RISE AND FALL OF MONGOL EMPIRE

CHINA BEFORE THE MONGOLS

• Chinese life was based on farming
• Loyalty to the family was very important
• Song Dynasty relied on a civilian government and was non military
• This was a time of many inventions and ideas
• Two such examples were gun powder and printing

MONGOL PEOPLE

• Life was dictated by the harsh climate.
• Thus Mongols were NOMADS living in YURTS
• Woman played an important role in this society
• They relied heavily on their animals, sheep, goats, horses and yaks
• Religious belief is based on SHAMAN ISM

GENGHIS KHAN

• Temujin born around 1162 and brought up by his mother after his fathers death
• He had a hard childhood, but this strengthened hi and made him into a strong leader
• His first great victory was against the TATARS
• By the time he was 40 he became the undisputed leader of Central Asia
• Took on the title GENGHIS KHAN 'ruler of the world' leader of about 1 million people

THE MONGOL ARMY

• Under GENGHIS KHAN the Mongol Empire spread very quickly over a large area
• Mongol society had to be reorganised into a very strict military regime
• Warriors from different tribes organised into groups in multiples of ten
• Horses played a very important role in the Mongol army
• The Mongol army invaded, overwhelmed and annihilated huge populations in Asia.

Conquering the World

• 1213 broke through Great Wall of China
• Conquered North of China
• 1227 Genghis Kahn died
• Divided his empire into 4 kingdoms
• 1268 -1276 invasion of South of China

Kublai Kahn

• Emperor of China - Yuan Dynasty
• Divided population into four classes
• Rebuilt China after decades of Mongol defeat
• Established trade links with Europe
• Encouraged printing of books on all topics

Kahn's court

• Chinese ideas flourished
• Merging of religions
• painting and poetry encouraged
• Multicultural and tolerant

Marco Polo

• Italian traders arrived in China
• Marco Polo studied Mongol language
• Ambassador to Kahn
• 'the Travels of Marco Polo"
• opened links and ideas between two worlds

The Mongol Legacy

• Broke down barriers between East and West
• Trade goods introduced both ways
• Shared Technical knowledge
• Spread of ideas and learning
• distance led to new ways to pay for goods