Chap 12: Mongols in Eurasia

Mongol Eurasia and Its Aftermath 1200-1500 C.E.

The Rise of the Mongols 1200-1260 C.E.

Nomadism in Central and Inner Asia
Nomadic groups depended on scarce water and pasture resources.
There were many conflicts in times of scarcity.
Many alliances formed and much migration at this time because of conflict.

Mongol Groups
Strongly hierarchical organization headed by a single leader or khan.
Khans had to ask that their decisions be ratified by a council of leaders.
Powerful Mongol groups demanded and received tribute in goods and slaves from those less powerful.
Some groups lived on tribute alone.

Federations
Various Mongol groups formed complex federations that were often tied to marriage alliances.
Women from prestigious families often played an important role in negotiating these alliances.

Mongol Woman

Seasonal Movements
Movements of Mongol tribes brought them into contact with:
Manichaeism
Judaism
Christianity
Buddhism
Islam
Mongols accepted religious pluralism.

Sky God
Mongol khans were thought to represent the Sky God.
He transcended all cultures and religions
Khans were thus conceived of as universal rulers who both transcended and used the various religions of their subjects.

Economic Self-Sufficiency
Nomads strove for economic self-sufficiency.
Relied on trade with settled people for:
Iron
Wood
Cotton
Grain
Silk
When trade relations were interrupted, nomads would wage war on settled agriculturalists.

Mongol Conquests
1206 - 1234
Genghis Khan and his successors conquered all of North China.
Mongols were threatening Southern Song.
1234-1265
Mongol realms united as the khans of the Golden Horde, the Jagadai domains of Central Asia, and the Il-khans all recognized the authority of the Great Khan of Mongolia.

Genghis Khan

Khubilai
Declared himself Great Khan in 1265
Other Khans refused to accept him
Jagadai Khanate harbored a particular animosity towards him.
Khubilai founded the Yuan Empire with a capital at Beijing in 1271.
In 1279, he conquered the Southern Song.
After 1279, Yuan attempted to extend its control to Southeast Asia.
Annam and Champa forced to pay tribute to the Yuan

Khubilai Khan

Mongol Ability
Factors that contribute to the Mongols’ ability to conquer such vast territories:
Superior horsemanship
Better bows
Following arrows with cavalry charge
Easily learned new military techniques
Adopted new military technology
Incorporated non-Mongol soldiers into armies
Reputation for slaughter of those who did not surrender
Ability to take advantage of rivalries among enemies

Mongol Bow and Soldier

Overland Trade
Mongol conquests opened overland trade routes.
Brought about an unprecedented commercial integration of Eurasia.
The growth of long-distance trade under the Mongols led to significant transfer of military and scientific knowledge between Europe, the Middle East, China, Iran, and Japan.

Bubonic Plague
Plague and other diseases spread over the trade routes of the Mongol Empire.
Plague that had lingered in Yunnan was transferred to:
Central and north China. Then…
Central Asia. Then…
Kaffa. Then…
The rest of the Mediterranean world.

Bubonic Plague

Mongols and Islam 1260-1500

Mongol Rivalry
1260s – the Il-Khan Mongol Empire controlled parts of Armenia and all of Azerbaijan, Mesopotamia, and Iran.
Relations between Buddhist/shamanist Mongols and Muslim subjects were tense.
Mongols murdered last Abbasid caliph and because Mongol religious beliefs and customs were contrary to those of Islam.

1260s in Russia
Under domination of Golden Horde, led by Genghis Khan’s grandson Batu
Batu converted to Islam and announced his intention to avenge the last caliph.
This was the first conflict between Mongol domains.

Golden Horde and Batu

Batu’s Conflict
European leaders attempted to make an alliance with the Il-khans to drive Muslims out of Syria, Lebanon, and Palestine.
Il-khans sought European help in driving the Golden Horde out of the Caucasus.
Plans for an alliance never came to fruition because the Il-khan ruler Ghazan became a Muslim in 1295.

Taxation
Goal of Il-khan State = collect as much tax revenue as possible
Did this through tax farming system
Tax farming system able to deliver large amounts of grain, cash, and silk.
But…over-taxation led to increases in the price of grain and shrinking tax base
1295 – severe economic crisis!!

Ending the Economic Crisis
Tried tax reduction program and issuing paper money.
These failed
Economic depression until 1349.
Il-khan domains fragmented as Mongol nobles fought each other for scarce resources.
Mongols from Golden Horde attacked and dismembered the Il-khan empire.

Decline
Il-khan and Golden Horde declined in the fourteenth century.
Timur, the last Central Asian conqueror, built the Jagadai Khanate in central and western Eurasia.
The Timurids ruled the Middle East for several generations.

Writing about History
Juvaini wrote the first comprehensive account of the rise of the Mongols under Genghis Khan.
Juvaini inspired the work of Rashid al-Din, who wrote a history of the world.
Rashid al-Din was a Muslim who served as an adviser to the In-khan ruler.
Timurids supported many historians including Moroccan Ibn Khaldun.

Ibn Khaldun’s Work

Muslims under Mongol Rulership
Made great strides in astronomy, calendar-making, and prediction of eclipses.
Used epicycles to explain movement of moon around earth.
Invented more precise astronomical instruments.

Mathematics
Adapted Indian numerical system
Devised method of indicating decimal fractions
Calculated ∏ more accurately.
All of these advances were passed along to Europe and had a significant effect on the development of European science and mathematics.

Regional Responses in Western Eurasia

Russia and Rule from Afar
After defeating the Kievan Rus, the Mongols of the Golden Horde made a capital at the mouth of the Volga.
Volga was also the end of the overland caravan route from Central Asia.
Mongols ruled Russia “from afar.”
Orthodox church left in place
Russian princes were agents
Main goal = get as much tax revenue as possible from the Russians

Prince Alexander of Novgorod
Assisted Mongols in conquest of Russia.
Mongols favored Novgorod and Moscow as a result
After Mongols destroyed Ukrainian countryside, Russian population shifted from Kiev to Novgorod and Russia.
Moscow became new center of Russian civilization.

Prince Alexander

Mongol Rule – Good or Bad?
Some historians say the negative effects are because of economic depression and cultural isolation.
Others say Russian princes were responsible for over-taxation, they were isolated by the church, and that government did not change under Mongol rule.

Ivan III
Prince of Moscow
Ended Mongol rule in 1480
Adopted the title of Tsar.

Political Forces
Europe was divided by the forces of the papacy and the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II.
Because of this, Eastern Europe faced the Mongol attacks alone.

Attacking Europe
Mongol armies that attacked Europe were an international force including:
Mongols, Turks, Chinese, Iranians, Europeans
Forces led by Mongol generals.
Armies made it to the outskirts of Vienna.
Withdrew in December 1241 to elect a new leader.

Diplomacy and Trade
After the Mongol withdrawal, Europeans initiated a variety of diplomatic and trade overtures to the Mongols.
Contact between the two increased through the thirteenth century.
Brought knowledge of many things to Europeans, but they questioned customs and beliefs as a result of the plague.

Centralized States
Rise and fall of Mongol domination in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries was accompanied by the rise of stronger centralized states including Lithuania and other Balkan kingdoms.

Anatolia
Functioned as a route by which Islamic culture was transferred to Europe via Constantinople.
The Ottomans, who established themselves in eastern Anatolia in the 1300s, expanded eastward in the 1400s and conquered Constantinople in 1453.

Mongol Domination in China 1271-1368

Before the Mongols in China
Politically fragmented
Three states:
Tanggut
Jin
Southern Song
Mongols unified these states and restored or preserved the characteristic features of Chinese government.

Khubilai Khan and China
Khubilai Khan understood and practiced Chinese traditions of government.
Constructed a Chinese-style capital at Beijing and a summer capital at Shangdu, where he could practice riding and shooting.

Government Innovations
Tax Farming
Use of Western Asian Muslims as officials
Hierarchical system of legally defined status groups in terms of race and function
Confucians had a relatively weak role
Merchants and doctors were elevated

Prosperity
China’s cities and ports prospered
Trade recovered
Merchants flourished
Chinese gentry elite moved to cities
Urban culture was created
Popular entertainment
Vernacular literature
Mandarin dialect of Chinese language

Rural Areas
Cotton growing, spinning, and weaving were introduced to China from Hainan Island.
Mongols encouraged construction of irrigation systems.
Farmers were overtaxed and brutalized while dams and dikes were neglected.

Population Decline
Declined by as much as 40%
Northern China saw biggest loss
Yangzi Valley saw an increase
Possible reasons for this:
Warfare
Flooding of Yellow River
North-south migration
Spread of diseases including the Plague

Scientific Exchange
Exchange of knowledge was especially common between Iran and China because of:
Good relations
Similar economic policies
Interest in sponsoring intellectual pursuits
China imported Il-khan science and technology
Il-khans imported Chinese scholars and texts

Fall of Yuan Empire
1368 – Chinese leader Zhu Yuanzhang brought an end to years of chaos and rebellion by overthrowing the Mongols.
He established the Ming Empire.
Mongols held power in Mongolia, Turkestan, and Central Asia.
Were able to disrupt Chinese overland trade.

Zhu Yuanzhang

Early Ming Empire 1368-1500

Establishing the Ming
Founded by Zhu Yuanzhang in 1368
He had previously been a monk, soldier, and bandit
Regime established capital in Nanjing and made efforts to:
reject the culture of the Mongols
Close off trade relations with Central Asia and Middle East
Reassert primacy of Confucian ideology

Yuan Practices
Ming actually continued many institutions and practices that had been introduced during the Yuan.
Areas of continuity include:
Provincial structure
Use of hereditary professional categories
Mongol calendar
Use of Beijing as a capital

Reestablishing Trade
1405-1433 – Ming dispatched a series of expeditions to Southeast Asia and the Indian Ocean under the Muslim admiral Zheng He.
Goals:
Reestablish trade links with Middle East
Bring Southeast Asian countries and overseas Chinese populations under Chinese control.

Zheng He’s Expeditions
Retraced routes that were well established.
Imported some luxury goods to China
Added as many as 50 countries to China’s list of tributaries
Not a significant increase in long-distance trade, so this was not profitable.

Zheng He

Technology
Less technological innovation at this time than during the Song.
Chinese lost knowledge of how to make high-quality bronze and steel.
Reasons for slowdown:
High cost of metals and wood
Revival of civil service examination system
Labor glut
Lack of pressure
Fear of technology transfer

Innovation in Asia
Korea excelled in:
Firearms
Shipbuilding
Meteorology
Calendar making
Japan excelled in:
Mining
Metallurgy
Novel household goods
Korea and Japan moved ahead of China in technological innovation.

Ming Achievement
Period of great wealth, consumerism, and cultural brilliance.
Vernacular novels written at this time:
Water Margin
Romance of the Three Kingdoms
Also known for porcelain-making, and for other goods like furniture, lacquered screens, and silk.

Ming Creations

Centralization and Militarism in East Asia 1200-1500

Korea, Mongols, and Koryo
Leaders initially resisted Mongol invasions but gave up in 1258 when king of Koryo surrendered and joined his family to the Mongols by marriage.
Koryo kings fell under the influence of the Mongols.

Profit
Korea profited from exchange with the Yuan in which new technologies were introduced. Some examples include:
Cotton
Astronomy
Gunpowder
Calendar making
Celestial clocks

Collapse and Rise
Koryo collapsed shortly after the fall of the Yuan.
Replaced by Yi dynasty.
Yi reestablished local identity and restored the status of Confucian scholarship.
Maintained Mongol administrative practices and institutions.

Innovations of the Yi
Moveable type in copper frames
Meteorological science
Local calendar
Use of fertilizer
Engineering of reservoirs
Grew many cash crops at this time

Korean Military Technology
Patrol ships with mounted cannons
Gunpowder arrow-launchers
Armored ships

Mongol Invasion of Japan
Happened in 1274 and was unsuccessful.
Decentralized lords of Kamakura Japan developed a greater sense of unity as a result.
Shogun centralized planning and preparation for a second assault.

Second Mongol Invasion
Happened in 1281. Defeated by defensive preparations and a typhoon.
Kamakura regime continued to prepare for further invasions, but these were very expensive.

Kamakura Shogunate Falls
Destroyed in a civil war.
Ashikaga shogunate established in 1338.
Ashikaga period was a weak shogunal state, but they had strong provincial lords.
These lords developed markets, religious institutions, schools, increased agricultural production, and artistic creativity.

Onin War
War took place in 1477.
After this war, the shogunate exercised no power and the provinces were controlled by independent regional lords who fought with each other.
Regional lords also carried out trade with continental Asia.

Emergence of Vietnam
Divided into two states:
Chinese-influenced Annam in the north
Indian-influenced Champa in the south
Mongols extracted tribute from both states
After fall of Yuan Empire, the two states began to fight with each other

Rule by Chinese and Annam
Ming ruled Annam through puppet government for almost 30 years in the early fifteenth century until their control was thrown off in 1428.
By 1500 Annam had completely conquered Champa and established a Chinese-style government over all Vietnam.

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Chap 12: Mongols in Eurasia

by APWorldHistory on Nov 30, 2009

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