MUST-KNOWS
1. The Mongols were the epitome of NOMADIC CULTURE.
2. Characteristics of the Mongols:
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
They depended on their animals for food, clothing and housing.
They were skilled horsemen.
They were disciplined, ruthless and courageous in battle.
Their savage killing and burning won them a reputation of ruthless and fierce brutality.
Once they conquered a region, they took on the culture of that region because they lacked culture of their own.
3. The Origins of the Mongols
A. They came from the Asian steppe (grasslands).
B. They are PASTORALISTS- they herded and domesticated animals. They wandered through the grasslands looking for
new fields for their animals to graze.
C. They traveled around in CLANS; for centuries the various clans fought each other.
D. They were the opposite of civilized and destroyed civilizations.
4. Genghis Khan: The Mighty Leader
A. He was a military and political genius who united all nomadic clans in Mongolia.
B. His original name was Temujin; Genghis Khan means “Universal Ruler.”
C. Around 1200, once the Mongols were unified, he began his quest for empire.
5.
The Mongols conquered and controlled FOUR major regions and called them KHANATES or
HORDES. They created the LARGEST LAND EMPIRE IN ALL OF HISTORY. The four
regions were:
D.
E.
F.
G.
China
Persia/Muslim Empire (Middle East)
Russia
Central Asia
6. They were a warlike group that ironically created a time of peace called PAX MONGOLICA
that lasted from 1250-1350.
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
After brutally conquering most of Eurasia, they created stability, law and order across the continent.
They increased trade on the silk roads. They guaranteed safe passage of caravans and travelers.
Trade across Eurasia became more active than it had ever been
Ideas and inventions traveled along the routes (this is when all of the Chinese inventions and discoveries were diffused to
Europe).
The BUBONIC PLAGUE was also spread along the trade routes; devastated Europe.
7. China was the greatest Mongol Khanate (horde)
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
KUBLAI KHAN declared himself the new Chinese emperor; he was the grandson of Genghis
He founded the YUAN DYNASTY; built a new capital in Beijing
MARCO POLO was an Italian (from Venice) explorer/traveler who served in Kublai Khan’s
administration for 17 years. He wrote many accounts about China and his experiences but no
one in Europe believed him.
In 1368 the Yuan Dynasty was overthrown and the Mongols were expelled from China. The
Chinese regain control of their region and establish the MING DYNASTY
After that point almost all other Khanates disintegrate except for the Golden Horde in Russia.
8. The GOLDEN HORDE in Russia
a.
b.
c.
9.
The Mongols stay in power in Russia mush longer than the other three Khanates. They stay in power until 1480.
Ivan III is the Russian Czar that takes control and overthrows the Mongols (100 years after the others are overthrown).
“MONGOL YOKE”- Kept Russia from advancing like the rest of Europe did during the Renaissance. You will see in the
future how this put Russia at a serious disadvantage.
Interestingly enough, the Mongols STIFLED GROWTH but ENCOURAGED TRADE. This made for an interesting phenomenon:
while the Mongols did not add to culture, they certainly diffused it.