Team Members: ____________________________________________
Block: ___________________
Central Asia: Trial Objectives Economics and cross-cultural interactions
Instructions: The following primary and secondary sources are designed to provide your legal firm with the
information needed to formulate arguments that will show that the societies you represent have met and
exceeded the challenges posed by the following three questions. Use your time wisely and provide responses with
proof that your culture has shown the best answers to these questions on earth for this time period. Be aware that
other trial teams have access to this information as well and will be looking for weaknesses in your arguments. Be
prepared to defend your assertions.
1. How is economic prosperity and opportunity distributed amongst the population in this society? Is economic
prosperity dependent on exploitation of certain segments of this society or is it based on individual initiative? Why
is this beneficial in either case?
2. What is more important; internal trade or external trade and contact? What kinds of items are they trading?
Does economic expansion depend on aggression towards other cultures or does it rely on peaceful interactions?
What are the advantages of either?
Objective: What is more important; internal trade or external trade and contact? What kinds of items are they
trading?
Does economic expansion depend on aggression towards other cultures or does it rely on peaceful interactions?
What are the advantages of either?
1. How does this description of the loss of trade connections due to conflict show the importance that nomadic
central Asian peoples in facilitating land trade in Asia?
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“Another strand in the process of Southernization, the search for new sources of bullion (gold), can be traced back
in India to the end of the Mauryan Empire (321-185 B.C.E.) During the Mauryan rule Siberia had been India’s main
source of gold, but nomadic disturbances in Central Asia disrupted the traffic between Siberia and India at about
the time that the Mauryans fell.”
(Secondary Source) Lynda Norene Shaffer, “Southernization,” Journal of World History 5 (Spring 1994): 121.
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Objective: What is more important; internal trade or external trade and contact? What kinds of items are they
trading?
Does economic expansion depend on aggression towards other cultures or does it rely on peaceful interactions?
What are the advantages of either?
2. Were the Mongols blindly conquering lands or were they taking advantage of a world-wide shift in power that
was taking place already?
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“The process of Southernization (cultural and economic sharing in the Indian Ocean) reached its zenith after
1200, in large part because of the tumultuous events of the thirteenth century. During that century in both
hemispheres there were major transformations in the distribution of power, wealth, and prestige. In the Western
Hemisphere several great powers went down. Cahokia (near East St. Louis, Illinois), which for three centuries had
been the largest and most influential of the Mississippian mound-building centers, declined after 1200, and in
Mexico Toltec power collapsed. In the Mediterranean the prestige of the Byzantine Empire was destroyed when
Venetians seized its capital in 1204. From 1212 to 1270 the Christians conquered southern Spain, except for
Granada. In West Africa, Ghana fell to Sosso, and so did Mali, one of Ghana’s allies….
The grandest conquerors of the thirteenth century were the Central Asians. Turkish invaders established the
Delhi sultanate in India. Mongolian cavalries devastated Baghdad, the seat of the Abbasid caliphate since the
eighth century, and they captured Kiev, further weakening Byzantium. By the end of the century they had captured
China, Korea, and parts of mainland Southeast Asia as well.”
(Secondary Source) Lynda Norene Shaffer, “Southernization,” Journal of World History 5 (Spring 1994): 121.
Objective: What is more important; internal trade or external trade and contact? What kinds of items are they
trading?
Does economic expansion depend on aggression towards other cultures or does it rely on peaceful interactions?
What are the advantages of either?
3. How safe was the journey between Tana (The Black Sea) and Cathay (China)?
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“The road you travel from Tana to Cathay is perfectly safe, whether by day or by night, according to what the
merchants say who have used it. Only if the merchant, in going or coming, should die upon the road, everything
belonging to him will become the perquisite of the lord of the country in which he dies, and the officers of the lord
will take possession of all. And in like manner if he die in Cathay (China). But if his brother be with him, or an
intimate friend and comrade calling himself his brother, then to such a one they will surrender the property of the
deceased, and so it will be rescued.”
(Primary Source) “The Practice of Commerce”, Francesco Pegolotti. 1340.
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Objective: What is more important; internal trade or external trade and contact? What kinds of items are they
trading?
Does economic expansion depend on aggression towards other cultures or does it rely on peaceful interactions?
What are the advantages of either?
4. What kinds of services did the Mongols provide for travelers? How would this facilitate trade along the Silk
Road??
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“…From the city of Kanbalu there are many roads leading to the different provinces, and upon each of these, that
is to say, upon every great high road, at the distance of twenty-five or thirty miles, accordingly as the towns
happen to be situated, there are stations, with houses of accommodation for travelers, called yamb or posthouses. These are large and handsome buildings, having several well-furnished apartments, hung with silk, and
provided with everything suitable to persons of rank. Even kings may be lodged at these stations in a becoming
manner, as every article required may be obtained from and strong places in the vicinity; and for some of them the
court makes regular provision. At each station four hundred good horses are kept in constant readiness, in order
that all messengers going and coming upon the business of the grand khan, and all ambassadors, may have relays,
and, leaving their jaded horses, be supplied with fresh ones. Even in mountainous districts, remote from each
other, his majesty has equally caused buildings of the same kind to be erected, furnished with everything
necessary, and provided with the usual establishment of horses. He sends people to dwell upon the spot, in order
to cultivate the land, and attend to the service of the post; by which means large villages are formed. In
consequence of these regulations, ambassadors to the court, and the royal messengers, go and return through
every province and kingdom of the empire with the greatest convenience and facility; in all of which the grand
khan exhibits superiority over every other emperor, king, or human being. In his dominions no fewer than two
hundred thousand horses are thus employed in the department of the post, and ten thousand buildings, with
suitable furniture, are kept up. It is indeed a wonderful system, and so effective in its operation, as it is scarcely
possible to describe.
(Primary Source) The Travels of Marco Polo the Venetian, ed. And trans. William Marsden (New York:
Doubleday, 1948), 134-35, 152-53, 178, 211, 216, 218, 221-22, 243-45.
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Objective: What is more important; internal trade or external trade and contact? What kinds of items are they
trading?
Does economic expansion depend on aggression towards other cultures or does it rely on peaceful interactions?
What are the advantages of either?
5. Describe the diversity of products from China available to the people’s along the Silk Road under Mongol rule.
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“Of the province of Nan-ghin. Nan-ghin is the name of a large and distinguished province of Manji, situated
towards the west. The people are idolaters, use paper money in currency, are subjects of the grand khan, and are
largely engaged in commerce. They have raw silk, and weave tissues of silver and gold in great quantities, and of
various patterns. The country produces abundance of corn (grain), and is stored as well with domestic cattle as
with beasts and birds that are the objects of the chase, and plenty of tigers. It supplies the sovereign with an ample
revenue, and chiefly from the imposts levied upon the rich articles in which the merchants trade…
Sin-gui is a large and magnificent city, the circumference of which is twenty miles. The inhabitants are idolaters,
subjects of the grand khan, and use his paper money. They have vast quantities of raw silk, and manufacture it, not
only for their own consumption, all of them being clothed in dresses of silk, but also for other markets. There are
amongst them some very rich merchants, and the number of inhabitants is so great as to be a subject of
astonishment…They have amongst them many physicians of eminent skill, who can ascertain the nature of the
disorder, and know how to apply the proper remedies. There are also persons distinguished as professors of
learning, or , as we should term them, philosophers, and others who may be called magicians or enchanters. On
the mountains near the city, rhubarb grows in the highest perfection, and is from thence distributed throughout
the province. Ginger is likewise produced in large quantities, and is sold at so cheap a rate, that forty pounds
weight of the fresh root may be had for the value , in their money, of a Venetian silver groat….”
(Primary Source) The Travels of Marco Polo the Venetian, ed. And trans. William Marsden (New York:
Doubleday, 1948), 134-35, 152-53, 178, 211, 216, 218, 221-22, 243-45.
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Objective: What is more important; internal trade or external trade and contact? What kinds of items are they
trading?
Does economic expansion depend on aggression towards other cultures or does it rely on peaceful interactions?
What are the advantages of either?
6. Describe how the Mongols used talents from various regions and helped spread those talents to other areas of
the empire?
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“Upon leaving the city of Kue-lin-fu, and travelling three days, during which you are continually passing towns
and castles, of which the inhabitants are idolaters, have silk in abundance, and export it in considerable quantities,
you reach the city of Unguen. This place is remarkable for a great manufacture of sugar, which is sent from thence
to the city of Kanbalu for the supply of the court. Previously to its being brought under the dominion of the grand
khan, the natives were unacquainted with the art of manufacturing sugar of a fine quality, and boiled it in such an
imperfect manner, that when left to cool it remained in the state of a dark-brown paste. But at the time this city
became subject to his majesty’s government, there happened to be at the court some persons from Babylon who
were skilled in the process, and who, being sent thither, instructed the inhabitants in the mode of refining the
sugar by means of the ashes of certain woods….”
(Primary Source) The Travels of Marco Polo the Venetian, ed. And trans. William Marsden (New York:
Doubleday, 1948), 134-35, 152-53, 178, 211, 216, 218, 221-22, 243-45.
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Objective: What is more important; internal trade or external trade and contact? What kinds of items are they
trading?
Does economic expansion depend on aggression towards other cultures or does it rely on peaceful interactions?
What are the advantages of either?
7. What steps are the Mongols taking to ensure that security is maintained along the trade routes they control?
How would this help to promote trade?
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8. What types of products are coming to China from India?
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“Traveling fifteen miles further in the same direction, you come to the city of Kan-gui…In this place is stationed a
large army for the protection of the country, and to be always in readiness to act, in the event of any city
manifesting a disposition to rebel. Through the midst of it passes a river, a mile in breadth, upon the banks of
which, on either side, are extensive and handsome buildings. In front of these, great numbers of ships are seen
lying, having merchandise on board, and especially sugar, of which large quantities are manufactured here also.
Many vessels arrive at this port from India, freighted by merchants who bring with them rich assortments of jewels
and pearls, upon the sale of which they obtain a considerable profit…The ships coming from India ascend the river
as high up as the city, which abounds with every sort of provision, and has delightful gardens, producing exquisite
fruits…”
(Primary Source) The Travels of Marco Polo the Venetian, ed. And trans. William Marsden (New York:
Doubleday, 1948), 134-35, 152-53, 178, 211, 216, 218, 221-22, 243-45.
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Objective: How is economic prosperity and opportunity distributed amongst the population in this society? Is
economic prosperity dependent on exploitation of certain segments of this society or is it based on individual
initiative? Why is this beneficial in either case?
9. How did the Mongols facilitate individual success in trade? What economic mechanisms did they put in place or
create in order to do this?
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“The commercial influence of the Mongols spread much farther than their army, and the transition from the
Mongol Empire to the Mongol Corporation occurred during the reign of Khubilai Khan. Throughout the thirteenth
and early fourteenth centuries, the Mongols maintained trade routes across the empire and stocked shelters with
provisions interspersed every twenty to thirty miles. The stations provided transport animals as well as guides to
lead the merchants through difficult terrain. Marco Polo, who was at the Mongol court at the same time that Bar
Swama was on his mission to Europe, frequently used the Mongol relay stations in his travels. With perhaps a little
more enthusiasm than accuracy, he describes them as not merely “beautiful” and “palatial”, but also having “silk
sheets and every other luxury suitable for a king.” To promote trade along these routes, Mongol authorities
distributed an early type of combined passport and credit card. The Mongol paiza was a tablet of gold, silver, or
wood larger than a man’s hand, and it would be worn on a chain around the neck or attached to the clothing.
Depending on which metal was used and the symbols such as tigers or gyrfalcons, illiterate people could ascertain
the importance of the traveler and thereby render the appropriate level of service. The paiza allowed the holder to
travel throughout the empire and be assured of protection, accommodations, transportation, and exemption from
local taxes or duties.
(Secondary Source) Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World, Jack Weatherford. Three Rivers
Press, New York. 2003. Pg. 220 - 221
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Objective: How is economic prosperity and opportunity distributed amongst the population in this society? Is
economic prosperity dependent on exploitation of certain segments of this society or is it based on individual
initiative? Why is this beneficial in either case?
10. How did the Mongol ideas about sharing the spoils of war end up facilitating the movement of vast quantities
of goods across the entire Asian continent?
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“The expansion and maintenance of the trading routes did not derive from an ideological commitment of the
Mongols to commerce and communication in general. Rather, it stemmed from the deeply rooted system of
shares, or khubi, in the Mongol tribal organization that had been formalized by Genghis Khan. Just as each orphan
and widow, as well as each soldier, was entitled to an appropriate measure of all the goods seized in war, each
member of the Golden Family was entitled to a share of the wealth of each part of the empire. Instead of the
salary paid to non-Mongol administrators, the higher-ranking Mongol officials received shares in goods, a large
part of which they sold or traded on the market to get money or other commodities. As ruler of the Ilkhanate in
Persia, Hulegu still had twenty-five thousand households of silk workers in China under his brother Khubilai.
Hulegu also owned valleys in Tibet, and he had claim on a share of the furs and falcons of the northern steppes,
and of course, he had pastures, horses, and men assigned to him in the homeland of Mongolia itself. Each lineage
in the Mongol ruling family demanded its appropriate share of astronomers, doctors, weavers, miners, and
acrobats.
Khubilai owned farms in Persia and Iraq, as well as herds of camels, horses, sheep, and goats. An army of clerics
traveled throughout the empire checking on the goods in one place and verifying accounts in another. The
Mongols in Persia supplied their kinsmen in China with spices, steel, jewels, pearls, and textiles, while the Mongol
court in China sent porcelains and medicines to Persia. In return for collecting and shipping the goods, the Mongols
in China kept about three-quarters of this output for themselves; nevertheless, they exported a considerable
amount to their relatives in other areas….
The constant movement of shares gradually transformed the Mongol war routes into commercial arteries.”
(Secondary Source) Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World, Jack Weatherford. Three Rivers
Press, New York. 2003. Pg. 220 - 221
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Objective: How is economic prosperity and opportunity distributed amongst the population in this society? Is
economic prosperity dependent on exploitation of certain segments of this society or is it based on individual
initiative? Why is this beneficial in either case?
11. How did Khubilai Khan facilitate trade in China? What kinds of safe-guards he put in place to help protect
individual business people in the economy?
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“To further facilitate the speed and safety of commerce through the empire, Khubilai radically expanded the use of
paper money. By the time Marco Polo arrived, the system was in full operation. He describes the money as made
from mulberry bark in a form that we recognize as paper but which was still largely unknown in Europe. The paper
money was cut into rectangles of varying size, marked with its value and stamped with a vermillion seal. The
primary advantage of paper money was that it was much easier to handle and ship than the bulky coins then in
use. Marco Polo wrote that the money was accepted throughout the empire: “To refuse it would be to incur the
death penalty,” but most people “are perfectly willing to be paid in paper money since with it they can buy
anything including pearls, precious stones, gold, or silver….Where there is paper money, there are increased
opportunities for credit and financial disaster. In an important innovation designed to bring consistency to the
markets, particularly involving the extension of credit, Mongol law provided for declarations of bankruptcy, but no
merchant or customer could declare bankruptcy more than twice as a way to avoid paying debts. On the third
time, he faced the possible punishment of execution.”
(Secondary Source) Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World, Jack Weatherford. Three Rivers
Press, New York. 2003. Pg. 220 - 221
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Objective: What is more important; internal trade or external trade and contact? What kinds of items are they
trading? Does economic expansion depend on aggression towards other cultures or does it rely on peaceful
interactions? What are the advantages of either?
12. How did the Mongols improve and grow Chinese trade along waterways?
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Despite the initial reliance on commerce on routes created through military conquest, it soon became obvious
that whereas armies moved quickest by horse across land, massive quantities of goods moved best by water.
Mongols expanded and lengthened the Grand Canal that already connected the Yellow and Yangtze Rivers to
transport grain and other agricultural products farther and more efficiently into the northern districts. Adapting
Chinese engineering and technology to new environments, they built water projects throughout their territories. In
Yunnan, the Mongol governor created a dozen dams and reservoirs with connecting canals that survived until
modern times.
The failed invasions of Japan and Java taught the Mongols much about shipbuilding, and when their military
efforts failed, they turned that knowledge to peaceful pursuits of commerce. Khubilai Khan made the strategic
decision to transport food within his empire primarily by ship because he realized how much cheaper and more
efficient water transportation, which was dependent on wind and current, was than the much slower land
transport, which was dependent on the labor of humans and animals that required constant feeding. In the first
years, the Mongols moved some 3,000 tons by ship, but by 1329 it had grown to 210,000 tons.”
13. In what ways did the Mongols support and expand the Indian Ocean trade?
Name: ________________________________
Block: _____________________________________
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Trial preparation: Now that you have explored the basic outlines of the Central Asian Economic systems it is time for your law firm to construct
a series of answers that will be used in the trials. For each question you must construct an opening statement that you will present to the court.
Include aspects of all of the societies you represent and then list specific examples you will use in your rebuttals during the trials. Divide the
topics between your legal team. Each of you will use the research from today to construct opening arguments. These opening arguments are
required by the beginning of the next class day. Teams that do not submit opening arguments will not be qualified to move on to the next research
topic and will be given the essay topics.
1. How is economic prosperity and opportunity distributed amongst the population in this society? Is economic
prosperity dependent on exploitation of certain segments of this society or is it based on individual initiative? Why
is this beneficial in either case?
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Evidence: Cite the Source and summarize the evidence.
a.
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b.
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c.
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d.
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e.
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2. What is more important; internal trade or external trade and contact? What kinds of items are they trading?
Does economic expansion depend on aggression towards other cultures or does it rely on peaceful interactions?
What are the advantages of either?
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Evidence: Cite the Source and summarize the evidence.
a.
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b.
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c.
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d.
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e.
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