CHAPTER 18: NOMADIC EMPIRES AND EURASIAN INTEGRATION

The One and only Jerry H. Bentley.

The Turks• The Turkish people were a group of nomads.• They used a lot of animals and made the most use out of

them as they could.• Even though they were nomads, there was some society

shown through their loose class system.• Many Turks converted to Islam.• They had an excellent military.• Although they weren’t the biggest, the Turks had quite a

powerful empire, shown through their conquest of Byzantium and the Sultanate of Delhi.

• Mahmud of Gazni was an important Turk to know about.

The Making of: The Mongolian Empire

• At first, there were many Mongol tribes • Then Genghis, or Chinggis, Khan organized them.• He rose to power in 1206.• He was an excellent leader.• The Mongols were good fighters, partly because

they knew how to ride horses.• Under Genghis, the Mongols conquered

Northern China and Persia.

Mongol Empire after Genghis Khan

• Just because the man who started it all died doesn’t mean the Mongol empire fell apart.

• Khubilai Khan was even BETTER than Grandpa Genghis.• Under Khubilai, the Mongols conquered the rest of

China and soon became the biggest Empire to date.• The Mongols were influenced by the people they took

over, which is shown by some Mongols converting to Buddhism.

• But, like all great Empires, the Mongols eventually declined.

Khubilai KhanOnce again, Jerry H. BentleyRelated?

Other Nomadic Empires

• There were a few other Nomadic Empires besides the Mongols and the Turks, but none of them were as important or influential as these two. Not only did they bring Eurasia together, they also shaped many countries (culturally and geographically) to become what they are today.

• This lesson was made by Ben Silver and Dakota Koklas