Name:
_____________________________
Date:
_________________ Period: _______
Chapter 12.2 The Mongol Conquests
1.
What is a pastoralist?
 A pastoralist is someone who has
domesticated animals, but not plants, and
travels in search of pastures (food) for their
herds
 Not nomadic…specific routes/ routines
 The Mongols were pastoralists
2.
Who was Genghis Khan? (Time Period,
location, Key achievements?)
 13th century (1200’s)…Mongolia (central
Eurasian steppe)
 Born as Temujin…named Genghis Khan,
leader of the Mongols…conquered much of
Eurasia
 Brilliant strategies…intimidating warrior
3. What was the Mongol Peace?
 Also known as the Pax Mongolica…in the
13th century…time of relative peace, after
the Mongols conquered Eurasia…allowed
for trade and stability throughout Mongol
controlled lands.
Chapter 12.2: The Mongol Conquests
I. Nomads of the Asian Steppe
 Steppe: landmass of Eurasia from
Manchuria to Hungary- vast belt of dry
grassland called the steppe
 Steppe: 1. Land trade route connecting the
East and the West…2. Home to nomadic
peoples who swept into cities to plunder,
loot, and conquer
A.
Geography of the Steppe
 Western steppe: Central Asia to eastern
Europe…Hittites and Aryans
 Eastern steppe: area of present-day
Mongolia, first home of Huns, Turks, and
Mongols
 Short, hardy grasses…very little
rain…extreme temperature ranges
o -57degrees in winter, 96 degrees in
summer
 Rainfall more plentiful in Western steppe
than east…movement traditionally has been
to the west and the south
 Boundaries of the steppe were constantly
shifting…more political than geographical
 End of steppe-where cultivated fields began
B. The Nomadic Way of Life
 Pastoralists- herded domesticated
animals…constantly on the move, searching
for good pasture to feed their herds.
 Nomads did not wander- followed a
seasonal pattern and returned on a regular
basis to the same campsites.
 Battles frequently arose over grassland and
water rights
 Asian nomads- lived on
horseback…followed huge herds over the
steppe
 Depended on animals for food, clothing,
and housing…diet of meat and mare’s
milk…lived in portable felt tents called yurts
 Clans: kinship groups…common ancestors
C.
Steppe Nomads and Settled Societies
 Differing ways of life of nomadic and settled
peoples resulted in constant interaction
between them…engaged in peaceful
trade…exchange of horses
 Nomads were accustomed to scarcity and
hardship
 Settled peoples lived in constant danger of
raids from nomads
 Occasionally, powerful group, like Genghis
Khan and the Mongols, were able to
conquer a whole empire…many became
part of the civilization they conquered
II. The Rise of the Mongols
 Mongol people had roamed the eastern
steppe in loosely organized clans
A. Genghis Khan Unites the Mongols
 Around 1200, Temujin, Mongol khan (clan
leader) chose to unify the clans under his
leadership
o Defeated rivals one by one, showing no
mercy
 1206- Temujin was named Genghis Khan,
“universal ruler” of the Mongol clans
 1162?-1227…born with a blood clot in his
fist…father poisoned by Taters when he was
9…family was abandoned by clan…grew to
manhood, fought and defeated the
Tatars…survivors (females and youngest
male children) brought up as followers
o “Man’s greatest good fortune is to
chase and defeat his enemy, seize his
total possessions, leave his married
women weeping and wailing, (and ) ride
his (horse)…”
o Next 21 years, Genghis led Mongols in
conquering much of Asia
o Invaded northern Jin empire (Jurchens)
in 1215…then turned to Islamic region
west of Mongolia
 Campaign of terror across Central
Asia…destroyed one city after anotherUtrar, Samarkand, Bukhara
 By 1221, Central Asia was under Mongol
control
B. Genghis the Conqueror
 Brilliant organizer
 Assembled Mongol warriors into a mighty
fighting force…superb horsemen, all
cavalry, covered as much as 120 miles a
day…drink horse’s blood…stirrup was a key
invention…short bow
 Genghis grouped his warriors in armies of
10,000…1,000-man brigades, 100-man
companies, 10-man platoons
 Gifted strategist
o Falling stars
o Spies
o Trickery
 Genghis adopted new weapons and
technologies used by his enemies
o Put captured Chinese engineers to work
building catapults and gunpowder
charges…used weapons to conquer
other Chinese cities
 Genghis used cruelty as a weapon…believed
in terrifying his enemies into surrender
o Killing entire populations
o Propaganda encouraged
III. The Mongol Empire
 Genghis Khan died in 1227- from illness
 Successors continued to expand his empire
 Territory from China to Poland
A. The Khanates
 After death of Genghis Khan, Ogadai
became the Great Khan
 Mongol armies commanded by Genghis’s
other sons and grandsons drove armies
south, east, and west out of Inner Asia
 Completed their conquest of northern
China and invaded Korea…leveled Russian
city of Kiev…Ogadai died in
1241…commanders were called by to elect
his successor (khuriltai)
 1260: Mongol Empire was divided into four
large khanates
o Khanate of the Great Khan (Mongolia
and China)
o Khanate of Chagatai (Central Asia)
o Ilkhanate (Persia)
o Khanate of the Golden Horde (Russia)
 Kublai Khan, grandson of Genghis Khan,
named himself Great Khan in 1260
B. The Mongols as Rulers
 Many areas invaded by the Mongols never
recovered
o Destruction of irrigation systems in
Tigris and Euphrates valleys
 Over time: some Mongol rulers adopted
aspects of the culture of the people they
ruled
 Ilkhans and the Golden Horde became
Muslims
 Growing cultural differences among the
khanates contributed to the eventual
splitting up of the empire
 The Eternal Blue Sky
C. The Mongol Peace
 Mid-1200’s to the mid-1300’s, Mongols
imposed stability and law and order across
much of Eurasia…Pax Mongolica (Mongol
Peace)
o Mongols guaranteed safe passage of
trade caravans, travelers, and
missionaries from one end of the
empire to another
o Very active trade
o Ideas and inventions traveled along with
the trade goods…gunpowder
o Bubonic plague