Mongol soldiers used silk clothes instead of heavy armor in battle. When a soldier was hit with an arrow, the arrow entered the soldier’s body but could be easily removed because the arrowhead was caught in the soldier’s silk clothing.
Who were the Mongols?• Genghis Khan and his sons built the
Mongol Empire, which stretched from the Pacific Ocean to Eastern Europe
• The Mongols conquered China and created a new dynasty that tried to conquer Japan and began trading with the rest of Asia.
• They lived in tribes, or groups of related families.
• They were nomadic herders who grazed their animals on the steppes, wide, rolling grassy plains.
Invaded China in
1211 then conquered kingdoms
that controlled
parts of the Silk Road
Drafted a law code
Chose army
officers for
ability, not family
ties
Gathered an army of 100,000 soldiers
Created a group of tribal chiefs to help him plan militarycampaigns
1st conquered steppes
Actions of Genghis Khan
Ghengis Khan died in 1227, and
his empire was dividedAmong 4 sons.his grandson united
the empire
Baghdad fell to Mongols in
1258. Egyptians stoppedtheir advance.
The Mongolscreated the largestempire the worldhad ever seen.
They learned They learned much much from the from the Chinese, Chinese, including including gunpowdegunpowderr and the and the fire fire lance.lance.
They learned They learned much much from the from the Chinese, Chinese, including including gunpowdegunpowderr and the and the fire fire lance.lance.
Peace helped Peace helped
Mongols gain Mongols gain wealthwealth through through
taxing tradetaxing trade..
Adoptedinventions and
ideas helpedstrenghthen
theMongol military.
They They
respected respected
culturescultures
of placesof places
conquered and conquered and
adopted beliefsadopted beliefs
and and customscustoms
of many of many
places.places.
Kublai KhanKublai Khanbecame thebecame thenew khannew khan
(ruler).(ruler).
He completely wiped out the Song Dynasty
within a decade by conquering southern China.
He moved theHe moved theCapital from Capital from Karakorum toKarakorum to
KhanbaliqKhanbaliq(now modern(now modern
BeijingBeijing).).
Mongols conquered Mongols conquered ChinaChina and created a new dynasty and created a new dynasty that tried to conquer that tried to conquer JapanJapan and began trading with and began trading with
the rest of the rest of AsiaAsia..
He set up the Yuan Dynasty.Yuan means beginning. It lasted for only about 100 years,and 30 of that was led by Kublai
Khan
This is a painting depicting Mongols under the Dynasty. Notice the dress of the people and skin color.
Mongols in
China
Mongol leaders had top
government jobs.
The Mongols had a policy of tolerance.
Many Chinesescholar-officialsran the
Government.
The Mongolshad their own
language,laws, andcustoms.
There was littlemixing with the
Chinese.
Mongols were mostly Buddhist,
but they allowed other religions from outside
China to exist within the empire.
Mongols welcomed foreigners
because they mistrusted the
Chinese.
Many foreigners came
to China because of wider trade
with the west.
F l o w o f Go o ds i n Ch i na
Imported silver, spices,carpets, and cotton.
E xported tea, silk,porcelain, steel, gunpowder ,
and the compass.
China became very wealthy during Mongol rule. Khanbaliq was known for its
splendor and accommodations.
pppppImports:
silver, spices, carpets,
and cotton
Exports:Tea, silk, porcelain, and
discoveries such as:gunpowder, the compass
and steelmaking
Importance of Marco Polo
He traveled from Venice,
Italy to China in the 1200s to serve
Kublai Khan.
He made many exploratorytrips for Kublai Khan in 16
years and wrote a bookabout his travels and about
the wonders of China.
Mongolinvasio
ns
Koryo (leaders in
Korea) accepted
the Mongols like the Chinese
and remained in
power there.
Mongols conquered Vietnam and North
Korea.
Forced labor in Korea
helped the Mongols plan an
invasion on the island nation of
Japan.