1. So why are they historically significant?
Do Now: Mongol Empire
“The Mongols made no technological breakthroughs, founded no new religions, wrote few books or dramas”
So why are they historically significant?

2. Pre-Mongol Eurasia

3. The Mongol Empire at its height

4. 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

5. Chronology of the Mongol Empire
Reign of Chinggis Khan
Conquest of northern China
Conquest of Persia
Conquest of Russia
1258 Capture of Baghdad
Conquest of southern China

6. The Mongols and Eurasian Empire
Built the largest empire in history stretching from Poland to China
13.8 million square miles
100 million people
Chinggis/Genghis Khan

8. The Mongol Empire at its height

9. Who were the Mongols? From the steppes of eastern central Asia
Nomadic peoples
United under the leadership of Temujin a.k.a Chinggis Khan
“Courage Cultures”
(TEH – moo – jeen)

10. Steppe
Inner Eurasia
Outer Eurasia

11. Mongol Conquests (1206-1258) Temujin (TEH-moo-jeen)
Declared himself: Genghis Khan (b. 1162; r )
Really: Чингис Хаан, Chinggis Khaan = “Ocean King”
United Mongol tribes
Used Tengri - the Sky-God - to justify his rule

12. The Mongol Art of War Great horsemen and archers
Large, quickly moving armies
“cutting edge weapons”
Masters at psychological warfare
Combined various types of armed force: mounted archers, lancers, engineers, rockets, and smoke.

16. Rulers of the Mongol Empire
1206–1227: Chinggis Khan
1227–1241: Ogedei Khan
1246–1248: Guyuk Khan
1251–1259: Mongke Khan
1260–1294: Khubilai Khan (Partially recognized)
1227  Chinggis dies, Mongol leaders return to Karakorum for kuriltai (military council)

17. Khanates emerge after Chinggis’ death

18. 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
Khubilai Khan

19. Yuan Dynasty: Effects of the Mongols
Mongol domination caused various effects in East Asia:
Recentralization of China, trade, and government
Prosperity in the cities, poverty in the countryside
Extraction of wealth for benefit of Mongol khans

20. 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”
Inspiration for WWII kamikaze

21. Mongol Empire’s Impact on Eurasia
Movement of peoples, trade, ideas across Eurasia
New innovations and ideas reached Europe (without the military devastation); increased European interest in the East
Brought new peoples to power: rise of Turkic dominance in the Muslim world (Ottomans, Delhi Sultanate), and new elites in the Slavic world
Created the first (and only) foreign dynasty in China
Opened the path for the plague

22. The nominally independent Khanates ~1300 CE
Eventually all would fall to infighting
Last of the Khanates would be conquered by Russia in the 17th-18th centuries

23. Discussion Question: For you, which of the following was the most important contribution of the Mongol Empire to world history?
They constructed the largest Eurasian empire to date.
They destroyed a series of well-established empires.
They fostered trade, the spread of disease, and the exchange of crops and technology across Eurasia.
The disruption of trade caused by the collapse of their empire provided an important incentive for Europeans to take to the seas in an effort to secure sought-after Asian goods.

24. Pre-Mongol Eurasia

25. Discussion Question: Regarded as a whole, was the Mongol impact on world history more positive or negative?
The Mongol impact on world history was more positive than negative.
b. The Mongol impact on world history was more negative than positive.