The Mongol
Empire
By Marina Daniels and Allen
Caldwell
 Genghis
Khan died and his successors
continued to expand his empire.
 Mongols began conquering territory from
China to Poland.
 They created the largest unified land
empire in history.
Khanates
 Mongols
decided to divide their huge
empire into four regions called khanates.
 Khanate
of the Great Khan (Mongolia and
China
 Khanate of Chagatai (Central Asia)
 The Ilkhanate (Persia)
 Khanate of the Golden Horde (Russia)
A
descendent of Genghis ruled each
khanate.
Mongols as Rulers
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As they invaded, the populations of some cities
Mongols went to were wiped out. They ended up
destroying ancient irrigation systems also.
Mongols were known to be ferocious in war, but
tolerant in peace.
The Mongols had religious tolerance
Some of the Mongol rulers even adopted aspects
of the culture of the people they ruled.
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Ex: The Ilkhanas and Golden Horde became
Muslims because of who they were ruling.
They had many different religions throughout the
whole empire.
Mongol Peace
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The Mongols imposed stability and law and
order across most of Eurasia. This was known
as Pax Mongolica (Mongol peace)
They guaranteed safe passage for trade
caravans, travelers, and missionaries from one
empire to another.
Trade with Asia and Europe had never been
easier and more active.
Mongols were the lords of city-based
civilizations across Asia and China.
Kublai Khan
 Kublai
Khan was the grandson of Genghis
Khan.
 He decided to focus on extending the
power and range of his own khanate and
began trying to conquer all of China like
his grandfather had previously done.
A new Dynasty
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Kublai Khan created the Yuan dynasty and united
China for the first time in more than 300 years.
The control imposed by the Mongols across all of
Asia opened China to greater foreign contacts
and trade.
Kublai decided to abandon the Mongolian
steppes for China.
He tried to extend his rule to Japan but both times
he tried the Japanese turned back the Mongol
fleets and a typhoon ended the attempts.
Foreign Trade and The
Mongols and the Chinese
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Mongols lived apart from Chinese and
followed different laws.
They wanted to keep Chinese out of high
government offices, but let some Chinese
serve on a local level.
Kublai Khan increased trade largely due to
the Mongol Peace
Travel routes were more safe now for trade
and travel.
Kublai encouraged trade by inviting foreign
merchants to visit China
Mongolian Women
 Women
had more power and more of an
influence
 Men would marry many women at one
time, which was called polygamy
 They had much freedom and worked
either in the house or out in society
Mongol Empire declines
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Trying to further expand the empire Kublai
sent many expeditions to Southeast Asia but
his armies suffered many humiliating defeats.
After Kublai died the Yuan dynasty was
fading.
Rebellions were breaking out since the
Chinese had resented the Mongols for such a
long time
Chinese rebels finally overthrew the Mongols
Soon the Mongol Empire had disintegrated
and only the Golden Horde stayed in power.