HIST 10 - Mongols

Horsemen from Hell
song

I. The Mongols

         A. The 13th Century World
                  • Renaissance Europe
                  • Abbasid Near East/Islamic Spain
                  • Marco Polo

         B. The Mongol "Hordes"
                  • Homelands
                  • Mongol Life: Sheep and Horses
                          - kumiss
                  • Mongol Bonds: nokor and anda
                  • Mongol Composite Bow

II. The Rise of Chinggis Khan
A. Temüjin (1155-1227)

         B. 1206 Kurlitai: Unification of the Mongol Tribes
                  • Organization of the Mongol Army
                          - tumen (10,000)
                          - minghan (1,000)
                          - jaqun (100)
                          - arban (10)

III. Conquests of Chinggis Khan [map]

A. Capture of Beijing (1215) -- Jurchens

         B. Conquest of Central Asia and Russia(1219-27)
                  • Central Asia (1219-1220)
                           - Khwarazm
                           - Utrar (1219)
                           - Bukhara and Samarkand (1220)
                           - Indus River (1222)
                           - Caspian Sea (1223)

D. Death of Chinggis Khan (1227) [map]

         E. Succession & Division (Khanates) [map]
                  • Batu - The Golden Horde
                  • Chaghadai - Central Asia
                  • Tolui - North China
                  • Ogedei Khan- Empire of the "Great Khan"(d. 1241)
                           - Mongke Khan (d. 1259)

IV. Legacy of Chinggis Khan

         A. Kublai Khan (r. 1260-1294) & the Yuan Dynasty [map]
                  • Policy of Tolerance & Patronage
                       - Islam and the Mongols
                  • Art & Culture
                  • Infrastructure
                       - Dadu [Beijing] (c. 1267) [map]
                       - Shangdu (Xanadu) [modern Kaiping]

         C. Decline of the Mongol Empire
                  • Limits of Expansion: Japan, Java, Burma
                              - kamikaze (divine wind - 神風)
                  • Disintegration

There are many interesting sites on the Mongols two I have found useful are:
1) National Geographic's The Land of Genghis Khan
2) The Legacy of Genghis Khan - to view an on-line exhibit of Mongolian artwork