SPICE Chapter 12: Mongol Eurasia and Its Aftermath The Rise of the Mongols, 1200-1260 Social Nomads Menial work was left for slaves Prisoners of war People seeking refuge from starvation Leading families combined resources and solidified intergroup alliances through arranged marriages Marriages arranged in childhood and children became pawns of diplomacy Women from prestigious families could wield power in negotiations and management Risked execution and imprisonment just like men Political Nomads Pastoral nomads of the Eurasian steppes played on on-again, off-again role in Europe, the Middle East, and Chinese history for hundreds of years before the rise of the Mongols