Mongols

ESPIRIT Chart on the Mongols

EtherPad - Secure trade routes made for prosperous merchants and wealthy cities. || - The tribe was divided into kin-related clans. - Men were still viewed as superior to women. However, women still had a large influence with the family. - Chinngis Khan trained warriors from their youth not only to ride but also to hunt and fight, they were physically tough, mobile, and accustomed to killing and death. - Chinngis Khan was a complex man, capable of gloating over the ruin of his enemies but also open to new ideas and committed to building a world where the diverse peoples of his empire could live together in peace. - Russian leaders became vassals of the rulers of the Golden Horde and they were forced to pay tributes. || - Genghis Khan (or Chinggis Khan) was first elected **khagan**, or supreme ruler, of Mongol tribes at a **kuriltai**, or meeting of all the Mongol cheiftains. They then prepared to launch a massive assault on an unsuspecting world. - When Temujin (Chinggis) was elected khagan, he wasn't more than 40 years old, and he ruled about 1/2 million Mongols. - When Chinngis died, his third son **Ogedei** was elected grand khan. He was a crafty diplomat and deft manipulator. He further Mongol expansions for a decade. - When leaders were weak, they were abandoned.Battle Kuivalua, where they defeated the forces of the Golden Horde. - Russian conquests were the turning point. || - The Mongol forces were broken up into basic fighting units called **tumens**, each consisting of 10,000 warriors. - Chinngis Khan also employed spies to secure accurate information about their campaigns. - First campaign humbled the Tangut kingdom of Xi Xia in northwest China, whose ruler was forced to declare himself a vassal of the khagan and pay a hefty tribute. - By 1227, the year of Chinngis's death, the Mongols ruled an empire that stretched from eastern Persia to the North China Sea. - After his death, the control was divided between his three sons and **Batu**, a grandson and heir of the khagan's recently deceased son, Jochi. - The **Golden Horde** armies conquered Russia and Europe, they were given their name because of the golden tent of the early khans of the western sector of the Mongol empire. - The Mongol empire was divided up into four great **khanates**. || - Handicraft production and scholarship flourished and artistic creativity was allowed free expression. || - Gun powder and cannons were used. - When they invaded the Chinese, they developed battering rams, catapults that hurled rocks and explosive balls, and bamboo rockets that spread fire and fear in besieged towns. ||
 * Economy || - Chinngis Khan established a new capital at Karakorum on the steppes and summoned the wise and clever from all parts of the empire to the lavish palace of tents with gilded pillars where he lived with his wives and closer advisers.
 * Social || - Mongols were a group of nomadic herders of goats and sheep.
 * Political || - Leaders were elected by free men, shows some signs of democracy. In order to be elected, leaders must show that they had the courage, diplomatic skills, and holding onto power, while still remaining successful.
 * Interactions || - Throughout their entire conquest, they dominated Asia, China, Persia, Tibet, Iraq, Asia Minor, and southern Russia, led by Genghis Khan and his successors.
 * Religion || - Chinngis Khan followed the shamanistic (focused on nature spirits) beliefs of his ancestors, all religions were tolerated in his empire. ||
 * Intellectual || - A script was devised for the Mongolian language to facilitate record-keeping and the standardization of laws.
 * Technology || - Warriors wielded a variety of weapons, including lances, hatchets, and iron maces, and their most powerful weapon was the short bows. A warrior could hit enemy soldiers as distant as 350 yards.

Notes on pages 315 - 321 The Mongol Interlude in Chinese History //Main Idea//: After many ruthless battles, **Kubilai Khan**, who was the son of Chinngis Khan, had finally conquered China, and continued to rule for almost a century. However, there was still a bold line between the Mongols and the Chinese. //Important Details//: - Kubilai Khan directed the Mongol forces that eventually defeated the Chinese, after several attempts. - Kubilai Khan also changed the name of the Mongol dynasty from Khan to Yuan. - He passed several laws that kept a define line between the Mongol and Chinese cultures. Also different social structures. - Despite the Chinese culture, Kubilai Khan was fascinated with the Chinese civilization, and even built his capital at **Tatu** and introduced rituals and classical music to his own court. Gender Roles and the Convergence of Mongol and Chinese Culture //Main Idea//: Mongol women did not practice the same beliefs as Chinese women, in fact, they looked down upon them and they were allowed much more freedom than Chinese women. //Important Details:// - Mongol women refused to practice footbinding. - Mongol women were allowed much more freedom such as hunting, both with their husbands and with groups of their own. - **Chabi**, the wife of Kubilai Khan, was most important on political and diplomatic matters, and she promoted Buddhist interests in the highest circles of government. Mongol Tolerance and foreign Cultural Influence //Main Idea:// There was a wide variety of different religions and ideas within Kubilai's empire that helped build knowledge and diversity. //Important Details:// - Like Chinngis Khan, Kubilai had a strong interest in all religions and insisted on toleration in his domains. Buddhists, Nestorian Christians, Daoists, and Latin Christians all made their way to the court. - Because of the diverse population, Kubilai Khan made it possible to exchange ideas and new technologies within his empire. - Marco Polo wrote one of the most famous travel accounts of Kubilai's court and empire, where he lived and served as an administrator for 17 years. Social Policies and Scholar-Gentry Resistance //Main Idea//: While the Chinese scholar-gentry was angered by the changes in the government, other classes received huge benefits, specifically the artisan, merchant, and peasant classes. //Important Details:// - The scholar-gentry viewed Kubilai Khan and his successors as barbarians and a threat to Chinese traditions. - Kubilai Khan got rid of the examinations so that the Chinese bureacrats were unable to dominate politics. Kubilai Khan also raised the social status of the merchant and artisan classes. - The Mongols had developed a substantial navy. They also wrote the most famous Chinese dramatic work, The Romance of the West Chamber, which was written in the Yuan period. - Kubilai Khan did much in favor of the peasant class, he forbade Mongol cavalry from turning croplands into pasture and restored the granary system for famine relief. He also sought to reduce peasant tax and forced-labor burdens, by placing taxes on government officials. The Fall of the House of Yuan //Main Idea//: After many weaknesses in the empire, such as failed military expeditions, revolts, and famine, the Yuan dynasty finally came to a close when the Ming dynasty arose. //Important Details//: - The Yuan dynasty soon began to weaken soon after the end of Kubilai Khan's reign. Their were revolts led by Song loyalists and the failed attempts at expeditions. - There were several religious sects that were planning on overthrowing the dynasty, such as the **White Lotus Society**. - A man from a poor peasant family, **Ju Yuanzhang**, emerged to found the **Ming dynasty**, which ruled China for the next 300 years. Aftershock: The Brief Ride of Timur //Main Idea//: Timur-i Lang led the Turks through Asia and Europe after the fall of the Mongols, however, his empire was nothing in comparison to size as the Mongol empire was. //Important Details//: - The Turks emerged as the new dominate nomadic group in central Asia, overriding the Mongols, led by **Timur-i Lang** (from a noble land-owning clan). - He was similar to Chinngis Khan in the sense that he was a ruthless conqueror but a highly cultured and well-liked ruler. - Timur was even more vicious than the Mongols ever were, however their empire's size could not compare to that of the Mongols. - After he passed away, it ended the last great challenge of the steppe nomads to the civilizations of Eurasia came to an end

Summary: Kubilai Khan dominated Asia and Europe, and then expanded into China. He was a fierce conqueror but a tolerant ruler, tolerating religions and beliefs. He favored the lower classes, angering the Song bureaucrats, which led to revolts, weakening his empire. The next to follow the Yuan was the Ming dynasty.

Changes: - different religions were spread through the Silk Road. - different types of goods. - Byzantines began to use it - new roads - Islam, Neo-confucianism, buddhism, and catholicism.
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Continuities: - used for trading internally and externally - used for transporting soldiers and supplies. - New ideas were also traded, in addition to technologies.