The Mongol Empires

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The Mongol Empires
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• Genghis Khan and the Rise of the Mongols

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Origins of the Mongols

• Mongols (a.k.a. Tartars/Tatars) were a group of
  tribes from the steppes (open plains) of central
  Asia and the area that is now known as Mongolia
• Originally nomadic
• Excellent horsemen and archers
• Stereotype primitive and barbaric, bloodthirsty
• Skilled at cultural borrowing

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• As they became more settled, they developed a law
  code, written language, religious practices,
  better technology, and other social and cultural
  achievements (adapted from neighbors and those
  they conquered)

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The Unification of the Mongols

• Before 1200, the Mongols were not joined together
  in a single group population b/w 1.5 and 3
  million
• Tribes often went to war against each other
• Disunity came to an end after 1200 due to the
  rise of a warlord named Temujin (a.k.a. Genghis
  Khan)
• He had been born into a family that had been
  disgraced during a clan dispute, but he still
  managed to become an important tribal leader as
  an adult

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• In 1206, he did what no one else had been able to
  do he united the dozens of Mongol tribes under
  one authority
• Proclaimed himself khan or ruler and took the
  name Genghis, meaning limitless strength
• He completely reorganized the armies and soon
  after led their great campaign of
  conquests----one of the most successful in the
  history of the world

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• The First Wave of Conquest

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Genghis Kan and the Early Mongol Conquests

• In 1211, Mongol armies attacked the state of Xi
  Xia.
• Launched an attack on China
• By 1214had overtaken Great Wall and the Jin
  capital of Beijing
• To the westconquered the land of kara-Khitai and
  the Khwarazm Empire (powerful Central Asian state
  and home of the silk road trading center
  Samarkand)

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• Took their wealth and then took the large city of
  Herat in Afghanistan
• Trend fight in east, take the west
• Fought empires of western China, and finally took
  them
• Sent large forces westward to look for further
  areas of expansion
• During this time the Russians first encountered
  the Mongols

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• Genghis Khan dies in 1227 and ended the first
  wave of Mongol conquest
• Sons begin settled the question of succession

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Reasons for Mongol Success

• Originally people thought it was all about the
  game of numbers
• Talented calvary men and archers.even at great
  speeds!
• Mongols and horses possessed great endurance and
  toughness
• Organized into efficient tight knit military
  units AND took ideas from others (especially
  methods of siege warfare)

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• The Second Wave of Conquest and the Pax Mongolia

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Ogodeis New Conquests

• The new great khan was Genghiss 3rd son,
  Ogodei
• Under his rule the empire reached tremendous
  proportions
• He built capital Karakorum
• In east, they had almost taken over all of China
  (they will eventually take the Song in the
  1260s) and in 1231 he forced Korea into
  tributary status

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The Mongol Drive Into Europe

• Ambitious goals for the west
• Calls his nephew, Batu, and the general Subudei
  to conquer as much of Europe as possible.
• They conquered most of Russia and the Ukraine
• Next they pushed through eastern
  Europe.Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, and Poland
  causing hysteria and panic
• Now, Mongols too far from home and over extended
  to continue

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• Also fighting on unfamiliar terrain
• Also Ogodei died and then there was some chaos
• This area in Europe was ruled by Batu and his
  descendants
• They called their government the Golden Horde
  (from the Mongol word orda, or camp
• Mongols ruled over Russia for 2 centuries

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Pax Mongolia The Mogol Empire at Its Peak

• Under the next 2 khans, Guyuk and Mongke, the
  Mongol Empire grew even larger
• Moved into China and took over eastern Tibet
• In 1250s moved into the Mid East and took over
  the Abbasid Caliphate
• The Commander, Hulegu, was only halted in 1260 by
  Mamluk cavalrymen
• By 1250sMongol empire stretched from Poland to
  Korea and Siberia to southeast Asia

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• This brief joining of most of Eurasia is called
  the Pax Mongolica or Pax Tatarica
• Maintained by means of force as well as
  administrative skill
• Used turkic language as their written script and
  created a code of law (the yasa)borrowed from
  several countries, including China
• The Mongols tended to adopt the religions of the
  people they conquered (usually Buddhism or Islam)

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• Used horses to create a postal systemcalled the
  yam
• An elaborate network of couriers who carried
  messages on horseback

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• Breakup of the Mongol Empire

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Overextension and Breakdown of the Mongol Empire

• Soon began to break apart after its size and
  power peaked
• The last khan who truly ruled over a united
  Mongol Empire was Mongke.
• Died in 1260, civil war broke out between Genghis
  Khans nephews and grandsons
• The empires 4 largest units became independent
  states

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The Domain of the Great Khan and Yuan China

• Title of Great Khan (ruled over Mongolia and
  territories to east and southeast) went to
  Khubilai, grandson of Genghis.
• He shifted his political focus away from the
  Domain of the Great khan to the Yuan Empire he
  created in China

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The Golden Horde

• Retained control over Russia until mid 1400s
• Rule ended by the rising city-state of Moscow,
  Russia
• After that many mongols left
• But many others stayed in what was becoming a
  large and powerful state
• Over time, the mongols became inhabitants of
  Russia, in many cases intermarrying and
  assimilating

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The Il-khans

• These were the rulers of the Middle East
• Coverted to Islam
• Rein lasted in to the 1300s
• Later, the Il-Khans were weakened by attacks from
  their fellow Mongols
• Shortly after, they were displaced by the Ottoman
  turks, whose rapid expansion during the 1370s
  made them the new masters of the Middle East

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The Jagadai Khanate and Timurs conquest

• For 2.5 centuries the Jagadai Khanate controlled
  the Central Asia
• Converted to Islam
• From 1370-1405, the Jagadai warlord Timur (a.k.a.
  Tamerlane) tried to repeat the military triumph
  of his ancestor, Genghis Khan.
• Expansion ended in 1405 with his death and the
  boundaries shake

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• Timerlanes descendants ruled over central
  Asia.and the silk road cities of Samarkand and
  Bukharauntil the early 1500s