Mongol Origins and Genghis Khan's Empire

Origins and Society of the Mongols

• The Eurasian Steppe, a vast grassland, extended from Mongolia to Eastern Europe. It was unsuitable for agriculture, leading to pastoral nomadism.
• Mongol society consisted of tribes organized through fictive kinship. Warriors, skilled in horseback combat, were crucial.
• Women sometimes held positions of power (Khatuns).
• Animism, the belief that spirits inhabit nature, was prevalent. Tengri, the sky god, was central to Mongol worship.
• Shamans acted as intermediaries between the people and the spirit world.

Forging an Empire: Genghis Khan

• Genghis Khan (Temüjin) unified Mongol tribes in the 12th and 13th centuries.
• His military strategy involved strict discipline, rewarding loyalty, and integrating soldiers from conquered tribes into a unified army.
• The army was organized in a hierarchical decibal system, focused on 10 people per unit.
• Genghis Khan's conquests included the Jin dynasty of Northern China and portions of Central Asia. The Khwarazmian empire was conquered using biological warfare as well.

Mongol Conquests and Empire

• Mongols employed ruthless tactics, but also incorporated conquered peoples into their empire.
• Knowledge and skilled workers were often spared and utilised.
• The conquest of China was planned as an ongoing war, not an extermination.
• China was taxed to ensure prosperity.
• Mongol strategies included capturing cities and utilizing the knowledge and advanced technologies held there.
• Mongol defeats, such as at the Battle of Liegnitz, did not lead to a complete collapse.
• After Genghis Khan's death, the empire was divided among his sons. This caused the empire to be weaker, and vulnerable, as they began to move further west and away from their homeland.

Imperial Geography

• The Mongol Empire stretched across vast swathes of Asia and into Eastern Europe.
• The Mongols' mobility was instrumental to their success. They needed only their horses and weapons to move.

Post-Mongol Conquest World

• The Pax Mongolica, a period of relative peace and trade, followed the initial conquests.
• This era facilitated the spread of ideas, technologies, and religions.
• The Black Death, a devastating pandemic, followed the Mongol conquests.

Mongol Rule in Different Regions

• Mongol rule in China led to the Yuan Dynasty.
• In Russia, the Golden Horde emerged. Moscow gained power by collecting tributes and became a powerful force.
• In Persia, the Ilkhanate was established. The Ilkhanate was characterized by an initial period of destruction followed by renewed prosperity under Ghazan, who converted to Islam and modernized.

Tamerlane

• Tamerlane, a military leader who rose from the Chagatai Khanate, forged a powerful empire in Central Asia. His legacy spanned further into West Asia and Northern India.

• Tamerlane aimed to reunify the Mongol Empire, was ruthless, but created a great scholarly legacy.

• Tamerlane's successor, Ulugh Beg, built an observatory.