Who were the Mongols?

  • Forest and prairie pastoralist living on the Eurasian steppes
  • Had a force that resembled a permanent standing army (horses skills, bows), great military skills.
  • Kinship networks and social roles confederation of tribes
  • began expansion in 1206
  • leader: Chinggis Khan
  • Moved southward and westward
  • Violence, deliberate use of violence, skilled implementation of violence
  • Selective implementation: They incorperated conquered people into their empire, and there was a cultural exchange.
  • Craftsman were needed and saved.

1280: Mongels established Yuan dynasty. 13th century: shift to governance expanse of east Eurasia , all under the rule of one family. 1250 - 1350: Pax Mongolica (Mongol peace).

Impact of the Mongols

  • Unification of Eurasia under a single family
  • Transferred technologies through trade
  • Rich material cultural legacy - craftsman
  • Time of cultural reinvigoration (for those who cooperated) e.g. in China
  • Model of imperial rule:
  • Protection of religious institutions
  • recognising difference
  • Cultivation of personalized loyalty to the khan.
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