Mongol Empire and Innovations

Mongol Empire

• The Mongols, through the Mandate of Heaven, conquered the Song Dynasty.
• They were skilled herders, hunters, and horsemen.
• Valued courage and loyalty.
• They relied on trade because they did not mass-produce goods.
• Silk Road trade routes became safer due to Mongol control and taxes.

Technologies

• Printing Press: Invented by Johannes Gutenberg, increasing access to literature.
• 3-Field System: An agricultural method involving crop rotation. Details were not provided.

Ghengis Khan (Chinggis)

• His father was poisoned.
• Mother and children were forced to leave their home.
• He killed his stepbrother to gain power.
• Marriage was used to increase his influence and power.
• Known for brutality, people often surrendered to him.
• Introduced new military technologies such as catapults, cannons, and pony express.
• People rode horses at high speeds to deliver mail.
• His impact included the Pax Mongolica, a period of safety and trade, and expansion of the largest contiguous empire.

Mongol Khanates (Kingdoms)

• Four major khanates emerged: Golden Horde, Hulagu, Chagatai, and Great Khanate.

Legacy of Ghengis Khan

• Estimated that 1 in 200 people today could be descendants of Ghengis Khan.
• Religious tolerance and Pax Mongolica were part of his legacy.
• Increased trade and facilitated the spread of the Black Death.
• Connected the modern world.

Marco Polo and Ibn Battuta

• Marco Polo was a devoted Catholic.
• Worked as a bureaucrat in Asia.
• Marco Polo brought noodles to Italy.
• Italians adapted the noodle concept and named them pasta.
• Ibn Battuta was a Muslim traveler who traveled and learned about Islam in the dar al-Islam.
• He was upper class and well-educated

Zheng He

• Traveled throughout Asia for economic reasons.
• Worked as a bureaucrat.
• Zheng He led sea expeditions.
• Large fleet with over 300 ships and 28,000 men.
• Sailed for the Ming.
• Used large, multi-masted ships.
• Large navy