1. THE MONGOL & MING EMPIRES
CHAPTER 12, SECTION 2

3. Mongolian Armies build an Empire
Mongols – nomadic people
Grazed horses and sheep on steppes of Asia
Rival clans spent time warring with each other
1200’s – GENGHIS KAHN (“Universal Ruler”)
Unified many of the clans under one leadership
Able to conquer an empire from the Pacific into Eastern Europe

4. Mongols invade China
Genghis Kahn – strict military discipline & absolute loyalty
Characteristics
Most trained horsemen in the world
Fierce beyond belief
Would often massacre an entire city, yet reward a single fighter

5. Mongols find problems Conquer Asian steppe lands with ease
Turn on China, Mongols encounter walled cities
Had learned how to use earliest cannon from Chinese and Turks
Chinese and Mongols fired at each other or years
Cannon warfare would eventually make it to Europe
Kahn would die before the conquering of China
Heirs would eventually dominate Asia and all of China
Destroy the province of Sichuan and capital city of Chengdu

6. Mongols establish peace
Once in control, Mongols were NOT oppressive rulers
Allowed people to live as they did before – as long as they paid a “tribute”
Genghis Kahn established ideas of toleration
Religious
Education
Artistic
Pax Mongolica
Mongolian Peace
Time period run by the grandsons of Genghis Kahn
Trade flourished along the Silk Road
Multiple exchanges
Food, tools, inventions, gunpowder, use of windmills,

7. China under Mongolian rule
Mongols needed almost 70 years to totally take over China
Genghis Kahn’s grandson KUBLAI KAHN topples the last Chinese emperor
Rules China from city of Kahnbaliq (Beijing) along with Korea, Tibet, & Vietnam

8. China under Kublai Kahn
All-Mongol government
Chinese still ran provinces
All-Mongol military
Kublai Kahn’s rule became known as the YUAN dynasty
Welcomed many travelers to the court, most famously Marco Polo
Vivid account of Chinese wealth
Described the opulence of Kublai Kahn and the advances of the Mongol Chinese (swift mail system)
Kahn continued exchanges with many European countries.

9. THE MING DYNASTY
Achievements…

13. Ming Dynasty Return to Chinese rule Ming = “BRILLIANT”
Toppled the Mongolian Army
Fought to reassert Chinese greatness
Restored civil service, Confucian learning, and shrunk bureacracy
Economy grows, mainly under agriculture
Fertilizing methods
New crops (sweet potatoes & corn)
New landscaping
Revivial of arts and literature
Porcelain painting
Growth of the naval forces
Led by Zheng He
Exploration of waters around Asia