AP World History Unit 1.5: The Mongols

Clans

Groups of families that Mongols lived in

Mongolia

The home country of the Mongols, which was cold and had little resources

Genghis Kahn

An orphan that united all the Mongolian tribes with charisma that taught everyone how to militarily organize (archers on cavalry) and how to expand

Saddles

An innovation that allowed a person to more easily shoot while on high speed horseback

Feudalism

A hierarchical system where lands are controlled by people under the crown's control

Mongke

A son of Genghis Khan

Ogodei

A successor and son of Genghis Khan

Kublai Kahn

A grandson and successor of Genghis Khan that formed the Yuan Dynasty

Yuan Dynasty

Dynasty formed by Kublai Khan that united China and kept its policies like the civil service exam and the scholar bureaucrat

Kamikazes

Typhoons that kept the Mongolian army from attacking Japan (also known as spiritual winds)

Hulegu

A grandson of Genghis Khan that held control over Persian territory

Golden Horde

The Mongolian group that conquered Russia from the west and mixed with the vikings and created the Kievan Rus

Kievan Rus

A central state created by the golden horde and vikings that adopted Orthodox Christianity

Marco Polo and Yuan Dynasty

Marco Polo and his family got most of their technology and navigational tools from the Yuan Dynasty to explore the world

Reasons for Clan Disunity

They were not unified because Mongolia was extraordinarily cold and there were limited resources. They were also in clans of families, keeping them separate from each other

Genghis Khan's Unification Method

He united the Mongolian clans because he taught them how to be more militarily advanced through archery on horseback and expansion.

Reasons for Mongol Expansion

They were able to expand because of their devastating war techniques, and Genghis Khan undermined feudalism and gave rights and freedom to local serfs, expanding their territory

Genghis Khan's Big Mistake

His big mistake was that he never named a successor, which created a lot of internal disruption among his sons and grandsons.

Effect of Genghis Khan's Mistake

The effect it had was it created different factions, or khanates that were never united again.

Persian Khanate

Hulegu was in charge of modern day Iran and Iraq, and the area had a mix of Persian culture and Mongolian culture

Chinese Khanate

Ogodei took over and then his son Kublai Khan formed the Yuan Dynasty and adopted Chinese policies such as the civil service exam and scholar-bureaucracy.

Russian Khanate

The vikings from the west and the golden horde from the east combined to create the Kievan Rus