Mongols

who r they

During the 1200s many of the classical empires began to fall, but one centralized empire would grow to be the biggest the world has seen. They were the Mongols

Pastoral vs Agrarian Societies

Life as nomads

Being nomadic at first the Mongols were great archers and horseback riders.The Mongols also used siege weapons (catapults) to bypass castles and walled cities.Once they got in they showed no mercy, so many places surrendered when they saw the Mongols outside their cities. Technologies like gunpowder, guns, and printing would spread

Life with Ghenghis Khan

The Mongol Empire stretched all the way from modern day Korea to Poland! Because of its vast size the empire was divided into sections called Khanates who were ruled individually by a Khan Kingdom→ King Khanate→ Khan

Trade

Mongols financially supported trade and banking practices ● Mongols standardized trade practices ● Mongols protected trade with their military ● The Mongols directed supported merchants Resulted in an increase of contact and communications with distant ● Postal system known as Yam ● Communication with society leaders ● Exploration

Yuan Dynasty

China’s first foriegn lead dynasty ○ Because they were Mongols! ● Emperor or (Great Khan) was Kublai Khan ○ Ghenghis’ Grandson ○ United China after 300 years

Marco Polo

The Italian explorer Marco Polo served in the court of Kublai Khan during his travels in China. There he wrote what is probably the most influential travel book of all time, The Travels of Marco Polo.

Decline

The Yuan Dynasty, like the many dynasties before it, fell to corruption and disorder and was replaced by the Ming Dynasty.

Importance

They were culturally and religiously tolerant. They did not push Mongol customs upon those they conquered ● This allowed for Chinese arts and literature to flourish during the Yuan dynasty ○ Things like poetry, painting, calligraphy, and theater