1. And eurasian integration: The Turks and the Mongols
Nomadic empires
And eurasian integration:
The Turks and the Mongols
Chapter 18

2. Turkish migrations and Imperial expansion
Nomadic economy and society
Turkish peoples were nomadic herders;
Nomads and settled peoples sought trade, were prominent on caravan routes
Two social classes: nobles and commoners
Autonomous clans and tribes
Religions: shamans, one with supernatural powers ---- by 6th Century: they converted to Buddhism, Nestorian Christianity * Military organization
Khan ("ruler") organized vast confederation of individual tribes for expansion
Outstanding cavalry forces, formidable military power

3. Turkish empires in Persia, Anatolia, India:
Saljuq Turks and the Abbasid empire*
Lived on borders of the Abbasid realm, mid-eighth to mid-tenth centuries
Extended Turkish rule to Syria, Palestine, and other parts of the realm
Saljuq Turks and the Byzantine empire
Migrated in large numbers to Anatolia, early eleventh century
Defeated Byzantine army at Manzikert in 1071
Transformed Anatolia into an Islamic society
Ghaznavid Turks dominated northern India through sultanate of Delhi

4. Gained power over the Abbasid government
800 AD – Abbasid rulers (Islamic caliphate) hired Turkish warriors to fight in their army
Gained power over the Abbasid government
1000 AD – Turks moved from central Asia into the Middle East
Defeated the Byzantines
1095 – Pope Urban II calls for the Crusades to drive the Seljuk Turks out of Jerusalem
Skilled warriors but not strong rulers; Weakened by fighting each other for control of land
Became prey to a new nomadic invader from central Asia, the Mongols empire
Territory of the Xiongnu

5. Genghis Khan and the making of the Mongol empire
How was he able to conquer China?
Temüjin, aka, Genghis Khan ("universal ruler") unified Mongol tribes through alliance and conquests – his first goal was China
Mongol political organization (over 21 years)
new military units; broke up tribal affiliations
Mongol conquest of northern China
Genghis Khan, Mongols raided the Jurchen in north China beginning in 1211
Controlled north China by 1220
South China was still ruled by the Song dynasty

6. Mongol conquest of Persia
Genghis Khan tried to open trade and diplomatic relations with Saljuq leader Khwarazm shah, the ruler of Persia, 1218
Upon being rejected, Genghis Khan led force to pursue the Khwarazm; destroyed Persian cities and qanat
Genghis died in 1227, laid foundation for a mighty empire

7. Genghis Khan: Great Strategist
Mongol strategy: horsemanship, archers, mobility, psychological warfare
1 million population:100K -125K in army
Organized his army into units
Built catapults; created gunpowder charges
Used cruelty as a weapon: Killed the whole population of cities so that other cities would surrender quickly

8. Marco Polo at the Mongol Court
Venetian trader along w/his father and uncle, traveled by caravan on the Silk Roads arrived at court around 1275
Learned Asian languages through his travels
He served w/him for 17 years
Marco Polo visited and worked in the service of Kubilai Khan and wrote about him: 4 principal wives each with 10,000 attendants, concubines, Traveled via elephant
His experiences in China were published in The Travels of Marco Polo

9. Mongol empires after Genghis Khan
Died in 1294
Division of the Mongol empires: heirs divide into four regional empires:
Great Khan – East Asia
Changhadai – Turkestan
Perisa – il-Khans
Golden Horde – Volga River
Khubilai Khan: Genghis Khan's grandson, consolidated Mongol rule in China; Promoted Buddhism, supported Daoists, Muslims, and Christians

10. Song capital at Hangzhou fell in 1276, Yuan Dynasty founded in 1279
Conquest of southern China: Khubilai extended Mongol rule to ALL of China
Unsuccessful conquests of Vietnam, Burma, Java, and Japan**
First to allow Asian/European countries to trade
His third son, Ogedei, a talented diplomat, was chosen as grand khan.

11. The Golden Horde: Group of Mongols overran Russia between 1237 and 1241; continued with Poland, Hungary, and eastern Germany, ; captured Baghdad in 1258
Mongol rule in Persia: Persians served as ministers, governors, and local officials; levied taxes; Ilkhan Ghazan converted to Islam, 1295; massacres of Christians and Jews followed
Mongol rule in China: Outlawed intermarriage between Mongols and Chinese; difficult for upward mobility; Forbade Chinese from learning the Mongol language; Brought foreign administrators into China and put them in charge; Dismissed Confucian scholars; dismantled civil service examination; Tolerated all cultural and religious traditions in China

12. The Mongols and Eurasian integration
Established diplomatic relations with the 4 Mongol Empires and Korea, Vietnam, India, Europe
Pax Mongolica
Created an imperial library; issued paper money of universal validity; Created postal system
Granted trade opportunities to non-Chinese on thriving Silk Route trade (worked to secure trade routes)
Great Khan & emperor of China extended empire from the Pacific Ocean through Turkestan & Tibet to Russia

13. Decline of the Mongols in Persia and China
Conquered areas were too big
Political infighting weakened them
Mongols didn’t introduce any culture
Mongols were fighters, not leaders
Paper money lost value
Collapse of the ilkhanate
Bubonic plague
Mongol domination NEVER extended to Japan

14. After the Mongols
Tamerlane the Whirlwind ( ) built central Asian empire
First conquered Persia and Afghanistan
Next attacked the Golden Horde
At the end of the fourteenth century, invaded northern India
Ruled the empire through tribal leaders who relied on existing bureaucrats to collect taxes

15. The foundation of the Ottoman empire
Ottoman conquests in the Balkans in 1350s
Sultan Mehmed II sacked Constantinople in 1453, renamed it Istanbul
Absorbed the remainder of the Byzantine empire
During the sixteenth century, extended to southwest Asia, southeast Europe, and north Africa
Empire in place until the end of WWI (1918)
Naval trade in spices, wheat, lumber throughout the Mediterranean, Aegean, Black, Red Sea and Persian Gulf
Caravanseri(road side inn)network: assured safety for traveling merchants and envoys