The Mongol Empire

1
The Mongol Empire

• World History I

2
Focus Activity

• Write down the first words or phrases that come
  to mind when you see the following terms
• Empire
• Marco Polo
• Genghis Khan

3
Who are the Mongols?

• Homeland Rugged steppe region north of China
• Nomads
• Depended upon animals (especially the horse)
• Constantly searching for water and vegetation
• Precarious (fragile, dangerous) lifestyle
• At the mercy of nature
• Relied upon trade with other civilizations in
  times of need
• Motive for empire?

4
Genghis Khan

• Especially fierce, powerful Mongol leader who
  lived from about 1162 to 1227
• Consolidates dispersed Mongolian tribes
• Creates a Mongolian Empire
• Name means Universal Ruler
• Encouraged skills of battle and the mindset of a
  warrior
• Advantage of cavalry over foot soldiers
• Warfare was a way for individuals to gain honor,
  power and riches in Mongolian society

5
Early Mongolian Empire

• Capital Karakorum
• Early 1200s Genghis Khan captures Beijing,
  central Asia and most of Persia
• Genghis legacy
• Unity
• Religious tolerance
• Written language for the Mongolians
• Mongolian legal code

6
Kublai Khan

• Grandson of Genghis, known as the Great Khan
• Conquers the rest of China, Tibet and Southeast
  Asia tried but failed to conquer Japan
• Establishes the Yuan Dynasty in northern China in
  1271 conquer Southern Sung in 1279
• Adopts many Chinese beliefs, customs and
  institutions

7
Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368)

• Benefits of the Yuan Dynasty to the Chinese
• Extended the Grand Canal
• Instituted efficient government
• Over 10,000 courier stations
• Supported the arts
• Increased trade with India and Persia
• Contact with Europe
• Disadvantages of the Yuan Dynasty
• Had to pay tributes
• Language barrier
• Second-class citizens

8
Marco Polo

• Italian merchant and explorer
• Very impressed with the Mongol society
• If you put together all the Christians in the
  world, with their Emperors and their Kings, the
  whole of these Christians, - aye, and throw in
  the Saracens to boot, - would not have such
  power, or be able to do so much as this Kublai,
  who is Lord of all the Tartars in the world.

9
Decline of the Yuan

• Reasons
• Huang He (Yellow) River floods causing
  destruction and famine
• String of weak successors
• Chinese unrest

10
Mongolian Empire Review

• Given what you know about Mongolian culture, try
  to explain the meaning of this Mongolian proverb
• "Better the bone be broken than ones
  reputation.
• In what ways did the Mongolians create an
  empire?
• What aspects of Mongolian lifestyle and culture
  contributed to the creation of an empire?

11
Mongolian Empire Review

• Read the following passage from Marco Polos
  accounts of his travels. What is he saying about
  Kublai Khan? What is he saying about his empire?
• Whenever the Great Khan sits at the table on any
  great court occasion, his table is elevated a
  good deal above the othersOutside the hall are
  more than 40,000 people for there is always a
  great crowd of folk bringing presents to the
  Lord, or coming from foreign countries with
  curiositiesOn the buffet are placed all the
  Lord's drinking vessels, among which are certain
  pitchers of the finest gold, which are big enough
  to hold drink for eight or ten persons.