CHAPTERS 14-15

CHAPTER 14 The Mongol empire

Rise of the Mongol empire

Foremost, the Mongols produced a charismatic leader, Genghiz Khan, who united the Mongol tribes in a dream of conquest and expansion. Mongol tactics focused on speed and mobility. If a city quickly surrendered, they were lenient, but if it resisted, they were ruthless. When necessary, the Mongols were willing to co-opt needed talent. For instance, when they needed to lay siege to a city, they would rely on Chinese siege engineers to lay siege to Baghdad.

Advantages of the Mongol armies

Their horses allowed them to stay out of reach of the enemy, while their composite bows allowed them to rain down accurate fire.

Mongols were extremely disciplined and organized and could carry out complex plans involving encirclements, flanking maneuvers, and feigned retreats.

The Mongols were extremely mobile. Soldiers had three or four horses each, allowing them to keep up a sustained movement rate far faster than any other armies of their time.

The spread of the Mongol empire and its divisions khanate of the great khan Khanate of the golden horde ilkhanate

Trade under the Mongols

Trade under the mongols The Mongols always favored trade. Their nomadic way of life caused them to recognize the importance of trade from the very earliest times. Items and inventions such as mechanical printing, gunpowder, and the blast furnace made their way west from China. Other commodities, such as silk, could be purchased at lower prices as the travel and security costs decreased. Artistic ideas, knowledge of history, geography, and sciences such as astronomy, agricultural knowledge and medicinal ideas also traveled east to west and returned.

Mongol postal system

Mongols were wanderers by nature, so efficient communication between their leaders and officers was both vital and extremely difficult. They solved this issue by inventing an incredibly efficient postal system called Yam (or Örtöö, meaning “checkpoint”). It was a vast collection of postal stations, with dedicated messengers delivering mail, intelligence reports, and important news from station to station. These stations were about 24–64 kilometers (15–40 mi) apart, and were kept constantly staffed. At one point, there were at least 1,400 stations in China alone, and the messengers had 50,000 fresh horses at their disposal.

Mongol decline In all three regions of their great 13th-century empire, Mongol power ends or declines during the 14th century. In Persia the last Il-Khan dies in In China the Yüan dynasty is replaced by the Ming in In Russia the Golden Horde begins to lose its dominant position in the last quarter of the century. The grand prince of Moscow defeats the horde in a battle on Kulikovo Plain in 1380; Timur destroys the city of Sarai Berke in 1395.

CHAPTER 15 The west and the changing world balance

Ottomon turks

Rise of ottoman empire The Ottoman Empire began its ascent to power with the rule of Osman I in He began to build the empire. His successors were able to build on these early foundations and increase the empire through alliances, purchase, and conquest. The Ottomans were a strong military force. Much of this can be attributed to their use of modern weaponry. As new technology became available, the Ottomans replaced their archers with musket carrying soldiers. The early use of these new technologies, such as gunpowder and cannons, gave the Ottomans the advantage of might when attacking neighboring rulers.

Indian ocean trade

The Indian Ocean trade routes connected Southeast Asia, India, Arabia, and East Africa. From at least the third century BCE, long distance sea trade moved across a web of routes linking all of those areas as well as East Asia (particularly China). Long before Europeans "discovered" the Indian Ocean, traders from Arabia, Gujarat, and other coastal areas used triangle-sailed dhows to harness the seasonal monsoon winds. Domestication of the camel helped bring coastal trade goods - silk, porcelain, spices, slaves, incense, and ivory - to inland empires, as well.

Technological innovations Lateen sails astolabe rudders compass