The Mongols Mongol Origins The Rise of the Mongol Empire The Decline and Fall 1.Early period of nomadism (struggle for dominance in the region by the Turkic and Mongol tribes) 2. The period of unified Mongolian State Pax Mongolica 3. Adoption of Buddhism

Genghis Khan §“Man’s highest joy is victory: to conqueror one’s enemies, to pursue them, to deprive them of their possessions, to make their beloved weep, and to embrace their wives and daughters.” From tent to palace

32 million square kilometers

1.5 million people (Yurt, Ger, Gur)

positive aspects of the Mongol conquests §Made possible and promoted commercial and cultural exchanges between global civilizations of Eastern Hemisphere §brought stable government based on precedents in Islamic and Chinese administration and religious toleration to much of Asia §provided lengthy period of peace predicated on establishment of unified law code (Yasa) at least until 1260

Mongol Origins §Nomadic horse people §N. China Grasslands §Raised horses, tended sheep §Felt tents: Yerts, Ger §Language: Altaic (Rel. To Turkic, Manchurian) §Could not marry between tribes and clans

Organization §Families-->Clans-->Tribes--> §Tribes gathered during annual migration §Chiefs elected. Based on nobility, military ability, wisdom, leadership skills §Religion: Shamanism §Nature deities, but key God is the Sky God §Sacred color: blue

Temujin: Ghengis Khan §b. 1167, son of tribal chief §Father poisoned…fled as youth §Returned as adult, avenged father, Eventually chief l By age forty had unified all Mongol tribes l Battles, alliances, ability to survive l Elected as the Great Khan l Amazing talents along with sons and grandsons

Some Questions to consider §Why did such a remarkable family, gifted and competent, arise from such an isolated area at this time? §How did the Mongols, with a total population of less than 1.5 million, conqueror such a large area and hold it for a century?

Mongol Army Tactics §All males served in army all as calalry §Organized army in “Myriads” (10,000’s) §Units within each of 1000, 100, and 10 §No one in the army was paid, though all shared to varying degrees in the booty. All contributed to a fund to take care of those too old, hurt, or sick. §Elaborate signals: every part can move in concert in battle. Flags, hand signals §Had to supply their own bows and other military equipment §Tactics: retreat, turn, flank, destroy l Armaments: horsemanship, compound bow l Reputation created paralyzing fear l By 1241: reached Poland and Hungary

Conquest §Gathering intelligence had high priority §Foreign experts and advisors, in particular Persian and Chinese §Every man carried their own supplies and had 2 horses. Ate horse blood and milk §Thousands of vassals took loyalty oaths: became commanders, ran army, ran government l Took walled cities by using Chinese siege technology l Brought Chinese engineers with them l Conquered most of Asia, Middle East, Russia

Creation of Law §YasaYasa

The Conquest of China §Genghis Khan wanted the riches of China §First secured his back: conquered Tibetan State of NW China, Manchu State (N) §Took land all the way to Peking by 1227 §Ghengis Khan died 1227 §Successors reached the Yellow River 1234 §Took all of China by 1241

Divisions at Genghis Khan’s Death §Four Khanates l Kipchak Khanate (Golden Hoarde) Russia l IlKhanate Persia l Chagatai Khanate Mongolia l Great Khanate China, Outer Mongolia, Border States, to which the others owed allegiance. Later became the Yuan Dynasty

Territory of the Mongols

Kublai Khan §Grandson of Genghis Khan §Moved capital to Peking 1261 §N. enough to stay in contact with other Khanates §S. enough to control most of China §Conquered the S. Sung by 1279

Building Projects §Too far from prosperous south to easily collect taxes l Built the Grand Canal to Beijing l Palace of the Khan: designed by Arab architects. l Summer palace: Shangtu (Xanadu) l Where a Mongol can be a Mongol l Developed hereditary succession

Chinese Rule of China: Yuan Dynasty §Originally, plundered and robbed §Learned the art of taxation §Mongols ruling elite: Highly centralized §Emperor-->Secretariat--> Roving Secretariat §Ruling minority segregated §Majority ranked according to ethnicity

Ethnic Ranking §Mongols: Top military, civilian posts §Persians, Turks, Non-Chinese nomad stock: High civil posts §N. Chinese, border people, Manchurians: Next highest posts §S. Chinese: Lowest civil posts §All records and proceedings in Uighur Turkic, than translated word by word into Chinese (sounded barbaric)

Foreign Contact l Large, multi-ethnic empire facilitated diffusion l Subject states: Persian, Arab, Russian, Turkic l Goods, art, technology and ideas spread l Chinese communities found as far west as Moscow l Printing, gunpowder, medicine diffuse west l Marco Polo

Role of Religion in Yuan China §Policy of toleration §Christianity l Kublai Khan’s mother was a Nestorian Christian l Papal Mission created Peking Archbishop and cathedral, complete with Mongol and Turkic sermon and Mongol choir boys l Wanted 100 learned Catholics to be sent by the Pope §Buddhism l Tibetan Buddhism gained 500,000 converts §Islam l Islam gained many converts. l A mosque was built in a new Islamic quarter of Peking and others built in SW China §Confucianism survived Considered a tax free religion. l No real influence at court §Most of China in the South remained unchanged

Decline and Fall §Yuan Dynasty: Shortest lived major Chinese dynasty ( ) §By the death of Kublai Khan’s son, series of weak rulers §The Khanates lose cohesion due to religious and cultural differences §Yuan Dynasty becomes more isolated

Decline and succession oChinese never really accepted as legitimate oSuccession wars between heirs and generals oHigh Taxes, Corrupt officials oPaper money controversy oYellow River changed course and flooded Grand Canal among other natural disasters oDecentralization & Rise of Warlords oLast Khan fled to Mongolia in 1368 after the Red Turbans Buddhist led revolts oZhu Yuanzhang, a Buddhist monk and member of the secret sect within the Red Lotus called the White Lotus, led the peasant rebellion oZhu Yuanzhang razed the palaces of the Mongolians in Beijing and became the first emperor as Hongwu (great martial) and named his dynasty Ming or brilliant

impact of the Mongol conquests of Russia & the Islamic heartland similar §In both cases the traditional political structure was removed and the path was smoothed for new political organization to take place. §In Russia, Kievan superiority was forever destroyed and Moscow was able to achieve political dominance among the petty kingdoms through its control of tribute and by becoming the seat of Russian Orthodoxy. l Brought the 3 areas together in the defeat of the Golden Horde l Serfdom institutionalized as tribute had to be paid §In Islamic Empires, the Abbasid dynasty was ended and the Seljuk Turks who had ruled through its appurtenances was devastated l opening the way for the rise of the Mameluks in Egypt and the Ottoman Turks in Asia Minor l Mameluks gained dominance after they slowed the advance of the Mongolians