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The Mongols. Mongolian Culture. Horseback nomads Rough existence → familiarity with struggle, violence, strength over obstacles Not many creature comforts No castles, no agriculture, no books, no giant public works Clan groups
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Mongolian Culture • Horseback nomads • Rough existence → familiarity with struggle, violence, strength over obstacles • Not many creature comforts • No castles, no agriculture, no books, no giant public works • Clan groups • Not an empire/strong central government – family/extended family organization • Clan = Khan • Loyalty = life
Genghis Khan • 1162 – born Temujin • Influential warlord father • Early 1200s – kills his brother, escapes capture, raids neighboring clans • 1206 – proclaimed “Great Khan” Genghis Khan • Early 1200s – power vacuum in Eurasia • Song Dynasty is weak • Russia is one city and small villages • Persians have been overrun by Islamic armies • Muslim Empires focused closer to Mediterranean • The stage is set for Genghis
Under Genghis & later khans, the Mongols conquered… Russia Korea Central Asia China the Islamic Empire
Strong Equestrians and Archers • The Mongols were oriented around extreme mobility. They carried their houses with them, drank their own horse's blood to stay alive, and could travel up to 62 miles per day. • They had an elaborate priority-mail-system which allowed orders to be transmitted rapidly across Eurasia. • Mongol archers were very deadly and accurate • Their arrows could kill enemies at 200 meters (656 feet)
“In the countries that have not yet been overrun by them, everyone spends the night afraid that they may appear there too.” (Arab historian)
Terror and intimidation Siege of Baghdad 1258 • Looting & Destruction of Cities • Massacres (1.6 Million in 1 Afghan city, 1 million in Beijing, 1-2 million in Baghdad, 18.4 Million total killed) • Use of organized tactical terror • Public beheadings, burning it all down, germ warfare, sieges and starvation, rumors and stories purposely spread and exaggerated
Rule in conquered territories • Cities generally left under native governors. • Religious tolerance important in consolidating rule, gain support of minorities oppressed by Muslims. • Administration commonly more benign, less corrupt than pre-Mongol government. • Reorganized army so each unit had a mix of tribal/ethnic peoples and they had to live & fight together -- transcend kinship, ethnicity, & religion. • Ordered writing system created • Instituted postal system for communication
“Pax Mongolica?” Under the Mongols, there was unprecedented long-distance trade Before lots of fighting in East Asia and fighting between Muslims & Christians in the Middle East, but now stability brings trade in more volume & people who now travel the entire distance Mongols encouraged the exchange of people, technology, and information across their empire The Mongols made culture portable: it was not enough to merely exchange goods, because whole systems of knowledge had to also be transported in order to use many of the new products”(e.g. drugs weren’t profitable trade items unless one possessed medical knowledge for their use, so moved Arab doctors to China & vice versa) Weatherford: the Mongols were “civilization’s unrivaled cultural carriers…” Mongol Passport
Chinese technologies like gunpowder & the magnetic compass reached Europe The Impact of the Mongol Empire But diseases like the plague (Black Death) reached Europe too Mongol khans brought stability & order to Eurasia The era from the mid-1200s to the mid-1300s is called the Pax Mongolica (“Mongol Peace”) During the Pax Mongolica, the Mongols guaranteed safe passage across the Silk Road As a result, trade & cultural diffusion increased between Europe & Asia
After the death of Genghis Khan, the Mongol Empire was divided into 4 major khanates each ruled by a son or grandson of Genghis The Mongol destruction of Kiev increased the importance of Moscow in Russia The khanate in Persia helped control the Silk Road The Mongols were the first non-Muslims to rule over the Islamic Empire
The Mongol Drive to the West – Golden Horde in Russia • Golden Horde added Russia and Europe to the Mongols’ agenda for world conquest, • Kiev was in decline by the 13th century, and Russia was unable to unite before the Mongols (called Tatars by Russians) • 1224 - 1240 Chinggis Khan’s grandson, Batu, attacks Kiev - very few towns survived (only Novgorod and Moscow because they submitted) • Peasants and towns required to pay tribute (or else) feudalism sets in in Russia – will last until 19th C. (people react the same way, Russian Orthodox Church influence grows) • Mongols impose postal system, financial structures (tribute of course), and census growth of Moscow (Muscovy) in the north. Moscow becomes a cultural & economic center. • Moscow and Russia isolated from Europe no Renaissance, no Reformation Lasted the longest of the all the khanates (until 1480)
After the death of Genghis Khan, the Mongol Empire was divided into 4 major khanates each ruled by a son or grandson of Genghis In 1279, Genghis’ grandson Kublai Khan became the first foreign leader to rule China
Kublai enjoyed Chinese culture so much that he moved the Mongolian capital to China Kublai Khan began a new era in China called the Yuan Dynasty Kublai Khan But, he excluded the Chinese from serving in high gov’t offices & relied on foreigners to serve in his government
He built roads & extended the Grand Canal to help improve transportation in China Under Kublai, foreign trade with China increased due to the Pax Mongolica
By the time of Kublai’s death in 1294, the entire Mongol Empire was growing weak In 1480, under Ivan III Russia gained independence from Mongol rule & started the Romanov Dynasty In 1370, the Mongols lost control of Central Asia In 1368, the Chinese overthrew the Mongols & started the Ming Dynasty In 1330, the Mongols lost control of Persia
