Section 3 The Mongol Empire Chapter 12 Section 3 The Mongol Empire

Beginning a New Dynasty Kublai Khan grandson to Genghis 1260 - became the Great Khan Became emperor of China and called his dynasty the Yuan Dynasty United China for 1st time in 300 years Opened China up to more foreign contacts Enjoyed living in luxury, built new palace in Beijing, wanted to leave mark as emperor of China

Failure to Conquer Japan After China, Kublai Khan tried to get Japan In 1274 and 1281 sent huge fleets to Japan The 1281 invasion was the largest in history until WW II After 53 days of fighting a typhoon hit and sank Mongol ships Called it the kamikaze, “divine wind”

The Mongols and the Chinese Mongols lived apart from Chinese, obeyed different laws High offices went to Mongols or foreigners, no Chinese, but tried to get many local officials as possible Kublai Khan restored the Grand Canal and extended it 135 miles

Marco Polo at the Mongol Court Marco Polo – most famous European to visit China (from Venice) served Kublai for 17 years going on government missions 1292 - Went back to Venice, got captured and imprisoned where he wrote of his time in China Wrote about the burning of “black stones” in homes Another prisoner put together the stories in book, few people thought it was true

Yuan Dynasty Overthrown Kublai Khan dies in 1294 In an 8 year period, four different khans took the throne In 1368, Chinese rebels overthrew the Mongols New rulers become the Ming Dynasty

Decline of the Mongol Empire By the time the Yuan Dynasty fell, most of the Mongol Empire had fallen as well The Mongols in Persia fell in the 1330s, in Central Asia in the 1370s Only the Mongol hordes in Russia (the Golden Horde) were still around (fell in 1480)

Section 4 Feudal Powers in Japan Chapter 12 Section 4 Feudal Powers in Japan

The Growth of Japanese Civilization Close to China = great Chinese influence on Japan About 4,000 islands Most people live on the 4 largest islands (Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu) Few natural resources, such as coal and oil Limited farmable land

cont Not a united country, divided up into clans Each clans believed in own gods Beliefs later got combined into Japan’s earliest religion called Shinto Main ideas are respect for nature and the worship of ancestors Yamato clan took over in the 400’s, claimed related to sun goddess, started to call themselves emperor

Japanese Culture By 400s, contact between China and Japan grew Buddhism from China reached Japan Japan adapted Chinese writing system Japan used China’s government as a model Still held on to its own traditions

Life in the Heian Period The Heian period was from 794-1185 Heian was the new capital for the imperial court Art and good manners formed the center of their lives Best accounts of Heian society come from the writings of women of the court Lady Murasaki’s – The Tale of Genji (world’s first novel)

Feudalism Erodes Imperial Authority By 11 century the power of central government slipped Large landowners living away from the capital set up private armies For protection, farmers gave up some of their land to the lords This is the start of the feudal system in Japan

Cont Each lord had a group of trained soldiers called samurais Samurai followed a strict code of behavior called the Bushido

Cont After 30 years of fighting, the Minamoto family defeated another powerful clan The emperor gave a Minamoto member the title of shogun (military dictator) Emperor remained in power by name The shogun ran the country This pattern lasted from 1192 - 1868