Unit 2.1: The Mongol Empire and the Silk Roads Flashcards

Flashcards to review key concepts from the lecture notes on the Mongol Empire and the Silk Roads.

Who were the steppe nomads?

Steppe nomads were people engaged in a nomadic lifestyle based on horseback riding, herding, and raiding on the great Eurasian steppes.

What was the purpose of the Great Wall?

Chinese dynasties maintained the Great Wall to mitigate raids by the steppe nomads.

Who was Temüjin?

Temüjin united the steppe nomads through war and diplomacy and was proclaimed Genghis Khan.

What were the primary components of the Mongol army?

Light cavalry, archers on horseback aided by stirrups, and heavier armored cavalry with lances.

What was the feigned retreat tactic of the Mongol army?

Turning around and riding down enemy formations which had broken ranks to pursue them.

What siege equipment did Chinese engineers provide to the Mongols?

Chinese engineers provided siege equipment like trebuchets, ballistae, and hand cannons.

What dynasty did the Mongols found in China?

The Mongols claimed the Mandate of Heaven and founded the Yuan Dynasty.

What tactics did the Mongols use to expand into the Middle East?

The Mongols’ brutal sacks of cities quelling resistance, and increased their thoroughness and brutality as they pressed further south into the Middle East.

What did some religious leaders believe about the Mongol Conquests?

Religious leaders who saw Genghis Khan sent as punishment from God.

What was the impact of Mongol rule on Kyivan Rus'?

The successor principalities to Kyivan Rus’ became vassal states of the Mongol khans, their economic and political development set back by more than a century.

What geographical features of Eastern Europe posed a challenge to the Mongols?

Rugged and thickly forested terrain.

How did the Mongols execute the Caliph in Baghdad?

The Mongols forced the citizens to watch as they executed their religious leader by rolling him in a carpet and trampling him to death with their horses.

What were the four successor states of the Mongol Empire?

The Ilkhanate, Golden Horde, Chagatai Khanate, and Yuan Dynasty.

What was significant about the scale of the Mongol empire’s rule?

A single state’s authority reigned across East Asia, Central Asia, and most of the Middle East.

What was the Mongol post system?

A network of routes (often marked trails rather than roads) that received Mongol protection.

What were caravanserai?

Way-stations where merchants and travelers could spend the night, purchase provisions, and rest from the perils of the road.

What was the Silk Road?

A network of roads, trails, and mountain passes linking East Asia to the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea.

What cities were central to the Silk Road's success?

Kashgar and Samarkand were located at midway points of the Silk Road, grew wealthy and populous.

What is a money economy?

An economic system in which people use money as a medium of economic exchange.

What was the purpose of bills of exchange (flying money)?

Bills of exchange allowed merchants to use money stored in one city in another city without having to transport gold and/or silver coins.

What is credit?

Loans of money to be paid back later with interest.

What is Greco-Islamic Medical Knowledge?

Medical knowledge transmitted from Islamic thinkers to Western Europe

What script did the Mongols adopt from the Uyghur people?

The Uyghur script was adopted by the Mongols from the Muslim inhabitants of the Tarim Basin.