Chapter 14 Chinggis Khan Temujin born 1167 father

Chapter 14

Chinggis Khan • Temujin born 1167 – father forged alliance between rival clans – Father poisoned – Temujin had to live on own – Allied with a clan leader – became more powerful by making alliances, conquering – 1206 – renamed Chinggis Khan (Genghis Khan), means universal ruler

Empire • He broke up tribes and placed military and political officials based on merit. • New capital at Karakorum • Population – 1 million (<1% of China)

Military • • Horseback Powerful arrows Most mobile forces of premodern world Enemy surrenders – Spare lives, support for artisans/craftsworkers • Enemy resists – Everyone killed, survivors used as shields in next conflict

Mongol Conquests • Began raiding northern Jurchen land – 1215 – captured Jurchen capital – renamed Khanbaliq • Afghanistan and Persia ruled by Khwarazm Shah – Shah murdered Mongol envoys, Mongols destroyed cities, massacred hundreds of thousands • Destroyed irrigation systems

China • Ruled by Khubilai Khan (Qubilai) – Named Great Khan in 1260 • Ruthless against enemies, supported culture and welfare of people • Promoted Buddhism; supported Daoism, Islam, and Christianity • Marco Polo lived at court • Fought Song Dynasty in South – won in 1276; 1279 became Emperor and established Yuan Dynasty

Southeast Asia • Tried to invade Vietnam, Cambodia, and Burma (Myanmar) – failed because jungles not fit for horses; guerilla warfare • Typhoons thwarted efforts to invade Japan – Japan claimed “kamikaze” (divine winds)

Russia • Golden Horde invades Russia • Kept army on Black Sea steppes – periodic raids into Russia – Did not directly rule – forests not good pastureland for horses – Extracted tribute from Russians until midfifteenth century

Persia • Khubilai’s brother Hulegu established ilkhanate in Persia – 1258 captured Baghdad – looted city, executed caliph, killed 200, 000 people – Tried to invade Syria (Egypt kicked them out) • Had trouble as governors – lower levels used Persians as ministers, provincial governors, and state officials

Cultural blending, or not? • Persia – Mongols tolerated all religions – ended Muslim privilege at first – 1295, Ilkhan Ghazan converted to Islam, most Mongols followed, massacres of Christians and Jews • China – Separate from people – intermarriage illegal, Chinese could not learn language, used foreign administrators, dismantled Confucian education/exams, tolerated all religions

Buddhism • Most Mongols continued Shamanist religion • Elite converted to Lamaist school of Buddhism – Magic, supernatural powers – Recognized Mongol Khans as incarnations of Buddha

Integration • Positively encouraged trade and communication – sponsored relay stations • Trade safer during their rule • Missionaries allowed to travel • Mongols relocated individuals with talent to needed areas – Artisans, educated, soldiers, bodyguards, translators, doctors, musicians, metalsmiths, etc.

Decline • Persia – Overspending and overtaxing – Paper money – failure – Decentralized until Turks reestablish central rule • China – Paper money not backed by silver – lost value, prices rose – Infighting rose – power struggles, assassinations, civil war – Bubonic Plague (decimated population – came too late to affect Persia). – Peasant rebellions

Tamerlane • Born in Samarkand – 1336 • Eliminated rivals to power • Began conquests – Afghanistan, Persia, Golden Horde (weakened), attacked Delhi, invading China when died • Did not rule – appointed governors who relied on existing bureaucracies • Empire lasted a century after death – empires of Mughal, Safavid, and Ottoman reflected Turkish Muslim legacy