The Mongol Conquests

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The Mongol Conquests

• 12.2

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• The Mongolian conquests forever changed Asia and
  Europe.
• While the Song dynasty prospered, Northern China
  also prospered.
• They were nomads in the Asian Steppe.

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Asian Steppes Belt of dry grassland

• Western Steppe
• Central Asia to Europe
• Home of the Hittites and the Aryans.

• Eastern Steppe
• Mongolia (Northern China)
• Home of the Huns, Turks, and Mongols

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Asian Steppe
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Dry grassland

• Very little rainfall
• Dry, windy
• Winter weather is -57 degrees and 96 degrees
  during the summer
• Tribes typically migrated westward and southward
  to have access to better rainfall.

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Boundaries

• Never any clear boundaries.
• The boundaries usually lay where the Chinese
  began cultivating fields.
• The Chinese kept pushing the boundaries northward
  to extend field cultivation.

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Nomads

• The people of the Eastern Steppe were
  pastoralists they herded animals.
• They were constantly on the move, searching for
  good pasture to feed their herds.
• These nomads followed a seasonal pattern and
  returned on a regular basis to the same
  campsites.

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• Battles frequently rose between nomadic groups
  over grassland and water rights.
• Since they were herders, they depended on the
  animals for food, clothing, and housing.
• Clothing made of skins and wool
• Lived in portable tents called, yurts.
• Their diet consisted of meat and milk.

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Mongolian Yurts
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• They lived together as clans.
• Usually, everyone within the same clan are
  related.
• Sometimes different clans banded together to
  attack or raid nearby campsites.
• Over time, nearby settlements lived in constant
  danger of raids.

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• The Chinese built and rebuilt the Great Wall to
  keep these nomadic tribes out.

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Genghis Khan

• Khan is the name for clan leader.
• Temujin wanted to unify the clans under his
  leadership.
• He defeated his rivals one by one.
• In the year 1201, he changed his name to Genghis
  Khan, which means Universal Ruler of the Mongol
  clans.

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• Genghis launched a campaign of terror across
  Asia.
• Over the next 21 years, Genghis led the Mongols
  in conquering Asia.
• The Mongols destroyed one city after another and
  slaughtered many people.
• By 1221, Central Asia was under Mongolian
  control.

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Genghis Khan
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Genghis Quote

• Mans greatest good fortune is to chase and
  defeat his enemy, seize his total possessions,
  leave his married women weeping and wailing, and
  ride his horse

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Genghis the conqueror

• Extremely organized
• Gifted military strategist
• Used new technology
• Extremely cruel

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Organizer

• Grouped his warriors in armies of 10.000 men
• The armies were organized into 1,000 man
  brigades.
• These were organized into 100 man companies.
• These were organized into 10 man platoons.

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Strategist

• Sent in a small cavalry unit to attack, and then
  pretend to gallop away in flight.
• The enemy usually chased the small cavalry unit.
• The cavalry unit would led them to the rest of
  the Mongolian army.
• The Mongolian army would slaughter the enemy
  forces.

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• Another strategy was to make the Mongol army seem
  bigger than it really was.
• He did this my dressing up prisoners or lifelike
  dummies as Mongol warriors.
• Genghis also used spies to find out enemy
  weaknesses.

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Weapons

• Genghis adopted new weapons and technologies used
  by his enemies.
• Captured Chinese engineers to build catapults and
  create gunpowder charges.
• Then he used those weapons to conquer Chinese
  cities.

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Cruelty

• Genghis Khan used cruelty as a weapon.
• He believed in terrifying his enemy into
  surrender.
• If a city refused to open its gates to him, he
  might kill the entire population when he finally
  captured the place.
• The stories of their terror spread quickly so
  that many towns surrendered without a fight.

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• One historian wrote,
• In the countries that have not yet been overrun
  by them, everyone spends the night afraid that
  they may appear there too.
• Genghis Khan died in 1227 from an illness.
• People suspect it was pneumonia, but no one is
  certain.
• His burial site is unknown.

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• His successors continued to expand the empire.
• In less than 50 years after his death, the
  Mongols conquered territory from China to Poland.
  
• It became the largest, unified land empire in
  history.
• http//www.youtube.com/watch?v_UnHCM6Zw8Efeature
  related

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Mongolian Empire
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Ogadai (Genghis son)

• Led the Mongol empire after Genghis death.
• Conquered Northern China and Korea.
• Took the Russian city of Kiev, and reached the
  banks of the Adriatic Sea.
• They almost took Venice and Vienna, but Ogadai
  died in 1241.

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Empire divides into 4 Khanates

• Each khanate was ruled by a descendant of Genghis
  Khan.
• Khanate of the Great Khan (Mongolia and China)
• Khanate of Chagatai (Central Asia)
• Ilkhanate (Persia)
• Khanate of the Golden Horde (Russia)
• Kublai Khan, a grandson of Genghis, named himself
  the Great Khan in 1260.

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The 4 Khanates
Golden Horde
Great Khanate
Chagatai
Ilkhanate
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Kublai Kahn
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Mongols as rulers

• Many of the destroyed cities were unable to
  rebuild due to the damage.
• The Mongols destroyed ancient irrigation systems
  in the Tigris and Euphrates rive valleys.
• Over time, some Mongol rulers adopted culture of
  the people they conquered.
• Some became Muslim
• Some made use of the Chinese institutions

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Peace

• From 1200-1300, the Mongols imposed stability and
  law across Eurasia.
• Guaranteed safe passage of trade caravans,
  travelers, and missionaries from one empire to
  another.

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Trade Flourished

• Ideas and inventions traveled along with trade
  goods.
• Gunpowder reached Europe
• Disease spread some historians argue that the
  bubonic plague spread during this time. (also
  known as the Black Death)

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• _____ 1. Historically, peoples have tended to
  move west and south across the steppe mainly
• for reasons having to do with
• terrain
• climate
• waterways
• technology
• _______ 2. A pastoralist makes a living by
• fighting
• growing food
• trading goods
• herding animals
• ______ 3. Membership in a Mongol clan was
  determined by the members claim of a common
• khanate
• religion
• ancestor
• way of life
• ______ 4. Immediately following the death of
  Genghis Khan, the Mongol Empire was
• weakened by foreign invasions
• peacefully divided into four khanates

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Assignment

• On the bottom of your note sheet, create an
  obituary for Genghis Kahn- include his
  accomplishments, and what you think he will most
  remembered for.
• Use your book for information about Genghis Kahn.
• An obituary is what the newspaper publishes about
  a person when they pass away- a general
  description of their life and successes.