The Mongols: Conquerors, not Empire Builders

Writing into the Day Temujin conquered the largest land mass of any military leader in history, easily surpassing Caesar, Napoleon, Alexander the great, even Hitler. Yet only three generations later, there was very little evidence that the Mongol Empire ever existed. Why was the Mongol influence not more lasting? What attributes do you think are required for an empire to have lasting significance? Temujin conquered the largest land mass of any military leader in history, easily surpassing Caesar, Napoleon, Alexander the great, even Hitler. Yet only three generations later, there was very little evidence that the Mongol Empire ever existed. Why was the Mongol influence not more lasting? What attributes do you think are required for an empire to have lasting significance?

Continuity: Know your timeline!

The Largest Land Empire amassed by a single person

I. The Mongol Empire of Chinggis Khan The Mongols were a fierce, warlike nomadic people who, while having a disregard for “civilized” societies, were tolerant conquerors with a great curiosity for diverse faiths and ethnic groups. They were traders and herders, gaining grains and vegetables by trading with sedentary peoples. Mongol society was traditionally made up of clans or family groups, but could come together into confederations when necessary. A. The Making of a Great Warrior: The Early Career of Chinggis Khan: -Kabul Khan was Chinggis’s Grandfather who had won glory by uniting the Mongols into an alliance and defeating the northern Chinese kingdom of Qin. -Chinggis Khan was thrust into leadership at 17 when his father was killed. -Khan’s given name was Temujin, but gave himself the moniker Chinggis Khan. -After a series of military victories where he avenged the honor of his clan, Temujin was elected Khagan, or supreme ruler of the Mongol tribes, in 1206.

I. The Mongol Empire of Chinggis Khan (continued) B. Building the Mongol War Machine Mongol warriors were unique to the time for several reasons. They were natural fighters, raised from birth to fight, much like the Spartans in Ancient Greece. They were excellent archers, with accuracy up to 350 feet, even on horseback. Also, the entire army was made up of riders, so they were solely Calvary, while most armies of the time were mostly infantry. Tumens were fighting units made up of 10,000 warriors, something like a modern day battalion or an ancient Roman Cohort. C. Conquest: The Mongol Empire under Chinggis Khan -In 1207 Khan began his conquest of China, first taking the Xi Xia kingdom in Northwest China, and the Jurchens in North China. D. First Assault on the Islamic World: -The Kara Khitai was a grasslands people of the Russian steppes who were conquered by Khan on his movement westward. -Khwarazm was a Muslim empire conquered by Khan as the Mongols entered the middle east. -In 1227, when Khan died, his empire stretched from the North China Sea to eastern Persia.

I. The Mongol Empire of Chinggis Khan (continued) E. Describe Life Under the Mongol Imperium: -Chinggis Khan, though illiterate, was no savage. He was a warrior, but actually wanted to see his conquered people live in peace, respecting diverse cultures. He did refuse, however, to live in a city -He founded the capital of Karakorum and invited the rulers from various kingdoms to come, where he gleaned from each culture what he wanted. -Khan was Shamanistic, meaning he worshiped nature spirits(think animism here). He was, however, tolerant of other religions. F. The Death of Chinggis Khan and the Division of the Empire -In 1227, Ogedei, Khan’s third son, was elected grand khan, and ruled for nearly a decade, expanding the empire into the west. The empire was split four ways, between khan’s 3 sons and his grandson, Batu.

The Four Khanates of the Divided Mongol Empire

II. The Mongol Drive to the West The Golden Horde was the empire controlled by Batu, and was made up of modern day Russia and parts of Western Europe. The conquest of Russia was astounding in one major regard-the Mongols were the only group in history to complete a successful invasion of Russia in the Winter. Russia in the 1200s was overrun by Mongol invaders, who set up the golden Horde, taking tribute from the Russian people, causing the peasantry to become, in effect, serfs of the Russian ruling class in return for protection. A. Russia in Bondage Russia was dominated totally by the Golden Horde, and therefore led to the Russian tradition of powerful central governments. The Commerce benefits of this relationship were that trade between the east and west was strengthened making the princes of Moscow rich and powerful. At the battle of Kulikova in 1380, Princes of Moscow rose up and defeated the Golden Horde, eventually breaking the Mongol hold over Russia

II. The Mongol Drive to the West (continued) B. Mongol Incursions and the Retreat from Europe In 1240, The Mongols had made it to Europe and defeated King Bela of Hungary. C. The Mongol Assault on the Islamic Heartlands Hulegu, Another Grandson of Chinggis, controlled the Ilkhan portion of the mongol empire, in what is the Modern Day middle east. The Mongols conquered Bagdad in 1258, destroying much of the order of the Muslim world. It was in North Africa that they finally found their defeat at the hands of the Mamluk dynasty of Egypt.

III. The Mongol Interlude in Chinese History Ogedei, son of Chinggis, became the great Khan in Shortly after this the Mongol advance into China was resumed. Kubilai Khan, one of Chinggis’s grandchildren, directed the Mongol forces in china and played a pivotal role in Chinese History. Kubilai founded the Yuan dynasty and moved the capital to Tatu, which is present day Beijing. Unlike his grandfather, Kubilai did not reject civilization, and instead adopted Chinese culture as his own, attempting to “civilize” Mongol Culture :

III. The Mongol Interlude in Chinese History (continued) A. Gender Roles and the Convergence of Mongol and Chinese Culture Describe the role and rights of Mongol women: Remained aloof from Chines culture. They refused to adopt the practice of foot binding, which so limited the activites of Chinese woman. They retained their rights to property and control within the household. Explain the significance of Chabi: wife of Kubliai Khan, important confidents on political/diplomatic matters B. Mongol Tolerance and Foreign Cultural Influence Describe the importance of Mongol patronage it alowed a tolertion and extensive amount of diversity of religion around the empoire leaving the subjects open to influuence Religious toleration What religions thrived during this time? Buddhist, Christian, Daoist. Identify Marco Polo An Italian man who traveled through the Mongol empire, and went to the court of Kublia Kikan.

III. The Mongol Interlude in Chinese History (continued) D. The Fall of the House of Yuan Describe the Death of Kubilai and the events that occurred after Identify Ju Yanzhang What doe she do? E. Aftershock: The Brief Ride of Timur Identify Timur-i Lang (Tamerlane) Describe the 1360s conquests Describe eh events of 1405

Seminar topic Temujin conquered the largest land mass of any military leader in history, easily surpassing Caesar, Napoleon, Alexander the great, even Hitler. Yet only three generations later, there was very little evidence that the Mongol Empire ever existed. Why was the Mongol influence not more lasting? What attributes do you think are required for an empire to have lasting significance? Temujin conquered the largest land mass of any military leader in history, easily surpassing Caesar, Napoleon, Alexander the great, even Hitler. Yet only three generations later, there was very little evidence that the Mongol Empire ever existed. Why was the Mongol influence not more lasting? What attributes do you think are required for an empire to have lasting significance?