HIST-1370 Week 2 Notes: The Mongol Interlude, Ottoman Empire, and Age of Exploration

HIST-1370: Modern World History 1500–1800 — Week 2 Notes

Agenda for today

• The Mongol interlude (13th–15th centuries): Mongols conquer much of Asia, opening door for European trade with India and China

• As the Mongol Empire crumbles, new empires fill the gap

• Focus today: The Ottoman Empire, which threatens Europe and pushes Europe to seek new trade routes and to launch the age of exploration

Questions to consider

• What impact did the Mongol empire have on Europe and Asia?

• How do we explain the strength and success of the Ottoman Empire?

• What is the significance of the fall of Constantinople to Ottoman forces in 1453? 1453

• What is the significance of the European Age of Exploration?

The rise of the Mongol Empire

• Temujin (c. 1162–1227) unites the fractured Mongolian kinship groups/tribes into an empire of about a million people

• He is named Chinggis (Genghis) Khan in 1206: means supreme or universal leader

The rise of the Mongol Empire — key campaigns

• After solidifying power in 1206, Chinggis Khan conquers most of Asia

• Major campaigns and conquests:

  • Northern China: 1215

  • The rest of China: 1279

  • Kievan Rus (modern-day Ukraine and Russia): 1240

  • Persia (modern-day Iran): 1250

The Mongol Empire — strategic insights

• Limits of expansion and checks to expansion: Europe threatened by the Mongols, but a succession crisis in the empire turns back the attack in 1242; later defeats in Palestine in 1260; invasion of Japan turned back in 1281

• Secret to Mongol success:

  • Disruption creates opportunities for Mongol forces: China in civil war, Islamic power in the Mediterranean region fractured

  • Momentum: Successful conquests enable the next set of conquests

  • Foreordained? Chinggis Khan viewed conquest as a mission

  • Military prowess and organization

• Mongols integrate conquered peoples and left religions alone; brutality and fear played a heavy role (up to about 40 million killed during campaigns)

• Leadership and governance: distinct Khanates emerge by 1260, controlled by Chinggis Khan’s descendants

• Kublai Khan, grandson of Chinggis, becomes leader of the Yuan empire and is the most famous example

The Mongol Peace and its consequences

• The Mongol Peace opened doors for trade and cultural exchange between Europe and Asia

• Mongols encouraged commercial development and generally tolerated diverse religions

• Marco Polo (1254–1324) from Venice becomes the most famous European trader to travel through Mongol territory

Impact on Europe and Asia

• Commerce flourishes along the Mongol-ruled trade networks

• European travelers and merchants settle in Chinese ports (e.g., Venetian traders in Yangzhou in the mid-14th century)

• Marco Polo’s travels inspire European dreams of reaching the East after Mongol trade routes collapse in the 14th century

Marco Polo and the Mongol Empire

• Marco Polo meets Kublai Khan (famed encounter that symbolizes East–West contact)

• Related resource: Marco Polo clip from TV series (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cdxiHuyvgYs)

• Visuals include Marco Polo sailing from Venice in 1271 (illuminated manuscript from around the 15th century)

After the Mongol Empire: successor states

• Fourteenth and fifteenth centuries see emergence of successor states:

  • The Ottoman Empire

  • The Safavid Empire (modern-day Iran)

  • The Mughal Empire

  • China under the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644)

• Europe’s religious boundaries during this period include:

  • Christianity: Roman Catholic Church (Rome)

  • Christianity: Eastern Orthodox Church (Constantinople)

  • Islam controls territories to the south and east

• These empires rise as part of the post–Mongol realignment of power

Rise of the Ottoman Empire

• The Ottoman Turks originated in central Asia; they converted to Islam and moved west to escape the Mongol threat

• In Europe, the Ottoman rise culminates in the siege and conquest of the Byzantine Empire’s last stronghold, Constantinople

• The Fall of Constantinople (1453) marks a turning point:

  • Last piece of the Roman Empire falls

  • The Balkans are pulled into the Islamic world

  • Russia becomes the center of the Eastern Orthodox Church, imparting a distinct cultural identity and mission

  • Ottoman expansion threatens Europe and accelerates European search for new trade routes

Ottoman strengths and expansion

• Strengths:

  • Strong centralized leadership

  • New gunpowder weapons

  • The Janissaries: a highly trained, motivated infantry force

  • Seizing a post-Mongol power vacuum in the region

• The Ottoman Empire is a true multi-ethnic, multi-religious empire, managing diverse populations and faiths

The Ottoman–European and Mediterranean conflict landscape

• Europe vs. Ottoman Empire: Christian European forces and Ottoman forces contest control of the Mediterranean and central Europe

• Important checks and confrontations:

  • The Ottoman expansion into the Mediterranean is checked at Lepanto in 1571

• The Ottomans also engage with Islamic states like Persia and get drawn into European alliance networks

• The Ottoman Empire’s geographic and political reach extends from southeastern Europe to the Middle East and beyond during 1500–1750

The Age of Exploration: early journeys

• Timeframe: 15th–17th century

• Significance:

  • Sustained contact with the rest of the world

  • Indigenous cultures are transformed and impacted by contact

  • New trade routes help build a global economy

Why Europe was ready to explore by the 15th century

• Factors discussed:

  • Economic: Ottoman Empire’s control of key trade routes spurs search for new paths

  • Competition among European states drives state formation and cooperation/competition dynamics

  • Religion: missionary impulse to spread Christian faith

  • Ideology: Renaissance fosters curiosity and spirit of inquiry

  • Economic: desire for spices and other trade goods

• Europe’s map around 1500 reflects stronger, competing states and emerging global reach

Exploration: Christianity and missionary impulse

• Christian duty to spread faith contributed to the push into new regions

• Iberian Peninsula history shaped by ongoing Christian–Muslim conflicts

The Spanish Reconquista: 700–1492

• Key milestones:

  • Unification of the Kingdoms of Aragon and Castile in 1479 to form Spain

  • The Reconquista concluded in 1492

• Consequences:

  • Islamic and Jewish populations faced forced conversion to Christianity or expulsion

• After Reconquista:

  • Spain competes with the Ottoman Empire for dominance in the Mediterranean

  • Spain seeks to spread Christianity and expand its global influence

Europe vs. the Ottoman Empire (recap)

• The Ottoman Empire emerges as a large, multi-ethnic state with a strong military and centralized governance

• It interacts with Europe through trade, conflict, and religious dynamics

• The search for new routes and lands accelerates European maritime exploration and global connections

Synthesis: connections to broader themes

• The Mongol interlude reshaped global trade routes and opened Asia–Europe contact, laying groundwork for later exploration

• The Ottoman rise redirected regional power and challenged European access to Asia, prompting technological, navigational, and maritime innovations

• The Age of Exploration emerged from a convergence of economic motive, religious motivation, political competition, and Renaissance curiosity

• The period culminates in the formation of a truly global trade network, with consequences for cultures, economies, and empires across continents

Quick reference: key dates (selected)

• Genghis Khan crowned: 1206

• Mongol campaigns in China: 1215 (northern China); the rest of China: 1279

• Mongol conquest of Kievan Rus: 1240; Persia: 1250

• Fall of Constantinople: 1453

• Lepanto: 1571

• Reconquista completed (Spain): 1492

• Ming Dynasty in China: 1368-1644

• Marco Polo: 1254-1324

• Ottoman–Spanish/Iberian competition context: 1500-1750

Hypothetical scenario to contextualize

• If the Mongol Peace had not facilitated open trade and cultural exchange, it is possible that European access to Indian Ocean and Chinese markets would have been delayed, altering the timeline and scale of the Age of Exploration and the spread of technologies like gunpowder, navigational instruments, and metallurgical techniques across Afro-Eurasia.

Connections to other lectures and real-world relevance

• The Mongol interlude connects to broader questions of universal empires, succession politics, and intercultural exchange

• The Ottoman rise ties into studies of gunpowder empires, military modernization, and early modern state formation

• The Age of Exploration links to economic globalization, colonialism, cultural encounters, and the shaping of modern world history

Clarifications and optional readings

• If you need a deeper dive into specific campaigns, consult Encyclopaedia Britannica entries on the Mongol Empire and on the Ottoman Empire

• For primary sources and narrative context, explore Marco Polo’s travels and late-medieval trade networks

• Review the Patterns of World History text for primary sources and corroborating viewpoints on these events