Download Effects of the Mongols Lecture Background Chronology – 1206

Effects of the Mongols Lecture
Background
Chronology –
1206-1227
1211-1234
1219-1221
1237-1241
1258
1264-1279
Geography (see maps)
Reign of Chinggis Khan
Conquest of northern China
Conquest of Persia
Conquest of Russia
Capture of Baghdad
Conquest of southern China
The Mongols and the Eurasian Empire
Built the largest empire in history stretching from Poland to China
13.8 million square miles
100 million people under Mongol Rule
Who were the Mongols?
From the central steppes of Asia
Nomadic peoples
United under the leadership of Temujin (a.k.a Chinggis Khan or Genghis Khan)
“Courage Culture” – honor and prestige earned through performance in battle,
culture revolves around acts of bravery, endurance, and strength
Temujin
Born 1167
Orphaned – father poisoned by rival clans. Throughout early adult life, sought
revenge for his father’s death
“Master of the art of steppe diplomacy” – courage in battle, making alliances,
threats of revenge, deception and trickery, clan loyalty
Warlike and merciless: Fighting wasn’t enough, only winning was important
“Man’s greatest joy is in victory: to conquer one’s enemies, to pursue
them, to deprive them of their possessions, to make their beloved weep,
to ride on their horses, and to embrace their wives and daughters…”
1206 – Made “Chinggis Khan” or Great Khan or Great Leader
Mongol art of war
Large, mobile armies
Expert cavalry - Mongols were great horsemen
Use of mounted archers
All soldiers rode horses
Battle tactics – used deceit as a tactic – pretend to flee from an enemy to draw
them into a trap
“Cutting edge weapons”
Accurate and powerful bows (Mongolian re-curved bow)
Highly protective leather shields and armor
Use of gunpowder as a weapon in battle
Psychological Warfare
Would slaughter the inhabitants of a few cities so word would spread to
inhabitants of nearby cities who would more likely surrender rather than
be killed
Historian John Fairbank: “By putting cities to the sword, they let
terror run ahead of them”
A Persian observer from the 13th century: “In one stroke, a
world which billowed with fertility was laid desolate, and the
regions thereof became a desert, and the greater part of the living
and their skin and bones crumbling in the dust; and the mighty
were humbled and immersed in the calamities of perdition…”
After the death of Chinggis Khan, problems with succession left the Mongol Empire split
into 4 Khanates (see map)
Effects of Mongol Rule –
Effects on Eurasia
Pax Mongolia
Under the Mongols there was:
Unprecedented long distance trade
Widespread exchange of people, technology, and information
Widespread cultural diffusion – Mongols were conduits of
culture
Stable government based on Islamic and Chinese administration
systems
Establishment of a unified law code (Yasa)
More religious toleration within the Mongol Empire
Black Plague
Use of plague victims as siege weapons at the Battle of Kalla on the
Crimean Peninsula, helped to spread the disease to Western Europe
(Black Sea merchants spread it to the Mediterranean sea ports)
But the Mongols did NOT produce:
Any technological breakthroughs
A new religion
Many written books
Any permanent structures (other than bridges)
Any architectural achievements
Effects on Europe
Western Europe
Mongols turned away from Western Europe so it was not directly
affected by the Mongol invasions
Gained tremendously due to contact of merchants and exchange of
diplomatic and religious envoys
Strong relationship between Venetian merchants and Mongols, led to
Venice becoming the focal point of trade between East and West
Increased trade along the Silk Routes also spread disease (e.g. the
plague) to Western Europe
Eastern Europe
Mongols defeated the Germans, Poles, Bulgars, and Hungarians because
their lands were flat and grassy (steppe horse culture)
Eastern Europe though was very poor so the Mongols didn’t really desire
much so Eastern Europe was largely untouched by Mongol rule
Russia
Mongol defeat of Kiev Russia in 1224 puts the people of Russia under
Mongol rule
Most cities were destroyed and the ones that were spared had to pay high
tributary payments to Mongol rulers
But – local Russian rulers were very autonomous as there were very few
Mongol officials in Russia
As long as regular tribute payments were sent, the Mongols left
the Russian principalities alone (INDIRECT RULE)
Mongol destruction of Kievan power leads to the rise of the state of
Muscovy (Moscow)
Becomes a cultural and economic center
Its ruler, Ivan III, finally defeats the Mongols in 1480 and
Mongol rule over Russia ends
Mongol rule limited Russian interaction with Western Europe
Keeps Russia isolated from the cultural developments of the
European Renaissance
End of Mongol rule causes a period of cultural decay in Russia
except in northern Russia
Effects on Japan and Korea
Mongols failed to conquer Japan
Tried to invade on two occasions – both times Mongol invasion
fleet was turned back (kamikaze – divine wind)
Little to no effect on Japan
Korea - Mongols defeated the Koryo dynasty
Economy and peasant suffered (forced labor)
Koryo family left in charge but Mongols forcibly arranged
marriages to legitimize their rule and to Mongolize the ruling
family
Effects on SE Asia
Mongols conquered Burma and Laos but become tributary states (no
direct rule)
Failed to conquer Vietnam
Disease, supply shortages, climate, and Vietnamese resistance
Mongols encouraged Chinese merchants to emigrate to SE Asia and
establish trading stations in foreign ports (to expand trade)
Effects on SW Asia
Muslim societies of SW Asia had highest levels of commerce and
civilization - Mongol invasions did the most damage here
Baghdad - the heart of the Muslim world - was sacked and the Abbasid
Empire ceased to exist
Mongols controlled Islamic world from the Indus River to the
Mediterranean
Not since the birth of Islam had so much of the Muslim world
been ruled by non-believers
Only North Africa and the Arabian Peninsula remained outside
of Mongol control
Mongol rule allowed Persian culture to reemerge after centuries of Arab
domination
Effects on China
Mongols defeat the Song Dynasty and conquer all of China
Establish the Yuan Dynasty
Abolished the civil service exams
To reduce the power and influence of the scholar-gentry
Continued to use the Chinese system of administration
(bureaucracy) to administer China
Promoted trade and commerce
Raised merchants’ status in China
Encouraged the movement of paper money (not just goods) to
standardize units of account throughout the Empire
Supported the peasants and the peasant economy
reduced some taxes
increased public granaries to feed peasants in times of famine
But forced peasants to work without pay on public works
projects like rebuilding the Grand Canal
Cultural Effects of the Yuan Dynasty
Protected Mongol identity by forbidding Mongols to marry
Chinese
Chinese were forbidden to learn the Mongol language
Mongols did not adopt Chinese religions such as Confucianism
or Daoism
Instead opted to convert to Buddhism and Islam
Built mosques
Appointed Islamic financial administrators
Brought Tibetan Buddhists monks to China to
help rule and promote Buddhism
Tolerated all religions and expected Chinese to do the same
Social Effects of the Yuan Dynasty
New Social Hierarchy - based on ethnicity, put native or Han
Chinese at the bottom
Mongols
non-Han Chinese
Islamic people from Western China
Persians
Turks
Northern Chinese, Manchurians
Southern (Han) Chinese
Han Chinese were discriminated against but ultimately it was the
Mongols who adopted Chinese civilization (Sinification)
Women
Mongol women, unlike their Chinese counterparts, were
expected to serve in the military - rode horses, used
bows, commanded both men and women
Mongol women rejected the Chinese practice of
footbinding
Once Mongols began to be more Sinicized - Mongol
women lost public power. Only women who remained
in Mongolia continue to enjoy higher social status
Kublai Khan
Grandson of Chingiss Khan
Well-educated
Preferred buildings and cities - not traditional Mongolian tents or
yurts
Extend the Grand Canal to new capital of Beijing
Infatuated with Chinese civilization - wanted to appear more
Chinese so. through art, he sought to sinicize his image
Has lots of Chinese and foreign advisors
Including Europeans like Marco Polo
Military was always under Mongol control
While he wanted to appear more Chinese to his public, in
private, he and his family continued to act as Mongols in speech,
dress, food, entertainment, etc.
Fall of the Yuan Dynasty
Shortest lived of the major Chinese dynasties (1264CE to
1368CE)
Decline caused by:
series of weak rulers
Lack of cohesion due to religious, ethnic, and cultural
differences
Increasing isolation of the Yuan Dynasty
Chinese never accepted the legitimacy of Mongol rule
High taxes imposed by the Mongol rulers
Corruption among the high officials
Eventually overthrown in 1368 CE by Zhu Yuanzhang, a
Buddhist monk, who establishes a new dynasty he calls the Ming
(or “brilliant”)