Chapter 14: The Mongol
Advance
AP World History
Leuzinger HS
Origins
• The Mongols (also
known as Tatars, or
Tartars) were a group of
nomadic tribes from the
steppes, or open plains,
of Central Asia.
– They Herded Livestock
and were excellent
horsemen and archers.
Origins
• Mongols proved to be adept at “cultural
borrowing.”
– Mongols adopted a law code, a written script,
new religious practices, and better technology
through borrowing from other cultures.
• Before 1200 CE, the Mongols numbered
between 1.5 and 3 million
– Divided into thirty warring tribes.
The Khagan
• In 1206, Temujin,
better known as
Genghis Khan (or
Chingiz, Jenghiz, or
Chinggis) which
means “ruler of
limitless strength” was
declared Khagan and
unified the warring
Mongol tribes.
The First Wave
• Mongol conquest begins in 1211
– Targeted Northern China at first
• Breached the Great Wall by 1215
– Targeted the Silk Road trading city of
Samarkand
• Upon Genghis Khan’s death in 1227, the
Mongols controlled a huge state
encompassing Mongolia, Central Asia,
Northern, and Western China.
Why were the Mongols so
successful?
• Numbers?
– Not really…80,000 – 100,000 troops
wouldn’t be enough to automatically
overwhelm such a large territory.
• Talented Cavalrymen and archers
who could fire from horseback,
galloping at full speed, firing
forward or backward.
• Adopted military techniques from
neighbors, like siege warfare from
Chinese and Central Asian states.
Wave #2
• Genghis Khan’s heirs continued the wars
of conquest
– Third son, Ogodei, ruled the Mongols as the
Great Khan until 1241.
• Greatly expanded the empire and built new capital
at Karakorum.
• Ogodei’s armies moved farther into China
threatening the Song Empire (which the Mongols
defeated in the 1260s)
• Ogodei forced Koryo (or Korea) into tributary
status.
Ogodei and the West…
• 1236: He sent a large invasion force to conquer
as much of the west as possible.
• 1237-1240: Conquer most of Russia and
Ukraine
• 1240-1242: Took over parts of Bulgaria,
Romania, and Hungary
• 1241: Death of Ogodei
– They were stretched too thin as evidenced by their
failure in Poland and the Germanic lands.
– Russia and Ukraine remain under Mongol rule for
over 2 centuries.
Mongols in the Middle East
• Commanded by
Hulegu, the
Mongols advanced
on the Middle East
in the 1250s
• Toppled the
Abbasid Caliphate
in 1258 by taking
Baghdad.
– Continued their
advance until 1260
– Stopped by a
Mamluk army at Ain
Jalut.
How Big was the Mongolian
Empire?
• Ruled an empire from:
– Poland in the West to Korea in the East.
– Siberia in the North to Vietnam in the South.
• Single political authority
• Economic exchange
– Silk Road flourished, especially trading cities like
Samarkand.
– Merchants, Missionaries, and travelers of all sorts
passed through…including the Venetian merchant,
Marco Polo
• Made travel safer
• Imposed legal order
The Silk Road
Pax Mongolica
• Pax Mongolica, or Mongol Peace is used to
describe the late 13th Century (1200’s CE) as the
brief semi-unification of Eurasia was realized.
– The Mongols engaged in high level administration by
borrowing and engaging in cultural adaptation.
•
•
•
•
Uighur: A Turkish written dialect
The yasa, a Chinese law code
Paper currency from China
Religious beliefs like Buddhism and Islam.
– They used their skill with horses to create one of the
world’s fastest and most efficient postal systems (the
yam)
Breakup of the Mongolian Empire
• “One can conquer an empire on horseback,
but one cannot govern it from there.”
– Mongols were much better at conquering, than
at governing.
– As the empire grew, the empire became spread
too thin, and broke apart.
• 1260: The last Khan of a united Mongolian
Empire (Mongke) died.
– Civil War broke out
– The four largest units became independent
states, or Khanates.
Chinese Yuan Dynasty
• The Chinese Khanate
fell to Kublai Khan
– Moved the capital from
Mongolia to Beijing
– Declared the Yuan
Dynasty (1271-1368)
– Conquered the rest of
China including the
Southern Song
Dynasty in 1279.
– Foreign rule in China
Chinese Yuan Dynasty
• Mongols adopted Buddhism
• Mongols adopted Mandarin Chinese as the
official language.
• Kublai Khan is considered the unifier of China
as a single state.
– Ruled until 1294
– Made China rich and powerful
– Unable to conquer Japan (tried in 1274 and 1281) or
Java (tried in 1293)
– Forced neighbors to pay tribute
Chinese Yuan Dynasty
• Kublai Khan rebuilt China’s bureaucracy
and economy.
– Repaired roads and canals
– Built new cities
– Restored trade with the west
– Venetian Merchant Marco Polo visited Kublai
Khan’s court in the 1270s.
• After Khan’s death, China did not enjoy
such prosperity.
China after the Death of Kublai
Khan
• Tremendous population loss (30-40%) as
a result of the bubonic plague
• Economic decline
• Civil wars throughout the 1340s and
finally, the dynasty was overthrown by Zhu
Yuanzhang in 1368.
– Took the name Hongwu and established the
Ming Dynasty (1368-1644)
• Longest lasting and of the most famous dynasty in
Chinese history
The Other Khanates
• The Golden Horde ruled over Russia and
parts of Eastern Europe until the mid1400s.
• Il-Khan Mongols converted to Islam and
ruled much of the Middle East until the rise
of the Ottoman Turks in the late 1300s.
• The Jagadai Khanate ruled Central Asia
well into the 1400s.
– Also converted to Islam, but struggled with the
Il-Khans.
Timur
• Later, from 1370 – 1405 the Jagadai Khan,
“Timur,” also known as Tamerlane, rose up and
attempted to repeat the military triumph of his
ancestor Genghis Khan.
• Quickly conquered Central Asia, Persia,
Northern India (including Delhi), southern
Russia, and parts of the Middle East.
– Expansion ended with his death, but relatives ruled
over the vast Timurid Empire, including Silk Road
cities like Samarkand and Bukhara into the 1500s.
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