Genghis Khan and the
Rise of the Mongols
Chapter 12 (pp. 295 – 302)
Geography
O Central Asian Steppe
O Dry high plains
O Lack of resources
Origins
O Pastoral nomads
O Life determined by scarcity of resources
O Contact could result in alliances or warfare
O Hatred for cities and all that they represented
Rise of the Mongols
O Belief system based on
Shamanism
O Beliefs and practices concerned
with communication with the
spirit world
O Believed the tribal leader, khan,
and his shamans spoke for the
god of the universe
O Power families had influence with
the khan
O This leads to intermarriage and
alliances tied together via
marriage
O Women played an important role
in negotiating these alliances
Genghis Khan
O Rose to power through
alliances & warfare
O 1206, became the supreme
leader of the Mongols
“Genghis Khan”
O Set out to conquer other
kingdoms to force them to pay
tribute
O Conquered northern China,
but not the Song Dynasty
O Turned west…
Greatest Conquerors of All Time
O Conquerors
O 1. Genghis Khan
O 2. Alexander the Great
O 3. Timur
O 4. Cyrus the Great
O 5. Attila
O 6. Adolf Hitler
O 7. Napoleon Bonaparte
Square Miles
4,860,000
2,180,000
2,145,000
2,090,000
1,450,000
1,370,000
720,000
Genghis Khan
O “Man’s greatest joy
is to crush his
enemies and have
them flee before
him, to seize his
possessions, hear
the wailing of his
women, and
embrace his wives
and daughters.”
Reasons for Mongol Success
O Excelled in warfare
O Horse riding ability
O Properties of their bows: smaller and could
shoot farther
O Tactics
O Fear and terror
O Adaptability
O Adapted new weapons to suit their need
O Ex. Iron & siege weapons
O Inclusiveness
O Would offer protection for surrenders
O Would use local religions to suit the needs of
their conquests
O Ex. Buddhism & Islam
Continued Mongol Conquests
O Genghis’ son Ogodei continued the conquest of Eurasian
landmass including:
O Song China
O The Middle East
O But not Europe…
O Ogodei died
Results of Mongol Conquest
O The empire created by terror
ultimately created a region that
allowed for:
O Travel
O Trade
O Exchange of ideas
O Spread of disease
What happened to Mongol
Culture?
Compare them to the Romans… two
large empires based on conquest…
did the people they conquer become
them or did they become the people
they conquered?
Pax Mongolica
O Pax Mongolica
O “Commerce prospered, and cosmopolitanism flourished
under Pax Mongolica, the name historians give to the
continual political stability brought about by the stable
and harsh Mongol rule which created unprecedented
commercial integration of Eurasia”
O Directly connected East Asia & Europe
Division of the Empire
O Mongols assimilated to cultures & religions they conquered
O Realms now saw themselves as autonomous of the Great Khan
O Mongol empire broke into different realms of Khanates (a new
form of governmental organization)
Il-Khan
O Located in the Middle East
O Sacked Baghdad & killed last Abbasid
Caliph
O Eventually converted to Islam
O Acted as a doorway to the West
Golden Horde
O Located in Russia
O Russian cooperation allowed them to avoid direct subjugation
Jagadai
O Located in Central Asia
O Led by Timur (Tamerlame) 1370-1405
O Wanted to be the next Genghis Khan
O Attacked the Delhi Sultanate in
northern India
O Acted as a central piece in Silk Road
trade
O The capital of Samarkand had many
scholars and artists
O Helped preserve Greek/Islamic
achievements
O The descendants of the Timurids
would later become the last Indian
empire (the Mughals)
The Yuan Dynasty
O Located in China
O Originally, Mongols ruled as foreigners – plundered the Chinese
O Kublai Khan changed this by becoming an absolute Chinese emperor
Kublai Khan
O Understood and assimilated into
Chinese culture
O Chose not to impose Mongol
pastoral lifestyle, social structure, or
religion on the Chinese
O Embraced all things Chinese
O Centralized government
O Chinese customs
O “Conquerors grow soft…”
O Kublai declares himself the next
great khan – only the Il Khan
recognized this
O Symbolized the break between all
the khanates
Yuan Philosophy
O This period acted as one
of vital cultural
transmission between
China and the rest of the
world
O Europe formally met with
China during the reign of
Kublai Khan with the
arrival of Marco Polo
Yuan Expansion
O One of the largest
(but also shortest)
Chinese empires
O Kublai tried to extend
through conquest
O Failed invasion of
Japan
End of the Yuan
O As with all Chinese dynasties, nature conspired in the downfall
O Floods & famine plagued China
O Rebellion finally forced the Yuan emperor back to Mongolia
O Allowed for the succession of another Chinese dynasty