Chapter 11

Chapter 11: Pastoral Peoples on the Global Stage-The Mongol Moment

• The Mongol Empire
• The mongols formed the greatest land-based empire in history
• Extensive linkage of pastoralists of inner Eurasian steppes with agricultural civilizations
• Created greater contact between Europe, China, and Islamic worlds
• Mongol population was about 700,000
• No major cultural impact on world
• Did not try to spread to others
• Mongol culture today confined to nomadic state
• Rise of Mongol empire
• Created by Temujin
• Before unstable collection of feuding tribes and clans
• Temujin's rise
• As he grew up, drew together small following of friends allied with a more powerful tribal leader
• Won reputation as a great leader
• Began expansion to hold followers together 
• Major attack on China started 50-year Mongol world war
• Setbacks marked outer limits of Mongol empire 
• Mongol Moment
• Grew without any grand scheme
• Chinggis Khan saw conquests as mission to unite world
• Vastly outnumbered by enemies
• Luck and timing played a role
• Key to success was well-led organized, disciplined army
• Conquered tribes broken up and scattered among units
• All members of a unit killed if any deserted in battle 
• Leaders shared the hardships of their men
• Mongol reputation for brutality
• Resisters were destroyed
• Mobilized resources
• Encountering the Mongols
• China and the Mongols
• Mongol conquest of China took 70 years
• Began in Northern China, vastly destructive
• Conquest of Southern China less violent 
• Mongols unified a divided China
• Many believed Mongols had been granted Mandate of Heaven
• Mongols didn't know how to govern agricultural society, used China's methods
• Mongol rule was harsh
• Treated Chinese like slaves
• Few Mongols learned Chinese
• Rebellions forced Mongols out of China
• Persia and the Mongols
• Massive impact of invasion
• Unprecedented destruction
• Profound damage to agriculture
• Increase in wine and silk production
• Mongols transformed more in Persia than China
• Extensive use of Persian bureaucracy 
• Mongols in Persia converted to Islam
• Mongol elites learned some Persian
• Some Mongols took up agriculture
• Russia and the Mongols
• Devastation of Russia
• Couldn't unite against Mongol threat
• Destruction of cities, slaughter, deportation
• Did not occupy Russia
• Russian princes adopted Mongol weapons
• Broke free of Mongol rule
• Mongol Empire as Eurasian Network
• World economy
• Were not active traders
• Promoted international commerce as source of tax revenue 
• Diplomacy Eurasian scale
• Mongol encroachment into Eastern Europe 
• No diplomatic or religious consequences
• Cultural exchange in Mongol realm 
• Thousands of educated people forcibly relocated by Mongols
• Mongol religious tolerance and support of merchants drew foreigners 
• The Plague
• Spread across trade routes of Mongol 
• Likely originated in Central Asia
• Carried by rodents
• Periodic returns of plague for centuries
• Changed European society in long term 
• Primary reason for breakdown of Mongol empire

I found this chapter very interesting.  I find the Mongols fascinating, because they didn't have a major impact in the sense of their culture changing things, but they did leave such an impact on the world.  The impact they made for everyone else was lasting, even if their ideas didn't spread.  While they were rough, so was everyone else who conquered and spread their ideas.  That's how things were done at this time and the Mongols got things done.