Chapter 12 Mongols The Mongols were a pastoral people who lived north of China. They traveled with their herds of animals which provided meat, milk, clothing, and shelter. Typically, they never had any centralized government. Traditionally they were animistic and they had shamans (priests), but many were also Buddhist. 1206: A Mongol chief, Temujin, won the allegiance of all the Mongol tribes. Genghis Khan became his new title. His mission was to conquer and his purpose was to gain tribute. Pastoral people already had a long tradition of raiding their sedentary neighbors for goods and crops, but his campaigns were on a much grander scale. Genghis Khan conquered the northern Chinese states and Turkic areas in Central Asia. This gave him control over important trading centers along the Silk Road. The Mongols' military advantage was their skill and endurance on horseback. They were exceptionally cruel and destructive with any city which resisted, but were merciful with those who surrendered. All the Mongols wanted was tribute, and so they were tolerant of local governments, culture, and religion in conquered areas. After Genghis Khan's death in 1227, his sons and grandsons continued his campaign of conquest, and made the Mongol Empire the largest land empire in world history. 1
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Batu and the Golden Horde conquered what is now Russia. Kiev, the capital of Rus, was destroyed in 1240. The Golden Horde then fought the Poles and Hungarians, but Batu suspended his invasion of Europe when his uncle died and a new Khan had to be elected. Hulegu conquered the Middle East and ended the Abbasid Caliphate. Baghdad was destroyed in 1258. A Mamluk army from Egypt stopped the Mongol advance in 1260. Khubilai conquered Song China. This was the longest and most difficult of the Mongols' campaigns, and it took a generation to complete (1279). The Mongols under Khubilai also conquered Korea and Vietnam. Their naval invasions of Japan and Java, however, failed. Genghis Khan's grandsons divided the Mongol Empire among themselves. 4
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Golden Horde The Empire was established by Batu in Russia. Its capital was Sarai. Its khan eventually converted to Islam, but they did not interfere with the Russian Orthodox Church. The khans expected tribute, which was collected by local Russian princes. These princes were allowed to govern their states without interference otherwise. The most important principality was Muscovy or Moscow, which is also where the patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church resided. Russia became feudal under Mongol rule. Russian landlords exercised control over the serfs who lived on their land. Ivan III, prince of Muscovy from 1462 to 1505, achieved independence for Russia from the Mongols. He became Russia's first tsar, a title derived from caesar. The Byzantine Empire had fallen in 1453 and he saw Russia as the successor to that Orthodox Christian empire. He married the niece of the last Byzantine emperor. Moscow, became considered by Russians as the "Third Rome." 6
Il Khan Empire The Il Khanate, established by Hulegu, replaced the caliphate in the Middle East. It ruled over Persia and Mesopotamia, and part of Central Asia. Its rulers eventually converted to Islam after the khans of the Golden Horde did. The Il Khans ruled through tax farming. Tax farming is where a businessman pays the government for the right to collect taxes from the population, for a profit. Il Khan rule fell in the 1330s to various Turkish groups. Timur (r. 1370 1405), one Turkish chieftain, ruled over a short lived empire which included Persia and Central Asia. Another tribe of Turks established the Ottoman Empire in Asia Minor in the 14th century. 7
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Yuan Dynasty in China (1279 1368) Khubilai established the Yuan Dynasty in China after finishing the conquest of the Song Dynasty. He established Beijing as China's capital. The Mongols changed China's social hierarchy. From top to bottom: 1) Mongols 2) Bureaucrats, who were Persian and Turkish 3) northern Chinese 4) southern Chinese. The preference for northern Chinese over southern was because northern China had been conquered by the Mongols decades earlier. Foreigners were chosen as bureaucrats because they would be loyal to the khan rather than to the Chinese people. Confucianism was no longer the official ideology under the Mongols, nor were examinations a requirement to become a bureaucrat. Also, merchants enjoyed a much higher status, because the Mongols encouraged trade. The Mongols did not bind their women's feet, and their women enjoyed a higher status than among the Chinese. China was more open to foreign ideas, trade, and technology under the Mongols than ever before. Religions like Islam and Christianity, and Middle Eastern knowledge and goods entered China freely. Even Europeans journeyed to China to trade. The famous journey of Marco Polo of Venice sparked an interest in China among Europeans. 10
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Mongol rule over China collapsed soon after Khubilai's death. A Chinese rebellion led by Zhu Yuanzhang established the Ming Dynasty (1368 1644). Ming means brilliant. The new dynasty emphasized Chinese identity and culture in reaction to having been under foreign rule. The Ming returned to the classical pattern: bureaucrats were chosen by exam, and Confucianism was restored as the official ideology. China, with one exception, became closed to foreign ideas and contacts. Merchants lost their status, technological innovation ended, and trade declined in importance (although Ming China was famous for its porcelain). Under the Ming, Beijing remained China's capital. Ming emperors built a complex of palaces known as the Forbidden City. The voyages of Zheng He, from 1405 to 1433, are the only example under the Ming of China taking an interest in the outside world. He was a Muslim eunuch admiral, and he led a fleet of junks around Asia and Africa, collecting tribute and demonstrating Chinese power and wealth. China stopped sponsoring these voyages because it was indifferent to foreign trade and ideas. China felt it had nothing to gain or learn from foreigners. 12
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Impact of Mongol rule across Eurasia The Mongols promoted trade across Eurasia, as they were interested in tribute, and the entire continent enjoyed safety and stability. Merchants were much more appreciated in China. Mongols encouraged the exchange of ideas, technology, and knowledge between China and the Middle East, and China's bureaucrats were from the Middle East. Marco Polo's journey, for example, would not have been possible before the Mongol conquests. Mongols tolerated all religions. In China Mongol rulers encouraged the study of Islam, Christianity, Buddhism and Judaism. Along with trade, population movements also spread disease, especially the bubonic plague, which spread from China to the Middle East and Europe. The resulting epidemic, known as the Black Death, killed 1/3 of Europe's population in the 1340s and 1350s. 16