Western Eurasia, 1200- 1500

Western Eurasia, 1200- 1500

I. The Rise of the Mongols, 1200 – 1260 A. Nomadism in Central Asia 1. Nomadism can be defined as a

way of life forced by a scarcity of resources.

2. Because of this scarcity, nomads are continually on the move.

3. Constant movement required centralized decision making with strong hierarchies, but the khan, or leader, was always required to have decisions ratified by a council.

4. Those captured during warfare or raids became slaves – some even became slaves willingly to avoid starvation.

5. The long-distance, seasonal movements of the Central Asian nomads created powerful channels for trade and communication.

6. Every man was a full-time herdsman, hunter, and warrior, while women generally oversaw the breeding and birthing of livestock and the preparation of furs.

7. Iron was crucial to Central Asian nomads since they did not mine it themselves.

8. They did, however, create ironworking stations where they make bridles, stirrups, wagons, and weapons.

9. Genghis Khan’s real name was Temüjin, which literally means “blacksmith” and several of his followers were sons of blacksmiths.

B. The Mongol Conquests 1. Temüjin was made Genghis Khan,

or Great leader, in the year 1206. 2. Genghis Khan’s main priority was to

establish a tributary system with the Eurasian kingdoms.

3. Due to the mixed response, Mongolian aggression pushed westward into Central Asia, the Middle East, and Russia.

Mongolian Empire

Temüjin or Genghis Khan

4. Genghis Khan died in 1227 and was succeeded by his son Ögödei.

5. Ögödei decided to pursue the conquest of China destroying the empires of the Tanggut and Jin.

6. In 1236 Genghis’s grandson Batu conquered Moscow, Poland, and Hungary establishing the Golden Horde.

Genghis Family TreeGenghis

Khan1206 -1227

JochiJagadaiCentral

Asia

Ögödei1227 -1241

Tolui

BatuGolden Horde

Güyük1246 - 1248

Möngke1248 - 1257

Khubilai

1265 - 1294

HuleguIl-Khan

7. When the Mongol armies approached a city they gave them three choices: (1) Fight and face immediate slaughter, (2) stay within your city walls and face starvation and then slaughter, or (3) surrender and receive food, shelter, and protection.

8. With the capture of each city, their armies swelled with new recruits – by the time the Mongols conquered the Middle East their army consisted of Mongolian elites overseeing armies of Turks, Iranians, and Arabs.

C. Overland Trade and the Plague 1. Overland trade was protected by the

Mongols and promoted by their tax policies. 2. Merchants hoping for wealth joined

ambassadors journeying to Mongol courts. 3. Their travels often produced vivid

descriptions of the Eurasian world during this time period.

4. One such account is that of Marco Polo, a Venetian traveler who often mixed the fantastic with the factual.

Marco Polo

5. There was also great danger to these exchanges across Eurasia.

6. In southwestern China, the plague had festered in Yunnan province since the early Tang Period.

7. By the mid-thirteenth century, the Mongols arrived establishing a garrison.

8. This provided the perfect environment for flea-infested rats carrying the plague to travel to Central Asia, the Middle East, and finally Europe.

II. The Fall and Rise of Islam, 1260 – 1500 A. Mongol Rivalry 1. By 1260 there were two Mongol

realms that had been established in western Eurasia: (1) the Il-Khan, and (2) Golden Horde.

2. The Mongols under Hülegü controlled Armenia, Azerbaijan, Mesopotamia, and Iran.

3. The Golden Horde established themselves in southern Russia north of the Caspian Sea.

Golden Horde

Il-Khan

4. Tensions between individual Mongols and Muslims grew starting with the murder of the last Abbasid caliph.

5. Muslims were also disgusted with the Mongols’ worship of idols, which is fundamental to Shamanism.

6. Another source of contention dealt with the rules governing animal slaughter, specifically the spilling of blood.

7. By the 1260s, the Mongol leader of the Golden Horde, Batu, declared himself a Muslim and swore to avenge the death of the last caliph.

8. The Il-Khans were Buddhist and a conflict erupted between the two domains.

9. By 1295, the new Il-Khan leader, Ghazan, now declared himself a Muslim and the two empires worked together to spread the faith.

B. Islam and the State 1. The Mongols used a system called

tax farming – practice of selling tax-collecting contracts to small corporations who got to keep any revenue above the contracted amount.

2. The short-term result was a large amount of grain, cash, and silk for the government.

3. The long-term result drove many landowners into debt and servitude.

4. Soon, the power of the Il-khans and the Golden Horde weakened during the 14th century allowing for a new power to emerge in Central Asia.

5. The Jagadai Khanate emerged as the new power under the leadership of Timur.

6. Much of the Middle East was united under his rule allowing for the consolidation of Sunni Islam in that region.

7. This also allowed for the groundwork of Muslim control in India under the Mughal dynasties in the 16th century.

Timurids

III. Regional Definition in Response to the Mongols

A. Russian and Rule from Afar 1. The Mongols first defeated a Russian

army in the late 1230s and by 1240 the central Russian town of Kiev fell.

2. Batu and his descendants established a regime known as the Golden Horde.

3. The primary concern in Russia was their extraction of wealth. Specifically gold and silver.

4. With the destruction of Kiev, the Russian towns of Novgorod and Moscow became the dominant centers of Russian culture.

5. By the 1300s, Moscow emerged as the new center of Russia.

6. After the Russians threw off Mongolian domination in 1480, Russian rulers used the title Tsar (or Czar) to show that Russia should be ruled by Russians.

7. The Russian ruler who gained independence for Russia was Ivan III, prince of Moscow.

Ivan III