The Mongols During the Middle Ages, a group of nomadic peoples called the Mongols lived in Central Asia Lived North of the Gobi Desert – its arid and harsh to live in Had few possessions other than yurts – circular tents Caused the Mongols to move around to find water and food They Trained boys and girls to ride horses - valued courage and strength Mongols were also surrounded by other tribes like the Tatars, Naimans, Merkits and the Jurchen in modern China Desired the wealth of tribes/kingdoms that were near the Silk Roads/luxury goods Silk, Gold, Jewels, Spices, etc.

Temujin and Genghis Khan Future Mongol Leader Temujin was born in 1162 A.D. His father was leader of his tribe; Temujin and his mother were mistreated by his father’s other wife’s family Temujin challenged and killed his stepbrother after attempts were made on his life – took power of his tribe clan Temujin Unified the Mongol tribes through force and negotiation He then Took the name of Genghis Khan “ruler of all” Genghis led his troops and Attacked the Jin Empire in North China and took its capital – present day Beijing Turned his attention westward and conquered the Kara Khitai (Central Asia) and Khwarazm (Muslim) Empires By 1227 A.D. - Genghis Khan’s kingdom reached from China to Eastern Persia

Mongolian Tactics Mongolian soldiers were adept riders; trained in using short bows Highly disciplined; 10 soldiers operated as a single unit Units of 10 were then group into bigger units of a thousand soldiers called tumens (similar to legions) Cavalry units were divided into heavy and light cavalry A Messenger force was created to could ride for days without stopping; even slept on their horses while riding Another unit was created to scout the terrain and prepare for/against attacks One strategy was a smaller force was used to lure enemies to the larger Mongol force Mongols also Used captured engineers to create siege weapons – towers and catapults – break through city walls Would sometimes send over decapitated heads to lower morale or diseased bodies to infect and kill off the city

Genghis Khan at Peace Genghis Khan established his capital in Karakorum, in what is now modern day Mongolia He Instituted a policy of religious tolerance throughout his empire Felt that exchange of ideas and beliefs was healthy for society He consulted scholars and engineers of Chinese and Islamic traditions to create Karakorum Ordered his soldiers to protect the Silk Road, making it safe for trade and traffic not seen since the Roman and Han empires Genghis Khan died while fighting the Tangut Empire south of the Gobi Desert in 1227 A.D. His sons and grandsons continued his legacy of conquest and took lands from Russia, the Middle East, Central Asia and Easternmost China

Kublai Khan and the Yuan Dynasty Kublai Khan, Genghis’ grandson, led his people against the Song Dynasty and defeated them in 1271 A.D. Established the Yuan Dynasty in China Instituted policy of religious tolerance; helpful towards groups that had been persecuted in China such as the Muslims and Christians Modernized trade with the West In particular, he invited members of European courts to stay Kublai’s court to exchange ideas/theories and negotiate trade Marco Polo was one such Venetian merchant who traveled with his father to Kublai’s court in 1295; wrote a book about the size and wealth of Yuan China Many Europeans refused to believe such a place didn’t exist until more merchants made their way to China physically and confirmed Beijing’s existence Supported Chinese arts and literature – classics like the Romance of the West Chamber by Wang Shifu was written at this time

Fall of the Mongols Mongolian leaders ended up alienating the Chinese people during the Yuan Dynasty They hired foreigners to the government rather than hire native born Chinese They also did away with the civil service exam system – upset the scholar bureaucrat class Mongols tried to conquer Japan, Indochina, Burma, and Java during the 1300s but most campaigns ended in failure Showed the Chinese that the Mongols were weakening Central Asian Mongol territories were conquered by Tamerlane, a Turkish conqueror who was also from Central Asia Final nail in the coffin was the Rebellion in China led by Zhu Yuanzhang, a Buddhist monk from a peasant family, in 1368 Rebellion Ousted the Mongols – established the Ming Dynasty Zhu Yuanzhang crowns himself first emperor/Hongwu of the new Ming Dynasty

Hongwu Emperor – Zhu Yuanzhang Tamerlane Hongwu Emperor – Zhu Yuanzhang

Mongols Web-Quest Student will get into pairs and get one laptop from the cart Students will look at handout for URL to type in the internet browser The required links for the assignment are: http://www.history.com/topics/genghis-khan and http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/mongols/ The assignment is divided into two sections: one section for each link Together, the students will access the links and find the information to the questions on the handout Handout is due by the end of the period

List 3-4 examples of Mongol culture in the articles The Mongols Name: Date: Period: List 3-4 examples of Mongol culture in the articles List 3-4 contributions of the Mongols List 3-4 accomplishments of Genghis Khan List 2-3 reasons the Mongol Empire fell apart