Deck 12: B: Pastoral Peoples on the Global Stage the Mongol Moment 1200-1500

Question 1

Discuss the types of exchanges that occurred between different parts of Eurasia during the time of the Mongol Empire.

Answer 1

•A discussion of economic exchanges should explain the extent of long-distance trade.
•A discussion of diplomatic exchanges should give examples of contact and dialogue between different parts of the empire.
•A discussion of cultural exchanges should give examples of the ideas,inventions,and technologies spread by the movement of people within the empire.
•A discussion of the exchange of germs should focus on the plague and note that contact also brought negative consequences.

Question 2

In which regions of Africa and Eurasia did the Black Death have its greatest impact,and where did it have less of an impact?

Answer 2

•The plague had its greatest impact in China,the Islamic world,Europe,and the steppe lands of the nomads,causing a sharp contraction in Eurasian population for a century or more.
•It had less of an impact in India and sub-Saharan Africa.

Question 3

What accounts for the differences in the effect of Mongol rule on China,Persia,and Russia?

Answer 3

•The effect of Mongol rule on each society depended on whether the Mongols occupied the territory and ruled over it directly,and the extent to which the Mongols assimilated the culture of the conquered people.
•In Persia and China,Mongol occupation and direct rule left a deeper impact than in Russia where the Mongols ruled from afar.
•In Persia,the conversion of Mongol rulers to Islam made them more acceptable to the local population and had a more lasting effect on Persia.
•In China,partial accommodation of Chinese culture enabled Mongol rulers to draw from Chinese ideas to legitimize their imperial authority (Mandate of Heaven,Confucian rituals).However,their refusal to embrace all aspects of Chinese civilization and their maintenance of aspects of the lifestyle of the steppes contributed to views of them as foreign oppressors.In contrast to Persia,the long-term effect of Mongol rule on China was not as lasting or deep.
•Mongol rule did not directly affect Russian society,although its tributary policy did contribute to the decline of Kiev and the rise of Moscow.

Question 4

What impact did pastoral peoples have on the spread of Islam?

Question 5

To govern their empire,what types of policies did Mongol rulers implement and what infrastructure did they set up?

Question 6

What characteristics were widely shared by pastoral peoples?

Question 7

Which groups reaped benefits under Mongol rule?

Question 8

What key features of their army and of their method of waging war made the Mongols such an effective military force?

Question 9

How were the Mongols changed by their experiences as the rulers of an empire that encompassed such a diverse range of peoples and cultures?