Table Of ContentGGRREEAATT EEMMPPIIRREESS OOFF TTHHEE PPAASSTT
E
MPIRE OF
M
THE ONGOLS
Revised Edition
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GREAT EMPIRES OF THE PAST
Empire of Alexander the Great
Empire of Ancient Egypt
Empire of Ancient Greece
Empire of Ancient Rome
Empire of the Aztecs
Empire of the Incas
Empire of the Islamic World
Empire of the Mongols
Empires of Ancient Mesopotamia
Empires of Ancient Persia
Empires of Medieval West Africa
Empires of the Maya
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GR E AT E M PI R E S OF T H E PA ST
E
MPIRE OF
M
THE ONGOLS
Revised Edition
M B
ICHAEL URGAN
CHRISTOPHER P. ATWOOD, HISTORICAL CONSULTANT
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Great Empires of the Past: Empire of the Mongols
Copyright © 2009, 2004 Michael Burgan
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or used in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical,
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Burgan, Michael.
Empire of the Mongols / Michael Burgan. — Rev. ed.
p. cm. — (Great empires of the past)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-60413-163-5 (hardcover)
ISBN 978-1-4381-2573-2 (e-book)
1. Mongols—History—Juvenile literature. I. Title. II. Series.
DS19.B87 2008
950’.02—dc22 2008050884
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C
ONTENTS
Introduction 7
PART I HISTORY
CHAPTER 1 The Rise of the Mongol Empire 19
CHAPTER 2 Completing the Mongol Empire 39
CHAPTER 3 Final Years of the Khanates 57
PART II SOCIETY AND CULTURE
CHAPTER 4 Mongol Government and Society 77
CHAPTER 5 Daily Life in the Mongol Empire 97
CHAPTER 6 Art, Science, and Culture in Mongol Lands 115
Epilogue 135
Time Line 145
Glossary 147
Bibliography 149
Further Resources 151
Picture Credits 153
Index 154
About the Author 160
5
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I
NTRODUCTION
FOR SEVERAL THOUSAND YEARS, WARRIORS ON HORSEBACK OPPOSITE
rode across central Asia, conquering nearby towns and cities. These Chinggis Khan was the
horsemen lived on the steppes, which is a flat, grassy region that extends first great leader of the
Mongols. Under him
from Asia into central Europe. The riders were nomads—people with
and his descendants,
no permanent home. They moved from one grazing spot to another
the Mongols created
with their herds of horses, sheep, camels, goats, and cattle. Over the
the largest empire ever
centuries, these nomads battled such people as the ancient Greeks, the controlled by one family.
Romans, the Persians, the Chinese, and the Arabs. This 16th-century Persian
Of all the nomadic warriors of central Asia, the fiercest were the miniature, painted 300
years after his death, shows
Mongols. In the 13th century, starting in their homeland of Mongolia,
his lasting influence.
just north of China, the Mongols spread out to the south and west.
Under the leadership of Chinggis Khan (ca. 1162–1227) and his descen-
dants, the Mongols quickly built an empire that stretched from Korea
to eastern Europe—the largest continuous area of land ever controlled
by one ruling family.
This empire soon split into four mini-empires. The last major rul-
ers who had ties to the old Mongol empire were the Mughals of north-
ern India. They first governed in the 16th century. They traced family
ties to Chinggis Khan and the later Turkic-Mongol ruler Timur (1336–
1405), who was more commonly known in English as Tamerlane.
By the time of the Mughals, the old Mongol culture had just about
disappeared in most of the lands that once formed their empire. The
Mongols had adopted the ways of the people they conquered and
blended into their societies. Only in their homeland of Mongolia and
a few other pockets of the eastern steppes did the traditional ways
endure.
7
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EMpiRE of ThE Mongols
CONNECTIONS This willingness to learn
from conquered people and
What Are Connections?
take on their culture was
one of the Mongols’ great-
Throughout this book, and all the books in the great
est strengths. They borrowed
Empires of the past series, there are Connections boxes.
the best of what their former
They point out ideas, inventions, art, food, customs, and
enemies had to offer in poli-
more from this empire that are still part of the world today.
tics, art, and social structure.
nations and cultures in remote history can seem far away
The Mongols’ other major
from the present day, but these connections demonstrate
strength was their military
how our everyday lives have been shaped by the peoples
might. They had great skills
of the past.
on horseback and showed
tremendous discipline on the
battlefield. As they conquered
each land, they recruited new soldiers, then moved their ever-increas-
ing army to new territories.
The World of The 12Th CenTury
For several centuries before the rise of Chinggis Khan, the Mon-
gols were just one of many nomadic tribes that lived on the Central
Asian steppes. Different Turkic peoples ruled the steppes for a time,
and the Chinese also influenced the region. The tribes of Mongolia
blended with the Turks, creating what is sometimes called a Turko-
Mongol culture. By the 12th century, the tribes of Mongolia included
the Tatars, the Mongols, the Kereyids, the Naimans, and the
Merkits.
These Mongolian tribal peoples lived on the land mass called Eur-
asia. This continuous stretch of land includes most of Europe and Asia.
At its height in the second century, the Roman Empire dominated the
western half of Eurasia. At about the same time, the Han dynasty of
China was the major power in the east. By the 12th century, both these
empires were long gone, and a number of smaller empires and king-
doms competed for influence in the region.
The Roman Empire had split in two even before its fall in the fifth
century. Western Europe then broke into many different kingdoms and
principalities (small states ruled by princes). The Byzantine Empire,
which traced its political roots to the Romans, ruled parts of Eastern
Europe.
8
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Introduction
In the Middle East, a single great Islamic Empire had arisen in the
seventh century. It then broke up into smaller empires. In South Asia,
Turks and Mongols
India had developed a great culture that was more than 3,000 years
Throughout this book,
old. But by the 12th century, native Indian rulers were losing power to
Mongol is used to
outsiders. The northern part of the country eventually came under the
describe the people of
control of Turks, who had become Muslims. Mongolia during the time
Farther east in Eurasia, the powerful Han dynasty ruled China. of the Mongol Empire.
When it fell, the Song and Jin dynasties competed for power. (A dynasty is Mongolian, when it is
used, refers to the mod-
a family that keeps control of a government over many generations, with
ern-day people of Mon-
rule often passed from a parent to a child.) A number of smaller empires,
golia. In a similar way,
some Turkic, also competed for influence on the edges of China.
Turkic or Turk or Turko
Throughout the world at this time, religion played a greater role in refers to past peoples,
politics and daily life than it usually does today. Religion inspired great not the current inhabit-
art. It could also be the cause of bloody wars. Eastern and Western ants of modern Turkey.
Europe were divided by their religion, as each claimed that its type of
Christianity was the true faith. Islam was dominant in the Arab world
and in Persia. The Islamic influence spread into Central Asia, where
Turkic tribes lived.
In India, Hinduism and Buddhism (both native to India) were the
main religions until the Muslim conquests began. In China, Buddhism
competed with Daoism (a native Chinese religion) as the main faith.
The Mongols had their own religion, but they often accepted the beliefs
of the people they conquered.
The empires that dominated Eurasia in the 12th century were
mostly sedentary—they were built around permanent towns and cities
that focused on farming and trade. They had great wealth compared
to the Mongols. But in most cases they could not match the military
skill of the nomadic warriors. They also had political and religious
differences that kept them from working together to fight the Mon-
gols. Those differences made it easier for the Mongols to expand their
empire.
The ConquesTs Begin
The first Mongol khan (supreme ruler) emerged toward the end of the
11th century. A little later, the Mongols battled the Tatars. The Mongol
chieftain Yesugei (d. ca. 1175), a relative of the first khan, killed a Tatar
leader named Temüjin (d. ca. 1167). Yesugei then named his newborn
son after the fallen Tatar, which was a common practice of the day.
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