Mongols and Americas ID Terms - Key History Definitions

Mongols

nomadic pastoralists who lived in the steppes of Central Asia who were known for establishing the Mongol Empire, stretching from China to the Middle East to Russia

Gobi Desert

a desert in Central Asia, stretching between Mongolia and China, where many invaders came in to attack China

yurt

a tent used by nomadic Turkish and Mongol tribes

Khan

the title of Turkic and Mongol leaders

Genghis Khan/Chinggis Khan

also known as Temüjin; he united the Mongol tribes and created the Mongol Empire, the largest contiguous land empire

Khanate

a political entity ruled by a khan

siege weapons

weapons, like cannons and catapults, used to attack castles and other large fortifications

Pax Mongolica

a period of relative stability within the Mongol Empire during the 13th-14th centuries that increased communication, cultural diffusion, and trade

Golden Horde

Mongol tribe that controlled Russia from the 13th century to the 15th century

Kublai Khan

one of Genghis Khan's grandsons that conquered the Song Dynasty and established the Yuan Dynasty in 1276

Yuan Dynasty

(1276-1368) a Chinese dynasty that was founded by Mongol ruler Kublai Khan

White Lotus Society

a secret religious society dedicated to overthrow the Yuan Dynasty in China

Ming Dynasty

(1368-1644) Chinese dynasty founded by Hongwu after the Yuan Dynasty and was known for its cultural brilliance

Mississippian Culture

(700-1500 CE) the first North American large-scale civilization that emerged in the Mississippian river valley and spread east; best known for their mounds, trade and agricultural networks, and art

Great Sun

the chief in Mississippian culture who ruled each large town and stood at the top of the class structure

Toltec

(950-1100 CE) civilization in Mesoamerica that migrated into the central Mesoamerican plateau and had their capital at Tula; known for their strong militaristic ethic

Quetzalcoatl

the Mayan and Aztec god of wind and knowledge, often depicted as a feathered serpent

Aztec

(1200-1529 CE) a Mesoamerican people that created an empire after the Toltecs and had their capital at Tenochtitlan on Lake Texcoco; formed by hunter-gatherers that migrated into the region and known for their frequent human sacrifices

Tenochtitlan

capital of the Aztec Empire that was built on an island on Lake Texcoco in 1325 CE and reached a peak population of 200,000; the Great Pyramid served as the center of the city; modern-day Mexico City is built on the city's ruins

Great Speaker

the Aztec emperor who served as the political ruler and chief representative of the gods

Inca

(1100-1572 CE) a South American native people that created an empire in the Andes mountains, stretching from modern-day Peru to Chile; known for its mita system, agrarian economy, and extensive road system

mita system

a system of mandatory public service in the Inca Empire where men (ages 15-50) periodically provided labor, like in agriculture and construction, as tribute to the government

Quechua

the native language of the Inca and is still spoken by natives in Peru

royal ancestor cult

a practice in the Incan belief system where dead rulers were mummified and "kept" ruling because it was believed that they still possessed everything they had in their past life; fueled Incan expansion as rulers couldn't inherit land from old rulers

quipu

a system of knotted strings used by the Inca to record numerical information for trade, engineering, and messages that were sent throughout the empire

waru waru

raised agricultural beds used by the Inca with channels that captured and redirected rain to avoid erosion during floods and store water during droughts