Transcript Genghis Khan - WordPress.com

The
Mongols
From their home on the steppes of
Central Asia, the Mongols eventually
ruled most of Eurasia
Mongol Conquests
Steppes are…
Mongolians were pastoralists
…and nomads
• didn’t “wander”
• followed seasonal
patterns to find water
and grass for animals
• lived in clans:
groups with common
ancestor
Lived in yurts or gers
Yurts are still
used in
Mongolia today
Known for skill on horseback
Genghis Khan
Chingghis or Jenghiz
•
named Temujin
•
1206 united Mongols
given title Genghis
Khan or Universal
Ruler
•
1221 controlled
Central Asia
•
• army had 3 horses
per soldier
• invented stirrup-could stand, turn,
shoot
• silk underwear under
armor for protection
13th century saddle
Feared yet
Respected
•
organized army
decimal units:
10 = platoon, 100 = company,
1000 = brigade
•
employed clever
strategies
•adopted weapons
& technology
• used cruelty as
weapon
There can be no doubt that even if for a
thousand years to come no evil befalls the
country, yet will it not be possible to
completely repair the damage, and bring back
the land to the state in which it was formerly.
Hamd-Allah Mustawfi
describing damage to Tigris and Euphrates Valley
in The Geographical Part of the Nuzhat al-Qulub
The Four Khanates
Kublai Khan
•
grandson of Genghis
established Yuan Dynasty in
1279
•
moved capital to Beijing
rather than ruling from the
steppes
•
Mongols lived apart from
Chinese
•
•
encouraged foreign trade
•tolerated
Chinese culture
Marco Polo
Kublai Khan welcomed
many foreigners
•
considered more
trustworthy than Chinese
•
•
spent 17 years in China
told stories years later
while imprisoned during
war between Genoa and
Venice
•
•
Travels of Marco Polo
Failure to Conquer Japan
• 1274 forced Koreans to build massive fleet--largest
invasion until WWII
• 1281 typhoon destroyed fleet
• Japanese praised kamikaze “Divine Wind”
after Kublai
Khan’s death
resentment grew
•
Chinese taxed
to finance war
•
floods cause
famine, disease
•
1368 Ming
overthrow Yuan
•
only Golden
Horde continues
•
Fall of Mongol Empire
Focus question
Were the Mongols a regressive force or
agents of cultural diffusion in world history?
Regressive force
 to make worse
Cultural diffusion
Spread of culture
Movement of ideas from one culture to another