Nomadic empires And eurasian integration: The Turks and the Mongols Chapter 18

1. Nomadic empires And eurasian integration: The Turks and the Mongols Chapter 18

2. Turkish migrations and Imperial expansion • Nomadic economy and society • Turkish peoples were nomadic herders; • Nomads and settled peoples sought trade, were prominent on caravan routes • Two social classes: nobles and commoners • Autonomous clans and tribes • Religions: shamans, one with supernatural powers---- by 6th Century: they converted to Buddhism, Nestorian Christianity * Military organization • Khan ("ruler") organized vast confederation of individual tribes for expansion • Outstanding cavalry forces, formidable military power

3. Turkish empires in Persia, Anatolia, India: • SaljuqTurks and the Abbasid empire* • Lived on borders of the Abbasid realm, mid-eighth to mid-tenth centuries • Extended Turkish rule to Syria, Palestine, and other parts of the realm • Saljuq Turks and the Byzantine empire • Migrated in large numbers to Anatolia, early eleventh century • Defeated Byzantine army at Manzikert in 1071 • Transformed Anatolia into an Islamic society • Ghaznavid Turks dominated northern India through sultanate of Delhi

4. 800 AD – Abbasid rulers (Islamic caliphate) hired Turkish warriors to fight in their army • Gained power over the Abbasid government • 1000 AD – Turks moved from central Asia into the Middle East • 1071 - Defeated the Byzantines • 1095 – Pope Urban II calls for the Crusades to drive the Seljuk Turks out of Jerusalem • Skilled warriors but not strong rulers; Weakened by fighting each other for control of land • Became prey to a new nomadic invader from central Asia, the Mongols empire Territory of the Xiongnu

5. Genghis Khan and the making of the Mongol empire How was he able to conquer China? • Temüjin, aka, Genghis Khan ("universal ruler") unified Mongol tribes through alliance and conquests – his first goal was China • Mongol political organization (over 21 years) • new military units; broke up tribal affiliations • Mongol conquest of northern China • Genghis Khan, Mongols raided the Jurchen in north China beginning in 1211 • Controlled north China by 1220 • South China was still ruled by the Song dynasty

6. Mongol conquest of Persia • Genghis Khan tried to open trade and diplomatic relations with Saljuq leader Khwarazm shah, the ruler of Persia, 1218 • Upon being rejected, Genghis Khan led force to pursue the Khwarazm; destroyed Persian cities and qanat • Genghis died in 1227, laid foundation for a mighty empire

7. Genghis Khan: Great Strategist • Mongol strategy: horsemanship, archers, mobility, psychological warfare • 1 million population:100K -125K in army • Organized his army into units • Built catapults; created gunpowder charges • Used cruelty as a weapon: Killed the whole population of cities so that other cities would surrender quickly

8. Marco Polo at the Mongol Court • Venetian trader along w/his father and uncle, traveled by caravan on the Silk Roads arrived at court around 1275 • Learned Asian languages through his travels • He served w/him for 17 years • Marco Polo visited and worked in the service ofKubilai Khan and wrote about him:4 principal wives each with 10,000 attendants, 30-40 concubines, Traveled via elephant • His experiences in China were published in The Travels of Marco Polo

9. Mongol empires after Genghis Khan • Died in 1294 • Division of the Mongol empires: heirs divide into four regional empires: • Great Khan – East Asia • Changhadai – Turkestan • Perisa – il-Khans • Golden Horde – Volga River • Khubilai Khan: Genghis Khan's grandson, consolidated Mongol rule in China; Promoted Buddhism, supported Daoists, Muslims, and Christians

10. Song capital at Hangzhou fell in 1276, Yuan Dynasty founded in 1279 • Conquest of southern China: Khubilaiextended Mongol rule to ALL of China • Unsuccessful conquests of Vietnam, Burma, Java, and Japan** • First to allow Asian/European countries to trade • His third son, Ogedei, a talented diplomat, was chosen as grand khan.

11. The Golden Horde: Group of Mongols overran Russia between 1237 and 1241; continued with Poland, Hungary, and eastern Germany, 1241-1242; captured Baghdad in 1258 • Mongol rule in Persia: Persians served as ministers, governors, and local officials; levied taxes; Ilkhan Ghazan converted to Islam, 1295; massacres of Christians and Jews followed • Mongol rule in China: Outlawed intermarriage between Mongols and Chinese; difficult for upward mobility; Forbade Chinese from learning the Mongol language; Brought foreign administrators into China and put them in charge; Dismissed Confucian scholars; dismantled civil service examination; Tolerated all cultural and religious traditions in China

12. The Mongols and Eurasian integration • Established diplomatic relations with the 4 Mongol Empires and Korea, Vietnam, India, Europe • Pax Mongolica • Created an imperial library; issued paper money of universal validity; Created postal system • Granted trade opportunities to non-Chinese on thriving Silk Route trade (worked to secure trade routes) • Great Khan & emperor of Chinaextended empire from the Pacific Ocean throughTurkestan & Tibet to Russia

13. Decline of the Mongols in Persia and China • Conquered areas were too big • Political infighting weakened them • Mongols didn’t introduce any culture • Mongols were fighters, not leaders • Paper money lost value • Collapse of the ilkhanate • Bubonic plague • Mongol domination NEVER extended to Japan

14. After the Mongols • Tamerlane the Whirlwind (1336-1404) built central Asian empire • First conquered Persia and Afghanistan • Next attacked the Golden Horde • At the end of the fourteenth century, invaded northern India • Ruled the empire through tribal leaders who relied on existing bureaucrats to collect taxes

15. The foundation of the Ottoman empire • Ottoman conquests in the Balkans in 1350s • Sultan Mehmed II sacked Constantinople in 1453, renamed it Istanbul • Absorbed the remainder of the Byzantine empire • During the sixteenth century, extended to southwest Asia, southeast Europe, and north Africa • Empire in place until the end of WWI (1918) • Naval trade in spices, wheat, lumber throughout the Mediterranean, Aegean, Black, Red Sea and Persian Gulf • Caravanseri(road side inn)network: assured safety for traveling merchants and envoys