1. Why historically significant?
Mongols
“The Mongols made no technological breakthroughs, founded no new religions, wrote few books or dramas”
Why historically significant?

4. Origins of the Mongols
Mongols (a.k.a. Tartars/Tatars) were a group of tribes from the steppes (open plains) of central Asia and the area that is now known as Mongolia
Originally nomadic
Excellent horsemen and archers
Stereotype: primitive and barbaric, bloodthirsty
Reality: Skilled at cultural borrowing

5. Mongolian Steppe

6. Geography of Mongolia
Steppe- Grasslands that are difficult to use for agriculture.
Dry climate,
Moderate to cold temperature.
Therefore, Mongols are nomadic.

7. The Unification of the Mongols
Before 1200, the Mongols were not joined together in a single group.
Fighting between Mongol Tribes
Disunity ends after 1200 due to the rise of a warlord named Temujin (a.k.a. Genghis Khan)

8. Impact of the Mongols
“The Mongols created a single economic, cultural, and epidemiological world system”
“for several centuries, Inner Eurasia was a pivot for world history”
Mongol Exchange
New methods of warfare
Trade from Venice to Beijing and beyond
Demographic change via the plague and major population shifts
Altered the political histories of Russia, China, Europe
Unparalleled cultural diffusion “Pax Mongolica”

9. Mongolian Culture
As they became settled, the Mongols adapted to the customs and traditions of each particular region
i.e. “Confucian Mongols” in Yuan China
“Muslim Mongols” in the Il-Khanate

10. The Mongols and Eurasian Empire
Built the largest empire in history stretching from Poland to China
“Conquering the world on horseback is easy; it is dismounting and governing that is hard”.
13.8 million square miles
100 million people
Chinggis/Genghis Khan

13. Chronology of the Mongol Empire
Reign of Chinggis Khan
Conquest of northern China (Jin)
Conquest of Persia
Conquest of Russia
1258 Capture of Baghdad
Conquest of southern China (Song)

14. The Mongol Empire at its height

15. Steppe
Inner Eurasia
Outer Eurasia

16. The Mongol Art of War Great horsemen and archers
Large, quickly moving armies (great use of horses and battle tactics “encirclement”)
“cutting edge weapons” (“flaming arrows”)
Masters at psychological warfare:
“By putting cities to the sword, they let terror run ahead of them”
John Fairbank
A “ger”

18. Strong Equestrians and Archers
The Mongols were oriented around extreme mobility. They carried their houses with them.
Mongol archers were very deadly and accurate.

19. Psychological Warfare
Genghis Khan slaughtered a few cities, in an attempt to scare all other cities to surrender without a fight. He, being a practical leader, also valued smarts more than bravery
If enemies surrendered without resistance, the Mongols usually spared their lives, and they provided generous treatment for artisans, craft workers, and those with military skills
In the event of resistance, the Mongols ruthlessly slaughtered whole populations, sparing only a few, whom they sometimes drove their armies as human shields during future conflicts

20. Another description:
The Mongols were “terrible to look at and indescribable, with large heads like buffaloes’, narrow eyes like a fledgling’s, a snub nose like a cat’s, projecting snouts like a dog’s, narrow loins like an ant’s, short legs like a hog’s, and by nature with no beards at all…” An Armenian observer

21. How did Japan resist Mongol invasion?
The Mongols attempted to invade Japan twice [1274 and 1281]
Twice they were repelled by typhoons
“Kamikaze” or “divine wind”

22. And according to one Chinese observer:
“They smell so heavily that one cannot approach them. They wash themselves in urine…”

23. China: the Yuan Dynasty 1279-1368
Most famous ruler: Khubilai Khan
Government administered by Mongols and non-Chinese advisors
Allowed religious freedom but dismantled Confucian exam system
Elevated Status of Merchants and Artisans, at expense of peasantry.
Khubilai Khan

24. Yuan Dynasty Cont’d
Exchange of science and technology common between Yuan and Il-Khan (middle east) regimes.
Population of China falls by 40% (plague, warfare, flooding of Yellow river)
Yuan Empire falls due to rebellion
The Ming Empire is established in China.

25. Painting by Liu Guandao of Khubilai Khan on a hunting
expedition, 1280

26. “Pax Mongolia?”
Under the Mongols, there was unprecedented long-distance trade
Mongols encouraged the exchange of people, technology, and information across their empire
The Mongols were “civilization’s unrivaled cultural carriers…”
Marco Polo en route to China

27. Mongol script and currency

28. Overextension and Breakdown of the Mongol Empire
Soon began to break apart after its size and power peaked
The empire’s 4 largest units became independent states

29. Shortly after Chinggis Khan’s death, his empire split
into four Khanates

30. The Domain of the Great Khan and Yuan China
Title of Great Khan (ruled over Mongolia and territories to east and southeast) went to Kublai, grandson of Genghis.
He shifted his political focus to the Yuan Empire he created in China.

31. The Golden Horde Retained control over Russia until mid 1400s
Mongols “cut” Russia off from Western Europe, causing Russia to become “backwards” when compared to the rest of Europe, particularly technologically (Missed Renaissance).
Infrastructure suffered (roads, bridges, canals) poverty due to high tax burden.
Moved capital from Kiev to Moscow
Over time, the Mongols became inhabitants of Russia, in many cases intermarrying and assimilating, converting to Christianity.

32. The Il-khans Located in Middle East Mongol Khanates converted to Islam
Rein lasted into the 1300s or 14th C
Later, the Il-Khans were weakened by attacks from their fellow Mongols
Facilitated Silk road trade from the Middle East to Europe, Central Asia, and China.
Arabic works translated into Latin, Greek, and Chinese.

33. The Chagatai Khanate
For 2.5 centuries the Jagadai Khanate controlled the Central Asia Silk Roads
Converted to Islam
Central Asian Khanate