Mongol Rule in China

• Conquered a weak Song Empire in 1279

  • Dismantled Confucian Exam System

  • Fired Confucian scholars that advised the emperor

  • Changed language of government to Turkic

  • Forbade Chinese to marry Mongols or learn Turkic

• Unified and revitalized China under Yuan Dynasty

  • Kublai Khan ruled and sought the Mandate of Heaven

  • Brought people of talent from other lands to help rule

    • Marco Polo, a merchant from Venice, served 17 years

  • Fair tax system for farmers & Created paper currency

  • Supported Buddhism

    • Many Mongols converted to Buddhism

  • Supported Chinese culture and the arts (theater)

  • Expanded trade & supported goods from Chinese artisans

  • Came to respect Confucianism over time

    • Kublai gave his son a Confucian education

    • Re-hired some Confucian scholars to advise

  • More social freedom for Mongol women served as a role model for how Chinese women could be treated - Kublai listened to his wife, Chabi

Mongol Rule in Persia

• Conquered a weak Abbasid Empire in 1258

  • Abbasid Caliph refused to surrender

  • Mongols attacked and brutally destroyed Baghdad

  • Destroyed mosques, the House of Wisdom, and
    advanced irrigation systems for farming (Qanats)

  • Abbasid Empire had been in decline for some time

    • Hired Seljuk Turks to fight for them

    • Turks were taking over the real power

• Mongols rebuilt and respected Islamic Civilization

  • Many Mongols converted to Islam

  • Mongols rebuild some mosques

  • Many Mongols married Persian women and assimilated to Persian culture

• Mongols relocated talented government officials 

  • Persian officials went to China to help govern

  • Persian scholar, Juvaini, wrote histories of Mongols

• Mongols promoted long-distance trade connecting Persia to Central Asia and China

  • The wine industry flourished in Persia, along with other industries

Mongol Rule in Russia

• Conquered a weak Feudal Russia in 1223

  • Feudalism made it hard to fight the Mongols

  • Princes that resisted were brutally defeated

• The Mongols ruled Russia as a Tributary State

  • Forests were not good for grazing animals

  • Russian culture did not compel them to stay

  • Mongols ruled from the steppes but collected taxes

  • The Prince of Moscow increased power as the tax
    collector for the Mongols

  • Daily life was less impacted/changed than China & Persia

  • Eastern Orthodox Church continued to thrive

• Russia was integrated into Eurasian trade

  • New trade goods were exchanged to and from Russia

  • Russia adopted Asian cultural influences, like dress & hairstyles

• Russia unified under a Tsar as a result of the Mongols

  • Ivan the Terrible used wealth from tax collection to unify the state

Mongol Empire in Central Asia & Beyond

• Genghis Khan unified the Mongols, 1205

  • Temujin united the tribes and created a CODE

  • Armies organized under the decimal system

  • Armies sent in all directions to conquer neighbors

• The Mongol Empire

  • United Eurasia under one state in an era of peace,
    called Pax Mongolica

  • Mongols physically protected trade on the Silk Road

  • Caravanserais gave travelers a place to stay

  • The Mongol Yam System was messenger or postal system that connected Eurasia

• Mongol Capital, Karakorum, established in 1220

  • City in Central Asia that housed the Great Khan

  • Center for metalworks run by talented artisans from all over the empire

  • Dignitaries from all over the world, such as European William of Rubruck, visited to treat with the Great Khan