Chapter 12 Study Guide
Khan
o
The leader (of nomadic Mongols)
A council with representatives from powerful families ratified the decision of the
khan
Genghis Khan
o
Genghis Khan picked supreme leader of Mongols (1206)
Trade and markets expanded
Permitted local cultures to survive
2 decades of conquest
Son followed him after he died
He was conquering lots of land until he died, his death saved Europe from greater
damage
Mongol Conquest
o
Genghis Khan wanted to create an empire for tribute
His son wanted to create a unified empire
Sons vision fell apart after his death
One of the descendants if Genghis Khans sons claimed the throne and established
the Yuan Empire
Stopped in Vietnam
Never outnumbered enemies, but had better riders and better bows
Cities that resisted faced siege and annihilation
Golden Horde
o
Mongol Khanate founded by Genghis Khans grandson
Based in southern Russia
Quickly adopted both the Turkic language
Clashed with Islam
Mongols spilled blood of slaughtered animals, opposite of Muslim belief
Adopted Islam when Genghis Khans grandsons successor declared himself a
Muslim
Division in Mongols
o
Il-khan = secondary khan based in Persia, conquered much of Iran and Iraq
Europeans ally with non-Muslim Il-Khan to relieve pressure against crusades
Golden Horde allies with Muslim in Middle East
Mongol Army Technology
o
Non-Muslim ally, Il-khan, became Muslim
Central Asian bow
Made by laminating layers of wood, leather, and bone
Could shoot one-third farther (and was therefore harder to pull) than the
bows used by sedentary enemies
1st shot arrows from a distance to take out enemy marksmen
2nd Mongols charged enemys infantry to fight with sword, lance, javelin, and
mace
Flaming arrows
Hurled enormous projectiles sometimes flaming from catapults
First Mongol catapults built on Chinese models
Transported easily
But had short ranged and poor accuracy
Impact of Marco Polo
o
Travel literature resulting from journeys of merchants mixed the fantastic with the
factual
Stories of immense wealth stimulated a European ambition to find easier routes to
Asia
Disease
o
Exchange also spread disease
Bubonic plague
Probably originated in Central Asia
Marmots and rodents became infected and passed their disease to dogs and
people
Plague incapacitated the Mongol army (during its assault against the city
of Kaffa in Crimea)
From Kaffa, flea-infested rates reached Europe and Egypt by ship
Typhus, influenza, and smallpox traveled the same route
Combination of these and other diseases created the great pandemic
Europeans and Islam
o
Ghazans prime minister, Rashid al-Din, attempted the first history of the world
Rashid al-Dins work included the earliest known general history of Europe
derived from conversations with European monks
and a detailed description of China based on information from an
important Chinese Muslim official stationed in Iran
mini paintings that accompanies some copies of Rashid al-Dins work included
depictions of European and Chinese people and events and reflected the artistic
traditions of both cultures
Nasir al-Din Tusi
Shiite scholar that represented the beginning of Mongol interest in the scientific
traditions of the Muslim lands
He joined the entourage of Hulegu, which had more traditional Shiite views, against the
Assassins, a Shiite religious sect
He wrote on many topics, but his most outstanding contribution was in mathematics and
cosmology
His work led to major contributions in astronomy that had worldwide influence
Russias Economy
Silver and gold flowed into the hands of the Mongols starving the local economy of
precious metals
The Golden Horde attempted to introduce paper money as a response to the shortage of
currency, but was unsuccessful
In reality commerce depended more on direct exchange of goods than on currency
transactions
The Mongols had struck Kiev, an important political, cultural, and economic center,
which caused it to decline economically and ceased to mint coins
Heavy taxes were shifted from the princes, who became exempted, to the peasants
Tsar
Ivan III, the prince of Moscow established himself as an autocratic ruler, and began to use
the title tsar, which originally just applied to foreign rulers before he began to use it
His use of the title probably represents an effort to establish a basis for legitimate rule
with the decline of the Golden Horde and the disappearance of the Byzantine Empire
Ottoman Empire
Descendants of Turkish nomads established the Ottoman empire
Even though there was a strong Il-Khan influence in eastern Anatolia, a small number of
small Turkic principalities emerged in the west
They were situated in the northwest close to the Sea of Marmara, which allowed them to
cross into Europe and take part in dynastic struggles of the state, but it also attracted
Muslim warriors who wished to battle Christians on the frontiers
The defeat the Ottoman sultan by Timur in 1402 was a temporary setback
Their sultans seized opportunities of decaying Mongol power just as rulers of Russia,
Serbia, and Lithuania had
They put a strong emphasis of religious and linguistic identity factors that were not
stressed in Mongol empire
Re-Uniting China
Before the arrival of the Mongols, three separate states with three different languages,
writing systems, forms of government, and elite cultures existed in China
The Tanggut and Jin controlled the north and the Song controlled the South
The Great Khans destroyed the all three and encouraged the restoration of or preservation
of many features of Chinese government and society
The Mongols organized all of China into provinces
With this came central appointment of provincial governors, tax collectors, and garrison
commanders marked a radical change by systematizing control in all parts of the country
The Fall of Copper
The agricultural, damaged by war, over taxation, and the passage of armies could not
satisfy their financial needs, which lead them to make up for it in paper money
People doubted its value and deemed it unsecure
Copper offset the failure of paper money
China was exporting copper to Japan, where it was scarce, which eventually led to a
shortage in China
That lead to the value of copper to rise over the value of silver
The Mongols cut off trade with Japan, which stabilized the value of copper coins
Impact of Mongol rule on China
Mongol rule systematized government, but cities benefitted more from Mongol policies
than did the countryside
Chinas population shrank, lost five-sixths of inhabitants
Population shrinkage could have been caused by prolonged warfare, rural distress causing
people to resort to female infanticide, epidemics, a southward flight of refugees, and
flooding
Mongols protected trade routes, which encouraged a steady exchange of scientific and
cultural ideas
Ming Separation
The Ming dynasty was taken control by two different leaders with very contrasting views
First it was taken control by Zhu Yuanzhang, which was a former monk, soldier, and
bandit
He moved the capital of the Ming dynasty to Nanjing from Beijing, choked off relations
with Central Asia and Middle East, imposed strict limits on imports and foreign visitors,
and replaced paper money with silver.
He had an anti-Mongol ideology
Then emperor Yongle seized power through a coup detat and he reversed everything Zhu
Yuanzhang had done.
Yongle had returned the capital to Beijing, restored ties with Middle East and Central
Asia, as well as, enlarge Khubilais Forbidden City
Ming Tributary States
On early voyages of Zheng He visited long-established Chinese merchant communities in
Southeast Asia to cement their allegiance to the Ming Empire and collect taxes
These expeditions added 50 new tributary states to the Ming imperial universe, but trade
did not increase dramatically
Ming Seafaring
- they didn't develop it for commercial and military gain
- some believed that they were personal projects of Yongle, a ruler tried to prove his worthiness
and may also have been emulating Khubilai Khans sea expeditions against Japan and
Southeast Asia and would fit with the roomer stating he was a Mongol.
- other reason may have been the the new commercial opportunities fell short of success, and
facing northern invaders became a number one priority
Koreas Importance to Mongols
- allowed them to gain control of coastal areas where they could launch naval expeditions and
cut off adversaries sea trade
- a new educated class came about as a result of schools and new social advances in Korea, this
lead to the spread of Mongol ideas.
Choson
- Yi Songgye established this new kingdom with the capital of Seoul and the city was created to
reestablish a distinctive Korean identity
Literacy
- the Choson improved the legibility of the printed page and they had high volume and accurate
production of texts which lead laid the foundation of for a high literacy rate
- they published books on how one should farm, how to study the weather, and books on how to
build.
First Invasion of Japan
- they could easily invade Japan through Korea which they had conquered
- they used light catapults and incendiary and explosive projectiles
- the Koreans landed successfully and decimated the Japanese but a great storm prevented the
establishment of a beach front and had to sail back to Korea
Impact of Invasion
- the invasion hastened social and political changes that were under way
- the Shogunate distributed land and privileges to his followers and and they provided the leader
with soldiers. This stable, but decentralized system depended on balance and the power of
regional warlords
- The Japanese made advanced weaponry such as swords and they built a wall around the area
of invasion
- After the Mongols second invasion went on retreat as well Japan fell under a new shogunate,
the Ashikaga. This shogunate had a renewed independence and there was a development of
market towns, religious institutions, and schools There was artistic creativity during this time
similar to that of Zen Buddhist beliefs
Kamikaze
- divine wind
- Japanese religious institutions claimed that theirs prayers helped to bring the monsoon that
drove away the Mongols.
Divide in Vietnam
- the states of Dai Viet(northern vietnam) and Champa(southern vietnam) clashed frequently
- Dai Viet looked towards China and their political, social, and religious ideas
- Champa related to the trading systems of the Indian Ocean and they had a primarily Indian
culture
- Ming troops came in a took control of Dia Viets government
- After the Ming withdrawal Dai Viet conquered the Champa and established a unified state on
both confucian and local practices
