Download The Mongols

The Mongols
Genghis & Kublai Khan
• Mongol horses were small, but their riders were
lightly clad and they moved with greater speed.
• These were hardy men who grew up on horses
and hunting, making them better warriors than
those who grew up in agricultural societies and
cities.
• Their main weapon was the bow and arrow. And
the Mongols of the early 1200s were highly
disciplined, superbly coordinated and brilliant in
tactics.
Mongols were nomadic
people
• Genghis Khan- born Temüjin, was the
founder and Great Khan(emperor) of the
Mongol Empire, which became the
largest contiguous empire in history
• He came to power by uniting many of the
Mongol nomadic tribes
• He devotes himself to conquest. Mongols
invades China
• They encounter gunpowder; and the fire
lance which evolves into the cannon
• The Mongol Empire eventually occupied
a substantial portion of Central Asia,
Russia and Middle East
• Genghis Khan embraced the diversity of his newly
conquered territories.
• He passed laws declaring religious freedom for all and
even granted tax exemptions to places of worship.
• This tolerance had a political side—the Khan knew
that happy subjects were less likely to rebel
• They did this through extracting tribute and obedience
• Genghis divided his empire among his sons and
grandsons into several khanates (sub-territories)
• Their khans were expected to follow the Great Khan,
who was initially Genghis’ son
Khanates
• He claimed the title of Khan of the Mongol
Empire in 1260 after the death of his older
brother
• Was a prominent Mongol ruler in the 13th
century and the founder of the Yuan Dynasty.
Kublai Khan
Grandson of Genghis
Khan
• Kublai Khan’s control opened China up to more trade and
foreign contact
• Enjoyed living in luxury as Chinese emperor
• Attempted to take over Japan but Japanese might and
weather halted the invasion
• Kublai Khan improved the Grand Canal and added 135
miles to it
• He adopted the Chinese political system and used
Chinese bureaucrats
Kublai Khan
• Neo-Confucianism was an attempt to create a more
rationalist and secular form of Confucianism by rejecting
superstitious and mystical elements of Daoism and
Buddhism
• Buddhism was a foreign religion and its monasteries had
gained land, serfs and power over the elites
• Neo-Confucians claimed they had become corrupt
Buddhism vs. Confucianism
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Poetry was the main form of literature
Over 48,000 were poems written
Li Bo & Duo- Fu were the most popular
Nature, joy of friendship and free spirit were the favorite
subjects
• Painting – void of bright colors
• Ceramics – porcelain
Golden age of art & literature
• Kublai Khan’s armies and navies suffered many defeats at
a huge expense of lives and equipment
• Heavy spending on wars, public works, and Yuan luxuries
over burdened the treasury and overtaxed citizens
• When Kublai Khan died his successors were inept at
ruling the dynasty
• In 1368 Chinese rebels finally overthrew the Mongols
• The Ming Dynasty was be established
• The fall of the Yuan came the disintegration of the
Mongol empire in Asia
• Japan was on the rise
The End of Mongol Rule in China