Mongols and their Identity
Pastoral nomadic clan
Gobi Desert
All expected to be skilled horse riders and good with short bow
Valued courage and hunting and warfare
Sought out Silk Road wealth
Generally extremely ruthless
Genghis Khan’s Identity
The King of the Mongols
Expanded their empire greatly
Created tribal alliances
Defeated neighboring groups
Married sons to daughters of other khans
Ruthless leader
Elected Khan of the Mongols, his name means ruler of all
Genghis Khan: Beginning of Conquest
Attacked smaller empires first
Killed resistors
Occasionally murdered entire populations, leading to other towns pre-surrendering after hearing horror stories
Khanate (kingdom) spread from North China to Eastern persia
Mongols at War under Genghis Khan
Disciplined Army
Communication system advanced with messengers on horseback
Incorporated technologies and weapons of those they conquered
especially Chinese and persian seige weapons
Mongols at Peace under Genghis Khan
Pax Mongolica
Used the time for trade cultivation
Consulted and learned from Chinese and Islamic scholars and engineers
Mongol soldiers protected Silk Roads
Liberal politices like religious tolerance
Mongol Empire Expands
Genghis dies and leaves three grandsons to set up own khanates
Batu and the Golden Horde
Hulegu and the Islamic Heartlands
Kublai Khan and the Yuan Dynasty
Batu and the Golden Horde
He led 100,000 soldiers into Russia (army called the Golden Horde)
Forced Russian kingdoms to pay tribute
Ruled northern Russia through tributes of existing rulers
Moscow rulers saved funds and created their own army, defeating Batu and the Mongols decades later
Delayed Russian cultural and technological development for centuries, creating a distinct and unique culture
Hulegu and the Islamic Heartlands
He led Mongols into Abbasid territories
Destroyed Baghdad and killed the Caliph, killing millions
Established Il-Khanate
Many converted to Islam
Crusaders and Muslim Mamluks United against them
Kublai Khan and the Yuan Dynasty
Conquered China under Song Dynasty
Assumed title for Great Khan in 1260
Established Yuan Dynasty
Policy of religious tolerance that helped oppressed Buddhists and Daoists
Cultural exchanges and improved foreign trade
Mongol women were more independent
Mongols Lose Power in China
Yuan Dynasty Mongols alienated Chinese people and chose foreigners over native Chinese
Got rid of civil service exam system and meritocracy
Killed scholar gentry class
Prevented non-Mongols from speaking Mongolian
No expansion beyond China
White Lotus Society organized to overthrow Yuan rule
Zhu Yuanzhang (buddhist monk) led overthrow and founded Ming Dynasty
Long- Term Impacts Good
Revitalized interregional trade between Asia, middle east, Africa during Pax Mongolica
Silk Road fell when Mongols did, creating new Indian Ocean trade routes
Interregional cultural exchange
Islamic scientific knowledge to China, Chinese paper helped communication revolution, Greco-Islamic medical knoweldge, Arabic numbering system
Long-Term Impacts Bad and Extra
Spread of disease with military conquest
Bubonic plague
End of armor in Europe
End of walled city era thanks to siege weapons and cannons
Khanate
Mongol kingdom
Pax Mongolica
Period of peace under Genghis Khan that focused on trade, cultural and technological exchange, and expanding the Silk Road
Golden Horde
Batu’s Mongol Army that conquered northern Russia
Il-Khanate
Hulegu’s Mongol Empire in the Middle east
Yuan Dynasty
Kublai Khan’s empire in China
White Lotus Society
Secret organization of Chinese that overthrew Mongol Yuan Dynasty and established the Ming Dynasty