The Mongols
• The Mongols were
illiterate.
• Sparsely populated
their lands.
• No more than
700,000 total.
The Mongols
• They were originally
herdsmen on the
grassy plains north
of the Gobi Desert.
• Before the year
1200, they were
fragmented.
The Mongols
• Moving about in
small bands headed
by a chief, or Khan.
• Living in portable
dwellings, like tipis
The Mongols
• They frequently
fought over turf.
• During hard times
they occasionally
raided.
The Mongols
• The Mongols
endured frequent
hard times.
• Finding few areas
for grazing their
animals.
The Mongols
• Interested in goods
rather than bloodshed.
• They did not collect
heads or scalps as
trophies.
• They did not notch
wood to record their
kills.
The Mongols
• In 1206, a leader
named Temujin took
the title Universal
Ruler.
• Which translates to
Genghis Khan.
Genghis Khan
Like peoples
everywhere…
• The Mongols saw
themselves at the
center of the
universe.
• The greatest of
people and favored
by the gods.
Genghis Khan
• They justified Khan's
success in warfare.
• Claiming that he
was the rightful
master of the entire
world.
• Genghis Khan
continued
organizing.
Genghis Khan
• He improved his
military organization.
• This served as a
mobile political
bureaucracy.
Genghis Khan
• He broke up what
was left of old
enemy tribes.
• Leaving only those
tribes that had
proved their loyalty
to him.
Genghis Khan
• He created a body
of law that he was to
work on throughout
his life.
Genghis Khan
• He made the
kidnapping of
women a crime.
• He declared all
children legitimate,
whomever the
mother.
Genghis Khan
• He made it law that
no woman would be
sold into marriage.
• The stealing of
animals was made a
capital offense.
• A lost animal was to
be returned to its
owner.
Genghis Khan
Qu i c k T i m e ™ a n d a
T I F F (Un c o m p re s s e d ) d e c o m p re s s o r
a re n e e d e d t o s e e t h i s p i c tu re .
• Taking lost property
as one's own was to
be considered
thievery and a
capital offense.
• He regulated
hunting, improving
the availability of
meat for everyone.
Genghis Khan
• He introduced
written record
keeping.
• He had his native
language put into
writing.
Genghis Khan
• He created official
seals.
• He created a
supreme officer of
the law.
Genghis Khan
– To oversee the
trials of all those
charged with
wrongdoing
– To have the
power to issue
death sentences.
Genghis Khan
• He created order in
his realm.
• This strengthened it
and his ability to
expand.
Genghis Khan
• He acted on his
mandate as the rightful
ruler of the entire world.
• Attacked the rulers of
farmers and herders in
northwestern China.
Genghis Khan
• The Mongols
benefited from
China’s military
weakness.
• The Mongols used
divide and conquer
tactics.
• Being kind toward
those who sided
with them…
• And terror and
bloodshed against
those who did not.
Genghis Khan
• They ravaged the
countryside.
• Driving populations
in front of them.
Genghis Khan
• They used
conscripted labor in
attacking cities
• And in operating
their newly acquired
Chinese siege
engines.
Genghis Khan
• Genghis Khan and
his army overran
Beijing.
• Pushed into the
heartland of
northern China.
Genghis Khan
• Military success
helped people
believe that Genghis
Khan had the
Mandate of Heaven.
• That fighting against
him was fighting
heaven itself.
Genghis Khan
• The Chinese
emperor recognized
Mongol authority
and agreed to pay
tribute.
Genghis Khan
• After six years of
fighting,Khan
returned to
Mongolia.
• Leaving one of his
best generals in
charge of Mongol
positions.
Genghis Khan
• Returning with
Genghis Khan were
engineers
• They had become a
permanent part of
their army.
• There were captive
musicians.
• Translators, doctors
and scribes.
Genghis Khan
• Camels and
wagonloads of goods.
• Among the goods were
silk, including silken
rope.
• Cushions, blankets,
robes, rugs.
• Wall hangings,
porcelain, iron kettles.
Genghis Khan
• Armor,
perfumes,
jewelry, wine,
honey.
Genghis Khan
• Medicines, bronze,
silver and gold, and
much else.
Genghis Khan
• Goods from China
would now come in
a steady flow.