Pastoral Peoples on the Global Stage: the Mongol Moment 1200–1500
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CHAPTER 11 Pastoral Peoples on the Global Stage: The Mongol Moment 1200–1500 CHAPTER LEARNING II. Looking Back and Looking Around: The Long History of Pastoral Nomads OBJECTIVES A. Economies focused on livestock production • To make students aware of the significance of emerged around 4000 B.C.E. pastoral societies in world history 1. dependent on horses, camels, goats, sheep, • To examine the conditions of nomadic life cattle, yaks, reindeer • To investigate the impact of the Mongol 2. pastoral societies developed in: Empire on world history a. grasslands of Eurasia and sub-Saharan • To consider the implications of the Eurasian Africa trade sponsored by the Mongols b. Arabian and Saharan deserts c. subarctic regions, Tibetan plateau d. not in Americas: lack of large animals CHAPTER OUTLINE for domesticating B. The World of Pastoral Societies I. Opening Vignette 1. standard features of pastoral societies: A. Legacy of Chinggis Khan in Mongolia a. generally less productive than 1. his spirit banner was destroyed by agricultural societies Communists in 1937 b. needed large grazing areas 2. late twentieth-century revival of Chinggis c. populations much smaller than in Khan’s memory agricultural societies 3. 2006 was 800th anniversary of foundation d. lived in encampments of related of Mongol Empire kinfolk, usually common ancestry in B. The story of the Mongols is an important male line corrective to historians’ focus on e. clans sometimes gathered as a tribe; agriculturalists. could absorb unrelated people 240 CHAPTER 11 • PASTORAL PEOPLES ON THE GLOBAL STAGE: THE MONGOL MOMENT 241 f. more egalitarian than sedentary a. created a more centralized, hierarchical societies, but sometimes distinguished political system between nobles and commoners b. divinely sanctioned ruler g. women usually had higher status and c. distinction between “junior” and greater freedom than in sedentary “senior” clans became more important societies d. exacted tribute from other nomads and h. mobility—nomads from China 2. pastoralists had deep connections to 4. Xiongnu Empire was a model copied by agricultural neighbors Turkic and Mongol empires a. sought access to foodstuffs, D. The Arabs and the Turks manufactured goods, luxury items 1. nomads made their greatest impact on b. especially in inner Eurasia, longing for world history between 500 and 1500 C.E. civilized products encouraged a. Arabs, Berbers, Turks, and Mongols formation of nomadic states created largest empires of that 3. formation of nomadic states was difficult millennium a. charismatic leaders like Chinggis Khan b. Islam derived from largely nomadic could make a series of tribal alliances Arabs, carried by Turks that became powerful states c. Byzantium, Persia, and China were all b. when formed, almost the whole male controlled at least for a time by population (and some women) became formerly nomadic people warriors 2. Bedouin Arabs became effective fighters c. held together as long as wealth flowed with development of a good camel saddle into pastoral states (sometime between 500 and 100 B.C.E.) 4. cultural interaction with agricultural lands a. made control of trade routes through a. inner Eurasian nomads adopted Arabia possible Judaism, Buddhism, Christianity, b. camel nomads were shock troops of Islam, and Manichaeism at various Islamic expansion times 3. Turkic-speaking nomads (homeland in 5. mastered environments unsuitable for Mongolia and southern Siberia) agriculture a. gradual southward/westward spread a. brought food-producing revolution and b. series of short-lived nomadic empires significant human presence to fringe 552–965 C.E. regions c. spread of Turkic language and culture b. life changed significantly for Inner over much of Inner Asia and beyond Asian steppe peoples with introduction d. Turkish conversion to Islam between of horseback riding ca. 1000 B.C.E. tenth and fourteenth centuries C. Before the Mongols: Pastoralists in History e. Seljuk Empire (eleventh to twelfth 1. mounted warfare made nomadic empires centuries): Turks began to claim the possible Muslim title sultan; exercised real 2. the Xiongnu (in Mongolian steppes north power of China) formed an important early f. carried Islam to India and Anatolia confederacy (from Manchuria to central 4. Berber societies of North Africa and the Asia) in third to second centuries B.C.E. Sahara emerged with introduction of 3. ruler Modun (r. 210–174 B.C.E.) camel to region revolutionized nomadic life 5. adopted Islam 242 CHAPTER 11 • PASTORAL PEOPLES ON THE GLOBAL STAGE: THE MONGOL MOMENT 6. Sanhaja Berbers in the western Sahara 4. 1206: Mongol tribal assembly recognized built Almoravid Empire in 1000s Temujin as Chinggis Khan (“universal a. encompassed much of northwestern ruler”) Africa and southern Spain 5. Chinggis Khan then began expansion to b. collapsed by the mid-twelfth century hold his followers together III. Breakout: The Mongol Empire a. major attack on China in 1209 started A. The Mongols formed the greatest land-based 50-year Mongol world war empire in history following their breakout b. Chinggis Khan, Ogodei, Mongke, and from Mongolia in the thirteenth century. Khubilai created an empire that 1. extensive linkage of nomads of inner included China, Korea, Central Asia, Eurasian steppes with agricultural Russia, much of Middle East, and parts civilizations of Eastern Europe 2. created far greater contact between c. setbacks marked outer limits of Europe, China, and Islamic world than Mongol Empire ever before C. Explaining the Mongol Moment 3. total Mongol population was only about 1. Mongol Empire grew without any grand 700,000 scheme 4. did not have a major cultural impact on 2. by the time of his death, Chinggis Khan the world saw conquests as a mission to unite the a. did not try to spread their ancestor whole world worship/shamanism to others 3. Mongols were vastly outnumbered by b. mostly interested in exploiting their enemies conquered peoples 4. good luck and good timing played a role c. Mongol culture today largely confined a. China was divided to Mongolia b. Abbassid caliphate was in decline d. Mongol Empire was the last great 5. Key to Mongol success was their well-led, nomadic state organized, disciplined army B. From Temujin to Chinggis Khan: The Rise of a. military units of 10, 100, 1,000, and the Mongol Empire 10,000 warriors 1. Temujin (1162–1227) created the Mongol b. conquered tribes were broken up and Empire scattered among units 2. Mongols before Temujin were unstable c. tribalism was also weakened by collection of feuding tribes and clans creation of imperial guard 3. Temujin’s rise d. all members of a unit were killed if any a. father was a minor chieftain, but was deserted in battle murdered before Temujin turned ten e. leaders shared the hardships of their b. Temujin’s mother held family together men after they were deserted by the clan f. elaborate tactics: encirclement, retreat, c. when Temujin grew up, he drew deception together a small following of friends, g. vast numbers of conquered peoples allied with a more powerful tribal were incorporated into army leader 6. Mongol reputation for brutality and d. shifting series of alliances, betrayals, destructiveness military victories a. those who resisted were destroyed e. won a reputation as a great leader b. kingdom of Khwarizm murdered Mongol envoys CHAPTER 11 • PASTORAL PEOPLES ON THE GLOBAL STAGE: THE MONGOL MOMENT 243 7. ability to mobilize resources c. relied heavily on foreigners for a. elaborate census taking and systematic administration, rather than the taxation traditional administrative system b. good system of relay stations for d. few Mongols learned Chinese communication and trade e. Mongol law discriminated against the c. centralized bureaucracy began Chinese d. encouraged commerce f. Mongol women were shockingly free e. gave lower administrative posts to by Chinese standards Chinese and Muslim officials 8. by 1368, rebellions had forced the f. practiced religious toleration Mongols out of China IV. Encountering the Mongols: Comparing Three B. Persia and the Mongols Cases 1. conquest of Persia: first invasion led by A. China and the Mongols Chinggis Khan 1219–1221; second assault 1. Mongol conquest of China was difficult, under his grandson Hulegu 1251–1258 took from 1209 to 1279 2. massive impact of invasion 2. began in northern China (ruled by a. very destructive dynasties of nomadic origin), was vastly b. shook faith: how could Muslims be destructive savaged so badly by infidels? 3. conquest of southern China (ruled by c. sacking of Baghdad in 1258 ended the Song dynasty) was far less violent Abbasid caliphate a. more interest in accommodation of d. profound damage to Persian/Iraqi local populace agriculture b. landowners were guaranteed their e. increase in wine and silk production estates in return for support 3. Mongols were transformed far more in 4. Mongols unified a divided China, made Persia than in China many believe that the Mongols had been a. extensive use of Persian bureaucracy granted the Mandate of Heaven b. Ghazan (r. 1295–1304) tried to repair 5. Mongols didn’t know how to govern an some of their earlier damage agricultural society, so they used many c. Mongols in Persia converted to Islam Chinese practices on a large scale a. gave themselves a Chinese dynastic d. Mongol elites learned some Persian title, the Yuan (“great beginnings”) e. some Mongols took up agriculture b. built a new capital—Khanbalik (“city 4. Mongol dynasty collapsed in 1330s of the khan”; now Beijing) C. Russia and the Mongols 6. Khubilai Khan (r. 1271–1294) had a set of 1. Mongol devastation of Russia 1237–1240 ancestral tablets made a. Russia was a number of independent a. undertook some policies that evoked principalities values of a benevolent Chinese b. could not unite against Mongol threat emperor c. destruction of cities, widespread 7. still, Mongol rule was harsh, exploitative, slaughter, and deportation of skilled and foreign workers a.