1. Mongols

2. The Mongols
The Mongols are a group of nomadic warrior horsemen from the Asian steppes.
They lived in tribes & were pastoral.
They rose in the 12th and 13th centuries and conquered the largest land empire in world history.

3. steppes

4. The Mongols The steppes are vast treeless plains They are semi-arid
The temperature can vary from -40 degrees to 100+ degrees, and the wind blows fairly consistently at speeds over 15 mph

5. Mongols

6. The Mongols The Mongols lived in structures called gers or yurts.
Yurts are portable and strong and withstand the weather on the steppes.

7. Mongols Exploded view of a yurt.

8. Mongols
The Mongols herded sheep, and sheep meat, or mutton, and sheep’s milk were the most important part of their diet.
They also used the wool from the sheep, and sheep dung for fuel.

9. Mongols
Depending on which part of the steppe that they lived on they relied on Camels or Oxen for carting their belongings.
One thing that is constant is their reliance on horses.
Mongols valued their horses and thought they were a gift from the heavens.
They fought on horseback, which was a huge advantage for them militarily.

10. Mongols The Mongols used the re-curved composite bow.
The bows were small and accurate at a very long range.
Mongol warriors were able to shoot while riding at full speeds at targets with accuracy up to 500 ft away.

11. Mongols Short Video Questions about film;
Why are pastoralists tougher than others?
Why are pastoralists more egalitarian?
What two things did Chinggis Khan do to gain power and popularity?
How many people on earth are descended from Chinggis Khan?
Who stopped them from conquering all of North Africa?

12. Mongols What are reasons they are awesome?
What are reasons they are bad?

13. Marco Polo’s account of the palace of the Khan
"Built for the present Great Khan, Kublai Khan, here there is a stone and marble palace with gilded rooms wonderfully decorated with magnificent and delicate paintings of birds, trees and flowers of every kind. Leading away from the palace is a wall which encloses sixteen miles of fertile ground with rivers and streams running through it. Here the Great Khan raises every sort of animal, including fallow deer and roebuck which are fed to the many gerfalcons and falcons, and at least once a week he goes to look at them. He often rides through these gardens with a leopard squatting on his horse's hindquarters…

14. Marco Polo’s account of the palace of the Khan
"In the middle of the enclosed garden there is a beautiful wood where Kublai Khan has a royal palace built of gilded and painted reed columns. On top of each column is a gilt dragon, its tail wrapped round the column and its head and outstretched paws supporting the roof…
"On 28 August the Great Khan leaves the beautiful palace. He always departs on the same day for some strange reason. He breeds snow-white horses of which he has an enormous number. He has more than 10,000 mares alone and their milk may be drunk only by people of Jenghiz Khan's lineage… So great is the respect inspired by these fine horses that no one, not even a nobleman, would dare to get in their way."