Impact of the Mongolians

1
Impact of the Mongolians
"The greatest pleasure is to vanquish your
enemies and chase them before you, to rob them
of their wealth and see those dear to them bathed
in tears, to ride their horses and clasp to your
bosom their wives and daughters." Genghis Khan
Alans Brodnikis Bulgars Keraits Khazars Kipchaks
Merkits Mongols Naimans Oghuz Reindeer People
Tatars Urians Uighurs (Tartar) Solangs Bouriats
Samoyeds Khoshods Kansou

• Postclassical Era
• Middle Ages in transition

2
How were the Mongolians able to create such a
vast empire?

• Chinggis Khan ("universal ruler")
• Unified Mongol tribes by alliance, conquests
• Merged into empire
• Mongol political organization
• Organized new military units
• Broke up tribal affiliations
• Chose officials based on talent, loyalty
• Capital at Karakorum
• Towns which resisted were used as examples
• Later towns simply surrendered
• After conquering an area or town they would make
  all of the engineers, scientists, artisans work
  for them
• They made the merchants spy for them

3
What were the military tactics of the Mongolians?

• Mongol warriors (about 200,000)
• Excellent horsemen
• Raised in the saddle and able to hunt as children
  
• Accomplished archers
• Mongol armies
• Entirely cavalry
• Depended on speed and mobility in assaults
• Chinggis Khan reorganized the tribal armies
• Units called tumens containing 10,000 men
• Each unit (ordas or hordes) command by separate
  leaders and reorganized from the clans
• Special units called kashiks (later Russian
  Cossaks) created for advanced guard duties
• Communication by flag, drum
• Able to cover vast distances in one day
• Based on the hunting formations of the Mongols
• Each army divided
• Into heavy cavalry, light cavalry
• Lightly armored scouts preceding the main forces
• Strict discipline
• Tactics

4
How were the Mongolians able to hold together
such a vast empire?

• Chose officials based on talent, loyalty
• Capital at Karakorum
• Mongol rule was generally tolerant.
• Capital of his empire at Karakorum
• Summoned intellectuals from his conquered
  kingdoms
• Offered religious toleration to Confucians,
  Buddhists, Daoists, and Muslims
• Administrators drawn from examples in Islamic and
  Chinese worlds
• Formulated a legal code intended to end tribal
  and clan divisions
• Trade and cultural exchange flourished.
• Exacted Tribute from the areas they conquered
• Mongol heirs divide into four regional empires

5
Secret agreements

• In 1221, Subedei Bahadur negotiated a secret
  treaty between Venice and the Mongol Empire,
  securing a source of intelligence on the Western
  Kingdoms for a trade monopoly to Venice.
• The Mongol's Mandarin administrators made
  detailed maps and census' of Hungary, Poland,
  Silesia, Bohemia and Russia, and set up a spy
  network in the eastern cities for their later
  invasion in 1236.
• Bohemond, ruler of the Latin state of Antioch,
  signed a secret document with Mongol ambassadors
  in 1256 and became a vassal of Hulegu, Ilkhan of
  Iran, and the Mongolian Empire.

6
What were some of the knowledge and skills that
the Mongol Empire spread across Eurasia? How did
the Mongols integrate different cultural and
intellectual traditions?

• The Mongols shared information from one end of
  Eurasia to another.
• Scientific and technological knowledge, such as
  astronomy, mathematics, metallurgy, and gunpowder
  were only a few of the advances disseminated
  under Mongol control.
• They funded projects in engineering, astronomy,
  and mathematics, hiring Middle Eastern Muslims to
  oversee projects, for example, the construction
  of an observatory and institute for astronomical
  studies.
• They encouraged the integration of Chinese and
  Middle Eastern mathematics and encouraged
  publication of same.
• The sharing of medical knowledge between the
  Muslim Middle East and China is also significant,
  especially the sharing of medical texts.
• There were many connections to warfare, such as
  metal casting for cannon and explosives. Shipping
  and navigation were also important.

7
Mongol troops had a decided technological
advantage over their enemies. What were some of
the components of this technological advantage
and how did they enabled the Mongols to conquer
such an enormous territory?

• Transmission of knowledge and skills allowed
  Mongols to adapt a broad range of advances to
  their needs.
• Examples include
• metallurgy, in the form of ironworking and cast
  bronze for cannon
• the Mongol bow, which could shoot farther than
  other bows of the same period
• the catapult
• Pharmacology
• Engineering
• and applications of advanced mathematics.

8
The Mongols presided over a vast cultural
exchange across geographic and religious borders.
What were the important intellectual developments
that Europe owed to Mongol influence?

• Southern European cities enriched themselves by
  participating in trade with the Mongol
  territories.
• By means of trade, as well as communications
  through Constantinople, Europe learned of Asian
  advances in gunpowder and guns, astronomy,
  mathematics, pharmacology, history, and
  geography.
• The threatened Mongol invasion of Europe provoked
  a period of religious questioning and created new
  avenues of transmission, including the Black
  Death.

9
What were the economic foundations of the Mongol
Empire, and their relationship to revenues?

• Maximizing revenues was the central goal of
  Mongol leaders, and tax farming was the method
  devised toward that end.

10
What are the effects of Mongol domination on
Russia how did it shaped Russias history.

• There are different historical opinions regarding
  Mongol influence in Russia.
• Some historians claim that the Mongols cut Russia
  off from Western European development and
  isolated Russia.
• These historians refer to the Mongol yoke and
  postulate a sluggish economy and dormant culture
  under the Mongols.
• Others state that the Kievan economy was already
  in decline before the Mongols, and that the
  influence of Byzantium was what insulated Russia
  from Western Europe. Kievan princes had already
  stopped printing money.
• That Russian taxes were paid in silver suggests
  an economy with regular surpluses.
• Additionally, the tax burden was increased by the
  Russian princes acting as tax collectors for the
  Mongols.

11
What were the changes in technology during the
Ming Empire, in the areas of agriculture,
warfare, and transportation?

• Ming technological innovation slowed after 1400,
  though the economy continued to grow.
• The slowing of technological development was
  widespread, occurring first in mining and
  metallurgy. Japan eclipsed China in steel and
  weapons production. Shipbuilding, printing, and
  agricultural technology all stagnated.
• The causes of the slow-down were complex, but the
  growth in population, resulting decline in cost
  of labor, scarcity of metals for the building of
  new machines, and relative lack of technological
  challenge from military enemies were all
  contributing factors.

12
In what ways did the Mongols affect Korea? How
did they adapt and shape the Eurasian knowledge
imported by the Mongols, including the role of
Korean printing?

• The Mongols shared information and facilitated
  the spread of technologies and knowledge to
  Korea.
• They brought the philosophical ideas of Yuan
  China to Korea as well as knowledge of
  astronomical observation, mathematics, and the
  calendar.
• The Mongols role as intellectual facilitators
  also led to the rise of the educated class in
  Korea.
• The Yi kingdom rejected Mongol domination while
  adopting many of its practices.
• Different literary demands led away from block
  printing to movable type, bringing about a very
  high rate of literacy in Yi Korea.
• Cash crops were common, particularly cotton,
  which led to watermills and a textile export
  industry.
• After the fall of the Mongols and the subsequent
  establishment of the Yi ruling family in Korea,
  scholars and military leaders in Korea outwitted
  Ming attempts to prevent the spread of knowledge
  of gunpowder and cannon. Korean innovations in
  military technology made possible a formidable
  navy with armored ships and mounted cannon.

13
What influence did Mongol invasionsor threat of
invasionhave on Japanese development?

• There are two Mongol invasions of Japan as both
  are unsuccessful for the Mongolians their
  weaknesses are perceived having immediate effects
  but also include the fact that Japanese leaders
  considered the threat of Mongol invasion to be
  permanent.
• Japanese unity against the invader, both during
  the invasions and after, should be stressed.
• Consolidation of the social position of the
  Japanese warrior elite was also important.
• National trade and communication networks were a
  major consequence of the Mongol threat.

14
On his deathbed, Genghis Khan reportedly
announced, If you want to retain your
possessions and conquer your enemies, you must
make your subjects submit willingly and unite
your diverse energies to a single end. Explain
how this principle was applied in the expansion
of the Mongol Empire.

• Genghis Khan and the Mongols devoted significant
  energies to the expansion of their empire.
• They combined technological advances in their
  bows with outstanding horseback ability and
  innovative military tactics.
• Peaceful periods following the Mongol wars of
  conquest allowed for the movement of people,
  knowledge, and skills across the empire, from
  Korea to Poland, and from Siberia to Burma.
• The Mongols helped retain their possessions
  through their tolerance of many religions and
  their attempts to gain the support of all
  religious leaders.
• Rather than fall to extreme Mongol ruthlessness,
  many rulers submitted peacefully, becoming
  incorporated into the empire.

15
Great Exchange during Mongolian Hegemony (Pax
Mongolica)