Chapter 12: Mongol Eurasia And Its Aftermath Flashcards
(38 cards)
What was the Mongol way of life, and how were decisions ratified?
They were nomadic and pastoral. They had a council with representatives from powerful families who ratified decisions.
How did Genghis Khan expand and control territories?
Warfare: catapults, horses, crossbows, iron weapons
They controlled territory by making them pay tribute.
What happened to the Mongol Empire in 1265?
It split up after Khublai Khan announced himself as Great Khan
What was the impact of Marco Polo’s narratives in Europe?
They promoted trade interest with China, which eventually led to an easier route. They also gained knowledge about gunpowder, moveable type, bronze cannons, metallurgy, math, and astronomy.
“Marco Polo (born c. 1254, Venice [Italy]—died January 8, 1324, Venice) was a Venetian merchant and adventurer who traveled from Europe to Asia in 1271–95, remaining in China for 17 of those years.” https://www.britannica.com/biography/Marco-Polo/Sojourn-in-China
Why was there conflict between the Il-Khans and the Golden Khanate?
Mongol forces sacked Baghdad and formed the Il-Khan. They killed the last Abassid Caliph, and the Golden Horde, who were Muslims, wanted revenge. The Il-Khans later converted to Islam.
“Mongol forces sacked Baghdad, the jewel of the Abbasid Caliphate, in 1258. Under the direction of Hulegu Khan, still another grandson of Genghis Khan, the Mongols defeated Muslim forces in modern-day Iran, Iraq, and Syria. Hulegu came to control all of Iran and founded the Il-khan Dynasty. (Il-khan means subordinate khan in Persian.)” https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/mongol-horde-unstoppable-force/9th-grade/
“Golden Horde, Russian designation for the Ulus Juchi, the western part of the Mongol empire, which flourished from the mid-13th century to the end of the 14th century. The people of the Golden Horde were a mixture of Turks and Mongols, with the latter generally constituting the aristocracy.” https://www.britannica.com/place/Golden-Horde
Who attacked Muslim sultanates in Delhi?
Timur, the Khan of the Jagadai Khanate.
“Timur (born 1336, Kesh, near Samarkand, Transoxania [now in Uzbekistan]—died February 19, 1405, Otrar, near Chimkent [now Shymkent, Kazakhstan]) was a Turkic conqueror, chiefly remembered for the barbarity of his conquests from India and Russia to the Mediterranean Sea and for the cultural achievements of his dynasty.
Timur was a member of the Turkicized Barlas tribe, a Mongol subgroup that had settled in Transoxania (now roughly corresponding to Uzbekistan) after taking part in Genghis Khan’s son Chagatai’s campaigns in that region. Timur thus grew up in what was known as the Chagatai khanate.” https://www.britannica.com/biography/Timur
“Battle of Delhi, (17 December 1398). In 1398 the Mongol-Turkish warrior Timur, ruler of Central Asia from his capital at Samarkand, found a pretext to strike south into India. His victory over the sultan of Delhi confirmed the irresistible fighting qualities of his army and the awesome destructiveness that made him a legend of cruelty.
A devout Muslim, Timur alleged that his co-religionist Sultan Nasiruddin Mahmud of Delhi was being too lenient toward his Hindu subjects.” https://www.britannica.com/event/Battle-of-Delhi-1398
What is tax farming?
The selling of contracts to corporations who in turn get to keep extra money that is not given to the government.
“Similar to the contemporary concept of privatization, tax farming is a poorly understood phenomenon in Middle Eastern history. It is often linked to the abuse of state power and debates on the institutional causes of the fall of premodern Islamic states. In essence, however, tax farming refers to any type of tax collection conducted by private individuals rather than salaried state personnel. These individuals acquire the right, often by auction, to collect a defined revenue for a specific period of time.
[…]
There are few comprehensive studies of tax farming during the period between the Abbasids and the Mongols, though Middle Eastern states contracted out to private agents many types of taxes, both those that were Islamically recognized and those that were not.” https://www.encyclopedia.com/humanities/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/tax-farming
What were some Timurid advancements?
Astronomy. Timurid was in a trade crossroads, so there was cultural flourishing.
Who attempted to write the world’s first history?
Rashid al-Din of the Il-Khan
Who were Stephan Dushan, Alexander Nevskii, and Ivan III?
They were important historical leaders in Eastern Europe before, during, and after the time of the Mongols.
- Stephan Dushan (Dušan): declared himself leader of eastern Europe during the collapse of the Byzantine.
“Emperor of the Serbs, Greeks, and Albanians
With the death of Andronicus III in 1341, the Byzantine Empire once more fell prey to family quarrels and civil war. Dušan, arriving before the gates of Salonica, received an unexpected ally in John Cantacuzenus, the late emperor’s general, who took up arms against the regents of the young successor, John V Palaeologus, and proclaimed himself emperor. Dušan aided the Byzantine pretender, but their alliance broke up in 1343, and they became bitter enemies. On his own, Dušan conquered Albania and a greater part of Macedonia in the same year. After conquering the stubbornly defended city of Seres in the fall of 1345, Dušan began to call himself ‘Emperor of the Serbs, Greeks, and Albanians.’ He was crowned emperor in April 1346.” https://www.britannica.com/biography/Stefan-Dusan
- Alexander Nevskii: the prince of Novogorod. He persuaded some fellow princes to submit to the Mongols.
“Saint Alexander Nevsky, (born c. 1220, Vladimir, Grand Principality of Vladimir—died Nov. 14, 1263, Gorodets), Prince of Novgorod (1236–52) and Kiev (1246–52) and grand prince of Vladimir (1252–63). He fought off invading Swedes in 1240 at the Neva River (resulting in the epithet Nevsky). He was called back to service to defeat the Teutonic Knights in 1242 and also won victories over the Lithuanians and Finns. He collaborated with the Golden Horde in imposing Mongol rule on Russia, and the Great Khan made him grand prince of Vladimir. Alexander continued to rule Novgorod through his son. He helped the Mongols impose taxes, interceding with the Khan to prevent reprisals when rebellions broke out. A national hero, he was canonized by the Russian Orthodox church.” https://www.britannica.com/summary/Saint-Alexander-Nevsky
- Ivan III (“The Great”): prince of Moscow who established himself as an autocratic ruler in the late 1400s.
“Ivan III, known as Ivan the Great, (born Jan. 22, 1440, Moscow—died Oct. 27, 1505, Moscow), Grand prince of Moscow (1462–1505). Determined to enlarge the territory he inherited from his father, Ivan led successful military campaigns against the Tatars in the south (1458) and east (1467–69). He subdued Novgorod (1478) and gained control of most of the remainder of Great Russia by 1485. He also renounced Moscow’s subjection to the khan of the Golden Horde (1480) and won a final victory over the khan’s sons in 1502. Stripping the boyars of much of their authority, he laid the administrative foundations of a centralized Russian state. Ivan IV the Terrible was his grandson.” https://www.britannica.com/summary/Ivan-III
How did the Mongols affect the Russian Orthodox Church?
They cooperated, so the Orthodox Church got priveleges.
What was the impact of the Mongols on Yuan China?
They permanently reunited the Song territories, city populations increased, the capital was moved to Beijing. The Mongols were at the top of the social hierarchy.
How did the Ming emperors show rejection of the Mongols?
They cut off trade.
Why did Ming economy suffer after Yongle?
There was no emphasis on merchants. Confucian ideology was reinstated, and there was less trade and commercial development.
What were the commercial products and literature of the Ming?
- Porcelain, furniture, screens, and silk.
- Water Margin and Romance of the Three Kingdoms by Luo Guanzhong
What were some Yi Korea advancements?
cotton, movable type, bronze cannons, gunpowder, printing, and literacy.
What was the relationship between the Mongols and the Koryo family like?
The Koryo became linked to the Great Khan by marriage.
What stopped the Mongols from invading Japan? What was the impact of this?
A typhoon/kamikaze (“divine wind”).
“The Mongol invasions of Japan took place in 1274 and 1281 CE when Kublai Khan (r. 1260-1294 CE) sent two huge fleets from Korea and China. In both cases, the Japanese, and especially the samurai warriors, vigorously defended their shores but it would be typhoon storms and the so-called kamikaze or ‘divine winds’ which sank and drowned countless ships and men, thus saving Japan from foreign conquest. The whole glorious episode, which mixed divine intervention with martial heroism, would gain and hold mythical status in Japanese culture forever after.” https://www.worldhistory.org/article/1415/the-mongol-invasions-of-japan-1274–1281-ce/
This led to a more centralized government that focused more on military.
What was the original religion of the Mongols?
Shamanism- rituals in which special individuals influenced/ visited the supernatural world. They believed in world leadership by a khan, who could speak to/ for an ultimate god.
Most families believed in 2 or more religions.
What happened after the death of Genghis Khan in 1227?
His son Ogodei continued to assault China. He destroyed the Tanggut and Jin.
Who attacked the Kievian Rus (Russia) in 1240?
“Batu (died c. 1255, Russia) was the grandson of Genghis Khan and founder of the Khanate of Kipchak, or the Golden Horde.
In 1235 Batu was elected commander in chief of the western part of the Mongol empire and was given responsibility for the invasion of Europe. By 1240 he had conquered all of Russia.”
He went on to conquer central Europe and was poised to devastate western Europe when Ogedai died. Wanting to be considered as his successor, Batu was required to withdraw his army.
He established the Golden Horde in southern Russia, which lasted for the next 200 years.
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Batu-Mongol-ruler
Mongol unity began to unravel after whose death in 1241? What happened?
Ogodei’s death. Kublai declared himself the Great Khan, and the other family members did not accept this.
“The Mongols were a parvenu nomadic power. Before Genghis Khan consolidated them under his centralized control in 1206, they were no more than a group of largely autonomous tribes, more or less unknown to recorded history. Except for some organized hunting and the management of their herds, they had little experience of economic activity. Until a few years before Kublai’s birth, they were illiterate. They had almost no experience in statecraft prior to the establishment of the Yuan, and concepts such as the taxation of urban societies were brought to their attention by their foreign advisers, upon whom they relied heavily.
The Mongols’ limited political competence contributed much to the relatively rapid collapse of their empire; Yuan control of the whole of China lasted less than a century. With a few outstanding exceptions, such as Kublai himself (whom the Mongols always called Setsen Khan, the ‘Wise Khan’), the rulers of the Mongols seem to have looked on power as a personal, or at most a family, possession to be exploited for immediate gain. Hence, except in areas like China where there was a firm native political tradition, they never succeeded in organizing a durable state. In China, too, everything depended ultimately on the willpower and ability of the ruler.”
Kublai went on to understand that, to maintain continued influence over China, the Mongols would have to change their way of life, i.e. adopt Chinese customs, or become alienated from their subjects, who would inevitably overthrow them. (Presumably, the Mongols who didn’t support him weren’t willing to do this.) https://www.britannica.com/biography/Kublai-Khan
What happened to cities that resisted Mongol attack?
Mass slaughter and starvation. Surrendering gave them food, shelter, and protection. The Mongols used bloodletting to spread terror, so it was easier to persuade cities to surrender.
After the Mongols murdered the last caliph, what happened?
Batu, who had established the Golden Horde, converted to Islam and said he would avenge the last caliph which led to a conflict between the Il-Khan and Golden Horde. Ghazan of the Il-Khans became Muslim in 1295, which resolved the conflict.
