MONGOL EMPIRE Largest Land Empire in Human History
Jan 18, 2018
MONGOL EMPIRELargest Land Empire in Human
History
Origin Genghis Khan
united the nomadic tribes into a unified force
Located in the Russian Steppes
Law and Governance Code of Law – Yassa Under Yassa, chiefs and generals were
selected based on merit, religious tolerance was guaranteed
Central assembly, called Kurultai, in which the Mongol chiefs met with the Great Khan to discuss domestic and foreign policies.
Religion Very tolerant of religions and sponsored
several at the same time Ghenghis Khan was Shamanist Most of the major Mongol leaders
adopted the religion of the conquered territories
Social Clan based Nomadic Lived in Yurts
Mongol Military Tactics Well Organized into 10,000 man, 100
man, and 10 man units Gifted Strategist – feint a retreat,
dummies to make army appear bigger New Weapons – cavalry had stirrups,
crossbow, and silk. Each cavalryman had 3 horses
Cruelty as a weapon
Mongol invasion of Central Asia
Mongol Invasion of central Asia In this brief war, lasting less than two
years, not only was a huge empire destroyed utterly, but Genghis Khan introduced the world to tactics that would not be seen again until the Germans used them so well in World War II - indirect attack, and complete and utter terror and slaughter of populations wholesale as weapons of war.
Population of Area went from 2,500,000 to 250,000
Increased Expansion After death of
Ghenghis, his son Ogadai returns with more expansion and conquers Middle East and Kievian Russia
Conquered areas were put under virtual slavery and required to pay heavy taxes
Pax Mongolica
Pax Mongolica – 13th and 14th Centuries
Pax Mongolica facilitated cultural exchange and trade between the East, West, and the Middle East in the period of the 13th and 14th centuries. The Mongol Empire established commercial and political connections between the Eastern and Western areas of the world
Travels of Marco Polo It was said that a virgin carrying a sack of
gold could ride unharmed from one border of the empire to the other.[1
Death of Ogadai - 1241 Mongol Empire is
divided into four large khanates
Khanate of the Great Khan – Mongolia and China
Khanate of Chagatai –Central Asia
Ilkhanate – Persia Golden Horde -
Russia
Kublai Khan Grandson of Genghis Khan Conquered all of China Established Yuan Dynasty
Decline Inter-family rivalry compounded by the
complicated politics of succession Mongols began to adopt and integrate
into local cultures Two-weeks for messages to reach capital
of Karakorum Capital of Karakorum is moved to Beijing
and this weakens moral
Legacy Unified Mongols and allowed for the
formation of Mongolia Reunited China Moscow rose to prominence Europe gained greater knowledge of the
known world because of Pax Mongolica Some think the Mongols brought the
plague to Europe