Transcript Document

Post Classical Age:
1200-1450
Reorganization of the Post Classical World
Continuity and Change
European Interests
turned outward
Organization,
Consolidation
and Migration of
Eurasian Steppe
people
The Mongol Impact
Mongol Origins
Linguistic group
Tribes & kin-related
clans -Internal fighting
Of the Eurasian
Steppe
‘Strongmen’ (KHAN)
could unite clans &
tribes
(not Indo-European
or Turkish)
Pastoralist (sheep,
goats, yaks, camel)
Domestication of
Horse
Semi-wild, stocky,
prehistoric-like
Most mobile of preindustrial era
Yurt (housing)
Trade with
sedentary farmers –
grain, textiles, tea
Rise to Power
Ghinggis Khan
(supreme ruler)
War Machine…
Weapons (short bows, lances, hatchets)
Cavalry
Scouting parties
Messengers (Yam)
Spy networks
Ghinggis Khan
captures
Chinese City
Mongolian Rule: Ghinggis Khan’s Legacy
 Standardization
of law
 Mongolian script
developed
Open to new
ideas
Peaceful
diversity
Tolerant rulers
Religious
toleration
Keen interest in the arts
Artistic creativity given free
expression
Inspired by conquered people
Mongolian Script
•
Mongol Conquests
• Ghinngis , 3 sons & grandson
– campaigns and conquests
• South into China
• West into Muslim & Christian territories
• Four Khanates were created
– China (Yuan Dynasty)
– Russia (Golden Horde)
– West Asia (2)
Russia
China
How did Mongols bring about an end
to regional rule in China, Russia and
the Near East?
How were the subject people treated
with respect to cultural, economic
and political institutions?
To what extent did the Mongols
assimilate into the society of the
people they conquered?
To what extent did the Mongols
leave a legacy on the
conquered region?
How should the
Mongols be
interpreted in the
development of
World History?
West Asia – Middle East
1258 Sack of Baghdad by Hulegu
 Conquered Seljuk Turks (Predominate Sultanate of Muslim World)
 Murdered Caliph & family
 Devastated focal points of Muslim World
Continued
splintering of
the Muslim
World
Osman of the Turks emerged from the power struggle
OTTOMANS -Sack of Constantinople in 1453
Timur (Tamerlane)
Successors (Babur) form MUGHAL Empire on India 1526
Tamerlane’s loss of Persian lands gave rise to Shi’ite SAFAVIDS
Muslim World introduced to Gunpowder
Trade & Focus of interest remained East
Yuan Dynasty
China under the Mongols…
Yuan Golden Age…
Generous
Patronage of
the arts
Popular culture
– theatre
Bolstered
artisan &
merchant
classes
Chinese Resistance
Chinese Scholars
resisted challenges
to Chinese traditions
After Kublai Khan’s
death - Decline
China: Yuan Dynasty
Kublai Khan (grandson of Ghinggis Khan)
1271 Yuan Dynasty- claimed Mandate
Maintained distinction between Chinese & Mongols
No intermarriage
Strict Hierarchy -No upper level jobs for ethnic Chinese
Civil Service- with quotas
Naval Expansion
 Failed invasion of
Japan
Temporary occupation
of Vietnam
 Decline of Yuan
 Re-establishment of Chinese
leadership
MING
Dynasty
“The palace itself has a very high roof. Inside, the walls of the
halls and chambers are all covered with gold and silver and
decorated with pictures of dragons and birds and horsemen and
various breeds or beasts and scenes of battle. The ceiling is
similarly adorned, so that there is nothing to be seen anywhere
but gold and pictures. The hall is so vast and so wide that a meal
might well be served there for more than 6,000 men.”
Miniature from the Book
"The Travels of Marco Polo"
Opened China to foreign
influence
Knowledge of Muslim World
(medicine, cartography, celestial
observation)
Marco Polo’s visit
Russia: The Golden Horde
• Numerous small kingdoms
• 1236 Batu (grandson of Ghinggis Khan) and
the Golden Horde invade
Impact :Vassalage
No eye remained to weep for
the dead
 Cities looted and
destroyed
 Only successful winter
assault on Russia
 Assault reached Eastern
Europe – Poland
 Trade & ties to
East
 Moscow (seat of
power Princes
of Muscovy)
Wealth, political
centralization,
religious center
of power
 Isolated from
West
Ivan III tearing the Khan's demand into pieces
Long Term Impact
Less political, more economic and social…
Pax Mongolica
Merchant activity and trade encouraged
The plague is estimated to have killed 25 million
people in China and India before reaching Europe
Mongols: Religion & Gender
Gender Roles
 Mongol women had freedoms unknown to Chinese and
other sedentary women in conquered areas
 Overtime,
Chinese restrictions made their way into Mongol traditions
Religious Toleration
Buddhism, Confucianism, Daoism ,Islam
Adapted & adopted (in some cases) beliefs and
religions of area conquered
Few subjects provoke more heated debate than the impact of the Mongols.
Were they primarily a destructive force, leaving a swath of ashes and barren
earth? Or did they create conditions for the flourishing of cities, trade and
cultural exchange across Eurasia?
Consider the bias of most of our sources…
Sedentary peoples whom the nomadic Mongols had conquered wrote
most narratives about the Mongol invasion and rule. The traumas of
war and the burdens of occupation by a culturally alien people
naturally loom large in such accounts. Even those who arguably
benefited by working for the Mongols were unable to overcome their
dislike for their masters, a dislike often rooted in cultural prejudice.
As a result, the term Mongol throughout history has conjured images
of destruction and brutality.
What is your
Interpretation of the
Mongols?
Draft a thesis…