All The Pretty Mongols AP World History Notes Chapter 14 *Taken from Mr. Metcalf, Colleyville Heritage High School, Colleyville, TX
The Big Picture The Mongols interrupted the big post-classical empires. Extended the world network through re-defining long distance trade routes. Chinggis Khan and his successors brought under their control: Central Asia China Persia and Iraq Tibet Asia Minor and southern Russia Last Nomadic group to be a formidable challenge to settled civilizations.
Review of Pastoralists (Pastoralism vs. Agriculture) Relied on raising livestock instead of growing food Used every part of the animal: milk, blood, wool, hides, and meat Animals also used for transportation & the military Less productive economy overall Smaller populations Lived in small encampments with related kinfolk
Review of Pastoralists (Pastoralism vs. Agriculture) Prominent Mongol Woman Pastoralists offered women a higher status in society Fewer restrictions Greater role in public life Involved in productive labor Mongol women: Could initiate divorce Could remarry if widowed Served as political advisors Active in the military
Review of Pastoralists Pastoralists = nomadic Traveled in systematic patterns based on seasonal changes and environmental conditions Not homeless took their homes and belongings with them Mongolian Yurt
The Mongol Empire One major contribution = facilitated worldwide networks of exchange and communication No real cultural impact Did not spread any major religion Did not spread their language or culture
Temujin (1162-1227) United and led the Mongols Capitalized on shifting tribal alliances and betrayals Enemies were indecisive Incorporated warriors from defeated tribes into his own forces
Mongol Expansion Two major reasons for Mongol expansion under Genghis Khan: The newly united Mongols needed a common task or else they would fragment and fall apart He needed external resources with which to reward his followers 1 st goal = China
Mongol Expansion 1209 = marks the beginning of Mongol conquests Conquests continued for about 50 years under Genghis Khan and his grandsons = Ogodei, Mongke, and Kublai Final empire contained: China, Korea, Central Asia, Russia, much of the Islamic Middle East, and parts of Eastern Europe
The Mongol Military Genghis Khan reorganized the entire social structure of the Mongols into military units Of 10, 100, 1,000, and 10,000 warriors Allowed for effective control and command Conquered tribes = broken up and dispersed throughout these units
The Mongol Military Displayed incredible discipline and loyalty People that deserted their unit in battle = put to death Unit leaders fought alongside their men ALL Mongols benefited from the wealth that flowed into the Mongol Empire from conquered civilizations
The Mongol Military Brutal and ruthless military tactics All who resisted Mongol rule = slaughtered along with their wives, children, and dependents Cities destroyed Their brutality worked as psychological warfare also many of those that heard about the Mongols were afraid and voluntarily surrendered
Mongol Efficiency Mobilized human and material resources Detailed census taking Knew how many people they controlled and what resources were available to them Allowed them to effectively tax the people Set up an effective system of relay stations Provided for rapid communication Fostered trade Centralized government Various government offices Scribes translated laws into the various languages people spoke throughout the empire
The Mongol Empire Mongol rule was generally tolerant Religious toleration Administrators drawn from Islamic and Chinese worlds Intellectuals taken from conquered kingdoms Trade and cultural exchange flourished Pax Mongolica Protect merchants
Mongolian Economic Policies Wanted to foster trade Allowed merchants free use of their relay stations Often offered merchants 10% more than their asking price
China and the Mongols Goal = extract wealth from China In order to do so must accommodate the Chinese Accommodations included: Use of Chinese administrative practices, taxation systems, and postal system Took a Chinese dynastic title = the Yuan Transferred capital from Karakorum in Mongolia to Beijing in China
Kublai Khan Mongol ruler of the Yuan dynasty (1271-1294) Improved roads Built canals Lowered some taxes Supported scholars and artists Limited the death penalty and torture Supported peasant agriculture
China and the Mongols Mongol rule in China was still harsh, exploitative, foreign and resented Mongols did NOT become Chinese and they did not accommodate EVERY aspect of Chinese culture
Mongols Being Mongols Many still lived, ate, slept, and gave birth in yurts they put up everywhere Planted steppe grass within the capital and let animals roam freely Didn t use civil service exams Didn t learn Chinese
China and the Mongols 1368 = all Mongols forced out of China and returned home to the steppe Mongol rule in China declined in the mid- 1300s Many factors caused this decline: Division among the Mongols Rising prices (inflation) Epidemics of the plague Growing peasant rebellions
Marco Polo Merchant from Venice, Italy Traveled throughout the Mongol Empire for almost 3 decades Kept a diary of everything he encountered and experienced Primary way in which Europeans learned about the east
Mongol women had a strong role originally They remained aloof from Confucian Chinese women Refused to adopt foot binding Retained right to property and control in the household Freedom of movement Gender Roles
Reaction by Confucianists Thought of the Mongols as uncouth barbarians Refusal to reinstate the exam system was resented The bolstering of artisans and merchants bothered them Mongols liked popular entertainment raising the status of actors and actresses which went against the earlier hierarchy
Chinese lower class reaction Kubila s policies favored peasantry, protecting the agricultural land from Mongol cavalry men turning it into pasture Famine relief measures were introduced Tax and labor burdens were reduced
Persia and the Mongols Conquest of Persia = much quicker and more violent than that of China 1258 = capital of Baghdad sacked End of Abbasid dynasty More than 200,000 people massacred
Devastation to Persia Peasants pushed off their land due to heavy taxation Nomadic Mongols with their herds of animals turned agricultural land into pasture, wasteland, and desert Irrigation channels = neglected
Persia and the Mongols Mongol man and Persian woman Many Mongols in Persia were heavily influenced by the Persians there: Adopted Islam Left government operation in Persian hands Learned Persian Some turned to farming and abandoned nomadic ways Some married local people
Russia and the Mongols Painting of the fall of Kievan Rus Heavy devastation to Russia perhaps more than in Persia Mongol conquest of Russia = called the Khanate of the Golden Horde Mongols defeated the Russians, but did NOT occupy Russia Russia had little to offer Less developed economy Not located along any major trade routes
Exploitation of the Russians Russian princes required to send tribute to the Mongols Variety of heavy taxes on Russian people Continuing border raids Tens of thousands of Russians sent into slavery
Influence on the Russians Although the Mongols weren t influenced much by the Russians, the Russians were influenced by the Mongols: Adopted Mongols weapons, court practices, diplomatic rituals, taxation system, and military draft
End of Mongol Rule in Russia Mongol rule in Russia started to decline by the end of the 1400s Major causes of this decline: Divisions among Mongols Growing strength of Russian state now centered on the city of Moscow
Decline of the Mongols Mongols too few in number, settled populations massive Any interaction resulted in acculturation Mongol rule resented by conquered populations Settled populations began to use firearms