Chapter 14 Notes
Nomadic Empires and Eurasian Integration
Chapter 14 Timeline
1055
TUGHRIL BEG NAMED SULTAN
1071
BATTLE OF MANZIKERT
1206 – 1227 REIGN OF CHINGIIS KHAN
1211 – 1234 MONGOLS – NORTHERN CHINA
1219 – 1221 MONGOL - PERSIA
1237 – 1241 MONGOLS - RUSSIA
1258
MONGOLS - BAGHDAD
1264 – 1294 REIGN OF KHUBILAI KHAN
1279 – 1368 YUAN DYNASTY
1295
CONVERSION OF ILKHAN GHAZAN TO ISLAM
1336 – 1405 LIFE OF TAMERLANE
1453
OTTOMAN CAPTURE OF CONSTANTINOPLE
Turkish Migrations and Imperial Expansion
Never formed single, homogeneous group  clans and tribes
NOMADIC ECONOMY AND SOCIETY
Nomadic Peoples and Their Animals: Migratory cycles; dwellings called yurts – large tents;
made an alcoholic drink called kumiss
Nomadic and settled peoples: Arid climate limited development of societies – impossible except
in oases; nomads sought to trade with settled peoples  caravans of nomads linked China and
the Mediterranean
Nomadic Society: 2 social classes: nobles and commoner; nobles – little governing, clans and
tribes look after their own affairs, during war though they had absolute power, hereditary but
they could be removed and other people could move up
Nomadic Religion: Earliest religions of Turks revolve around Shamans – had supernatural
powers, communicated with Gods, invoked divine aid; many Turks  Buddhism, Nestorian
Christianity, or Manichaeism; written script
Turkish Conversion to Islam: Turk clans on steppes  Islam; spread to new lands along with
Turkish political and military influence
Military Organization: people under a khan (ruler) – rarely ruled directly but instead through the
leaders of allied tribes; nomads had enormous military power – superior equestrian skills, and
great archers
TURKISH EMPIRES IN PERSIA, ANATOLIA, AND INDIA
Saljuq Turks and The Abbasid Empire: mid-8th – mid-10th mostly on borders; mid – late 10th
large numbers of Turks served in Abbasid armies; mid-11th – Saljuqs overshadowed the Abbasid
caliphs; 1055 – Tughril Beg is sultan – “chieftain”
Saljuq Turks and the Byzantine Empire: turned attention to wealthy Anatolia  huge migrations
to there; defeat them at battle of Manzikert – took Byzantine emperor captive; peasants resented
Byzantine overlords; Turks levied taxes on Byzantine Church – welcomed converts to Islam
Ghaznavid Turks and the Sultanate of Delhi: Mahmud of Ghanzi led the in raids of Afghanistan
– original goal was to plunder; sultanate of delhi claimed authority over all of Northern India;
elephants; against Buddhism and Hinduism but like Islam
The Mongol Empires
CHINGGIS KHAN AND THE MAKING OF THE MONGOL EMPIRE
Unifier of Mongols = Temujin  rivals killed his father and eventually got him too
Chinggis Khan’s Rise to Power: allied with Mongol leaders – willing to betray them to better
himself but a fierce ally otherwise  All Mongol tribes into a single confederation; Chinggis
Khan = “universal ruler”
Military Political Organization: Chinggis mistrusted tribal organization  broke up tribes 
forced any man of fighting age to join a new military; high officials based on loyalty to him;
capital at Karakorum
Mongol Arms: equestrians and archers; ruthless if you resisted not so bad if you didn’t; learned
about gunpowder and used trebuchets to launch gunpowder bombs
Mongol Conquest of Northern China: Raiding parties hit Jurchen – Khanbaliq – “city of the
khan” – Mongols capital in China
Mongol Conquest of Persia: Successor to the Saljuqs – Khwarazm Shah  revenge was his
game; destroyed qanat irrigation systems; united Mongols, established Mongol supremacy in
central Asia , and extended Mongol control to northern China in the East and Persia in the West;
not an admin just a conquereor; no central gov  assigned Mongol overloads to supervise local
admins
THE MONGOL EMPIRES AFTER CHINGGIS KHAN
Son’s and grandson’s fought for power  divided kingdom into 4 parts  Great Khans –
China (wealthiest); Changati (son of Khan) – khanate of Changati in Central Asia;
Ilkhans – Persia; khans of the Golden Horde - Russia
Khubilai Khan: Consolidated Mongol rule; one of Chinggis’ grandsons; ruthless; actively
promoted Buddhism but supported other religions
Mongol Conquest of Southern China: relentlessly attacked the Song Dynasty from base at
Khanbaliq; Khubilai proclaimed himself emperor; little success of conqueror after that
The Golden Horde: Consolidated hold on East Asia; lands north of the Black Sea were pasture
lands
The Ilkhanate of Persia: Khubilai’s brother Hulegu toppled Abbasid empire; captured and looted
Baghdad; found out they needed to governor as well as conquer – no experience there; sucked at
it, lost most places in a century
Mongol Rule in Persia: allowed Persians to run the Ilkhanate; tolerated all religions; gradually
shifted towards Islam – Ilkhan Ghazan converted and most of his subjects followed  sparked
large massacres of Christian and Jews
Mongol Rule in China: aloof to subjects; Chinese couldn’t marry Mongols or learn their
language; brought in foreign admins; Khubilai had 4 wives – Chabi, Nestorian Christian, was his
favorite
THE MONGOLS AND EURASIAN INTEGRATION
The Mongols and Trade:
Diplomatic Missions: four things maintained communications even dealt with the rulers of other
lands
Missionary Efforts: silk roads served as highway  sufi Missions helped with Islam; Roman
catholics also mounted missions to China
Resettlement: Took skilled peoples from their towns and placed them where they were most
needed
DECLINE OF THE MONGOLS IN PERSIA AND CHINA
Collapse of the Ilkhanate: Excessive spending drained treasury in Persia; overexploitation of
peasants reduced revenue; factions fought against Mongol leadership; government in Persia
devolved to local levels
Decline of the Yuan Dynasty: Paper money was not backed and people soon lost confidence in it
Bubonic Plague: Southwestern China  Rest of China and Central Asia; also a rebellious
subject population in China
Surviving the Mongol Khanates: Mongol states didn’t completely disappear
After The Mongols
Turks resumed expanding as they were in the process of doing before the Mongol
interruption
TAMERLANE THE WHIRLWIND
The Lame Conqueror: power vacuums in China and Persia because of the rapid collapse; Timur
moved on Persia – had limp  Timur-I lang “Timur the Lame”; Modeled after Chinggis; loyal
followers; imperial capital in Samarkand; authority in rich cities so he could levy taxes; attacked
Great Horde in Russia and attacked India – sacked Delhi; not a governor, didn’t care about
imperial admins, ruled through tribal leaders, appointed overlords in conquered territories; relied
on the structures already in place
Tamerlane’s Heirs: loose organization  stresses and strains after Tamerlane’s death;
descendants fought
THE FOUNDATION OF THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE
Osman: Turks from central Asia to Ilkhanate; one of the leaders who organized further
campaigns; declared independence from the Saljuq sultan  build a state at the expense of the
Byzantine Empire
Ottoman Conquests: Foothold across Dardanelles  forces crushed ottoman army; after
Tamerlane’s death they reestablished their rule
The Capture of Constantinople: Sultan Mehmed II, Mehmed the Conqueror, captured
Constantinople  Istanbul; quickly absorbed rest of the Byzantine Empire