The Mongols

Who were the Mongols?• Nomads: herd sheep and goats (food and milk)• Lived in the steppe area of Asia• Social Unit: Tribe

– Divided into kin groups who camp and herd together– Could form confederations– Leaders elected by the free men of the group– Leadership qualities: courage, forge alliances, attract dependants– Leaders could be abandoned if they grew old or lose support

• Live in round, felt tents (Yurt)• Clothing: sheepskin, boots (tanned sheep hide)• Horses are an important part of war and herding

– Learn to ride at an early age, warriors could ride for days on end

Kabul Khan

• Great grandfather of Chinggis Khan• Led Mongol alliance that defeated the army

sent by the Qin Dynasty.• Mongols suffer hard times after his death.

Temujin• Born in the 1170’s (later name is changed to

Chinngis/Ghengis Khan)• His father had built a following through

negotiating a marriage between his first born and the daughter of a stronger Mongol chief

• Father is poisoned by agents of a rival nomadic group

• Thrusts Temujin into leadership position• His camp in attacked and he is imprisoned,

escapes and rejoins his mother and brothers• Joins the camp of a friend of his fathers• Avenges insults of clan that enslaved him• Wins allies with military success• 1206: Kuriltai (meeting of Mongol chieftans)

elect him Khagan (supreme ruler)

Military Power

• Mongols are natural warriors• From youth they train to fight, ride, hunt• Mongol armies are entirely cavalry• Weapons: lances, hatchets, iron maces, short bows,

flaming and exploding arrows, gunpowder projectiles, bronze cannons

• Chinggis Khan brought organization, discipline, unity to Mongol army. Directs energy to conquest

• Immediate execution of deserters• Extensive maps created by spies

Military Power

• Tumens: Armies/fighting units– 10,000 divided into groups of 1,000, 100, 10

warriors• Commanders: train, arm, discipline the cavalry– Heavy Cavalry: lances, metal armor– Light Cavalry: bows, leather armor– Scouting Party: use flags and signal fires– Messenger Force: ride for days to deliver

messages

Early Mongol Conquest• Chinngis Khan is supreme ruler of ½ million

Mongols and 1-2 million nomads• Pleasure in making war, defeating enemies• Chinngis and Sons= men marked for destiny

(warriors born to conquer the world)• Early Campaigns:– Tangut Kingdom of the Xi Xia, force ruler to declare

himself vassal– Qin Empire of the Jurchens

• Face large fortified cities (battering rams, catapults, bamboo rockets)

Conquest

• Conquered people would be slaughtered or sold into slavery– Surrender: not killed, paid heavy tribute

• Homes, palaces, mosques, temples destroyed• Famous scholars are spared (advisors/special

skills)• Toleration of religions

Assault on the Islamic World• Mongols begin to move west against Kara Khitai• Chinngis Khan sends envoy to demand the submission of

Muhammad Shah II ruler of the Khwarazm Empire.– He kills some of the envoy, shaves heads of other sends back to

Chinngis– This results in overwhelming war

• Cavalry attacks, retreats to draw out opposing forces, the concealed Mongol forces then attack in a pincer formation

– Muhammad Shah II kingdom is destroyed within 2 years, he dies on an island in Caspian Sea

• Allows Chinngis to bring Turkish horsemen into his armies• By 1227, Mongols rule an empire from E. Persia to N. China

Sea

Life under the Mongols• Tolerant rulers• Chinggis Khan: devoted to new ideas and building a world where diverse people

could live together• Took interest in their art and learning• Karakorum: new Mongol capital, brings wise and clever to consult with them

– Confucian scholars: about how to rule China– Muslim engineers: siege weapons and trade– Daoist holy men: elixir to make him immortal

• Shamanistic: focus on nature spirits, belief in ancestors• Religion is tolerated• Administrative framework used talents of Muslim and Chinese bureaucrats• Script for Mongolian language developed• Conquests actually bring peace to conquered regions (Pax Mongolica)• Prosperity:

– Handicraft, art, scholarship– Trade routes

Death of Chinngis Khan• 1226, turns attention to the east with army of 180,000

– Routes Tangut army, take Xi Xia Dynasty• Chinngis Khan falls ill (had been previously injured months

earlier)• Dies in August of 1227• Body taken back to Mongolia for burial, kill every human

and animal in their path• Mongol Empire:

– Divided between Chinngis Khan’s three sons and Batu (grandson) (KHANATES)

– Ogedei (third son) elected grand khan (good diplomat and manipulator)

– Leads further expansion

Conquests of the Golden Horde

• Conducted under Ghengis Khan’s grandson Batu• Focus: Russia and Europe

– - Russia: made up of petty kingdoms, trading cities (Novgorod, Kiev)• No ruling power is willing to rally the Russians to protect, decide to go it alone

= defeat• 1236, Batu takes 120,000 Cavalry into the Russian heartlands

– Called Tartars (people from hell)– Conduct the only successful winter invasion in Russian history– Cities fall (Ryzan, Moscow, Vladimir) those that resist are destroyed– Mongols withdraw, Kiev and Novgorod are spared– Winter 1240, Mongols return to loot and burn Kiev– Novgorod is “miraculously” spared (Prince Alexander Nevskii submits

to Mongol demands

Mongols Dominate Russia

• Russia endures two and a half centuries of Mongol rule• Become vassals of the Golden Horde• Peasants suffer the most (give crops and labor to princes

and Mongols)• Peasants flee out of fear or become serfs for protection.• Russian towns profit from trade- Moscow

– As Moscow strengthens, Golden Horde weakens– Moscow becomes defender of Russia, forms alliances

• Battle of Kulikova– Mongol hold is broken when alliances defeat the Golden Horde

• Mongols leave lasting influence:– Military, politics, protection from W. Europe

The Mongols and Europe

• Some in Europe believe that Genghis Khan is the mythical Prestor John– Christian monarch who was cut off from Europe by Muslim conquest– Legend: He would strike Muslims from behind and rejoin Europe

• Mongol defeat of Muslim Khwarazm gives people in Europe “proof” of his existence

– The Mongol attack on Orthodox Russia proves them wrong• European monarchs don’t realize the Mongol threat

– King Bala-Hungary• Mongols ask him to release nomads hiding in Hungary, he doesn’t do it• Leads to Mongol invasion of 1240

– Mongols defeat Christian Knights and King Henry of Silesia• These events open the doors of Europe to future Mongol invasions

– Europe prepares for invasions, but the Mongols disappear• Death of Ogedei and the struggle for succession

– Conquest never resumes in Europe

Mongol Assault on Islamic Heartland• After conquest of Kwarazm Empire only a matter of time until more

conquest of Islamic areas of Mesopotamia and N. Africa• These areas are the focus of Hulegu (Grandson of Ghengis and ruler of

Ilkahnate)– 1258: capture and destroy Baghdad

• Abbasid Caliph and 800,000 killed in retribution for resistance• Ends the Abbasid Dynasty

– Muslim historians treat the coming of Mongols as one of the greatest catastrophes in the history of Islam.

• Mamluk (Slave) Dynasty– From Egypt– Commander of Egyptian forces: Baibars

• Sold into slavery by Mongols, rose to power through military service– Muslim victory relied upon the cooperation of Christians who allowed Muslims

to pass through their crusader territories in Palestine.• Hulegu is in a succession struggle, when the battle occurs. Forces him to

reconsider plans for conquest of the Muslim world.– Berke (Hulegu’s cousin) Khan of the Golden Horde who had converted to Islam

threatens Hulegu– Hulegu decides to settle for the Kingdom he already ruled

Mongol Advance into China• Kubilai Khan directs Mongol forces (Genghis Khan’s

grandson)• China was tough to conquer (many fortified cities)• 1260, Kubilai Khan becomes the Great Khan• Changes the name of Mongol regime to Yuan Dynasty• Keeps distinction between Chinese and Mongols

through laws– Chinese scholars cannot learn Mongol script– Mongols cannot marry ethnic Chinese– Only nomad women chosen for imperial harem– Friendships discouraged– Separate military– Mongol religious ceremonies and customs retained

• Surrounds himself with Chinese advisors (Buddhist, Daoist, Confucian)

• Capital- Tatu (Beijing)• Introduces Mongols to Chinese rituals, music, adopts

the Chinese calendar, ignores request to restate the civil service exam

• Social Structure: Mongols, Asian nomadic and Muslim allies (hold offices of bureaucracy), North Chinese, ethnic Chinese, minorities of the south.

Gender Roles in China• Mongol women don’t adopt Chinese

ways– Refuse foot binding– Retain property rights and control of

household– Free to move about– Ride to hunt with husband at head of party

• Chabi- Kubilai’s wife and most important advisors– Promotes Buddhist interests in the

government– Fosters policies aimed at reconciling the

majority ethnic population to Mongol rule– Tells husband that harsh treatment of the

Song imperial family will make the Chinese more difficult to rule

– Shares respect for culture with husband

Mongol Tolerance and Influence• Attract scholars, artists, artisans, office seekers to Yuan court• Persians and Muslims are welcomed as high ranking members of

society, join inner circle as advisors and administrators• Muslims: design buildings, create efficient tax system• Persian Astronomers: conduct celestial observations, correct the

Chinese calendar, make accurate maps• Muslim Doctors: run hospitals, translate medical guides• Travelers and emissaries welcomed• Show interest in religion and tolerate beliefs• Marco Polo- Venetian traveler, serves as administrator for Kubilai

for 17 years.– Writes book about the wonders of the empire.

MARCO POLO VIDEO

Social Policies• Chinese view Mongols as barbarians and a threat to Chinese

traditions• Mongol preference to foreign officials and refusal to restart civil

service exam limits power of Confucian scholars.• Artisan and merchant classes are bolstered.• Poetry and essay writing suffer• Musical dramas flourish (The Romance of the West Chamber)

– Actors, actresses, playwrights, merchants no longer seen as the “Mean” people

• Help peasant class– Prevent farmland from becoming pasture for horses– Restores granaries for times of famine– Reduces taxes– Attempts to create education system

Fall of Yuan• Kubilai and successors rule for almost nine decades• Problems:

– Revolts by Song loyalists in the South– Growing hostility to foreign overlords– Failure of military to take Japan– Poor rule after death of wife and son

• Successors lack leadership– Problems caused by government's inability to stop pirates and bandits– Famine– White Lotus Society: secret religious sect dedicated to the overthrow

of the dynasty– General chaos sets in as the dynasty begins to dissolve– Mongols retreat to Central Asia– Ju Yuanzhang (from a poor peasant family) founds the Ming Dynasty

Timur-i Lang• Timur-i Lang (Timur the Lame)

leader of the Turkish nomads who begins conquest through Asia and Europe– Came from noble land-owning

clan– Highly cultured in arts,

architecture, scholarship– Ruthless conqueror, barbaric

conquests• Pyramids of skulls as warning• Spared artisans and scientists

– His rule does not increase trade, bring peace

– Rule was brief