Discussion Topic: The MongolsTable Leaders: Savannah Cosman Haley BrownHannah Bettinger Hunter Copp

Questions prepared to “Lead” or “Prompt” discussion for the Harkness Discussion. Questions must come from the upper three levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy.Key Concept: Key Concept 3.2. Continuity and Innovation of State Forms and Their Interactions

Question #1:In what ways did technology allow the Mongol Empire to take control of its neighboring regions?

Military technology like the bow and arrow (which could shoot much further than traditional bows), and catapults allowed the Mongols to capture enemies more easily.

Question #2:Discuss the positives and the negatives to the immense size of the Mongolian empire.

Positives: trade; diversity; unification Negatives: because there was a great amount of trade, disease was spread as

well (bubonic plague); there was no main political system;Question #3: How did the reputation of the Mongols affect their expansion?

Two Main Positions 1) People were too afraid of the Mongols to fight them, leading to their

surrendering without fighting back. 2) People, in fear of being attacked, centralized their government, created

strong armies, and fortified their land, which made it harder to be taken over.Question #4: How did the setup of the Khan system in the Mongolian Empire affect its interactions with surrounding nations?

Decentralized, and in control by different peopleKey Concept:Key Concept 3.3. Increased Economic Productive Capacity and Its Consequences

Question #5: What factors contributed to the economic issues that Ghazan faced?

He reduced taxes when there was a need for more money Paper money

Question #6: What effect did tax farming have on the Mongolian Empire?

Tax farming is a fiscal method to extract maximum wealth from those being taxed

Contracting tax collection initially lowered administrative costs; but over the long term, the extortions of the tax farmers drove many landowners into debt and servitude

· Agricultural productivity declined, making it hard to supply the army

Question #7:Discuss the positives and negatives of Mongolian trade.

Trade brought new styles and huge quantities of silk westward to feed the luxury trade in the Middle East and Europe

Peaceful trade, not conquest, ended up taking the greatest toll in live

Key Concept:Key Concept 3.1. Expansion and Intensification of Communication and Exchange Networks Question #8:What impact did Mongolia, a major trade center, have on other nations?

Trade leads to influences on the other people in the trade Mongols influenced other nations greatly as a result of this Mongols quickly had access to all the new technology in trade, which led to

having more technology, when compared to other individual nations.Question #9: How did the death of Genghis Khan affect the expansion of the Mongolian Empire?

Because Genghis Khan failed to create a single political unit out of his conquests. So after his death the Mongols were left with 4 important empires called Khanates: Yuan Empire (China), Il-Khanate (Persia), the Chagadai Khanate (Central Asia), and the Khanate of the Golden Horde (Russia).

Question #10:How did the Mongols facilitate Trans-Eurasian trade and communication using other growing empires in the area?

The growing of pre-existing empires helped facilitate trade and communication as well as drawing in new people.

Minimum of TWO outside sources:1. http://www.freeman-pedia.com/mongols/ 2. https://sites.google.com/site/apworldhistorywelsh/all-chapter-outlines/chapter-12-

mongols 3. http://listverse.com/2010/06/22/top-10-greatest-empires-in-history/

Historical Period Links (compare and contrast other regions during this era, make “global connections,” etc.):

The Mongol descents took over the Yuan Empire which affected the history of China.

The split of the Mongols after Ögödei’s death is similar to the Hellenistic Period in which Alexander the Great's Empire split. These were both due to poor political leading by the emperor.

The descendants of Genghis Khan are still found all over the world today; according to Crash Course, there are around 16 million.

Due to trade, the Mongols unified Europe and Asia. This facilitated communication between neighboring countries.

People were more accepting of each other… o religiously  o culturally o There was no prominent political system so areas, although under mongol

control, were very different. The women in the Incan Empire had more rights than most other empires, and

did every job that men did. This allowed for a larger work force, and for the civilization to prosper more. This allowed the Incas, and the Mongols to have more people working, such as a higher food production based on population(food made per x amount of people is higher)

The Mongol Empire was decentralized, which led to different political beliefs. The Islamic Empire also was decentralized, which each area having its own political systems, with the Caliphate leaders. The Caliphates were similar to the Great Khan, in the way that they both were like kings of a decentralized kingdom.

Each area of the Mongol Empire had to pay tribute to the Great Khan for their land, which allowed them to fund the military. The tributary system was similar to the Persian Empire, in how conquered land payed tribute to the Empire, and kept their political system. The main difference, was that the Mongols put in their own leaders, which were generally related to the Great Khan, to help keep the Empire together.

One of the major reasons Empires become powerful is because of their military technologies. Such as how Rome, Persian Empire, and others such as the Islamic Empire, the Mongols became powerful this way.

Silk Road had stopped due to a decline of world trade. Like its original reason, the Mongols reinstated the Silk Road for many reasons such as for Silk from China (Elite Mongols wore Silk).

Paper Money was tried in the Il-Khan, and was negatively received by the community, leading to a depression. This was similar to China, and how paper money was tried, then quickly removed because of its effects (such as inflation)

Key Vocabulary (With Definitions): Khan : The leader of the Mongol empire. Yuan Empire : Created in China and Siberia by Khubilai Khan, grandson of

Genghis Khan. Bubonic Plague : A bacterial disease of fleas that can be transmitted by flea bites

to rodents and humans; was spread through trade. Genghis Khan : Was the founder and Great Khan of the Mongol Empire. Timur: Member of a prominent family of the Mongols’ Jagadai Khanate, Timur

through conquest gained control over much of Central Asia and Iran. He consolidated the status of Sunni Islam as orthodox, and his descendants, the Timurids, maintained his empire for nearly a century and founded the Mughal Empire in India.

Il-Khan: A “secondary” or “peripheral” khan  based  in Persia. The  Il-khans’ khanate was founded by Hülegü, a  grandson of Genghis Khan, and  was  based at Tabriz in the  Iranian  province  of Azerbaijan.  It controlled much of Iran and Iraq.

Rashid al-Din: Adviser to the Il-Khan ruler Ghazan, who converted to Islam on Rashid’s advice.

Golden Horde: Mongol khanate founded by Genghis Khan’s grandson Batu.  It was based in southern Russia and quickly  adopted  both the Turkic language and  Islam. Also known as the  Kipchak Horde.

Important Dates: 1206- Temüjin chosen Genghis Khan of the Mongols 1227- Death of Genghis Khan 1234- Mongols Conquer Northern China 1258- Mongols Conquer Koryo Rulers in Korea 1271- Yuan Empire Founded 1279- Mongol conquest of Southern Song

Maps:

Multiple Choice Test Questions (if high quality, may show up on Unit Test):1. Mongol women…

a. often played important roles in the kinship and tribute ties of the society of the nomadic Mongols.

b. chose who they would marry.c. held the same social and political status as men.d. had very little role in Mongolian society and were generally secluded to

their homes.e. succeeded the position of the khan when it was her time to rule.

2. What was one effect the Mongols had on trade?a. Mongols took over everyone they traded with, leading to no major trade.b. Mongols looted merchants on the Silk Road, leading to the Silk Road

being decimated.c. Trade flourished under   the Mongols, leading to Mongolia being the center

of trade for most of the world.d. Mongols traded with China and the Middle East, but played no major role.

4. The life of a Mongolian child consisted of…a. the arranging of his/her marriage, which was set up at an early age.b. early interaction with riding. Infants would be placed on goats in order to

accustom them with this.c. studying at home so when they were old enough, could take tests that

would determine his/her futured. working in agriculture along with children the same age as his/here. all of the abovef. only a and b

5. What were some of the most common religions followed by the Mongolian people?

a. Hinduism, Christianity, and Animismb. Buddhism, Islam, and Neo-Confucianismc. Neo-Confucianism, Hinduism, and Buddhismd. Buddhism, Islam, and Animisme. People are free to practice any religion

6. How did the bubonic plague affect the Mongols military?a. The plague killed all the farmers. Therefore, there was no food for the

military to eat and they starved to death.b. The plague prevented the Mongols from functioning in a normal manner

so they retreated from a battle. c. The plague did not affect the Mongols. d. The plague made all the men in the army weak and unable to fight their

enemy well. Therefore, the army died while fighting to conquer cities. e. The plague as well as Typhus, Influenza, and smallpox killed off the

population.