APWORLD unit 2

Pastoral people

The Mongols were characterized by smaller populations than agricultural societies, highly mobile, and dependent on their agricultural neighbors.

Women's Status

Mongol women generally held a higher status and a greater role in public life than women in agricultural societies, could initiate divorce, ride horseback, and learn how to fight.

Military Policy

The Mongols used fear to ensure compliance, with estimates suggesting they killed around 40 million people.

Trade & Diplomacy

The Mongol Empire facilitated the movement of products, merchants, and diplomats over long distances, issuing the paisa, a sign of the ruler's permission for travelers.

Pax Mongolica

The peace/stability created by the Mongol Empire that helped facilitate massive technological and cultural transfers across Eurasia.

Gunpowder

A Chinese technology that reached Europe during the Pax Mongolica.

Magnetic compass

Another Chinese technology that was transferred to Europe during the Pax Mongolica.

Yuan Dynasty

Khanate of the Great Khan in China (1271-1368) known for its harsh and exploitative rule and the unification of northern and southern China.

Mandate of Heaven

The value placed on unifying China that allowed Mongols to assume this traditional Chinese concept.

Beijing (Dadu)

The capital city moved to Beijing during the Yuan Dynasty.

Khanate of the Golden Horde

Dominated and exploited Russia from the steppes through indirect rule, with Russian princes forced to pay tribute.

Russian Orthodox Church

Flourished under the Mongol rule and was exempt from many taxes.

Ilkhanate

The Mongol khanate in Persia, known for the Sacking of Baghdad in 1258 which ended the Abbasid caliphate.

Sacking of Baghdad in 1258

An event that ended the Abbasid caliphate and marked a significant impact of the Ilkhanate in Persia.

Chagatai Khanate

Founded by Chagatai Khan, Genghis's second son, contained the city of Samarkand, a crucial trade hub.

Samarkand

A crucial trade hub and camel caravan stop located in the Chagatai Khanate.

Indirect rule

A method employed by the Khanate of the Golden Horde to dominate and exploit Russia.

Assimilation

The process by which the Mongols who conquered Persia became Muslims and integrated into Persian society.

Uyghur script

The script adopted by the Mongols for administrative purposes, with Uyghurs becoming civil servants in the Mongol empire.

Merchants

A privileged group under Mongolian rule, marking a major change from traditional Chinese values.

Cultural transfers

The exchange of Greco-Islamic medical knowledge and numbering systems facilitated by the Pax Mongolica.

Renaissance

Marked the period from approximately 1300 to 1600 when Western Europe began to emerge from the Middle Ages.

Humanism

Key ideas related to the new movement focusing on human potential, art, and government.

Italian city-states

Sparked the Renaissance by wealth generated from trade.

Florence

The most important city during the Renaissance.

Medici

Wealthy bankers who used their wealth to patronize and support the arts.

Renaissance painting style

Employed brighter colors and better shading to achieve a realistic 3D look.

Perspective

A key technique developed during the Renaissance.

Realism

A key technique developed during the Renaissance.

Beauty of humans

Focus of Renaissance art, incorporating nature while still including religious subjects.

Civil service examination system

Lost importance under Mongol rule during the Yuan Dynasty.

Social Hierarchy in Yuan Dynasty

Mongols were at the top, followed by Central Asians, Middle Easterners, Northern Chinese, and finally Southern Chinese.

Merchants in Yuan Dynasty

Considered a privileged group, a deviation from traditional Chinese values.

Paper money

Used in the Yuan Dynasty to boost trade, but suffered from inflation.

Ming Dynasty

Ruled from 1368-1644 and reestablished the civil service examination system.

Centralized government in Ming Dynasty

Power was focused on the emperor, with eunuchs exercising great authority.

Economy under Emperor Yongle

Rebounded, leading to population growth due to flourishing trade.

Zheng He's expeditions

Described as 'bringing order to the world' and utilized massive Chinese junks.

Tribute system

Established Chinese power and prestige in the Indian Ocean through Zheng He's voyages.

End of Zheng He's expeditions

Ceased after 1433 due to the death of Emperor Yongle and views of high-ranking officials.

Indian Ocean Trade Routes

The sea version of the Silk Roads.

Scope

Stretched from Southern China to Eastern Africa.

Volume

It was the largest sea-based system of exchange until the discovery of the New World.

Cost/Goods

It was cheaper to transport goods via sea, allowing cargo ships to carry much more volume than caravans.

Mass Market

Goods were primarily traded for a mass market, not just luxury goods.

Monsoon Winds

Trade was primarily made possible and sustained by the predictable monsoon winds that blew eastward in the summer and westward in the winter.

Technology

Advances in shipbuilding and navigation facilitated increased trade.

Ships

New ship designs included the Indian/Arab dhows and the massive Chinese junks.

Dhow

A moderate-sized ship used in the western Indian Ocean.

Junk

A flat-bottomed ship designed to carry large cargo over long distances.

Lateen Sails

Improvements in sail design that enhanced navigation.

Astrolabe

A tool used for calculating latitude.

Compass

A magnetic needle used for navigation.

Srivijaya

An empire that dominated a crucial choke point of trade from 670 to 1025, based on gold, spices, and taxes levied on passing ships.

Strait of Malacca

A region where Srivijaya levied taxes on passing ships.

Swahili City-States

Powerful new trading cities in East Africa.

Gujarat

A significant trading state in India.

Products from China

Silks, porcelain, tea.

Products from India

Grain, ivory, precious stones, cotton textiles, spices, timber, tortoiseshells.

Products from Southeast Asia

Tin, sandalwood, cloves, nutmeg, mace.

Products from East Africa

Ivory, gold, iron goods, slaves, tortoiseshells, leopard skins.

Products from Arabia

Frankincense, myrrh, perfumes.

Products from Mediterranean

Ceramics, glassware, wine, gold, olive oil.

Impact of the Fall of the Mongols

The decline of the Mongol Empire caused the decline of overland trade and a shift toward Indian Ocean routes.

Infrastructure

There was a resulting lack of maintenance on the Silk Roads.

Security

Safety decreased due to increased banditry.

Cost

Merchants had to travel with their own guard forces to prevent robbery, which increased the cost of shipping goods overland.

Shift to Sea

Factors like banditry and difficult terrain forced traders to turn to maritime routes.

Spread of Cultivation

Trade networks enabled the spread of rice and cotton across Afro-Eurasia.

Environmental Remediation (Ming China)

Efforts included restoring land to cultivation, building irrigation systems, and planting a billion trees for reforestation.