1. Chapter XII Mongol Eurasia & its aftermath 1200-1500
(Region 3)
(Region 6)
(Region 1)

2. REMEMBER!!! Mongols, Chapter 12 Rise to Power in the 1200’s

3. James Rollins, ‘The Eye of God’
Chapter XII Quote
“Despite his image as a bloody tyrant, Genghis was also forward thinking. His empire had the first international postal system, invented the concept of diplomatic immunity, & even allowed women in its councils. But more importantly, the Mongols were also unprecedented in their religious tolerance.”
James Rollins, ‘The Eye of God’

4. Mr. Whitaker’s Quote “Genghis Khan was Attila the Hun on steroids!
He was a ruthless killer who lusted after Gold, Conquest, & Power. Whatever he did enabled more power & gold. He & his descendants were tolerant, only after killing everyone in their way & doing whatever it took to expand & grow richer.”
(What does a nomad, living in a tent spend money on?)

5. Chapter Objectives:
- Nomadic Groups on the Steppes, Geographical challenges?
- Genghis Khan (Temujin) His military Superiority?
- Disruption & Restoration of Trade Routes?
- The effects of the Bubonic Plague?
- Mongols vs. Islam & others?
- Cultural Advances?
- Mongols overthrow China (Yuan) – effects?
- Ming Empire overthrows Mongols in China - reassert Sea Power
- Technologically, Japan & Korea surpass Ming, how?
- Ming Cultural achievements?
- Japan stops Mongol invasions, How?
- Changes from Kamakura to Ashikaga Shogunate?

6. Nomadism in
Central &
Inner Asia

7. The Steppes

8. The Mongols Nomadic groups depended on scarce water & pasture resources - Mongol groups were strongly hierarchical headed by a single leader or khan - Powerful Mongol groups demanded & received tribute in goods & in slaves from those less powerful. Some groups were able to live almost entirely on tribute - Mongols formed complex federations often tied together by marriage alliances - Women often ran the community between the death of rulers - Seasonal movements brought them into contact with many religions; they viewed all religions as subservient to their Sky God & employed shamans

9. Mongol Conquests

10. The Steppes

11. Temujin - Genghis Khan (supreme leader or Great Khan)
Conquered North China (Jin), headed west to Caspian Sea
Sons/grandsons extended empire, largest EVER!

12. Reasons for Mongol dominance
Superior horsemanship, better bows, technique of volley of arrows with deadly cavalry charge
Learned new techniques, new military technology, incorporated non-Mongol soldiers into their armies as they conquered
Reputation for slaughtering all who would not surrender
Ability to take advantage of rivalries among enemies
Tolerance for other Religions

13. Overland Trade & the Plague
Mongol conquests opened overland trade routes & brought about an unprecedented commercial integration of Eurasia
Growth of long-distance trade under the Mongols led to significant transfer of military & scientific knowledge among Europe, the Middle East, China, Iran, & Japan
Diseases including the Bubonic Plague also spread over the trade routes of the Mongol Empire, eventually making it to the Mediterranean world

14. The Mongols & Islam

15. Mongol Rivalry
Il-Khan Mongol Empire (Persia) vs Khanate of the Golden Horde (Russia)
Il-Khan initially Buddhist/shamanism
Golden Horde under Batu adopted Islam (mostly Turkic peoples)
European leaders attempted to make alliance with non-Muslim Il-Khan
Ghazan converted to Islam in 1295, easing tensions between the two

16. Tax farming system was created to raise revenue
Over-taxation led to poverty & bankrupt farmers
Government take over of land & use of paper money led to prolonged depression
Il-khan fragmented as Mongols fought each other
Golden Horde dismembered the Il-Khan Empire
Timur (Tamerlane) built the Jagadai Khanate in Central & Western Eurasia as the Il-Khan & Golden Horde Empire declines
Timur’s descendants, the Timurids, ruled the Middle East for several generations

17. Culture & Science in Islamic Eurasia

18. Literature: Historian Juvaini wrote 1st comprehensive
account of the rise of the Mongols under Genghis Khan
Rashid al-Din, a Jew converted to Islam who served as
adviser to the Il-Khan ruler, was a good example of the
cosmopolitan Mongol world
Astronomical innovations: epicycles to explain the
movement of the moon around the earth
Mathematics: Adapted the Indian numerical system,
decimals for fractions, & more accurate pi
Advances in science, astronomy, & mathematics passed
on to Europe, speeding development there

19. Russia and Rule from Afar
After defeating Kievan Rus, Golden Horde made their capital at the mouth of the Volga, the end of the overland caravan route from Central Asia
Mongols ruled Russia “from afar,” leaving the Orthodox Church in place & using Russian princes as their agents. The main goal of Golden Horde (& other Mongols) was to extract as much tax as possible from their subjects
Prince Alexander Nevskii of Novgorod assisted Mongols in taking Russia, Moscow became the new center for the Russians
Russian government did not change much under Mongol rule
Ivan III ended Mongol rule in 1480 & adopted the title of Tsar
(Czar)

20. New States in Eastern Europe & Anatolia
Mongols attacking Europe included Turks, Chinese, Iranians, & Europeans, led by Mongol generals
After Mongol withdrawal, Europeans tried a variety of diplomatic & trade offers to the Mongols
Contact between Europeans & Mongols increased through the 13th century, brought knowledge of geography, natural resources, commerce, science, technology & mathematics
Mongol invasions & Bubonic Plague caused Europeans to question their accepted customs & religious beliefs
The Ottomans, established in eastern Anatolia in the 1300s kept in check by the Timurids, expanded eastward in the 1400’s & conquered Constantinople in 1453

21. The Yuan Empire, 1279–1368
Grandson Khubilai Khan not accepted as Great Khan, but established Yuan Empire in China
He understood & practiced Chinese traditions of government. He constructed a Chinese-style capital at Beijing
Tax farming led to over-taxed & brutalized peasants
The Mongols unified the Tangut, Jin, & Southern Song
Under the Yuan hierarchical system, Confucians had a weak role, while the status of merchants & doctors was elevated.
Under Mongol rule, China’s cities & ports prospered, trade recovered, & merchants flourished.
Mercantile economy led Chinese gentry elite to move to cities
Rural areas: cotton growing, spinning, & weaving introduced
China’s population declined by as much as 40%, northern China had greatest loss of population; Yangzi Valley saw increase
(Region 3)

22. Fall of the Yuan Empire
In 1368, Chinese leader Zhu Yuanzhang overthrew the Mongols & established the Ming Empire
Mongols continued control in Mongolia, Turkestan, & Central Asia, enabling disruption of the overland Eurasian trade & threaten the Ming dynasty
Ming Empire also threatened on its NE border by the Jurchens of Manchuria
Jurchens, influenced by Mongolian culture, posed a significant threat to the Ming by the late1400s.

23. The Early Ming Empire, 1368-1500 Ming China on a Mongol Foundation
Former monk/soldier/bandit, Zhu Yuanzhang established Empire
Rejected Mongol culture, closed trade with Central Asia & Middle East, reasserted primacy of Confucian ideology
Continued institutions & practices introduced by Yuan Dynasty:
Provincial structure maintained close control over local affairs
Hereditary professional categories
Mongol calendar
Beijing as capital
Between 1405 & expeditions to S.E. Asia & Indian Ocean under the Muslim eunuch admiral Zheng He!
Reestablished trade links with Middle East & brought SE Asia under Chinese control, or at least its influence

24. Columbus’ Ship

25. Ming China on a Mongol Foundation
Zheng He’s retraced routes largely known to China
Voyages added ~ 50 countries to China’s list of tributaries
No significant increase in long-distance trade & the voyages were, overall, not profitable – More gifts than collections!
The need to use limited resources for other projects, including coastal defense against Japanese pirates & defense of the northern borders against the Mongols ended the trips
The end of Zheng He voyages not the end of Chinese seafaring: but the end of the state’s organization & funding large-scale expeditions

26. Ming Technology & Population
The Ming saw less technological innovation than the Song; in the area of metallurgy, China lost knowledge making high-quality bronze & steel
Reasons for slowdown in technological innovation included:
High cost of metals & wood
Revival of civil service exams, rewarding scholarship & administration
Labor glut
Lack of pressure from technologically sophisticated enemies
Fear of technology transfer
Korea & Japan moved ahead of China in technological innovation. Korea excelled in firearms, shipbuilding, meteorology, & calendar making, while Japan surpassed China in mining, metallurgy, & novel household goods

27. Ming Achievements
Ming was period of great wealth, consumerism, & cultural brilliance
One aspect of Ming popular culture was the development of vernacular novels like Water Margin & Romance of the Three Kingdoms.
Ming also known for its porcelain making & for other goods, including furniture, lacquered screens, & silk

28. Centralization & Militarism in East Asia, 1200-1500
Korea from the Mongols to the Yi, 1231–1500
Korea resisted Mongol invasions but gave up in 1258 when the king surrendered & joined his family to Mongols by marriage
Falling under the influence of the Mongols, Korea profited from exchange with Yuan technologies: cotton, gunpowder, astronomy, calendar making, & celestial clocks
Koryo collapsed after fall of the Yuan, replaced by Yi dynasty. Like the Ming, Yi reestablished local identity & restored the status of Confucian scholarship but kept Mongol administrative practices & institutions
Technological innovations of the Yi period include the use of moveable type in copper frames, meteorological science, local calendar, use of fertilizer, & engineering of reservoirs. Growing cash crops, particularly cotton, became common during the Yi period
Koreans were innovators in military technology: Patrol ships with cannons, gunpowder arrow-launchers, & armored ships

29. Political Transformation in Japan, 1274–1500
1st unsuccessful Mongol invasion in 1274 made Kamakura Shogunate develop greater sense of unity, Shogun took steps to centralize planning & preparation for the expected second assault
2nd Mongol invasion (1281) defeated by Japanese defensive preparations & a typhoon. Kamakura continued to prepare for further invasions: warrior elite consolidated their position in Japanese society, trade & communication within Japan increased, but Kamakura’s resources strained by expense of preparations
Kamakura destroyed in civil war, Ashikaga Shogunate established in 1338
Ashikaga characterized by a relatively weak shogun state and strong provincial lords who sponsored development of markets, religious institutions, schools, & increased agricultural production
The delicate artistry and the simple elegance of architecture and gardens were influenced by the popularity of Zen Buddhism, which emphasizes meditation over ritual
After the Onin War of 1477, caused by conflict over succession upon Yoshimasa’s retirement, the shogunate exercised no power & provinces were controlled by independent regional lords who fought with each other. Regional lords carried out trade with continental Asia

30. The Emergence of Vietnam, 1200–1500
Vietnam divided between two states: Chinese-influenced Annam in the north & Indian-influenced Champa in the south
Mongols extracted tribute from both states, but with the fall of the Yuan Empire, they began to fight with each other
The Ming ruled Annam through a puppet government for almost thirty years in the early 15th century until the Annamese threw off Ming control in 1428
By 1500, Annam had completely conquered Champa & established a Chinese-style government over all of Vietnam

31. Conclusion Trade between China & Europe received active Mongol
stimulation through the protection of routes & encouragement of
industrial production
Mongols ruled with unprecedented openness, employed
talented people irrespective of their linguistic, ethnic, or religious
affiliations, generating an exchange of ideas, techniques, &
products across the breadth of Eurasia
Where Mongol military activity reached its limit of expansion, it
stimulated local aspirations for independence
In China, Korea, Annam, & Japan the threat of Mongol attack
& domination encouraged centralization of government,
improvement of military techniques, & renewed stress on local
cultural identity