Mongols & Silk Road

Factors that increased trade routes

Technology, Imperial expansion, demand for luxury goods.

Effects of trade routes

Accelerated cultural, biological, and technological diffusion across Afro-Eurasia; also spread of plagues (bubonic)

Mongols

• Central Asians

• Clans of pastoral nomads north of Gobi Desert

• Life there shaped Mongol Culture

  • Everyone, both Males and Females were expected to be skilled horse riders, hunters, and warriors.

• Surrounded other tribes (Tatars, Naimans, Merkits, powerful Jurchen in North China.)

• Converted tribes along the Silk road, increasing trade.

Genghis Khan

• Temujin (born in 1162)

• Early decades spent making tribal alliances and defeating neighbors

• Made key friendships (son married into family of neighbor tribe)

• Appointed non-family members over family

• Rutheless (killed stepbrother)

• Personal Loyalty was best way to run his kingdom

• Temujin gathered Mongol chiefs at a kuriltai, appointed Khan of the Mongols

Khan

King in Mongolia

Kuriltai

Meeting in Mongolia

Beginning of Mongolian Conquest

• 1210: GK attacked east (Jin empire - Jurden ppl) → power over Manchuria, Inner Mongolia, North China, and Zhongdu.

• Gk was a terrifying warrior, wiped out populations → news spread west, and some tribes surrendered.

• 1219: Central Asian Kara Khitai Empire, Islamic Khwaran Empire on west is over taken

• 1227: GK’s Khanate reached North China to Persia.

Zhongdu

Former Mongolian Empire Capital, Present Beiijing

Khanate

Mongolian term for kingdom

Genghis Khan at War

• Was successful b/c of skilled and brave warriors (strong riders, good with short bow, and disciplined)

• Communication Force: has a force of horse riders to transfer messages between troops

• Special units mapped terrain for attacks

• Used surprise as a main strategy

• When going against an enemy, asks for surrender, if not: kill leader, get skilled workers, rest are labor

  • Engineers are used for siege weapons.

Siege Weapons

Items used for a war siege (portable towers, cannon)

Genghis Khan at Peace

• 13th-14th Century Pax Mongolia (Mongolia peace)

• Consulted Chinese and Muslims

• Made most Bridges ever

• Liberal (Religious Tolerance)

  • Tried unifying the empire by adapting Ughur Alphabet to represent Mongol.

Pax Mongolia

13th-14th Century; Mongolia peace

Ughur Alphabet

GK tried unifying the empire by adapting this alphabet.

3 grandsons had their own khantes

How did the Mongolian Empire Expand after GK?

Batu and the Golden Horde

• 1236-Oldest Grandson

• Captured Russian city-states w/ 100,000 soldiers (Golden Horde)

  • After initial destruction from Mongols, Russia slowly recovered (Russian princes improved military, central gov., and culture)

  • Kept old rulers b/c the mongol’s didn’t like forests.

  • Rulers of Moscow city-state got extra tributes → made a secret rebel army → Defeated Golden Horde

    • After that the Mongols slowly lost power in Russia.

• Went west, sympathy was gained for the mongols b/c of their trade and liberal ideas

  • Faded in the west when they conquered Russia

• 1241: Poland, Germany, and France are defeated under King Henry of Silesia

• Defeated Hungary → was going to take over Italy and Austria but there was a funeral and he gave up.

Battle of Kulikovo

1380; When the Russian secret rebel group defeated the Golden Horde.

Hulegu and the Islamic Heartlands

• Grandson of GK

• Took over Southwest region

• 1258: Took over Abbasids, Baghdad, caliphate + 200,000 ppl died

• 1260: Got defeated by temporary alliance between Muslim Mamluks (leader-Baibars) and Christian Crusades in Palestine.

• Il-khanate: Byzantine and Oxus River (now Amu Darya) under Mongol rule.

  • Persian ministry was the one who did the tax collection

• Most converted to Islam, so society went from religious freedom to percussion of Christians, Jews, etc.

Il-khanate

Byzantine and Oxus River (now Amu Darya) under Mongol rule; controlled by Hulegu

Kublai Khan and the Yuan Dynasty

• grandsome of GK

• Spent 1235-1271 trying to get China

• 1260: title of Great Khan

• Yuan Dynasty

• Chinese initially liked KK (got trade, womens rights: raised cattle, rode horse, wore the same leather pants as men, could remarry and divorce)

Yuan Dynasty

• Kubali Khan

• Used Chinese tradition over forcing Mongolian practices

• Rebuilt Zhongou (destroyed in 1215 by Mongols), called it Dadu

• Religious Tolerance → Buddhist and Daoists rise

Mongols Lose Power

• Mongol Leaders chose foreign workers > Chinese born

• Gave power to Buddhists and Daoists + took away civil-service exam → weakened the scholar gentry

• Although they promoted Religous Tolerance, they refused to speak with other religions.

• China expansion failed to grow: 1274 - Yuan tried to conquer Japan, Indochina, Burma, & Java → made the Chinese think that the Mongols got weaker.

• 1350s: White Lotus Society and Zhu Yuanzhang → Mongols slowly lose power

  • Golden Horde lost land in 1369, central Asia conquered by Tamerlane/Timur the Lame at the same time.

White Lotus Society

Rebel group against Mongols in China.

Zhu Yuanzhang

1368: Buddhist monk from a port family led revolt against Mongols and founded Ming Dynasty (1368-1644)

Cannons

• Chinese gunpowder + Muslim Flamethrowers + European Bell casting = _____

• Helped the Mongols get past European walls.