2.2 The Mongol Empire and the Modern World

Mongols

• the largest contiguous land empire in history, founded by Genghis Khan

• facilitated unprecedented trade and cultural exchange along the Silk Road

Khan

King

Genghis Khan

• Temujin united fractured pastoralist clans

• His armies utilized superior horsemanship, archers, and siege technology to conquer Eurasia

• fostered the Pax Mongolica

Khanate

kingdom

Pax mongolica

the roughly 150-year period (13th–14th centuries) of stability and security enforced by the Mongol Empire across Eurasia

• The Mongols secured the Silk Road, reducing risks for merchants and encouraging travel

• Under the Pax Mongolica, Chinese gunpowder, paper, printing spread, Islamic astronomy and medicine moved eastward.

• Religious Tolerance & Administration

• Infrastructure Improvements

Batu

• led a Mongolian army into Russia in 1236

• his army became to be known as the Golden Horde

Golden Horde

• conquered Russian kingdoms

• forced them to pay tribute

• In 1240, they looted Kiev

Moscow

• The Mongols ruled Northern Russia indirectly, using the tributary system

• Moscow princes, notably, began gathering more tributes than needed to fund an army.

• Battle of Kulikovo: marked beginning of mongol decline

Kublai Khan

• Defeated the Song Chinese and established the Yuan dynasty in 1271

Yuan Dynasty

• a Mongol-ruled state that replaced the Song Dynasty, marking a shift to foreign rule in China

• the Mongols ended the traditional Confucian civil service exams and excluded native Han Chinese from top administrative positions

Ming dynasty

• replaced the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty in China, focusing on restoring Han Chinese culture and centralized power

Uyghur alphabet

script adopted by Genghis Khan to create a written language for the Mongol Empire, aiming to unify his vast territories.

White Lotus Society

In the 1350s, the Chinese organizing to put an end to the Yuan Dynasty.

Zhu Yuanzhang, led a revolt and ended the Yuan Dynasty and founded the Ming Dynasty.

Bubonic plague

The mongols conquests helped transmits the fleas that carried the bubonic plague.

Yam system

the Yam acted as a surveillance network, allowing quick responses to rebellions and securing trade routes