World History:
The Earth and its Peoples
Chapter 12
Western Eurasia,
1200 - 1500 C.E.
Objectives
• Be able to account for the magnitude and speed of the
Mongol conquests.
• Be able to describe the benefits that resulted from the
integration of Eurasia in the Mongol Empire.
• Be able to compare and contrast the effects of Mongol
rule on Russia and the lands of Islam with the effects on
East Asia.
• Be able to identify points of continuity and discontinuity in
the transition from Mongol to Ming rule of China.
The Rise of the Mongols
Genghis Khan - 1206
– supreme leader
– Temujin
• early learnings
–
–
–
–
charisma of personal strength
religious tolerance
no mercy
versatility
Mongols
– nomads from steppes of C.Asia
– key to movement
• long-term trends
• pressures
The Rise of the Mongols
Nomadism - 1000 CE
– way of life forced by scarcity of
resources
• pastures, water
• slavery and tribute
– labor and currency
– traits
• superb horsemen
– shooting arrows
– replacement of chariots
• centralized decision-making
– decision ratification
• arranged marriages / alliances
– women
» negotiation /
management
• alliance building
The Rise of the Mongols
Trade and Communication
– great cultural diversity
– spread of religious ideas
• shamanism
• politics / religious association
– universal rulership
• legitimate conquests
• claim superiority over religious
leaders
– iron
• bridles, stirrups, wagons, bridges
– settled agriculturalists
• mutual dependence
• conflict vs. trade relations
Mongol Conquests
Genghis Khan - 1206-1227
– C. Asia, Middle East, Russia
• tribute
• Batu
– Russia
• Ogodei
– Tanggut and Jin
– 1241
Reasons for Success
– horsemanship; superior bows
• Mamluk forces
– flaming arrows; catapults
– threat of slaughter
– inclusive armies
Mongol Empire
Overland Trade
Textile Manufacture
– silk
• westward expansion
• Eastern motifs to West
– Mongol trade route control
• merchants, missionaries
• political ambassadors
– paisa
– travel literature
• insights to Eurasia
– Marco Polo
– ambition for Asian routes
• image of inexhaustible wealth
– plague
• great pandemic (1347-1352)
Fall and Rise of Islam, 1260-1500
Il’khan
– Mesopotamia and Iran
– little Muslim exposure
• Buddhist
Golden Horde
– southern Russia
– allied with Muslim Turks
• Batu conversion - 1260
Issues
– Abbasid caliph - 1258
– Caucasus
• Western alliance
• Ghazan conversion - 1295
– forced conversion
Islam and the State
Il-khan Economic Goal
– peaceful, maximum tax revenue
– tax farming
• tax-collecting contracts
• short-term
– good: minimum overhead
• long-term
– bad:land bankruptcy
– govt. land appropriation
» shrinking tax base
• Ghazan
– new method of management
• paper money
• no Middle East confidence
• depression
• Rise of C. Asian Timurs
Art and Science in Islamic Eurasia
Ilkhans and Timurids
– intellectual developments
• Iran to China
• shared artistic trends; politics
– strong effects on Europeans
• Juvaini
– 1st to write history of Mongols
• Rashid al-Din
– Il-khan prime minister
– attempt at world history
• Europe and China
• Nasir al-Din
– algebra and trigonometry
– astronomy; planetary revolution
– Nicolas Copernicus
Art and Science in Islamic Eurasia
Maraga
– world center for eclipse
prediction
– amass astronomical data from
entire empire
• Spain, Byzantine, India, China
• European numeral transition
– adaptation of Indian numeral
system
– fractions idea from China
• precise pi calculation
Regional Definition In Response to the Mongols
Mongols Affected Regions
– cities vs. countryside
Russia
– Batu (1230 CE)
• rule from Crimea
– successful winter campaigns
– no united resistance
• Russian Orthodox Church
– granted great privileges
• reconciliation
– distance = church survival
– church = Russian identity
• independence
Regional Definition In Response to the Mongols
• Russian Princes
– tax collectors / census
takers
– Alexander Nevskii
• better to submit
Moscow
– dominant political center
– destruction of Kievan
countryside
• Ivan III
– prince of Moscow (14621505)
– tsar (1480)
Centralization in Europe and Anatolia
Papacy vs. Holy Roman Emperor
• Western Europe
– Holy Land question
– Frederick II (Hohenstaufen)
• 1212-1250
• Eastern Europe
– Hungary / Poland defense
– Teutonic Knights
• Christianization
• colonization
– Lake Chud
• end of northern Crusades
– multinational force
• 1241 CE
Centralization in Europe and Anatolia
Trade Routes
– replace terror with awe
– inexhaustible wealth
• Technology
– gunpowder; coal mining
– metallurgy; bronze cannons
– mathematics; diplomatic
passports
Negatives
– plunder of the countryside
– spread of the plague
Rise of the Ottoman Turks
– conquest of Constantinople
(1453)