic and Mongol tribes)

2. The period of unified Mongolian StatePax Mongolica

3. Adoption of Buddhism

SWBAT:

Trace the origins of the MongolCompare the Mongols to other nomadic

groups who built empiresIdentify the factors that enabled the

Mongols to conquer such a vast (large) territory

DO NOW

Divide your notes into three sections one for each of todays objectives

How were the Mongols similar to previous empire builders?

How were they (Mongols) similar to the Barbarians who attacked and ended the Roman Empire?

Genghis Khan

“Man’s highest joy is victory: to conqueror one’s enemies, to pursue them, to deprive them of their possessions, to make their beloved weep, and to embrace their wives and daughters.”

From tent to palace

32 million square kilometers

1.5 million people (Yurt, Ger, Gur)

Mongol OriginsNomadic horse peopleN. China GrasslandsRaised horses, tended sheepFelt tents: Yerts, GerLanguage: Altaic (Rel. To Turkic,

Manchurian)Could not marry between tribes and

clans

OrganizationFamilies-->Clans-->Tribes-->Tribes gathered during annual

migrationChiefs elected. Based on nobility,

military ability, wisdom, leadership skills

Religion: ShamanismNature deities, but key God is the Sky

GodSacred color: blue

Do Now:

Who are the modern day Mongols?How much territory did the Mongols

conquer (square miles)Why was such a relatively small group of

people able to conquer so much land?

SWBAT

Describe the impact that the Mongols had on the territories they conquered

Temujin: Ghengis Khanb. 1167, son of tribal chiefFather poisoned…fled as youthReturned as adult, avenged father,

Eventually chief By age forty had unified all Mongol tribes Battles, alliances, ability to survive Elected as the Great Khan Amazing talents along with sons and

grandsons

Some Questions to consider

Why did such a remarkable family, gifted and competent, arise from such an isolated area at this time?

How did the Mongols, with a total population of less than 1.5 million, conqueror such a large area and hold it for a century?

Mongol Army TacticsAll males 15-70 served in army all as calalryOrganized army in “Myriads” (10,000’s)Units within each of 1000, 100, and 10No one in the army was paid, though all shared

to varying degrees in the booty. All contributed to a fund to take care of those too old, hurt, or sick.

Elaborate signals: every part can move in concert in battle. Flags, hand signals

Had to supply their own bows and other military equipment

Tactics: retreat, turn, flank, destroy Armaments: horsemanship, compound bow Reputation created paralyzing fear By 1241: reached Poland and Hungary

ConquestGathering intelligence had high priorityForeign experts and advisors, in particular

Persian and ChineseEvery man carried their own supplies and had

2 horses. Ate horse blood and milkThousands of vassals took loyalty oaths:

became commanders, ran army, ran government

Took walled cities by using Chinese siege technology

Brought Chinese engineers with them Conquered most of Asia, Middle East, Russia

Creation of Law

Yasa

The Conquest of ChinaGenghis Khan wanted the riches of

ChinaFirst secured his back: conquered

Tibetan State of NW China, Manchu State (N)

Took land all the way to Peking by 1227Ghengis Khan died 1227Successors reached the Yellow River

1234Took all of China by 1241

Divisions at Genghis Khan’s DeathFour Khanates

Kipchak Khanate (Golden

Hoarde) • Russia

IlKhanate• Persia

Chagatai Khanate• Mongolia

Great Khanate• China, Outer Mongolia,

Border States, to which the others owed allegiance. Later became the Yuan Dynasty

Territory of the Mongols

Kublai KhanGrandson of Genghis KhanMoved capital to Peking 1261N. enough to stay in contact with

other KhanatesS. enough to control most of ChinaConquered the S. Sung by 1279

Building ProjectsToo far from prosperous south to

easily collect taxes Rebuilt the Grand Canal to Beijing Palace of the Khan: designed by Arab

architects. Summer palace: Shangtu (Xanadu) Where a Mongol can be a Mongol Developed hereditary succession

Chinese Rule of China: Yuan Dynasty

Originally, plundered and robbedLearned the art of taxationMongols ruling elite: Highly

centralizedEmperor-->Secretariat--> Roving

SecretariatRuling minority segregatedMajority ranked according to

ethnicity

Ethnic RankingMongols: Top military, civilian postsPersians, Turks, Non-Chinese nomad

stock: High civil postsN. Chinese, border people, Manchurians:

Next highest postsS. Chinese: Lowest civil postsAll records and proceedings in Uighur

Turkic, than translated word by word into Chinese (sounded barbaric)

Foreign Contact Large, multi-ethnic empire facilitated

diffusion Subject states: Persian, Arab, Russian,

Turkic Goods, art, technology and ideas spread Chinese communities found as far west

as Moscow Printing, gunpowder, medicine diffuse

west Marco Polo

Role of Religion in Yuan China Policy of toleration Christianity

Kublai Khan’s mother was a Nestorian Christian Papal Mission created Peking Archbishop and cathedral,

complete with Mongol and Turkic sermon and Mongol choir boys Wanted 100 learned Catholics to be sent by the Pope

Buddhism Tibetan Buddhism gained 500,000 converts

Islam Islam gained many converts. A mosque was built in a new Islamic quarter of Peking and

others built in SW China Confucianism survived Considered a tax free religion.

No real influence at court Most of China in the South remained unchanged

Decline and Fall

Yuan Dynasty: Shortest lived major Chinese dynasty (1264-1368)

By the death of Kublai Khan’s son, series of weak rulers

The Khanates lose cohesion due to religious and cultural differences

Yuan Dynasty becomes more isolated

Decline and successiono Chinese never really accepted as legitimateo Succession wars between heirs and generals

o High Taxes, Corrupt officialso Paper money controversyo Yellow River changed course and flooded Grand Canal

among other natural disasterso Decentralization & Rise of Warlordso Last Khan fled to Mongolia in 1368 after the Red Turbans

Buddhist led revoltso Zhu Yuanzhang, a Buddhist monk and member of the secret sect

within the Red Lotus called the White Lotus, led the peasant rebellion

o Zhu Yuanzhang razed the palaces of the Mongolians in Beijing and became the first emperor as Hongwu (great martial) and named his dynasty Ming or brilliant

positive aspects of the Mongol conquests

Made possible and promoted commercial and cultural exchanges between global civilizations of Eastern Hemisphere

brought stable government based on precedents in Islamic and Chinese administration and religious toleration to much of Asia

provided lengthy period of peace predicated on establishment of unified law code (Yasa) at least until 1260

impact of the Mongol conquests of Russia & the Islamic heartland similar

In both cases the traditional political structure was removed and the path was smoothed for new political organization to take place.

In Russia, Kievan superiority was forever destroyed and Moscow was able to achieve political dominance among the petty kingdoms through its control of tribute and by becoming the seat of Russian Orthodoxy.

Brought the 3 areas together in the defeat of the Golden Horde Serfdom institutionalized as tribute had to be paid

In Islamic Empires, the Abbasid dynasty was ended and the Seljuk Turks who had ruled through its appurtenances was devastated

opening the way for the rise of the Mameluks in Egypt and the Ottoman Turks in Asia Minor

Mameluks gained dominance after they slowed the advance of the Mongolians