Mongols

Examples of Mongols in the following topics:

• The Mongols in Eastern Europe

  • Under Ögedei, the Mongol Empire conquered Eastern Europe.
  • The Mongols have been credited for introducing gunpowder and associated weapons into Europe.
  • The Mongols continued to invade Central Europe with three armies.
  • It took a number of months for the Mongol army to subdue various power centers in Hungary.
  • This particular city defeated the Mongol army in 1242.

• Overview of the Mongol Empire

  • The Mongol Empire began in the Central Asian steppes and lasted throughout the 13th and 14th centuries.
  • Many additional countries became tributary states of the Mongol Empire.
  • The empire unified the nomadic Mongol and Turkic tribes of historical Mongolia under the leadership of Genghis Khan, who was proclaimed ruler of all Mongols in 1206.
  • Tatar and Mongol raids against Russian states continued well into the later 1200's.
  • In India, the Mongols' gains survived into the 19th century as the Mughal Empire.

• The Mongol Threat

  • The Mongol invasion of the Kievan Rus' principalities began in 1223 at the Battle of the Kalka River.
  • The Mongols began to expand their power across the continent.
  • However, the Mongol threat was far from over, and they returned in 1237.
  • All the major principalities, such as Novgorod, Smolensk, and Pskov, submitted to Mongol rule.
  • However, Rus’ principalities paid tribute and taxes to the Mongol rulers regularly, under the umbrella of the Golden Horde (the western portion of the Mongol Empire).

• Expansion Throughout Eastern Asia

  • Under Genghis Khan and his son Ögedei, the Mongol Empire conquered both the Western Xia Dynasty and the Jin Dynasty to the west.
  • Jin's army commander made a tactical mistake in not attacking the Mongols at the first opportunity.
  • Instead, he sent a messenger to Mongols.
  • Between 1232 CE and 1233 CE, Kaifeng fell to the Mongols under the reign of Genghis' third son, Ögedei Khan.
  • Recall the significance and consequences of the Mongol Empire's battles with the Western Xia and Jin Dynasties.

• Influence of the Mongols

  • The Mongol Empire emerged in Central Asia during the 13th and 14th centuries.
  • The Mongol Empire emerged in Central Asia during the 13th and 14th centuries as the largest land empire in history.
  • The Mongol Empire was governed by a code of law instituted by Genghis and termed "Yassa," meaning "order."
  • Any resistance to Mongol rule was met with massive and collective punishment.
  • Already at the time of the Mongol empire, samples of Buddhist and Indian literature became known in Mongolia.

• Expansion Throughout Central and Western Asia

  • With Küchlüg's death, the Mongol Empire secured control over the Kara-Khitai and surrounding areas.
  • Generally speaking, Mongol forces would enslave or massacre populations after a victorious capture of a city or region, establishing a new rule of law and highlighting Mongol dominance.
  • During the invasion of Transoxania in 1219, along with the main Mongol force, Genghis Khan used a Chinese specialist catapult unit in battle, adding to the powerful tactics already in use by Mongol forces.
  • The Mongols conquered the areas today known as Iran, Iraq, Syria, Caucasus and parts of Turkey.
  • Further Mongol raids reached southwards as far as Gaza into the Palestine region in 1260 and 1300.

• Administrative Reform in the Mongol Empire

  • Möngke was generally a popular ruler of the Mongol Empire; he met debts, controlled spending, conducted a census, and protected civilians.
  • From Ögedei's death in 1241 CE until 1246 CE the Mongol Empire was ruled under the regency of Ögedei's widow, Töregene Khatun.
  • Paying out all debts drawn by high-rank Mongol elites to important foreign and local merchants.
  • Many Russian princes capitulated with Mongol rule and a relatively stable alliance existed in the 1250s in some principalities.
  • Möngke might have been present at this battle, which took place in the kingdom of Hungary, during one of the many Mongol invasions and attacks that expanded the Mongol Empire.

• Genghis Khan

  • In 1206, Temujin was crowned as the leader of the Great Mongol Nation.
  • He initially forged the Mongol Empire in Central Asia with the unification of the Mongol and Turkic confederations on the Mongolian plateau in 1206.
  • Then Mongol forces invaded westward into Central Asia including:
  • Any city or town that resisted the Mongols was subject to destruction.
  • He was the first leader of the unified Mongols and first emperor under the Mongolian Empire.

• Kublai Khan

  • However, Chinese forces ultimately overthrew the Mongols to form the Ming Dynasty.
  • With this success, the Mongols became the first non-Chinese people to conquer all of the Chinese territories.
  • However, the Yuan Dynasty often functioned as an independent khanate from the rest of the western Mongol-dominated regions.
  • Mongol records also list 20,166 public schools created during his reign.
  • Polo generally praised the wealth and extravagance of Khan and the Mongol Empire.

• The Mongol Invasions

  • The Rise of Kublai Khan and the the Mongol Invasions of China
  • Genghis Khan united the Mongol and Turkic tribes of the steppes and became Great Khan in 1206.
  • He and his successors expanded the Mongol Empire across Asia.
  • Civil strife had permanently divided the Mongol Empire.
  • Connect the Mongol invasions to the establishment of the Yuan dynasty