the mongolsThe nomads of central Asia during the 13th and 14th centuries returned to center stage in world history. The Mongols ended or interrupted the great postclassical empires while extending the world network of that era. Led by Chinggis Khan and his successors, they brought central Asia, China, Persia, Tibet, Iraq, Asia Minor, and southern Russia under their control. The resulting states dominated most of Asia for one and a half centuries. The Mongol success was the most formidable nomadic challenge to the global dominance of the sedentary, civilized core civilizations since the first centuries c.e. The Mongols often are portrayed as barbarian, destructive conquerors, but their victories brought much more than death and destruction. Peoples lived in peace in the Mongol territories and enjoyed religious toleration and a unified law code. The Mongol conquests expanded the world network in formation since the classical age.
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considering the evidence - PERSPECTIVES on the mongols (+20)
How did the Mongols understand themselves and the enormous empire they had created? How did the peoples who were forcibly incorporated within that empire or threatened by it view the Mongols? In studying the Mongol phenomenon, historians use documents that reflect both the Mongols’ perception of themselves and the perspectives of outsiders
Assignment: You are to read like a historian the five primary sources below & answer the follow up questions. The first two documents derive from Mongol sources, while the final three represent views from Russian, Chinese, and Western European observers (see map right). Sorting through these various perceptions of the Mongols raises questions about the kinds of understandings—or misunderstandings—that arise as culturally different peoples meet, especially under conditions of conquest. These documents also require reflection on the relative usefulness of sources that come from the Mongols themselves as well as those that derive from the victims of Mongol aggression.
Assignment: You are to read like a historian the five primary sources below & answer the follow up questions. The first two documents derive from Mongol sources, while the final three represent views from Russian, Chinese, and Western European observers (see map right). Sorting through these various perceptions of the Mongols raises questions about the kinds of understandings—or misunderstandings—that arise as culturally different peoples meet, especially under conditions of conquest. These documents also require reflection on the relative usefulness of sources that come from the Mongols themselves as well as those that derive from the victims of Mongol aggression.
Doc. 1, Mongol Source shows the major literary work to emerge from the Mongols themselves, widely known as The Secret History of the Mongols, was written a decade or two after the death in 1227 of Chinggis Khan. The unknown author of this work was clearly a contemporary of the Great Khan and likely a member of the royal household. The first selection discusses the Mongol practice of anda, a very close relationship between two unrelated men. Although they later broke with one another, the anda relationship of Temujin, the future Chinggis Khan, and his friend Jamugha was important in Temujin’s rise to power. The second selection from the Secret History describes the process by which Temujin was elevated to the rank of Chinggis Khan, the ruler of a united Mongol nation, while the third recounts the reflections of Ogodei, Chinggis Khan’s son and successor, probably toward the end of his reign, which lasted from 1229 to 1241.
1. How would you describe the anda relationship?
2. What does the Secret History suggest about the nature of political authority and political relationships among the Mongols?
3. What did Ogodei regard as his greatest achievements and his most notable mistakes?
4. What evidence do the selections from the Secret History provide that the author was an insider?
1. How would you describe the anda relationship?
2. What does the Secret History suggest about the nature of political authority and political relationships among the Mongols?
3. What did Ogodei regard as his greatest achievements and his most notable mistakes?
4. What evidence do the selections from the Secret History provide that the author was an insider?
Doc. 2, A letter from Chinggis Khan comes from a remarkable letter that Chinggis Khan sent to an elderly Chinese Daoist master named Changchun in 1219, requesting a personal meeting with the teacher. Changchun in fact made the arduous journey to the camp of Chinggis Khan, then located in Afghanistan, where he stayed with the Mongol ruler for almost a year, before returning to China.
1. Why did Chinggis Khan seek a meeting with Changchun?
2. How does Chinggis Khan define his life’s work? What is his image of himself?
3. How would you describe the tone of Chinggis Khan’s letter to Changchun? What does the letter suggest about Mongol attitudes toward the
belief systems of conquered peoples?
4. How do Documents 1 & 2 help explain the success of the Mongols’ empire-building efforts?
5. What core Mongol values do these documents suggest?
1. Why did Chinggis Khan seek a meeting with Changchun?
2. How does Chinggis Khan define his life’s work? What is his image of himself?
3. How would you describe the tone of Chinggis Khan’s letter to Changchun? What does the letter suggest about Mongol attitudes toward the
belief systems of conquered peoples?
4. How do Documents 1 & 2 help explain the success of the Mongols’ empire-building efforts?
5. What core Mongol values do these documents suggest?
Doc. 3, A Russian View of the Mongols offers the initial impression of the Mongol impact in many places was one of utter devastation, destruction, and brutality. Document 3 offers a Russian commentary from that perspective drawn from the Chronicle of Novgorod, one of the major sources for the history of early Russia.
1. How did the Russian writer of the Chronicle account for what he saw as the disaster of the Mongol invasion?
2. Can you infer from the document any additional reasons for the Mongol success?
3. Beyond the conquest itself, what other aspects of Mongol rule offended the Russians?
4. To what extent was the Mongol conquest of Russia also a clash of cultures?
1. How did the Russian writer of the Chronicle account for what he saw as the disaster of the Mongol invasion?
2. Can you infer from the document any additional reasons for the Mongol success?
3. Beyond the conquest itself, what other aspects of Mongol rule offended the Russians?
4. To what extent was the Mongol conquest of Russia also a clash of cultures?
Doc. 4, Chinese Perceptions of the Mongol's rule varied considerably. To some, of course, the Mongols were simply foreign conquerors and therefore illegitimate as Chinese rulers. Marco Polo, who was in China at the time, reported that some Mongol officials or their Muslim intermediaries treated Chinese “just like slaves,” demanding bribes for services, ordering arbitrary executions, and seizing women at will—all of which generated outrage and hostility. Document 4 illustrates another side to Chinese perception of the Mongols. It comes from a short biography of a Mongol official named Menggu, which was written by a well-educated Chinese scholar on the occasion of Menggu’s death. Intended to be inscribed on stone and buried with the Mongol officer, it emphasizes the ways in which Menggu conformed to Chinese ways of governing. Such obituaries were an established form of Chinese historical writing, usually commissioned by the children of the deceased.
1. Why might Menggu’s children have requested such a document and asked a Chinese scholar to compose it? What does this suggest about Mongol
attitudes to Chinese culture?
2. What features of Menggu’s governship did this Chinese author appreciate? In what ways did Menggu’s actions and behavior reflect Confucian
values? What might the writer have omitted from his account?
3. What might inspire a highly educated Chinese scholar to compose such a flattering public tribute to a Mongol official?
4. Why might historians be a bit skeptical about this document? Which statements might be most suspect?
1. Why might Menggu’s children have requested such a document and asked a Chinese scholar to compose it? What does this suggest about Mongol
attitudes to Chinese culture?
2. What features of Menggu’s governship did this Chinese author appreciate? In what ways did Menggu’s actions and behavior reflect Confucian
values? What might the writer have omitted from his account?
3. What might inspire a highly educated Chinese scholar to compose such a flattering public tribute to a Mongol official?
4. Why might historians be a bit skeptical about this document? Which statements might be most suspect?
Doc. 5, Mongol Women through European Eyes provides some insight into the roles of Mongol women and men through the eyes of a European observer, William of Rubruck (1220–1293). A Flemish Franciscan friar, William was one of several emissaries sent to the Mongol court by the pope and the king of France. They hoped that these diplomatic missions might lead to the conversion of the Mongols to Christianity, perhaps an alliance with the Mongols against Islam, or at least some useful intelligence about Mongol intentions. While no agreements with the Mongols came from these missions, William of Rubruck left a detailed account of Mongol life in the mid-thirteenth century, which included observations about the domestic roles of men and women.
1. How does William of Rubruck portray the lives of Mongol women? What was the class background of the Mongol women he describes?
2. What do you think he would have found most upsetting about the position of women in Mongol society?
3. Based on this account, how might you compare the life of Mongol women to that of women in more established civilizations, such as China,
Europe, or the Islamic world?
1. How does William of Rubruck portray the lives of Mongol women? What was the class background of the Mongol women he describes?
2. What do you think he would have found most upsetting about the position of women in Mongol society?
3. Based on this account, how might you compare the life of Mongol women to that of women in more established civilizations, such as China,
Europe, or the Islamic world?
Using the Evidence: Perspectives on the Mongols
1. Assessing sources: What are the strengths and limitations of these documents for understanding the Mongols? Taking the position of their authors into account, what exaggerations, biases, or misunderstandings can you identify in these sources? What information seems credible and what should be viewed more skeptically?
2. Characterizing the Mongols: Based on these documents and on the text of Chapter 15, write a summary assessing the Mongol moment in world history. How might you counteract the view of many that the Mongols were simply destructive barbarians? How do your own values affect your understanding of the Mongol moment?
3. Considering self-perception and practice: How would you describe the core values of Mongol culture? (Consider their leaders’ goals, attitudes
toward conquered peoples, duties of rulers, views of political authority, role of women.) To what extent were these values put into practice in acquiring and ruling their huge empire? And in what ways were those values undermined or eroded as that empire took shape?
1. Assessing sources: What are the strengths and limitations of these documents for understanding the Mongols? Taking the position of their authors into account, what exaggerations, biases, or misunderstandings can you identify in these sources? What information seems credible and what should be viewed more skeptically?
2. Characterizing the Mongols: Based on these documents and on the text of Chapter 15, write a summary assessing the Mongol moment in world history. How might you counteract the view of many that the Mongols were simply destructive barbarians? How do your own values affect your understanding of the Mongol moment?
3. Considering self-perception and practice: How would you describe the core values of Mongol culture? (Consider their leaders’ goals, attitudes
toward conquered peoples, duties of rulers, views of political authority, role of women.) To what extent were these values put into practice in acquiring and ruling their huge empire? And in what ways were those values undermined or eroded as that empire took shape?