1. Nomadic Empires and Eurasian Integration
Chapter 17
Nomadic Empires and Eurasian Integration
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2. Nomadic Economy and Society
Turkish peoples were nomadic herders; organized into clans with related languages
Central Asia's steppes: good for grazing, little rain, few rivers
Nomads and their animals; few settlements
Nomads drove their herds in migratory cycles
Lived mostly on animal products and in shelters (yurts)
Also produced limited amounts of millet, pottery, leather goods, iron
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3. Nomads in Turkmenistan
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4. Nomadic Economy and Society
Nomads and settled peoples sought trade, were prominent on caravan routes
Governance basically clan-based
Charismatic individuals become nobles, occasionally assert authority
Unusually fluid status for nobility
Hereditary, but could be lost through incompetence
Advancement for meritorious non-nobles
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5. Nomadic Economy and Society
Women wielded considerable influence
Advisors
Occasionally regents or rulers
Pagan worship
Appeal of Buddhism, Christianity, Islam,
Turkish script developed, partially to record religious teachings
Conversion to Islam in tenth century due to Abbasid influence
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6. Military Organization
Large confederations under a khan (“ruler”)
Authority extended through tribal elders
Exceptionally strong cavalries
Mobility
Speed
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8. Turkish Empires and Their Neighbors, ca. 1210 C.E.
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12. Saljuq Turks and the Abbasid Empire
Eighth to tenth centuries, Turkish peoples on border of Abbasid empire
Eventually came to dominate Abbasid caliphs
1055, Saljuq leader Tughril Beg recognized as sultan
Tughril consolidated his hold on Baghdad, to Syria, Palestine, and other parts of the realm
Abbasid caliphs served as figureheads of authority
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13. Saljuq Turks and the Byzantine Empire
1071, Saljuq Turks defeat Byzantine army in a large-scale invasion of Anatolia
Ottoman Turks conquer Constantinople in 1453
Transformed Anatolia into an Islamic society
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14. Chinggis Khan (1167-1227) and the Making of the Mongol Empire
Father prominent warrior
Mastered steppe diplomacy, elimination of enemies
Brought all Mongol tribes into one confederation
1206, proclaimed Chinggis Khan (“universal ruler”)
Broke up tribal organization
Formed military units from men of different tribes
Promoted officials on basis of merit and loyalty
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Mongol Arms
Mongol population only one million (less than 1% of Chinese population)
Army numbered 100, ,000
Mongol strategy: horsemanship, archers, mobility, psychological warfare
Rewarded enemies who surrendered, cruel to enemies who fought
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Mongol Conquests
Conquest of China by 1220
Conquest of Afghanistan, Persia
Emissaries murdered; following year, Chinggis Khan destroys ruler
Ravaged lands to prevent future rebellions
Large-scale, long-term devastation
South China was still ruled by the Song dynasty
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21. The Mongol Empires, ca. 1300 C.E.
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Khubilai Khan (r )
Division of the Mongol empires: heirs divide into four regional empires
Ruthless warrior, but religiously tolerant
Hosted Marco Polo
Established Yuan dynasty (to 1368)
Khubilai extended Mongol rule to all of China
Two attempted invasions of Japan (1274, 1281) turned back by typhoons (kamikaze: “divine winds”)
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The Golden Horde
Group of Mongols overran Russia between 1237 and 1241
Further overran Poland, Hungary, and eastern Germany,
Main objective of the Golden Horde (Russia) was to extract as much tax as possible
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26. The Ilkhanate of Persia
Abbasid empire toppled; Baghdad sacked, 1258
200,000 massacred
Persians served as ministers, governors, and local officials
Mongols only cared about taxes and order
Ilkhan Ghazan converted to Islam, 1295; massacres of Christians and Jews followed
Mongols eventually assimilated into Islamic lifestyle
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Mongol Rule in China
Strove to maintain strict separation from Chinese
Intermarriage forbidden
Chinese forbidden to study Mongol language
Imported administrators from other areas (especially Arabs, Persians)
Dismissed Confucian scholars; dismantled civil service examination
Yet tolerated religious freedoms
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28. The Mongols and Western Integration
Mongols worked to secure trade routes and ensure safety of merchants
Elaborate courier network with relay stations
Maintained good order for traveling merchants, ambassadors, and missionaries
Mongols needed skilled artisans and educated individuals from other places
Often resettled them in different locations to provide services
Uighur Turks served as clerks, secretaries, and administrators
Arab and Persian Muslims also served Mongols far from their homelands
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29. Decline of the Mongol Empire in Persia
In Persia, excessive spending and overexploitation led to reduced revenues
Failure of the ilkhan's paper money
Factional struggle plagued the Mongol leadership
The last ruler died without an heir; the ilkhanate collapsed
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30. Decline of the Yuan Dynasty in China
Mongols spend bullion that supported paper currency
Public loses confidence in paper money, prices rises
Bubonic plague in southwest China in 1330s, spread through Asia and Europe
Depopulation and labor shortage undermined the Mongol regime
By 1368, the Chinese drove the Mongols back to the steppes
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The Ottoman Empire
Large numbers of nomadic Turks migrated to Persia and Anatolia
Osman I, charismatic leader who dominates part of Anatolia
Declares independence from Saljuq sultan, 1299
Attacks Byzantine empire
Followers known as Osmanlis (Ottomans)
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Ottoman Conquests
Ottoman conquests in the Balkans in 1350s
Constantinople sacked 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
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