Cover Slide
The Earth and
Its Peoples
3rd edition
Chapter 13
Mongol Eurasia and
Its Aftermath,
1200-1500
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Ceramics manufacture
Ceramics manufacture
Ming porcelain factories perfected a style of assembly-line manufacture. The techniques were
well established in central coastal China, and woodblock-printed technical books such as this
one (Tiangong Kaiwu) made the information widely available to technicians, investors,
managers, and officials. This combination of industrial organization and printed information
was later emulated in Korea, Japan, and Europe. (From Tiangong Kaiwu)
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Depictions of Europeans in Rashid al-Din
Depictions of Europeans in
Rashid al-Din
A Persian Jew who converted to
Islam, Rashid al-Din (ca. 12471318) undertook to explain the great
variety of cultures by writing a
history of the world including a
history of the Franks, illustrated here
with images of Western popes (left)
conferring with Byzantine emperors
(right). (Topkapi Palace Museum)
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Early Persian anatomical text
Early Persian anatomical text
Illustrated Persian anatomical texts from
the Il-khan and Timurid periods were
based on ancient Greek ideas about the
functions of the body. Here, the digestive
and arterial systems are depicted
together because it was assumed that
heat generated by digestion forced
circulation of the blood. The nervous
system, which was not well understood,
is not included. Diagrams such as these
became very important in Europe a few
centuries later, as European scientists
continued to build on the anatomical and
physiological knowledge of the Islamic
world. (Bodleian Library, Oxford)
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Japanese warriors board Mongol ship
Japanese warriors board Mongol ship
When the Mongol warrior Kublai Khan became Emperor of China, he sent envoys to Japan demanding
surrender under pain of invasion. The proud Japanese warriors rejected the Mongol challenge. The Japanese
prepared for the second Mongol invasion by constructing a stone wall 10 feet high along the shore where the
invaders were expected to strike. For seven weeks the line held. Then a violent typhoon--which became
known as kamikaze, or "divine wind"--raged for two days, battering the Mongol armada. This illustration
depicts the Japanese hero Suenaga boarding the Mongol ship to kill its leader. (Imperial Household
Agency/ISEI)
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Mongol army attacking walled city
Mongol army attacking walled city
Rashid-al-Din (ca. 1247-1318), a Jew
from Persia, converted to Islam at the
age of 30 and entered the service of the
Mongol khan of Persia as a physician.
He rose to government service and
traveled widely. He later wrote a
history of the world that was more
comprehensive than any that had been
previously written. This illustration,
which accompanied one of his
manuscripts, depicts the Mongol army-complete with catapults--attacking a
walled city. (Staatsbibliothek zu
Berlin/Bildarchiv Preussischer
Kulturbesitz. Photo: Ruth Schacht,
1979)
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Navigation techniques of Zheng-He
Navigation techniques of Zheng-He
The navigational techniques that Zheng
He and his crew used were well
established and tested, as this manual
Wubei zhi (records of military
preparations), 1621, shows. Ships were
precisely guided by reference to the Pole
Star, and the routes to India, the Middle
East, and East Africa were well known.
The manual underscores that Zheng He's
mission was not to explore but to carry
out political and, if possible, economic
mandates. (From Wubei zhi, 1621)
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Map: Korea and Japan, 1200-1500
Korea and Japan, 1200-1500
The proximity of Korea and of northern China to Japan gave the Mongols the opportunity for launching their enormous
fleets. They were defeated by the warriors of the Kamakura Shogunate, which controlled most of the three islands (Honshu,
Shikoku, and Kyushu) of central Japan. (Copyright (c) Houghton Mifflin Company. All Rights Reserved.)
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Map: The Ming Empire and Its Allies, 1368-1500
The Ming Empire and Its Allies, 1368-1500
The Ming empire controlled China but had a hostile relationship with peoples in Mongolia and Central Asia who had been
under the rule of the Mongol Yuan emperors. Mongol attempts at conquest by sea were continued by the Ming mariner
Zheng He. Between 1405 and 1433 he sailed to Southeast Asia and then beyond, to India, the Persian Gulf, and East Africa.
(Copyright (c) Houghton Mifflin Company. All Rights Reserved.)
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Map: The Mongol Empire
The Mongol Empire
The creation of the vast Mongol Empire facilitated communication across Eurasia and led to both the spread of deadly
plagues and the transfer of technical and scientific knowledge. After the death of Chinggis in 1227, the empire was divided
into four khanates, ruled by different lines of his successors. In the 1270s, the Mongols conquered southern China, but most
of their subsequent campaigns did not lead to further territorial gains. (Copyright (c) Houghton Mifflin Company. All Rights
Reserved.)
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Map: Western Eurasia in the 1300s
Western Eurasia in the 1300s
This map of the Mongol domains in the Middle East demonstrates the delicate balance of power that was upset by Ghazan's conversion to Islam in
1295. During the conflict between the ll-khans and the Golden Horde in the 1260s, European leaders hoped to ally themselves with the ll-khans
against Muslim defenders in Palestine. These hopes were abandoned after Ghazan's conversion to Islam in 1295, and the powerful alliance between
the Mamluks and the Golden Horde kept the ll-khans from advancing west. Europeans hoped to exploit the conflict by enlisting the ll-khans against
the Mamluks, but realized the cause was lost after Ghazan became Muslim. The Mamluks and the Golden Horde remained allies against the ll-khans,
which aided Europeans in retaining their lands in Palestine and Syria. (Copyright (c) Houghton Mifflin Company. All Rights Reserved.)
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