World History / Unit 5: Empires of Africa, Asia and the Americas
5.2 The Mongol Empire
Notes
In the 1200s, nomads from Central Asia built the largest connected land empire in history.
- Temujin united the Mongol clans and took the title Genghis Khan in 1206.
- Mongols were expert horse archers who used speed, discipline and terror; cities that resisted were often destroyed.
- His descendants divided the empire into khanates. The Golden Horde ruled Russia for over 200 years; the Mongols destroyed Baghdad in 1258.
- Kublai Khan conquered China and founded the Yuan dynasty (1271 to 1368). His attempts to invade Japan in 1274 and 1281 failed, partly because of storms the Japanese called kamikaze ("divine winds").
- Pax Mongolica: Mongol control made Silk Road trade safer, so goods, ideas and travelers like Marco Polo moved across Eurasia. A relay postal system (the yam) carried messages quickly.
- The same trade networks helped spread the Black Death in the 1300s.
Practice
Which was a positive effect of the Pax Mongolica?
Mongol rule protected merchants along long routes.
Why did Kublai Khan's invasions of Japan fail?
The Japanese believed the typhoons were divine winds.
How did the Mongol Empire contribute to the spread of the Black Death?
Connected trade routes let plague-carrying fleas travel long distances.
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