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Huun-Huur-Tu, “Do You Want Me to Saddle You?,” Where the Young Grass Grows (1999). The Mongol World Empire. The Imperial Alternatives. Run empire on traditional nomadic lines, as a tribal confederation But, what to do with sedentary peoples of China and Persia? Extermination?
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Huun-Huur-Tu, “Do You Want Me to Saddle You?,” Where the Young Grass Grows (1999)
The Imperial Alternatives • Run empire on traditional nomadic lines, as a tribal confederation • But, what to do with sedentary peoples of China and Persia? • Extermination? • Ruthless exploitation? • Example of Il Khanate
The Imperial Alternatives - 2 • Borrow practices of previous Turco-Mongolian Peoples • Cooked and uncooked barbarians • Uighurs • Introduced writing to Mongols • Qara-Khitai (or Khitans) • Darugachi, a provincial administrative figure • Yam – the postal service
The Imperial Alternatives - 3 • Adopt methods of the settled peoples • Most prominent in China and Persia • Persia: local elites, such as Juwayni, recruited into service
The Imperial Alternatives - 4 • China • Lower level of bureaucracy staffed by Chinese • Upper levels reserved for non-Chinese, often from Central Asia, such as Mahmud Yalavach
Mongol Institutions • The Army • In a sense, all Mongols belong to the army • Highly mobile • Decimal organization
Army becomes an “artificial tribe” • Tendency to become an army of professional mercenaries
Mongol Institutions - 2 • The Great Yasa (1206?), or law code • Taxation • Head tax (qubchur) • Sales tax (tamgha) • Communications
Factors for Imperial Disintegration • Horizontal stratification: a nobility emerges • Vertical differentiation: armies split off from rest of the people • Sedentarization and denomadification of ruling elites, e.g. Kubilai Khan
Example of Kubilai Khan • Moves capital to Beijing • Adopts Chinese dynastic name (Yüan) • Becomes a Buddhist
Factors for Imperial Disintegration - 2 • Lack of clear rules for succession to imperial throne • Mixture of hereditary right and election • Both lineal and lateral succession recognized • Designation by ruling khan also used
Factors for Imperial Disintegration - 3 • Ögodei, 3rd son of Chingiz Khan,designated and elected, 1229 • Küyük, son of Ögodei, elected, 1247 • Möngke, son of Chingiz’ youngest son, elected over opposition, 1251 • Kubilai, brother of Möngke, elected in a disputed election, leading to civil war, 1260
Disintegration • Empire becomes group of sub-khanates • Example of China • Mongols illegitimate in eyes of Chinese • 1353-54: plague and rebellion • Inflation • 1368: Ming dynasty established