| 10479501440 | Why has it been difficult to get information about Genghis Khan and the Mongol Empire until recently? Why has new information now become available? What does this tell us about the nature of history and its dependence on source material? | It has been difficult to get information about Genghis Khan and the Mongol Empire because he forbid any paintings and manuscripts about him. Becasue there were no resources from that time, people now have little to rely on. New information has now become available through the Secret History which was recently decoded and the forbidden zone of Genghis's childhood and burial that has opened. The Secret History tells about the life, family lineage, conquerings, etc., of Genghis Khan. This tells us that in order to know and learn history, there must be source material or there won't be any valid information on that subject. | | 0 |
| 10479501441 | Describe Genghis Khan's early life. What motivated him to become a leader of the Mongol Empire and, later, a huge empire? | Genghis Khan's early life was not the easiest. His father, Yesugei was harsh and did not show affection towards Temujin, and later was poisoned by a tribe because he had killed a fellow warrior. He also kidnapped Temujin's mother, Hoelun. It is said that when Temujin was born, he was clutching a blood clot in his hands, perhaps foretelling his future. Temujin killed his eldest step brother because he did not like being told what to do, simply because of seniority. His harsh child life and the want to unite Mongolian tribes is what motivated Genghis to become a leader of the huge empire. | | 1 |
| 10479501442 | Identify the nature of nomadic life in 12th century Mongolia. | The nature of nomadic life was based on necessity and survival. Life was not luxurious and easy, so whatever the nomads could find, they used the most of it. The Mongolians lived in tribes led by men and would battle with many other tribes. It was not unusual for a tribe to join another. If one wasn't kin to another, they were deemed enemies. | | 2 |
| 10479501443 | Describe the nature of tribal warfare among the Central Asian pastoral groups. | The nature of tribal warfare was long and brutal. "In the history of steppe warfare, a defeated tribe was looted, some were taken prisoners, and the rest left again to their devices. Defeated groups regularly reorganized and counterattacked, or broke away and joined rival tribes." Genghis Khan introduced new ideas to tribal warfare like looting until defeating the tribe completely, organized new warrior groups, made up of tens of hundreds, thousands, and so forth. For example, Genghis Khan and Jamuka's battle of superiority lasted for about two decades involving many gory deaths of each other's men. | | 3 |
| 10479501444 | How did Genghis Khan create his nation-state? | Genghis Khan created his nation state by defeating Ong Khan's tribe (Kereyid), Jamuka's tribe, and one by one, captured/defeated every tribe in the steppe. He conquered the Merkid for kidnapping Borte, the Tatars for poisoning Yesugei, the Naiman and many more. Genghis controlled every thing from the Gobi in the north to the Arctic tundra in the south, from the Manchurian forests in the east to the Altai Mountains of the west. His cleverness and shrewd tactics made him become the word's greatest leader possible. He induced fear to the minds of people across the continent and they knew if they did not succumb, Genghis would mercilessly kill them. | | 4 |
| 10479501445 | What was the "Great Law of Genghis Khan"? How was it different from other law codes that had preceded it? What necessitated its creation? | The Great Law of Genghis Khan were a series of rules for his empire ensuring place and prosperity. They were: forbidden to kidnap women, forbidden to abduct and enslave a Mongol, all children were legitimate, forbidden to sell women into marriage, outlawed adultery, no animal rustling, the requirement of a lost and found system, no hunting animals during breeding time, religious freedom, tax payments, and many more. The Great Law was different from other law codes before because it did not delve into all aspects of daily life and was for the regulation of most troubling aspects. Genghis also made it clear that the Law applied as strictly to the rulers as anyone else. The past of Genghis necessitated these rules. From the kidnapping of Hoelun and Borte, being enslaved in the tribe, his first son with Borte, the stealing of his and his family's horses, etc. All the laws are based on Genghis's own experiences with those wrongdoings. | | 5 |
| 10479501446 | What was unique about the Mongol military? How did this give them a significant advantage over their enemies? | The Mongol military rode horses and carried what was only necessary. This made traveling and battling easier from the lightness of each one's load and the swiftness from the horses. They also traveled without a commissary or cumbersome supply train. The soldiers ate healthy foods instead of a carb diet resulting in them lasting without food for one or two days. The army spread out over a vast area to provide sufficient pasture for the animals and to maximize hunting opportunities for soldiers. They also had a rhyme and memorization communication system. Genghis Khan's army was many times outnumbered by the others but it was the quality over quantity that lead to success. | | 6 |
| 10479501447 | How did Genghis Khan attempt to shape the flow of trade across Eurasia? | After conquering most of Central Asia and the Middle East, Khan realized that common merchandise in one place could be rare in another, and opened trade routes to facilitate the spread of these items. | | 7 |
| 10479501448 | How did Genghis Khan die? | While hunting horses, Genghis Khan was thrown off of his horse, suffering deep internal injuries. Along with a large fever that Khan had already acquired, he died six months later just before the Mongol's defeat of the Tangut. | | 8 |
| 10479501449 | How did the Mongol Army adapt to the environment of the territories they attempted to conquer? | The Mongol Army adapted to the environment of the territories they attempted to conquer by sending in small squads to probe enemy defenses and to locate appropriate pasturelands and water sources for the Mongol animals. They identified geography to use for their animals or to farm pastures. They also seized numbers of civilizations for the jobs ahead, such as digging fortifications, cutting trees and hauling supplies. So, they prepared for battle in foreign lands by scouting out and sending back information about the lands to the army to their best advantage, then furthering it to using their enemies' own ground as their weakness. | | 9 |
| 10479501450 | How did the Mongol Army improvise as well as use diplomacy to accomplish their military missions? | The Mongols created their own strategies and tactics against their enemy. They used weapons that they crafted themselves and was effective and destructive against the others. The Mongol Empire used diplomacy to accomplish their missions by treating people they captured during battle with respect and from that, in return, they used their skills in future conquests. Because of this good treatment, the Mongols were unified and loyal to one another, doing the best they could against enemy lines for their nation they would die for. | | 10 |
| 10479501451 | How did Khubilai Khan struggle with organizing millions of different people into a single entity. | Khubilai struggled with organizing millions of different people into a single entity because they were from different places, had different cultures, beliefs and languages. They also didn't believe Khubilai was Chinese enough to rule China. The people didn't want a foreign leader to rule them, plus the Mongolian lifestyle was not their way of living. There were rebellions and transgressions amongst the people. | | 11 |
| 10479501452 | In what ways did Khan try to "Sinicize" his image? | Khubilai changed his name into a Chinese name, he built temples for his family lineage and changed their names into Chinese ones, too. He ordered portraits to be Chinese styled so they looked more Mandarin than Mongolian. He even built a city dedicated for China, now known as Beijing. | | 12 |
| 10479501453 | How did Khan reform Chinese law? Chinese culture? | Khubilai reformed Chinese law by making it more compatible with Genghis Khan's law, in such a way as to simultaneously win support from both his Mongol and Chinese followers. He lessened the harsh penal code of the Sung. The Mongols reduced by nearly half the number of capital offenses in China by about 100. "Overall, he installed a more consistent system of laws and punishment as well as one that was substantially milder and more humanitarian than the Sung's (201)". He reformed Chinese culture by refining the monetary system. He built schools and revived the Chinese Hanlin Academy, which composed of great scholars in order to promote traditional Chinese learning and culture. He also supported dramas and plays, a much neglected art in traditional Chinese culture. He also reformed the criminal system, introducing fingerprints. | | 13 |
| 10479501454 | How did the "Pax Mongolica" (the Mongol Peace) contribute to the development of a new, global culture? | Pax Mongolica was a period of time where peace, stability, economic growth, cultural fusion and cultural development were happening around the Mongol's occupied territories. It was a time of spreading different ideas and a great cultural expansion around Eurasia. Trade was booming and bustling all across the empire, creating new technological inventions and assimilating new cultures to a place. | | 14 |
| 10479501455 | Explain what is meant by the "persistent universalism" of the Mongol Empire. | "Persistent universalism" —> The Mongols had no system of their own to impose upon their subjects, they were willing to adopt and combine systems from everywhere. They searched for what worked best; and when they found it, they spread it to other countries. The Mongols adopted printing technology very early, whether in their policy of religious tolerance, devising a universal alphabet, maintaining relay stations, playing games, or astronomy charts (display of persistent universalism) | | 15 |
| 10479501456 | How did the bubonic plague epidemic of the 1300 lead to the destruction of the Mongol Empire? | Spread by fleas on rats, the plague spread very easily through the trade routes of the Mongol Empire, thus destroying it and wiping out millions of people. Because of the Black Death, everything shut down, there were no businesses or trade and the Mongol Empire could not flourish without these things. | | 16 |
| 10479501457 | How have different cultures treated the memory of Genghis Khan differently? | -Renaissance writers and explorers admired Genghis Khan
-Enlightenment encouraged many Europeans to blame the Mongols for any flaw in their continent.
-Asians held Khan in high regard. | | 17 |
| 10479501458 | How did Genghis Khan help make the modern world? | "Although he arose out of the ancient tribal past, Genghis Khan shaped the modern world of commerce, communication, and large secular states more than any other individual. He was the thoroughly modern man in his mobilized and professional warfare and in his commitment to global commerce and the rule of international secular law. What began as a war of extinction between the nomad and the farmer ended as a Mongol amalgamation of cultures (267)." | | 18 |
| 10479501459 | How did existing trade routes flourish and promote growth of powerful trade cities? | The trade routes developed powerful trade cities because along the way, as people stopped at those cities, they brought their commerce and it eventually developed with more and more people and goods. | | 19 |
| 10479501460 | How did the expansion of empires facilitate Afro-Eurasian trade and communication? | The improved transportation technologies and commercial practices led to an increased volume of trade, and expanded the geographical range of existing and newly active trade networks. New people were drawn into their conquerors' economies and trade networks. | | 20 |
| 10479501461 | How did the expansion and intensification of long-distance trade routes evolve according to environmental knowledge and technological adaptations? | With new knowledge and more technological adaptions, long-distance trade was easier and more efficient. With more trade, new knowledge came along with it, expanding the trade routes, and the cycle recurs again. | | 21 |
