The Mongol Moment and the Re-Making of Eurasia Flashcards
What were the influences on the process of Mongol state-building?
The Mongols were decentralized and divided into tribes that were frequently robbing each other. A few alliances would receive support from Chinese patrons to keep the pastoralists divided, preventing major state-building.
How did the Mongol Empire control its subjects?
Chinggis Khan was generous to friends and ruthless to enemies. He incorporated warriors from defeated tribes into his own, and was religiously tolerant, feared, and respected.
How did the Mongols achieve their military success?
The Mongols were greatly outnumbered, but they attacked in good timing. China was divided between the Song and pastoral Jurchen people, and the Abbasid caliphate was shrinking. Their armies were better led, organized, and disciplined - units of 10, 100, 1,000, and 10,000. Conquered tribes were scattered among these units. Military leaders shared the hardships of the men, increasing the army’s loyalty.
How did the Mongols manage conquered empires?
The technology of Chinese siege warfare was incorporated into the army. Common people served as laborers for roads and bridges to ferry supplies. Artisans and skilled people were sent to distant regions for service. Any people too troublesome to govern were completely massacred, inducing others to surrender. A centralized bureaucracy created a tax system and had scribes translate official decrees into other languages. They were religiously tolerant and passed policies to assist merchants, as well as hiring “foreigners” into their government.
What contributed to the political and military success of the Mongols?
The Mongols supported merchants by offering 10%+ above the asking price and allowed them the use of relay stations to support commerce. They employed a diverse range of people in the government and were religiously tolerant.
Describe an Ortugh.
An Ortugh was a state-approved association of merchants that pooled resources to limit losses in the event that a caravan failed. Low-interest rates were provided, and in China and Persia merchants received tax breaks and financial breaking for caravans.
How did Mongol rule change China?
Animals roamed freely, elite Mongols preferred to live in tents, and foreigners were hired in the government and kept the highest positions for themselves. The Chinese were discriminated against in law and merchants and artisans received a higher social standing. Women didn’t adopt footbinding, mixed freely with men, and served as advisers.
In what ways were the Mongols changed by China?
The Mongols were less violent in southern China to accommodate the population. They used Chinese administrative practices, taxation, and the postal system. Khubilai Khan ordered Chinese-style ancestral tablets to honor his ancestors and grant them Chinese names. He supported Confucian, Daoist, and Buddhist traditions.
Why did Mongol rule in China decline?
Factionalism among the Mongols led to inflation, the plague spread, and the peasants rebelled.
What was the general time frame of the Ming dynasty?
Fourteenth to seventeenth centuries.
How did the Ming dynasty recover from the Yuan?
Mongol names and dress were prohibited and Confucian learning and its associated gender roles were promoted. Emperor Yongle sponsored an Encyclopedia of 11,000 volumes to summarize all previous writings. Two empresses wrote instructions for traditional female behavior, and the civil service examination was revived.
How did Mongol rule in Persia differ from Mongol rule in China?
The people were heavily taxed and torture pushed peasants off their land. The herds of the Mongols turned agricultural land into pastures and occasionally desert. Irrigation was neglected and agricultural land went to waste.
How were the Mongols influenced by Persian culture compared to Chinese culture?
The Mongols made more extensive use of the Persian bureaucracy by leaving the majority of its operation to the Persians. Later the Mongols made an effort to repair their damage. Many Mongols became Muslim, learned some Persian, and some turned to farming while some married local people.
How did Mongol rule in Persia end compared to China?
The Mongols in China were overthrown, while the Mongols of Persia and their Turkic allies disappeared by assimilating into Persian culture (according to the Persians, they had been civilized).
Describe the significance of the Safavid Empire.
It was an independent Persia during a time wen the Turks were attempting to rebuild a pastoralist Mongol Empire. Though the leadership was Turkic it came from a Sufi religious order and imposed, forcibly, a Shia version of Islam that uniquely defined Persian culture. Military conflict erupted between the Sunni Ottoman Empire.
