Chapter 14 Reading Guide: The Last Great Nomadic

Challenges: From Chinggis Khan to Timur

Chapter Summary: The nomads of central Asia during the 13th and 14th centuries returned to center stage in
world history. The Mongols ended or interrupted the great postclassical empires while extending the world
network of that era. Led by Chinggis Khan and his successors, they brought central Asia, China, Persia, Tibet,
Iraq, Asia Minor, and southern Russia under their control. The resulting states dominated most of Asia for one
and a half centuries. The Mongol success was the most formidable nomadic challenge to the global dominance
of the sedentary, civilized core civilizations since the 1st centuries C.E. The Mongols often are portrayed as
barbarian, destructive conquerors, but their victories brought much more than death and destruction. Peoples
lived in peace in the Mongol territories, and enjoyed religious toleration and a unified law code. The Mongol
conquests expanded the world network in formation since the classical age.

1) What did the Mongols forge?

mightiest war machine
2) What were the kingdoms called that formed after the death of Chinggis?
khanates
3) How long did the Mongols dominate Asia?
150 years
4) How are the Mongols justly and unjustly portrayed by history?
True- Facilitated trade and were very ruthless; False- Barbarian savages that destroyed religion
5) How did the Mongols contribute to globalization of the time?
They lead to spread of ideas and culture

THE MONGOL EMPIRE OF CHINGGIS KHAN

6) What group of people kept the Mongol from expanding prior to the 13th century?
Turkic Nomads
7) What did the Mongol nomads depend on for survival?
The wellbeing of their herds
8) What did they trade and trade for with sedentary people?
They traded hides and dairy products for grain and iron/weapons
9) What remarkable skills did Mongol boys, girls and warriors have?
Could ride horses as soon as they could walk
10) What was the basic unit of Mongol society?
tribes
11) What was the purpose of a confederation?
Threatened by external enemies and preparing for raids on other nomads or invasions of
sedentary areas
12) How were leaders determined?
Elected by free men
13) What role did women have in leadership?
They had power in the household and had the right to be heard at council meetings
14) What were the skills necessary to be a good leader? And what did being a good leader bring?
Courage in battle, bravery in the hunt, and ability to forge alliances

THE MAKING OF A GREAT WARRIOR: THE EARLY CAREER OF CHINGGIS KHAN

15) What nomadic groups dominated Asia and Europe prior to the Mongolian speaking people?
Indo-Europeans and Turkic Nomads
16) Describe the life of young Chinggis.
Originally named Temujin, he was born in 1170s into one of the splinter clans that fought for
survival.
17) What happened at the kuriltai in 1206? – Temujin was elected Khagan and renamed Chinggis Khan

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 Chapter 14 Reading Guide: The Last Great Nomadic
Challenges: From Chinggis Khan to Timur

BUILDING THE MONGOL WAR MACHINE

18) What were some of the weapons the Mongol warriors?
Lances, hatchets, iron maces, and best of all-powerful short bows
19) What caused them to demoralize their enemy?
The Mongols armies were entirely cavalry, causing their rapid advances to demoralize their
enemies.
20) How were old vendettas averted and a unifying force provided? Who else had a similar motivation?
The old quarrels and vendettas between tribes were overridden by loyalty to the khagan.
21) Describe the war machine or the Mongol armies’ organization.
Divided into tumen of 10 000, which were then further divided up into 1000, 100, and 10
22) What types of discipline kept the Mongol army at its best?
Personal ties between commanders and ordinary soldiers and immediate execution of a warrior
who deserted his unit
23) What types of innovations/technology gave the Mongols an edge?
Flaming arrows, exploding arrows, gun powder, projectiles, bronze cannons, battering rams,
catapults, and bamboo rockets

CONQUEST: THE MONGOL EMPIRE UNDER CHINGGIS KHAN

24) In 1206, how large was his influence?
one-half million Mongols and 1-2 million nomads.
25) How did Chinggis adapt to coming up against large, fortified cities with extensive defensive works?
Battering rams, catapults that hurled rocks and explosive balls, and bamboo rockets that spread
fire and fear
26) What were his feelings toward these fortified towns and what was his punishment for them? Who did he
spare?
He thought of them as weak and they were completely destroyed. The famous scholars and
artisans were kept alive.

FIRST ASSAULT ON THE ISLAMIC WORLD: CONQUEST IN CHINA

27) Who did he aim to defeat?
Empires of Karakhitai and Khwarazm
28) What is the war strategy that Chinggis used?
He would send smaller cavalry and pretend defeat and then attack with full cavalry

LIFE UNDER THE MONGOL IMPERIUM

29) What was the amazing contradiction of Chinggis?
Even though he was a very strict and ruthless leader, he was very tolerant. He also was very
cultured despite his illiteracy.
30) Chinggis refused to live in the cities he conquered, where did he make his capital?
Karakorum
31) With whom did he meet and learn at his capital?
Confucian scholars, Muslim Engineers, and Daoist holy men
32) What were some of the unifying and centralizing forces of Chinggis’ rule?
Trade routes were made secure and all religions were tolerated

THE DEATH OF CHINGGIS KHAN AND THE DIVISION OF THE EMPIRE

33) How did the Mongols honor Chinggis when he died in August of 1227 (at his request)?
his armies treacherously slaughtered the unarmed inhabitants of the Tangut capital

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 Chapter 14 Reading Guide: The Last Great Nomadic
Challenges: From Chinggis Khan to Timur

34) How was his empire divided? Who and how did were they kept from infighting?
The land was split between his three sons and his grandson.

THE MONGOL DRIVE TO THE WEST

35) Which khanate set its eyes on Europe?
Golden Horde
36) Which khanate set its eyes on the remains of the Islamic Empire?
Il Khanate
37) How was the Russian campaign viewed by the Mongols?
Side job to fine tune army for real prize Western Europe
38) How did the Tartars, people from Hell, handle the Russians?
The snow gave good footing for horses and frozen rivers were easily crossed
39) What great feat did the Tartars achieve? How did they use the difficulty to their advantage?
They had the only successful winter invasion of Russia
40) What was the only Russian city spared and why?
Novgorod because prince submitted

RUSSIA IN BONDAGE
41) How long did Batu’s armies rule Russia?
250 years
43) What role did the Russian princes submit to?
Vassals to the Khan and had to pay tribute
44) What despair fell on the Russian peasants?
Had to give their crop sand labor to both their Russian princes and Mongol overlords
45) Who benefited the most? How?
Moscow because they made profits on increased trade made possible by Mongol links and
collected tributes for the Mongols
46) What were the positive and negative effects of Mongol rule?
Mongol religious toleration benefited both the Orthodox church and Moscow and made changes
in Russian military organization and tactics
However, they also destroyed towns and demanded tribute and labor

MONGOL INCURSIONS AND THE RETREAT FROM EUROPE

47) Who did the Christian West think the Mongols were?
Prester John and his kingdom
48) How close did the Mongols get to realizing their goal of taking the Christian West?
Very close
49) What caused the Mongols to stop heading West?
Ogodei dies and have to deal with succession battle

THE MONGOL ASSAULT ON THE ISLAMIC HEATLANDS

50) Who ruled the Ilkhan Khanate?
Hulegu
51) Describe the Mongol capture of Baghdad in 1258.
Killed Caliph and 800,000 people
52) Who did they also defeat in 1243? And who did this provide an opportunity to?
Seljuk Turks which helped the Ottoman

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 Chapter 14 Reading Guide: The Last Great Nomadic
Challenges: From Chinggis Khan to Timur

53) What group was delighted by the Mongol’s fatal blow to the Islamic Empire? Why do you think so?
Nestorian Christian because of hate of Muslims
54) Who was able to hold back the Mongols from engulfing the entire Muslim world?
Mamluks
55) Why did they stop trying to conquer the Muslim Empire and what did he settle for?
His cousin of Golden Horde was now Muslim so he settled for his kingdom

THE MONGOL IMPACT ON EUROPE AND THE ISLAMIC WORLD

56) What were some of the diffusions of technology?
Food, Tools, and Ideas
57) What came with the Mongols that had the greatest impact on Europe and the West?
The plague

THE MONGOL INTERLUDE IN CHINESE HISTORY

58) About how long did the Mongols rule China?
100 years
59) Which khan led the way?
Khubilia Khan
60) What was the name of Chinese dynasty he ruled?
Yuan Dynasty
61) What were some of laws Kubilai passed to keep Mongols from assimilating too much?
-Forbade Chinese scholars from learning the Mongol script
-Forbade Mongols from marrying ethnic Chinese
-Only allowed nomadic families in the imperial harem
-Discouraged the friendship of Mongol and Chinese
62) Even though Kubilai Khan wanted to keep Chinese separate, what were some of his actions that showed
appreciation of what the Chinese had to offer?
He surrounded himself with Buddhist, Confucian, and Daoist advisers
63) But what did Kubilai not reinstate at the advisement of Confucian advisors?
Civil Service Exam
64) What was the new social structure under the Mongols?
Mongols on top with Central Asian nomadic and Muslim allies right under them. After them were
North Chinese then Ethnic Chinese and at the very bottom minority people of the south

GENDER ROLES AND THE CONVERGENCE OF MONGOL AND CHINESE CULTURES

65) What type of rights did Mongol women have in China?
Rights to property and control within the household as well as freedom to move about the town
and countryside
66) Who was the leading example of the importance of Mongol women? Explain.
Khubilia’s wife Chabi was his leading advisor and helped him make major decisions
67) What was the Mongol rule too short to accomplish?
Change the years of tradition of oppressing women in China

MONGOL TOLERANCE AND FOREIGN CULTURAL INFLUENCES

68) What did the Mongols give the Chinese exposure to?
The Islamic world as there was many Muslim scholars and engineers in court
69) Who was the most famous Christian traveler to come to the Mongol court? How many years did he
stay?
Marco Polo who stayed for 17 years

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 Chapter 14 Reading Guide: The Last Great Nomadic
Challenges: From Chinggis Khan to Timur

SOCIAL POLICIES AND SCHOLAR-GENTRY

70) What group did the Mongols alienate?
Ethnic Chinese and scholar-gentry
71) What groups of people benefited from Mongol rule? How? (more later in the section)
Artisans, merchants, poets, actors, and in the beginning even peasants. They were more accepted
and since the Mongols enjoyed these things.
72) What military unit did they develop and were they successful?
Navy which was successful in Southern Song but not in Japan, Vietnam, or Java.
73) What trends continued under Mongol rule that started under the Tang?
Urban Expansion

THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF YUAN

74) What were the signs of collapse?
There were revolts in the south, failure of expeditions to Japan, Vietnam, and Java, and also
Khubilia’s depression because of the lose of his favorite wife and son
75) Who helped unite the Chinese against the Mongols?
Scholar-gentry and secret societies
76) Who emerged as the next dynasty? From what class?
Ming Dynasty who had a leader from the peasant class

IN DEPTH—THE ECLIPSE OF THE NOMADIC WAR MACHINE

77) The periodic nomadic intrusions spur…
Changed global history with their invasions, social class changes, facilitating culture, and major
population movements
78) What made the nomadic people so tough?
They lived in harsh environment, grew up in an environment of constant conflict, and were
constantly moving
79) What will eventually give European armies the edge?
Centralization of power and better technology

CONCLUSION—THE MONGOL LEGACY AND AN AFTERSHOCK: THE BRIEF RIDE OF TIMUR

80) Who was the next great nomadic leader? Describe him.
Timur the lame who could enjoy arts and beauty but had no mercy in destruction of his enemies
81) What areas were brought under his control?
Persia, Fertile Crescent, India, and Southern Russia
82) Describe what he is best known for. Who did he spare?
Pyramid of skulls of 10,000 people he killed. He spared scientists and artisans
83) Was there a significance to his reign? When was it over?
1405 his empire stated to fall with his death. He brought no trade or culture exchange just
destruction.

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Chapter 14 Reading Guide: The Last Great Nomadic
Challenges: From Chinggis Khan to Timur