The Mongols
Who were the Mongols?
The Mongols were nomads from the grasslands north of China. They were herders as the grasslands were unsuitable to crops. They lived off their goats, sheep, yaks and horses. They migrated every year between the summer pastures in the north and the winter, to the open pastures in the south. They also traded with neighbouring countries and raided the wealthy regions to the south in China.
Mongol society
Until Genghis Khan was born in 1162, the Mongols lived in small tribal groups, or clans. A chief or Khan ruled the group and kept his position by showing strength and making good choices. If he failed in any way, he was open to challenge from other members of the clan. Women had influence and considerable freedom, they managed the camps and basic trade. Men were allowed as many wives as they could afford. Women lived separately in their own yurts (tents).
To do: Questions
Where did the Mongols originate?
Describe the Mongol lifestyle
How did the Mongols make a living?.
Background briefing: The Mongols
Brigands
As early as 400 BCE the Chinese governments were building walls in an attempt to defend China from Mongol raiders and brigands. Chinese civilisation was concentrated in cities and agricultural areas (River valleys). For the nomadic Mongols they were tempting targets. The Chinese viewed the Mongols as barbarians without culture. The Great Wall of China is actually a series of interconnected walls built by various Chinese kingdoms to protect themselves from the Mongol raids.
The Mongol expansion
After Genghis Khan united the tribes of the Mongols under his leadership in 1206 he began a remarkable expansion and created the Mongol Empire. At its peak 100 years later, the Mongol empire stretched from the Pacific Ocean to Eastern Europe, an area of 30 000 000 sq / km
Mongol trade and the Black Death
The Mongol trade networks allowed for the easy movement of goods and ideas.
They also made it easy for the Black Death to leave China.
To do: Questions
How did the Chinese governments respond to the threat of the Mongols? Include a map of the great wall of China.
How did the Chinese kingdoms view the Mongols and how did the Mongols view the Chinese kingdoms?
Use a map to describe the extent of the Mongol empire
Use a map of Mongol trade networks to describe how they led to the Black Death in Europe?
Source 1. The Complete History of the Mongols (1220). Ali Ibn al-Athir
Ali Ibn al-Athir was an Arab-Kurdish historian from modern day Eastern Turkey whose work describes the Mongol takeover of Muslim lands.
For some years I continued averse from mentioning this event, deeming it so horrible that I shrank from recording it. . . . . This thing involves the description of the greatest catastrophe . . . which befell all men generally, and the Muslims in particular. . .For even the devil will spare those who follow him, though he destroy those who oppose him, but these Mongols spared none, slaying women and men and children and killing unborn babe
Source questions
Who wrote/produced this excerpt recording the impact of the Mongols?
When was it produced? Why was it produced?
What does the source show about the impact of the Mongol invasion of the Islamic world?
Is the information factual or an opinion?
Mongol guide to world domination
Activity 1: The Mongol guide to world domination
Over a period of 70 years, the Mongols created an empire five times the size of the Roman empire. But how did they do it?
We are going to create a 5 part guide for empire builders, based on the strategies of the Mongols. You will need to describe how the Mongols used each strategy to build their empire.
Include the following information in your world domination guide.
Describe the five steps (see below) to world domination in detail.
Use maps to describe the expansion of the Mongol empire
Use quotes to illustrate each step
Tips for a successful guide to world domination.
Use examples of each step
Include pictures to make your guide more engaging.
Step 1. Unite the Mongol tribes.
Before Genghis, the nomadic Mongols were divided into many warring tribes. Genghis Khan united the Mongol tribes into a single group, in 1206 - the year of the Leopard - he was elected as the Khan or universal ruler. In the Secret History of the Mongols (1228) his shaman (priest) describes what life was like:
'Before you were born [1162] . . . everyone was feuding. Rather than sleep they robbed each other of their possessions. . . The whole nation was in rebellion. Rather than rest they fought each other. In such a world one did not live as one wished, but rather in constant conflict. There was no respite [letup], only battle. There was no affection, only mutual slaughter
(Secret History of the Mongols, sec. 254)
Genghis united the tribes using the following methods.
Tie of marriage (quda). Mongol tribes were tied by intermarriage, daughters were married off to other tribes to form family bonds. The Great Khan even married his own daughters to previous enemies.
Tie of brotherhood (anda). The great Khan exchanged valuable gifts with other warriors. These ties were considered stronger than family ties.
Tie of friendship (nokor). Men would swear loyalty to their leader and promise to follow him everywhere.
Tie of plunder. As the Mongols began to conquer new territories they had new wealth to share with their supporters.
How did Genghis unite the Mongol tribes?
Step 2. Organise an unbeatable army
Mr Khan organised an army with advantages.
All males 15-70 served in the army, all as cavalry. The army’s 95 units of 10,000 soldiers were subdivided into units of 1,000, 100, and 10.
Every soldier was a member of an Arban, these groups consisted of 10 men who did everything together. The men were intensely loyal to one another and their Arban.
Fast horses that could travel large distances in a short time. Each soldier had five horses to ride.
Sturdy soldiers who could live in the saddle for days.
Bows to shoot arrows direct from the saddle
Shields and armour that were made of leather, making them light and easy to travel large distances.
Absolute obedience to orders from superiors was enforced.
No one in the army was paid, though all shared to varying degrees in the booty
How did Genghis organise an unbeatable army?
Step 3. Conquer everybody with your fast moving armies and intelligence gathering.
The well organised Mongol army expanded rapidly. As well as being fast and ferocious, Mr Khan did the following things to ensure victory.
Gathering intelligence had high priority. Scouts were sent out, local knowledge sought, and traveling merchants rewarded for information.
Foreign experts and advisors were extensively used, notably Chinese and Persian engineers skilled at making and using siege weapons such as catapults and battering rams.
Use maps to explain how fast the army moved to conquer neighboring kingdoms.
How did the Mongols use siege warfare?
Source 1. Mongol siege of Baghdad C1300
The siege of Baghdad took place in early 1258, the historic capital of the Abbasid Caliphate. A large army under Hulegu, a prince of the Mongol Empire, attacked the city. Within a few weeks, Baghdad fell and was sacked by the Mongol army.
Questions
What does the source show about how the Mongols practiced siege warfare?
Is the source primary or secondary?
“Not even a mighty warrior can break a frail arrow when it is multiplied and supported by its fellows. As long as your brothers support one another , your enemies can never gain the victory over you ”
Step 4. Manage the rapid expansion of your empire
In 1206 Mr Khan began a remarkable expansion. At its peak 100 years later, the Mongol empire stretched from the Pacific Ocean to Eastern Europe, an area of 30 000 000 sq / km. In military communications, the Mongols used well-coordinated and efficient transport and signalling that gave them an edge. They signalled by shooting whistling arrows tuned to make different sounds, waving flags (a forerunner of the semaphore), burning torches, and dispatching fast- riding couriers. The army set up and maintained networks of staging posts where riders could rest and exchange horses
Use maps to explain how fast the army moved to conquer neighboring kingdoms.
How did the Mongols use siege warfare?
Source 1. Mongol siege of Baghdad C1300
The siege of Baghdad took place in early 1258, the historic capital of the Abbasid Caliphate. A large army under Hulegu, a prince of the Mongol Empire, attacked the city. Within a few weeks, Baghdad fell and was sacked by the Mongol army.
Questions
What does the source show about how the Mongols practiced siege warfare?
Is the source primary or secondary?
“Conquering the world on horseback is easy; it is dismounting and governing that is hard. ”
Step 5. Make your empire safe and collect the spoils
The Mongols had control of the vast trade networks between Asia, the Middle East and Europe. (Remember the Silk Rd?)
Click here to learn how the Mongols managed the trade in their new empire
Use maps to explain the extent of Mongol trade networks
How did the Mongols manage these extensive trade networks and keep them safe?
Source 2. The new Silk Road. History on the net
To facilitate trade, Genghis offered protection for merchants who began to come from east and west. He also offered a higher status for merchants than that allowed by the Chinese or Persians who despised trade and traders. During the period of the Mongol Empire, merchants found protection, status, tax exemption, loans and consistent aid from the Khans. For the 100 years of the height of the Empire, the East-West Mongol trade routes became the fabled Silk Road which for the first time linked Europe to Asia, allowing the free flow of ideas, technologies and goods.
Questions
Who produced this source?
Is the source primary or secondary?
What does the source show about how the Mongol's supported trade networks.
“Under the reign of Chinggis Khan, all the countries . . . enjoyed such peace that a man might have journeyed from the land of the sunrise to the land of sunset with a golden platter upon his head without suffering the least violence from anyone. ”
Epilogue: Mongols. The good and the bad.
The Mongols have a fearsome reputation for carnage and chaos, but there were benefits to their reign.
The movement of peoples (migration) resulted in exchanges of goods, ideas and styles and in frequent and widespread contact between peoples of widely different cultural, ethnic, religious, and language backgrounds.
Thousands of people travelled from western and central parts of Eurasia to serve the Mongol regime in China. Marco Polo, the Venetian merchant who travelled to China with his father and uncle in 1271 and remained there for seventeen years, was just one of these foreigners seeking opportunity in Mongol administration.
Describe the pros and cons of the Mongol expansion.
