Chapter 17
Nomadic Empires and
Eurasian Integration
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Nomadic Economy and Society
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Turkish peoples were nomadic herders; organized into
clans with related languages
Central Asia's steppes: good for grazing, little rain, few
rivers
Nomads and their animals; few settlements
 Nomads drove their herds in migratory cycles
 Lived mostly on animal products and in shelters (yurts)
 Also produced limited amounts of millet, pottery,
leather goods, iron
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Nomads in Turkmenistan
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Nomadic Economy and Society
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Nomads and settled peoples sought trade, were
prominent on caravan routes
Governance basically clan-based
Charismatic individuals become nobles, occasionally
assert authority
Unusually fluid status for nobility
 Hereditary, but could be lost through incompetence
 Advancement for meritorious non-nobles
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Nomadic Economy and Society
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Women wielded considerable influence
 Advisors
 Occasionally regents or rulers
Pagan worship
 Appeal of Buddhism, Christianity, Islam,
 Turkish script developed, partially to record
religious teachings
 Conversion to Islam in tenth century due to
Abbasid influence
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Military Organization
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Large confederations under a khan (“ruler”)
Authority extended through tribal elders
Exceptionally strong cavalries
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Mobility
Speed
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Turkish Empires and Their Neighbors,
ca. 1210 C.E.
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Saljuq Turks and the Abbasid Empire
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Eighth to tenth centuries, Turkish peoples on
border of Abbasid empire
Eventually came to dominate Abbasid caliphs
1055, Saljuq leader Tughril Beg recognized as
sultan
Tughril consolidated his hold on Baghdad, to
Syria, Palestine, and other parts of the realm
Abbasid caliphs served as figureheads of
authority
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Saljuq Turks and the Byzantine
Empire
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1071, Saljuq Turks defeat Byzantine army in a
large-scale invasion of Anatolia
Ottoman Turks conquer Constantinople in 1453
Transformed Anatolia into an Islamic society
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Chinggis Khan (1167-1227) and the
Making of the Mongol Empire
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Father prominent warrior
Mastered steppe diplomacy, elimination of enemies
Brought all Mongol tribes into one confederation
1206, proclaimed Chinggis Khan (“universal ruler”)
Broke up tribal organization
Formed military units from men of different tribes
Promoted officials on basis of merit and loyalty
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Mongol Arms
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Mongol population only one million (less than 1%
of Chinese population)
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Army numbered 100,000-125,000
Mongol strategy: horsemanship, archers, mobility,
psychological warfare
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Rewarded enemies who surrendered, cruel to enemies
who fought
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Mongol Conquests
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Conquest of China by 1220
Conquest of Afghanistan, Persia
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Ravaged lands to prevent future rebellions
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Emissaries murdered; following year, Chinggis Khan
destroys ruler
Large-scale, long-term devastation
South China was still ruled by the Song dynasty
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The Mongol Empires, ca. 1300 C.E.
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Khubilai Khan (r. 1264-1294)
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Division of the Mongol empires: heirs divide into
four regional empires
Ruthless warrior, but religiously tolerant
 Hosted Marco Polo
Established Yuan dynasty (to 1368)
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Khubilai extended Mongol rule to all of China
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Two attempted invasions of Japan (1274, 1281)
turned back by typhoons (kamikaze: “divine winds”)
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The Golden Horde
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Group of Mongols overran Russia between 1237 and
1241
Further overran Poland, Hungary, and eastern
Germany, 1241-1242
Main objective of the Golden Horde (Russia) was to
extract as much tax as possible
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The Ilkhanate of Persia
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Abbasid empire toppled; Baghdad sacked, 1258
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200,000 massacred
Persians served as ministers, governors, and local
officials
Mongols only cared about taxes and order
Ilkhan Ghazan converted to Islam, 1295;
massacres of Christians and Jews followed
Mongols eventually assimilated into Islamic
lifestyle
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Mongol Rule in China
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Strove to maintain strict separation from Chinese
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Intermarriage forbidden
Chinese forbidden to study Mongol language
Imported administrators from other areas
(especially Arabs, Persians)
Dismissed Confucian scholars; dismantled civil
service examination
Yet tolerated religious freedoms
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The Mongols and Western
Integration
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Mongols worked to secure trade routes and ensure safety of
merchants
Elaborate courier network with relay stations
Maintained good order for traveling merchants, ambassadors,
and missionaries
Mongols needed skilled artisans and educated individuals from
other places
Often resettled them in different locations to provide services
Uighur Turks served as clerks, secretaries, and administrators
Arab and Persian Muslims also served Mongols far from their
homelands
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Decline of the Mongol Empire in
Persia
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In Persia, excessive spending and overexploitation led
to reduced revenues
Failure of the ilkhan's paper money
Factional struggle plagued the Mongol leadership
The last ruler died without an heir; the ilkhanate
collapsed
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Decline of the Yuan Dynasty in
China
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Mongols spend bullion that supported paper currency
Public loses confidence in paper money, prices rises
Bubonic plague in southwest China in 1330s, spread
through Asia and Europe
 Depopulation and labor shortage undermined the
Mongol regime
 By 1368, the Chinese drove the Mongols back to
the steppes
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The Ottoman Empire
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Large numbers of nomadic Turks migrated to
Persia and Anatolia
Osman I, charismatic leader who dominates part
of Anatolia
Declares independence from Saljuq sultan, 1299
Attacks Byzantine empire
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Followers known as Osmanlis (Ottomans)
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Ottoman Conquests
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Ottoman conquests in the Balkans in 1350s
Constantinople sacked in 1453, renamed it Istanbul
Absorbed the remainder of the Byzantine empire
During the sixteenth century, extended to southwest
Asia, southeast Europe, and north Africa
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