Pastoral Nomads, Invasions, and Empires WHAP/Napp

Pastoral Nomads, Invasions, and Empires WHAP/Napp Do Now: “The two million Mongols who inhabited the plateau region of Central Asia were divided into several warring tribes, each led by a khan. The land was poor and the climate harsh. The Mongols shepherded their cattle, sheep, and goats in a circular pattern of migration called transhumance: in the brief summers they moved their herds northward to pasture; in winter they turned back south. They spent most of their waking hours on horseback and mastered the art of warfare from the stirrups, with bow and arrow as well as sword by their side.

Cultural historians credit the Mongols with little permanent contribution because they were absorbed into other, more settled and sophisticated cultures. But they did establish, for about a century, the ‘Pax Mongolica,’ the Mongolian Peace, over a vast region, in which intercontinental trade could flourish across the reopened silk route. Reports from two world travelers, Ibn Battuta (1304-68) of Morocco and Marco Polo (1254-1324) of Venice, give vivid insights into that exotic trade route…

Chinggis (Genghis) Khan Temujin, later called Chinggis (Genghis) Khan, was born about 1162 into one of the more powerful and more militant Mongol tribes. His father, chief of his tribe, was poisoned by a rival tribe. About three generations before Temujin’s birth, one of his ancestors, Kabul Khan, had briefly united the Mongols, and Chinggis made it his own mission to unify them once again. He conquered the surrounding tribes, one by one, and united them at Karakorum, his capital. Although skilled at negotiation, Chinggis was also infamous for his brutality. Historian Rashid al-Din (1247-1318), writing almost a century after his conquests, reports Chinggis Khan’s declaration of purpose, emphasizing women as spoils of warfare…

Chinggis defeated the Tartars and killed all surviving males taller than a cart axle. He defeated the rival Mongol clans and boiled alive all their chiefs. In 1206, an assembly of all the chiefs of the steppe regions proclaimed him Chinggis Khan – ‘Universal Ruler.’ He organized them for further battle under a pyramid of officers leading units of 100, 1000, and 10,000 mounted warriors, commanded, as they grew older, by his four sons. Promotion within the fighting machine was by merit. Internal feuding among the Mongols ended and a new legal code, based on written and recorded case law, called for high moral standards from all Mongols.” ~ The World’s History 1- Describe the homeland of the Mongols. ______2- Why were the Mongols skilled warriors on horseback? ______3- Why are the Mongols credited with little permanent contribution to world cultures? ______4- What was the Pax Mongolica and how did it change world history? ______5- Who was Chinggis Khan and why was he significant? ______6- Prove that the Mongols engaged in psychological warfare. ______I. Pastoral Nomads A. Arid margins of agricultural lands; farming difficult but around 4000 BCE, focused on raising livestock 1. Need for large grazing areas supported smaller populations 2. Women had higher status and experienced fewer restrictions 3. Most characteristic feature of pastoral societies was mobility B. Fierce independence of pastoral clans and internal rivalries made any enduring political unity difficult to achieve 1. But charismatic leaders were periodically able to weld together tribal alliances 2. Military advantages such as horseback-riding and hunting skills C. During the classical era, the Xiongnu from Mongolian steppes north of China created a huge military confederation 1. Under the charismatic leadership of Modun (reigned 210-174 BCE) 2. Created a model for future federations: able to extract tribute D. Third-wave civilizations (500-1500 CE), nomadic peoples made their mark 1. Arabs, Berbers, Turks, and Mongols 2. Most expansive religious tradition of the era, Islam, derived from nomads E. A major turning point in the history of the Turks occurred with their conversion to Islam between the tenth and fourteenth centuries 1. Turks became third major carrier of Islam F. In East Africa, the nomadic cattle-keeping Masai 1. Adolescent boys from a variety of villages or lineages were initiated together 2. Created an “age-set,” which moved through a series of “age-grades” or ranks I. Of the pastoral peoples, Mongols made most stunning entry on world stage 1. Eventually conquered the largest land-based empire 2. Brought civilizations of Eurasia into far more direct contact 3. But left a surprisingly modest cultural imprint on the world 4. Never tried to spread their own faith among subject peoples 5. Offered majority of conquered peoples little more than status of defeated, exploited people, although people with skills were put to work 6. After decline of Mongol Empire, tide turned against pastoralists of inner Eurasia, swallowed up in expanding Russian or Chinese empires J. Chinggis Khan 1. Temujin (1162-1227), known as Chinggis Khan (“universal ruler”) united Mongols 2. Father murdered: without livestock, fell to lowest level of nomad life 3. But personal magnetism and courage allowed him to become powerful 4. Generous to friends and ruthless to enemies K. Mongol Empire eventually contained China, Korea, Central Asia, Russia, much of the Islamic Middle East, and parts of Eastern Europe 1. Setbacks: withdrawal from Eastern Europe, failure to invade Japan 2. Mongol success lay in its army: Better led, organized, disciplined 3. Conquered tribes broken up and members scattered among new units 4. Should one or two members of a unit desert, all were subject to death 5. Psychological warfare induced a number to surrender rather than resist a) Resist and perish or submit and be spared 1- Why did the pastoral nomads of Central Asia depend on livestock? ______2- Describe the steppes of Central Asia. ______3- What was the most obvious feature of pastoral life? ______4- Why was an enduring political unity difficult to achieve among pastoral clans? ______5- What military advantages did pastoralists have? ______6- Who were the Xiongnu and why were they significant? ______7- Identify nomadic groups that changed world history during the postclassical era. ______8- Who were the third carriers of Islam (try to identify first and second carriers too)? ______9- What was an age-set? ______10- Who conquered the largest land-based empire in world history? ______11- What is surprising about the Mongol Empire? ______12- Prove that the Mongols were religiously tolerant. ______13- How did the Mongols treat their conquered subjects? ______14- What happened to the pastoralists of Central Asia after the Mongol Empire? ______15- Who was Chinggis Khan and why was he significant? ______16- Why did Temujin fall to the lowest level of nomadic life? ______17- What traits allowed Temujin to rise to power? ______18- What lands did the Mongols conquer? ______19- Identify two setbacks for the Mongols during their conquests. ______20- Why were the Mongols successful conquerors? ______21- Explain the Mongol use of psychological warfare. ______22- What was the Pax Mongolica? ______23- How did the Pax Mongolica change world history? ______1. Which of the following is an example of 4. Which is true of the Mongol Empire? an event or situation between 600 and 1450 (A)It was responsible for spreading C.E. that helps to distinguish it as a new Buddhism to Japan. period in world history? (B) It was based upon tribute. (A) Christianity was spread around the (C)The Mongols displayed their efficient eastern Mediterranean by Paul of Tarsus. administrative skills in Persia. (B) The Mongols invaded many areas of (D)It imposed harsh rule over Russia. Eurasia and formed the largest empire in (E) It broadened the Chinese civil service world history. examinations. (C) Buddhism entered China for the first time and for a time supplanted 5. The man who united all the Mongol tribes Confucianism. into a single confederation in 1206 was (D) Hinduism was established as the major (A) Khubilai Khan. religion on the Indian subcontinent. (B) Hülegü. (C) Teghril Beg. 2. Pastoralists rarely accumulated large (D) Chinggis Khan. amounts of material possessions because (E) Mahmud of Ghazni. they: (A) were frequently mobile 6. During the 13th century, long-distance (B) had not mastered the technique of trade in Eurasia increased primarily animal domestication because (C) did not have social stratification (A) The Mongols worked to secure trade (D) did not participate in trading networks routes and ensure the safety of merchants passing through their vast territories. 3. The Mongol conquests of much of Eurasia (B) Mongol rulers adopted the same paper in the thirteenth century tended to currency that could be used within all the encourage trade along the Silk Roads four regional empires. primarily by (C) Mongol policies encouraged economic (A) opening large new markets for both growth and specialization of production in European and East Asian goods in Central various regions. Asia (D) Mongol people settled down and began (B) increasing the demand for military creating surpluses. supplies needed by the Mongol armies that (E) All of the above. occupied various regions (C) decreasing the risk of bandit attacks and reducing the number of local rulers collecting tribute from trade caravans (D) discouraging seaborne trade along the Indian Ocean routes that competed with the Silk Roads

Thesis Practice: Comparative Analyze similarities and differences in the rise to power of the Mongols and Mauryans. ______