The Mongols and The
Changes in the World
Chapters 14 and 15
AP World History
Mr. Bartula
1000-1350: The Age of the
Nomadic Empires
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A period in which the Eastern
Hemisphere became more tightly
integrated than ever before.
The primary reason for this integration
was the establishment of trans-regional
empires by nomadic groups like the
Seljuk Turks and the Mongols
As a result, long distance travel on a
large scale became possible.
1000-1350: The Age of the
Nomadic Empires
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2.
3.
Other factors encouraging this
integration:
The expansion of Islam (Dar al’Islam).
India’s continuing economic power (but
cultural decline)
Such conflicts as the Crusades and the
Reconquista exposed Europeans to the
benefits of long distance trade and other
contact.
Long Distance Travelers: Marco
Polo 1271-1295
Long Distance Travelers: Ibn
Battuta 1325-1353
The Mongols: Introduction
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The Mongols probably did more to
change the course of world history in
a shorter period of time than any
other group of people in the 6001450 period.
Their conquests ushered in a period
of frequent and extended
international contact.
The Mongols: Introduction
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The Mongols have generally been cast in a
negative light as brutal conquerors.
Since the Mongols left few records of their
own, most of what we have comes from
conquered peoples or enemies.
Europeans, who had fewer contacts with
the Mongols, generally had a more
favorable view of them. Many Europeans
saw the Mongols as potential allies against
the Muslims.
The Mongol Homeland
The Mongol Homeland and Ethnic
Groups
The Mongols’ Early History
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Pastoral nomadic
people living in
Central Asia.
Disunited tribes
who regularly
fought each other
Polytheistic and
animistic religion
Chinggis Khan
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“The greatest
happiness is to
vanquish your
enemies, to chase
them before you,
to rob them of
their wealth, to see
those dear to them
bathed in tears, to
clasp to your
bosom their wives
and daughters.”
Chinggis Khan
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“Be of one mind and
one faith, that you
may conquer your
enemies and lead long
and happy lives.” (to
his army)
“With Heaven’s aid I
have conquered for
you a huge empire.
But my life was too
short to achieve the
conquest of the world.
That is left for you.”
(to his sons on his
deathbed)
Chinggis Khan 1162-1227
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Son of a Mongol chieftain, originally
named Temujin.
Omens at birth indicated he would be
a mighty warrior
At age 13, he was betrothed to
Bortei (14), daughter of another
Mongol chieftain.
His father was murdered by another
clan, and Temujin swore vengeance.
His rise to power
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Rejected as leader of his tribe, Temujin
and his family were abandoned and left
alone on the plains. Temujin swore
vengeance.
Temujin ruled his family with an iron will,
killing his younger brother when he caught
him stealing food.
Temujin’s reputation as a stern and fierce
leader spread among the Mongols.
His rise to power
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Taken prisoner on a hunting trip, Temujin
killed his guards and escaped, increasing
his reputation for bravery and ferocity.
At age 17 he married Bortei. Her father
gave him a rare black sable skin as a
present. This became his symbol.
Shortly after, Temujin’s father’s tribe
begged him to become their chieftain, and
he issued a call for all Mongols to unite
under his leadership.
Temujin Takes Power
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In 1183 Temujin was
declared Great Khan
of the Mongols and
renamed Chinggis:
“precious warrior” or
“spirit of light.”
Chinggis wanted to
break down tribal
identities and create a
unified Mongol state
Chinggis organized
the Mongol army into
decimal units (100,
1000, 10000) and
sent orders through
hand signals.
Mongol Cavalry
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The Mongol army
could cover immense
distances at
spectacular speeds.
Soldiers carried dried
meat and powdered
yak’s milk as
provisions
At times they would
nick their horse’s
necks and drink the
blood while at full
gallop.
Mongol Fighting Tactics
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The Mongols prized their horses for being
fast and flexible, allowing them to strike
hard and then disappear.
The Mongols developed a composite bow
which could be fired on horseback with a
range of 350 yards.
The Mongols developed leather and
wooden saddles and stirrups for longer
and more comfortable journeys.
Chinggis and His Conquests
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Chinggis Khan’s ruthlessness
and ferocity were well known,
and indeed, he would
exterminate entire cities
which opposed him.
Individuals who became his
enemies were treated the
same way.
However, he always gave
cities and regions the chance
to surrender first, and if they
did so, he was merciful.
Chinggis was a master of the
feigned withdrawal: he would
pretend to retreat, drawing
his enemies after him, then
quickly surround them.
Chinggis and His Conquests
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Chinggis led two successful
campaigns against northern China.
After two Mongol merchants were
killed by a Central Asian ruler for
being insolent, Chinggis launched a
major invasion in 1219.
After several years of devastating
conflict, all of Central Asia was
brought under Mongol control.
The Death of Chinggis Khan
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Shortly after the
conquest of Central
Asia, Chinggis was
killed in a hunting
accident.
His body was
buried in a secret
location
somewhere in
Mongolia.
Chinggis’ Legacy
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The four most significant legacies of
Chinggis Khan are:
• his tolerance of many religions
• his creation of the Mongols' first
script (written language)
• his support for trade and crafts
• his creation of a legal code
specific to the Mongols' pastoralnomadic way of life
Recent DNA studies indicate that 1 out of
every 12 men alive today may be a
descendant of Chinggis Khan
The Mongol Empire at the death of
Chinggis Khan
The Mongols After Chinggis’ Death
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Chinggis’ sons and grandsons divided and
expanded the Mongol Empire. There were
four major Khanates:
The Great Khanate: Mongolia and China
The Kipchak Khanate (Golden Horde):
Russia
The Ilkhanate: Persia and the Middle East
The Chagatai Khanate: Central Asia
By maintaining law and order, the Mongols
instituted the “Pax Mongolica” or
Mongolian Peace.
The Mongols After Chinggis’ Death
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The Mongols continued to practice
religious toleration
A postal system for sending
messages was established
Trade and commerce were
encouraged, trade routes were kept
open and guarded by Mongol soldiers
The Mongol Ecumene (Community)
Mongol Conquests After Chinggis’
Death
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Batu Khan (grandson) invaded Russia
between 1236-1242.
The capital of Kiev and many other
Russian cities were destroyed, and the
Russians reduced to peasants.
Batu and his successors then invaded
Eastern Europe and penetrated all the way
to Vienna.
The death of Ogadei Khan (son of
Chinggis) caused the Mongols to retreat to
Central Asia, never returning to Europe.
Mongol Conquests After Chinggis’
Death
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Hulagu Khan (grandson)
invaded the Middle East in
1256-57 and destroyed the
Islamic heartland.
The Seljuk Turks, who had
dominated Dar al’Islam,
were permanently
weakened.
In 1257 Baghdad was
sacked and burned. The
last Abbasid Caliph was
chopped to pieces.
The Mongols destroyed
many other Islamic cities
before being stopped by
the Mameluke Turks in
Egypt.
The Mongols in China
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Until recently, most historians assumed
that the Mongols’ impact on China (as well
as the rest of their empire) was only
negative.
The Mongol conquest of China caused
great loss of life
The Mongols eliminated (temporarily) the
Confucian examination system
The Mongols distrusted the Chinese and
placed them at the bottom of their
hierarchy.
The Mongols in China
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The Mongols did
encourage trade and
international contacts
which were helpful to
China
The Mongols also
adapted or borrowed
ideas from the
Chinese for their
governments.
The Mongols also
patronized artists and
scientists in China.
Kublai Khan and the Yuan Dynasty
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Kublai Khan, grandson of
Chinggis, became Great
Khan in 1260
By 1279 he had completely
conquered the Southern
Song and established the
Yuan Dynasty 1279-1368.
His Chinese capital was
established at Daidu
(modern Beijing)
Kublai Khan preferred to
use Chinese in his
government, rather than
having direct Mongol rule.
Kublai Khan and the Yuan Dynasty
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The Mongols encouraged
artisans, artists, and poets in
China.
Chinese merchants, who had
formerly had low status, were
now favored by the Mongols.
The Mongols reopened and
guarded trade routes and
increased the supply of paper
money in China and the rest
of their empire.
The Mongols were religiously
tolerant. Buddhists
themselves, they allowed
Muslims, Christians, and
others to worship freely
throughout their empire.
The Mongols established a
vast road and communication
system throughout China
Kublai Khan and his favorite wife,
Chabi
Mongol Women
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Mongol women were
accustomed to a great
deal of independence
and freedom.
In China, Mongol
women refused to
accept footbinding.
This, and the open
manner in which
Chabi and other
Mongol women lived,
shocked the Chinese.
The Forbidden City
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Kublai Khan’s palace complex in
Daidu
Constructed in many different
architectural styles to symbolize the
multicultural nature of the empire.
Also contained a huge campground
on which the Mongols would camp in
yurts once or twice a year.
Mongol Collapse in China
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Two failed invasions of Japan in 1274 and 1281
Kublai Khan gradually lost interest in life after the
death of Chabi and retreated to the Forbidden
City
Neo-Confucianists in China opposed the Mongols
as foreign invaders
Mongol dislike for the Chinese was alienating.
After Kublai’s death in 1294 there were
succession problems and economic decline.
Natural disasters (floods, earthquakes) increased
in the early 1300s
The Yuan Dynasty was overthrown by the Ming
Dynasty in 1368, and the Mongols were driven
out of China.
The Fall of the Mongolian Khanates
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Overexpansion meant the empire grew too
large to be successfully governed.
Succession problems plagued the
khanates.
Economic decline and rebellions also
played a role.
By the late 1300s only the Kipchak
Khanate or “Golden Horde” remained in
place.
Timur-i-Lang: The Last Gasp of the
Mongols 1336-1405
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Claimed to be a descendant of
Chinggis Khan
Created large empire in Central Asia
Attempted but failed in the conquest
of China
Patron of the arts, encouraged trade
Destructive, merciless, conqueror
Consequences of the Mongol
Empire
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Reopening of the trade routes between
Europe and Asia increased trade and other
contacts.
The destruction of Dar al’Islam and the
weakening of the Seljuk Turks allowed the
Ottoman Turks to move into the Middle
East.
Russia was cut off from European contact.
Princes from Moscow led the final revolt
against the Mongols, and that city became
the new Russian capital
Consequences of the Mongol
Empire
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The opening of the trade routes and
encouragement of trade allowed
bubonic plague to enter Europe.
The Ottoman Turks in the Middle
East were more interested in military
expansion than trade “Conquest
Over Commerce.”
The World After the Mongols
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The new Ming Dynasty in China was
proud of the return to native Chinese
rule.
To reinforce this pride, the Ming
Emperor authorized voyages to the
Indian Ocean to demonstrate
Chinese power and to collect tribute.
The admiral in charge of the voyages
was Zheng He.
Zheng He (Cheng Ho) 1371-1435
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Born a Muslim in
southwest China
Captured and
castrated by Ming
soldiers at age 10
Sent to Beijing to
serve, with other
eunuchs, in the
emperor’s court
Highly intelligent and
well educated
Intent on asserting
China’s power in the
world.
Zheng He’s treasure ships
Zheng He’s treasure ships
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Three and four masted ships were built by
the Chinese as early as the 8th century.
The Song and Yuan Dynasties continued
to build larger ships with compartments,
holds for fresh water, and private cabins.
The Ming Dynasty introduced “treasure
ships” 400 feet long, with nine masts,
twelve sails, four decks, and room for
hundreds of passengers and tons of cargo.
The ships were armed with small cannons.
The Seven Ming Voyages
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1405-07: 317 ships (60 treasure
ships) 28,000 passengers. S.E. Asia,
Malacca, India
1407-09: 68 ships to India
1409-11:48 ships to Malacca,
Ceylon, India
1413-15: 63 ships to Persian Gulf
The Seven Ming Voyages
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1417-19: Persian Gulf, Red Sea, East
Coast of Africa
1421-22: Red Sea, East Coast of
Africa
1431-33: 100 ships, 27,000 men.
South China Sea, Indian Ocean, Red
Sea
Opposition to the Ming Voyages
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Neo-Confucianists opposed the Ming Voyages
for several reasons:
The Mongols and other enemies could attack by
land
The voyages were wasteful and extravagant
Money could be better spent on internal
improvements to the Grand Canal
Foreign trade was unnecessary and would only
hurt China.
The eunuchs who supported the voyages were
not really Chinese and therefore suspect.
The Voyages End
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In 1433 the Neo-Confucianists convinced
the Emperor to order a halt to the
voyages.
The treasure ships were ordered
dismantled
Ships larger than two masts were banned.
Records of the voyages were ordered
destroyed.
Zheng He died in 1435, almost forgotten.
Changes in Europe
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The 11th, 12th, and 13th centuries
were a period of growth and
development for Western Europe.
Warmer weather, longer growing
seasons, and better tools increased
agricultural production and
population.
Trade and commerce grew and
encouraged urbanization and wealth
The Calamitous 14th Century
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Climate changes led to “The Little Ice
Age” in the Northern Hemisphere ca
1300-1800.
The Hundred Years War 13371453
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Conflict between England and France
One of numerous conflicts during the
14th century.
The Famine of 1315-1317
 By 1300 Europeans were farming almost all
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the land they could cultivate.
A population crisis developed.
Climate changes in Europe produced three
years of crop failures between 1315-17
because of excessive rain.
As many as 15% of the peasants in some
English villages died.
One consequence of
starvation & poverty
was susceptibility to
disease.
The Black Death!!!
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May have originated in East Africa among
small rodents.
Drought conditions (El Nino) caused the
rodents to migrate to East African cities on
Indian Ocean coast.
Ships traveling to India and China carried
the plague.
Plague then traveled across Eurasia on
recently reopened trade routes (Mongols)
The Black Death!!!
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The plague arrived in Constantinople
in 1347
It reached Italy later that year and
spread through the rest of Europe by
1349.
Travelers on trade routes carried the
plague throughout Europe
One third of Europe’s population died
Symptoms
Black Death Flagellants
A Physician
Lancing the Buboes
The Plague Today
Recovering from the 14th Century
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New Monarchies: England, France,
Spain, Portugal: centralized
governments reestablished by 1400
Economic recovery took longer, but
was well underway by 1450.
In Northern Italy, movement was
well underway towards a new era . .
.
The Renaissance
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Secular rather than religious
(humanism)
Turning away from the Medieval Era
Idealization of classical culture
Began in Northern Italy’s urban
areas among wealthy merchants (il
popolo grosso)
Centered in Florence
Renaissance Attitudes
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Curiosity, interest in science and
discovery
Man is the Measure of all Things
Have better life in the present world
Early Renaissance Creative Spirits
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Dante Aligheri
1265-1321
Author of The
Divine Comedy
Written in the
vernacular
Father of the
Italian Language
Love Poems to
Beatrice
Early Renaissance Creative Spirits
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Francesco Petrarch
1304-1374
Father of
Humanism
Creator of the
Sonnet
Recovered Greek
and Roman texts
Love poems to
Laura
Early Renaissance Creative Spirits
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Giovanni Bocaccio
1313-1375
Author of The
Decameron
Spoof of Medieval
poetry and the cult
of the ideal woman
Early Renaissance Creative Spirits
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Lorenzo Valla 14071454
Developed linguistic
analysis to determine
age and authenticity
Proved The Donation
of Constantine was a
forgery
Faith in the Church
was shaken for many
Early Renaissance Creative Spirits
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Giotto di Bondone
1267-1337
The first “modern
painter”
Naturalistic, three
dimensional
paintings
The Madonna in Glory
The Madonna in Majesty
The Epiphany
The Mourning of Christ
The Duomo and The Campanile di
Giotto (Florence)
The High Renaissance
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Late 1400s through mid 1500s
Active Periods of the three greatest
Renaissance artists:
Leonardo da Vinci 1452-1519
Raphael Sanzio 1483-1520
Michelangelo Buonarrati 1475-1564
Leonardo: The Virgin of the Rocks
Leonardo: The Mona Lisa
Leonardo: The Last Supper
Leonardo: Sketches and Plans
Leonardo: Notebooks
Raphael: Madonnas
Raphael: Portraits
Raphael: The School of Athens
Michelangelo: The Pieta
Michelangelo: David
Michelangelo: The Dying Slave
Michelangelo: Sistine Chapel
Ceiling
Michelangelo: Sistine Chapel
Michelangelo: Sistine Chapel
Michelangelo: Sistine Chapel
Michelangelo: The Last Judgment
Michelangelo: The Last Judgment
Northern Renaissance: Jan Van
Eyck
Northern Renaissance: Hans
Holbein
Europe by the 1400s
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Expanding economies
Strong interest in trade for Asian luxury
goods
Ottoman Empire blocked eastern trade
routes
Desire for alternative trade routes
Shortages of gold and other precious
metals
Negative balance of trade
New shipbuilding methods and technology
encouraged sea exploration
The Reconquista
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After Italy, the next most
important area of change
in Europe was the Iberian
peninsula
In the war called The
Reconquista, the Spanish
and Portuguese drove out
the Muslims by 1492
Spanish and Portuguese
monarchs regarded the
defense and expansion of
Christianity as a sacred
duty
Other Changes Beyond Europe
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Ethnocentrism: judging other
cultures by your own standards
In the Americas, Aztec and Inca
cultures were already having
difficulties (economic, political) by
the late 1400s.
The Ottoman Turks in the Middle
East were increasingly unable to deal
with European competition
Polynesian Migrations
Polynesian Migrations
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Migrations through the
Polynesian islands
continued.
Hawaii developed an
agricultural society
based on swine. It
was divided into
regional kingdoms
with stratified
societies dominated
by priests and nobles.
Polynesian Migrations
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Another migration
pattern led settlers to
the islands now called
New Zealand.
The Maoris developed
a warlike culture
based on agriculture
The Polynesian
cultures developed in
total isolation from
other civilizations