Transcript The Mongols
The Mongols Chapter 14 Mongol Culture Nomadic pastoralists Goats, sheep Tribal - divided into clans Temporary confederations Leaders elected Law code - Yassa, meaning "order" or "decree“ nobility shared much of the same hardships as the commoners severe penalties for crime 2nd largest empire in world history (1st) British Empire Emerged from the unification of Mongol and Turkic tribes in modern day Mongolia The Mongol Empire - largest contiguous empire in world history Chinggis Khan Created alliances among Mongols clans 1206 - elected khagan (supreme ruler) The Mongol War Machine Mounted warriors Flanking maneuvers Tumens -10,000 troops Messenger force Adopted gunpowder & cannons Conquest: 1207 – East –China; West Islamic world Muhammad Shah II defeated Xi-Xia kingdom and Qin Empire destroyed Military strategies rockets - disrupt enemy formations Smoke - confused enemy forces & to isolate portions of an enemy force Mongol army's discipline distinguished - trained, organized, & equipped for mobility / speed Mongol soldiers lightly armored Mongol army functioned independently of supply lines - sped up army mvmt Chinggis Khan’s rule Capital - Karakorum Shamanistic - tolerated other religions Commerce thrived Forbade looting / raping of enemies w/out permission Divided the spoils to Mongol warriors & their families instead of giving all to the aristocrats Ögedei’s rule 1227 - Division of Empire after death of C.K. -Three sons & one grandson -Ogedei - third son - Elected great khan Initially there were few formal places of worship Sponsored several building projects in Karakorum - palaces, schools & houses of worship for the Buddhist, Muslim, Christian & Taoist followers Any resistance to Mongol rule was met with massive collective punishment -- Cities destroyed / inhabitants slaughtered if Mongol orders defied 13th C attempts at a Franco-Mongo alliance Military collaboration w/European Christians in the Holy Land – Mongol support during the Ninth Crusade in 1271 Golden Horde – Mongols control Russia Russia in the 1200s - Many kingdoms Mongols (Tartars) invade – 1236 – led by Batu (grandson of Chinggis Khan) 1240 - Kiev sacked; Novgorod spared Russians in vassalage to Golden Horde Commerce benefits Moscow thrives Kulikova – 1380 - Golden Horde defeated Ogedei Khan Virgin of Vladimir Head of Orthodox church – led Russian resistance against Mongols During the devastating Tatar invasion, the Virgin icon became the rallying point for Russia Many miraculous accounts sparing Russian people from fires & devastations. 1395 – brought to Moscow – the Russian political capital - as a gesture of gratitude for protection against the invasion of Timur i Lang Mongol Empire in Europe Hungary conquered - 1240 Batu’s forces reached the gate of Vienna - Received news of Ogedei’s death Custom in Mongol military tradition - all princes had to attend the kurultai to elect a successor. Ogedei’s widow, Toregene took over the empire Purged her husband’s Khitan and Muslim officials Built palaces, cathedrals and social structures on an imperial scale, supporting religion / education. Toregene / most Mongol aristocrats support Ogedei's son - Guyuk Batu refused to come to the kurultai 4+ years - sudden power vacuum led to decline of the Mongol unity The western Mongol army withdrew from Europe the next year Mongols in the Middle East Hulegu - Grandson of Chinggis Khan – led assault on Islamic world West to Mesopotamia & north Africa 1258 - Baghdad sacked 1260 - stopped by Sultan Qutuz of (Egyptian Mamluks) 1335 - death of Abu Said Bahatur Khan Mongol rule in Persia fell into political anarchy The Ilkhanate was divided between Persian warlords Rabban Bar Sauma - ambassador of Great Khan Kublai and Ilkhan traveled to Rome, Paris & Bordeaux; met w/ major rulers of the period in 1287-1288 Yuan dynasty Kubilai Khan - Grandson of Chinggis Khan 1271 - defeated Song Dynasty Capital at Tatu (Beijing) Convergence of Mongol & Chinese Cultur Mongol women retain liberties Chabi, wife of Kubilai, influential Mongol rule – tolerant – patronage of scholars, artists Religious toleration Buddhists, Nestorians, Latin Christians, Daoists, Muslims Marco Polo - visited Yuan court Chinese resistance Ethnic Chinese resist Especially scholargentry Kubilai Protects peasant lands famine relief Tax & labor burden lessened Death of Kubilai Dynasty already weakened Song revolt 1274/1280 - Mongols attack Japan - Fail By 1350s- territory lost Ju Yanzhang - founds Ming dynasty Aftershock: The Brief Ride of Timur Timur-i Lang - Turkish Base at Samarkand 1360s – conquered Persia, Fertile Crescent, India, Russia 1405 – death - Empire dissolves End of steppe nomad conquests Enduring impact of Mongols – Black Plague Early 1330s - deadly bubonic plague occurred in China. Bubonic plague mainly affects rodents, but fleas can transmit the disease to people. Once people are infected, they infect others very rapidly. Plague causes fever and a painful swelling of the lymph glands called buboes, which is how it gets its name. The disease also causes spots on the skin that are red at first and then turn black. Since China was one of the busiest of the world's trading nations, it was only a matter of time before the outbreak of plague in China spread to western Asia and Europe. October 1347, several Italian merchant ships returned from a trip to the Black Sea, one of the key links in trade with China. When the ships docked in Sicily, many of those on board were already dying of plague. Within days the disease spread to the city and the surrounding countryside. An eyewitness tells what happened: "Realizing what a deadly disaster had come to them, the people quickly drove the Italians from their city. But the disease remained, and soon death was everywhere. Fathers abandoned their sick sons. Lawyers refused to come and make out wills for the dying. Friars and nuns were left to care for the sick, and monasteries and convents were soon deserted, as they were stricken, too. Bodies were left in empty houses, and there was no one to give them a Christian burial." The disease struck and killed people with terrible speed.