Do Now: Mongol Empire

“The Mongols made no technological breakthroughs, founded no new religions,

wrote few books or dramas”

So why are they historically significant?

Pre-Mongol EurasiaPre-Mongol Eurasia

The Mongol Empire at its height

Impact of the Mongols

• “The Mongols created a single economic, cultural, and epidemiological world system”

“for several centuries, Inner Eurasia was a pivot for world history”

– Mongol Exchange– New methods of warfare– Trade from Venice to Beijing and beyond– Demographic change via the plague and major population

shifts– Altered the political histories of Russia, China, Europe– Unparalleled cultural diffusion

Chronology of the Mongol Empire

• 1206-1227 Reign of Chinggis Khan

• 1211-1234 Conquest of northern China

• 1219-1221 Conquest of Persia

• 1237-1241 Conquest of Russia

• 1258 Capture of Baghdad

• 1264-1279 Conquest of southern China

The Mongols and Eurasian Empire

• Built the largest empire in history stretching from Poland to China

• 13.8 million square miles

• 100 million peopleChinggis/Genghis Khan

The Mongol Empire at its height

Who were the Mongols?

• From the steppes of eastern central Asia

• Nomadic peoples

• United under the leadership of Temujin a.k.a Chinggis Khan

• “Courage Cultures”

SteppeInner Eurasia

Outer Eurasia

Mongol Conquests (1206-Mongol Conquests (1206-1258)1258)

• Temujin (TEH-moo-jeen)• Declared himself:

Genghis Khan (b. 1162; r. 1206-1227)

• Really: Чингис Хаан, Chinggis Khaan = “Ocean King”– United Mongol tribes – Used Tengri - the

Sky-God - to justify his rule

The Mongol Art of War

• Great horsemen and archers

• Large, quickly moving armies

• “cutting edge weapons”

• Masters at psychological warfare

• Combined various types of armed force: mounted archers, lancers, engineers, rockets, and smoke.

Rulers of the Mongol EmpireRulers of the Mongol Empire

• 1206–1227: Chinggis Khan• 1227–1241: Ogedei Khan• 1246–1248: Guyuk Khan• 1251–1259: Mongke Khan• 1260–1294: Khubilai Khan (Partially

recognized)

China: The Yuan Dynasty1279-1368

• Most famous ruler: Khubilai Khan (1265-1294)

• Government administered by Mongols and non-Chinese advisors

• Allowed religious freedom but dismantled Confucian exam system

Khubilai Khan

Yuan Dynasty: Effects of the Mongols

• Mongol domination caused various effects in East Asia:

– Recentralization of China, trade, and government

– Prosperity in the cities, poverty in the countryside

– Extraction of wealth for benefit of Mongol khans

How did Japan resist Mongol invasion?

• The Mongols attempted to invade Japan twice [1274 and 1281]

• Twice they were repelled by typhoons

• “Kamikaze” or “divine wind”

Mongol Empire’s Impact on Mongol Empire’s Impact on EurasiaEurasia

• Movement of peoples, trade, ideas across Eurasia

• New innovations and ideas reached Europe (without the military devastation); increased European interest in the East

• Brought new peoples to power: rise of Turkic dominance in the Muslim world (Ottomans, Delhi Sultanate), and new elites in the Slavic world

• Created the first (and only) foreign dynasty in China

• Opened the path for the plague

The nominally independent Khanates The nominally independent Khanates ~1300 CE~1300 CE

Discussion Question: Discussion Question: For you, which For you, which of the following was the most important of the following was the most important

contribution of the Mongol Empire to contribution of the Mongol Empire to world history?world history?

a. They constructed the largest Eurasian empire to date.

b. They destroyed a series of well-established empires.

c. They fostered trade, the spread of disease, and the exchange of crops and technology across Eurasia.

d. The disruption of trade caused by the collapse of their empire provided an important incentive for Europeans to take to the seas in an effort to secure sought-after Asian goods.

Pre-Mongol EurasiaPre-Mongol Eurasia

Discussion Question: Discussion Question: Regarded Regarded as a whole, was the Mongol impact as a whole, was the Mongol impact on world history more positive or on world history more positive or

negative?negative?a. The Mongol impact on world history

was more positive than negative.

b. The Mongol impact on world history was more negative than positive.