1. Mongols

2. How did Genghis Khan change the Mongol War machine?
Reorganized the military to unit to provide loyalty to the Khan
Ultimate goal: Conquest
Broke his army into units of 10,000 then broken down further within each unit
Expert cartography
Weapons: flaming/exploding arrows, gunpowder, cannons
All of this relied on the value Mongol culture placed on warfare and military honor

4. How did the Mongols rule such a large empire?
Practiced tolerance
Adopted learning from conquered civilizations
Confucian scholars helped govern China
Muslim engineers aided in weapons making
Organized law codes, strict punishments

5. Pax Mongolica Comparable to Pax Romana
Secure Eurasian trade routes re-opened
Cosmopolitan cities grew
Postal system created ease of communication
Comes to end as plague begins to spread

6. Golden Horde
Russian princes fall to tribute status, after cities such as Kiev and Vladimir resisted and are destroyed. (Novgorod saved)
Moscow re-builds, able to grow BECAUSE OF tribute status as princes require submission from territories that fail to make payments
Negative impact: Russia cut off from W. Europe for 200 years during “Renaissance”, helped Tsarist rule emerge, reduced peasants to serfdom lasting until the 19th century
Positive: military organization, independent growth

7. Yuan Dynasty Led by Kubilai Khan
Divisions between Mongols and ethnic Chinese
Chinese not allowed to learn Mongolian
Chinese women not permitted in harem
Military forces kept separate
Friendships/Marriage discouraged
Chinese participated in bureaucracy only at regional or local level
Mongol culture maintained: tent cities, religion

8. Assimilation of Chinese culture
Buddhist/Daoist teachings
Chinese ceremonial rituals
Music
Chinese calendar

9. Gender Roles
For the MAJORITY of the dynasty Mongol women retained the following rights:
Right to property
Control within the household
Freedom to move throughout the country
Hunting
Chabi: Kubilai’s favorite wife, exemplified independence of Mongol women
Growth of Neo-Confucianism leads to diminishing power of women

10. Tolerance and Foreign influence
Foreigners given placement within government: influenced policies for their own people or lands and advised Kubilai
Muslims social status fell just under the Mongols
Engineered public works
Organized tax collection
Introduced Middle Eastern inventions
Persian doctors administered medicinal advice
Tolerance for all religions: encouraged visitation from around the “world”, created diverse city centers and extended Chinese learning and innovation to west.

11. Society under the Mongols
Merchants and artisans gained in social status: Cities flourished
Traditional Chinese art (poetry, essays) fell out of favor
Entertainment (dramas, plays) grew: actors, “mean people” achieved new status
Intended to establish elementary education system
IMPACT: upset the elite, scholar-gentry.

12. Fall of the Yuan Song revolts Hostility to foreign over-lords
Idea of military invincibility lost
Kubilai’s successors lacked capacity for leadership
Emergence of rebellious sects: White Lotus Society
Chaos among factions vying for power: emergence of Ming Dynasty