Arguably the most important historical thing to happen in the Global Tapestry (1200-1450) is the rise and fall of the Mongols. This group came from the middle of nowhere and rose to be the largest contiguous empire in the history of the planet. The Mongols affect nearly everything that happens historically in this period. Below, is the story of the most unlikely conquerors in history: THE MONGOLS.
1. TEMUCHIN
2. STEPPE
3. BLUE MIGHTY ETERNAL HEAVEN
4. YURT
5. SINIFICATION
6. KURULTAI
7. PAX MONGOLICA
8. YAM SYSTEM
9. YASSA
10. TOROGENE KHATUN
#DOZENDATES to KNOW for AP WORLD: 1258
THE MONGOLS (from CRASH COURSE World History)
HISTORY vs. GENGHIS KHAN
RISE & FALL OF THE MONGOL EMPIRE
1. SECRET HISTORY OF THE MONGOLS, c. 1230, Anon (MONGOLIA)
2. YSTORIA MONGALORUM, c. 1240s, John of Plano Carpini (GERMANY)
3. TRAVELS OF MARCO POLO, c. 1300, Marco Polo (VENICE)
4. A Gift to Those Who Contemplate the Wonders of Cities and the Marvels of Travelling, 1355 CE, Ibn Battuta (MOROCCO)
5. (NOT A DOCUMENT…But, the greatest podcast series I’ve ever listened to is Dan Carlin’s Wrath of the Khans… it’s only 8 hours long; but it costs $9.99. So, if you are super interested in the Mongols… This is THE BEST source I’ve ever heard. ENJOY)
1. MONGOL SOLDIERS, The Compendium of Chronicles, 1306, Rashid al-Din (ILKHANATE)
2. BATTLE OF THE MONGOLS AND THE JIN DYNASTY, The Compendium of Chronicles, 1306, Rashid al-Din (ILKHANATE)
3. MONGOL SIEGE OF BAGHDAD in 1258 (PERSIA)
4. MONGOL INVASION OF HUNGARY (King Bela IV fleeing the Mongols), Chronicum Pictum, 1241 (BUDAPEST, HUNGARY)
5. MONGOLS (and Armenians) DEFEATED BY THE MAMLUKS, Flower of the Histories of the East, 1307, (POITIERS, FRANCE)
1. Move over Romans, Arabs, and Chinese… allow the Mongols to introduce themselves. Never has there been a more unlikely world conqueror.
2. The Mongols unite the Steppe tribes under Genghis Khan and take their wrath out on any society nearby with plunder they might use.
3. The Mongols conquer from Egypt to Austria to Russia to Vietnam and in the process establish the largest contiguous empire in the history of the planet (sorry, Britain…)
4. The Mongols don’t bring much to the table culturally, unless you are a worshiper of the Blue Mighty Eternal Heaven. However, they do create a quasi-unified area under which a plethora of ideas, diseases, beliefs, technologies, etc. can spread around this massive empire.
5. The Mongols are awesome to study. And, although their impact is massive; they are not in charge of their empire for very long… in most places its a little more than a century.