Mongol Eurasia and its Aftermath (1200-1500)
Chapter 3
Rise of Mongols
- Short span of time, tremendous global impact
- Mongolsweresemi-nomadic pastoralists
- Had a home base, raised livestock (brought them around)
- Land: FLATTEST land on earth
- Ideal for herding animals
- Exactly why imperial expansion occurs is unknown
- On-again, off-again role in histories ofEurope, MiddleEast, Chinafor 100s years
beforecommitting to building an empire
- HORSEBACK, infants reared on backs of goats to accustom them to riding
- Greatest horseback riders
- Always on the move and fiercely individualistic
Gov’t
- Council, made up of representatives of powerful families, ratified decisions of
the khan
- No state or physical capital
- Disagreements occurred, individuals and groups left to strike out on their own,
even duringwartime
- Menial work left to slaves, POWs, or those seeking refuge from possible
starvation
- Grooming horses, cooking meals, aiding mothers, cleaning, etc.
- Weak groups secured land rights and protection from strong groups in return
for tribute
- ChiniggisKhanand family lived almost entirely ontribute; no need for herding;
and time was now spent on warfare and gathering more tribute
- As they become more successful, they stop herding and just raid
Mongol Conquests (1215-1283)
- Chinggisinitiated 2 decades of Mongol aggressionand expansion. By 1221, much of
Northwest China, up to what is now Beijing, Khwarzem Region by the Caspian sea,
and all of Iran under Mongol rule
- Ogedei,Chinggis’s son, became Great Khan 1227
- 1234 Northwestern China under Mongol governor, moves to attack Southern Song
Dynasty
- Batu (Chinggis' grandson) attacks Russian territories along the Volga River, conquers
Kiewan Rus territories, seizing Moscow, Poland & Hungary
, - O gedei’s death in 1241 spared more of Europe from the campaign, as the attack was
suspended to divide up Ogedei’s possessions
- Guyeknew Great Khan, conquests resume
- 1258 Baghdad was sacked, and the last Abbasid caliph executed
- Plunges Islamic world into a dark age
Baghdad
- Incredibly rich
- Trade, luxuries, etc.
- Technologically advanced
- A greedy person sells out on how to conquer the city
- Gov’t collapse
- People look to GOD,Faith
- This empowers religious leadership
- Islamic world moves backward
- Chinggis' initial objective may have simply been to collect more tribute, but extreme
success changed the situation
- Ogedei sought to rule a united empire from his capital in Karakorum
- After his death, subordinate domains ruled by other family members began to unravel
- Unification begins to unravel
Khubilai’s Rule
- Khubilaideclared himself Great Khan in 1260;otherbranches of the family refused to
accept him, causing Karakorum to be destroyed in the ensuing fighting
- Khubilai, forced to move his court to new capital, now called Beijing, in 1271 declared
himself founder of the Yuan dynasty
- Mongol views differ GREATLY the Chinese
- Mogols don’t value education as much
- They don’t have the proper skills to rule China the way they want to be
- Central Asia controlled by Chagatal’s descendants, created a relationship with
Turkic-speaking nomads
- Due to the hatred of Khulbai, it remained fully independent, and Islam spread in the
region
- After the entirety of China conquered by Kublai Khan in 1279, the invasion of Champa
kingdom of northern Vietnam
- Failed initially, infuriating Khubilai, postponed invasion of Japan to concentrate on
Vietnam
- Tran Hung Dao,Vietnam’s most famous military hero(Vo Nguyen Giap is #2), crushed
the Mongol army in final battle
- The planned invasion of Java Sea failed, 2 invasions of Japan also failed
- Mongols usually outnumbered on the battlefield, horsemanship and the compound
bow gave a significant advantage
- Requires incredible strength, core, legs, etc.
- Incredibly fierce warriors
Chapter 3
Rise of Mongols
- Short span of time, tremendous global impact
- Mongolsweresemi-nomadic pastoralists
- Had a home base, raised livestock (brought them around)
- Land: FLATTEST land on earth
- Ideal for herding animals
- Exactly why imperial expansion occurs is unknown
- On-again, off-again role in histories ofEurope, MiddleEast, Chinafor 100s years
beforecommitting to building an empire
- HORSEBACK, infants reared on backs of goats to accustom them to riding
- Greatest horseback riders
- Always on the move and fiercely individualistic
Gov’t
- Council, made up of representatives of powerful families, ratified decisions of
the khan
- No state or physical capital
- Disagreements occurred, individuals and groups left to strike out on their own,
even duringwartime
- Menial work left to slaves, POWs, or those seeking refuge from possible
starvation
- Grooming horses, cooking meals, aiding mothers, cleaning, etc.
- Weak groups secured land rights and protection from strong groups in return
for tribute
- ChiniggisKhanand family lived almost entirely ontribute; no need for herding;
and time was now spent on warfare and gathering more tribute
- As they become more successful, they stop herding and just raid
Mongol Conquests (1215-1283)
- Chinggisinitiated 2 decades of Mongol aggressionand expansion. By 1221, much of
Northwest China, up to what is now Beijing, Khwarzem Region by the Caspian sea,
and all of Iran under Mongol rule
- Ogedei,Chinggis’s son, became Great Khan 1227
- 1234 Northwestern China under Mongol governor, moves to attack Southern Song
Dynasty
- Batu (Chinggis' grandson) attacks Russian territories along the Volga River, conquers
Kiewan Rus territories, seizing Moscow, Poland & Hungary
, - O gedei’s death in 1241 spared more of Europe from the campaign, as the attack was
suspended to divide up Ogedei’s possessions
- Guyeknew Great Khan, conquests resume
- 1258 Baghdad was sacked, and the last Abbasid caliph executed
- Plunges Islamic world into a dark age
Baghdad
- Incredibly rich
- Trade, luxuries, etc.
- Technologically advanced
- A greedy person sells out on how to conquer the city
- Gov’t collapse
- People look to GOD,Faith
- This empowers religious leadership
- Islamic world moves backward
- Chinggis' initial objective may have simply been to collect more tribute, but extreme
success changed the situation
- Ogedei sought to rule a united empire from his capital in Karakorum
- After his death, subordinate domains ruled by other family members began to unravel
- Unification begins to unravel
Khubilai’s Rule
- Khubilaideclared himself Great Khan in 1260;otherbranches of the family refused to
accept him, causing Karakorum to be destroyed in the ensuing fighting
- Khubilai, forced to move his court to new capital, now called Beijing, in 1271 declared
himself founder of the Yuan dynasty
- Mongol views differ GREATLY the Chinese
- Mogols don’t value education as much
- They don’t have the proper skills to rule China the way they want to be
- Central Asia controlled by Chagatal’s descendants, created a relationship with
Turkic-speaking nomads
- Due to the hatred of Khulbai, it remained fully independent, and Islam spread in the
region
- After the entirety of China conquered by Kublai Khan in 1279, the invasion of Champa
kingdom of northern Vietnam
- Failed initially, infuriating Khubilai, postponed invasion of Japan to concentrate on
Vietnam
- Tran Hung Dao,Vietnam’s most famous military hero(Vo Nguyen Giap is #2), crushed
the Mongol army in final battle
- The planned invasion of Java Sea failed, 2 invasions of Japan also failed
- Mongols usually outnumbered on the battlefield, horsemanship and the compound
bow gave a significant advantage
- Requires incredible strength, core, legs, etc.
- Incredibly fierce warriors
