GGRREEAATT EEMMPPIIRREESS OOFF TTHHEE PPAASSTT E MPIRE OF M THE ONGOLS Revised Edition GEP-Mongols 5.indd 1 7/31/09 9:57:07 AM GREAT EMPIRES OF THE PAST Empire of Alexander the Great Empire of Ancient Egypt Empire of Ancient Greece Empire of Ancient Rome Empire of the Aztecs Empire of the Incas Empire of the Islamic World Empire of the Mongols Empires of Ancient Mesopotamia Empires of Ancient Persia Empires of Medieval West Africa Empires of the Maya GEP-Mongols 5.indd 2 7/31/09 9:57:12 AM GR E AT E M PI R E S OF T H E PA ST E MPIRE OF M THE ONGOLS Revised Edition M B ICHAEL URGAN CHRISTOPHER P. ATWOOD, HISTORICAL CONSULTANT GEP-Mongols 5.indd 3 7/31/09 9:57:19 AM Great Empires of the Past: Empire of the Mongols Copyright © 2009, 2004 Michael Burgan All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or used in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage or retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher. For information, contact: Chelsea House An imprint of Infobase Publishing 132 West 31st Street New York NY 10001 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Burgan, Michael. Empire of the Mongols / Michael Burgan. — Rev. ed. p. cm. — (Great empires of the past) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-60413-163-5 (hardcover) ISBN 978-1-4381-2573-2 (e-book) 1. Mongols—History—Juvenile literature. I. Title. II. Series. DS19.B87 2008 950’.02—dc22 2008050884 Chelsea House books are available at special discounts when purchased in bulk quantities for businesses, associations, institutions, or sales promotions. Please call our Special Sales Department in New York at (212) 967-8800 or (800) 322-8755. 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GEP-Mongols FNL.indd 4 9/23/09 12:41:44 PM C ONTENTS Introduction 7 PART I HISTORY CHAPTER 1 The Rise of the Mongol Empire 19 CHAPTER 2 Completing the Mongol Empire 39 CHAPTER 3 Final Years of the Khanates 57 PART II SOCIETY AND CULTURE CHAPTER 4 Mongol Government and Society 77 CHAPTER 5 Daily Life in the Mongol Empire 97 CHAPTER 6 Art, Science, and Culture in Mongol Lands 115 Epilogue 135 Time Line 145 Glossary 147 Bibliography 149 Further Resources 151 Picture Credits 153 Index 154 About the Author 160 5 GEP-Mongols 5.indd 5 7/31/09 9:57:33 AM GEP-Mongols 5.indd 6 7/31/09 9:57:56 AM I NTRODUCTION FOR SEVERAL THOUSAND YEARS, WARRIORS ON HORSEBACK OPPOSITE rode across central Asia, conquering nearby towns and cities. These Chinggis Khan was the horsemen lived on the steppes, which is a flat, grassy region that extends first great leader of the Mongols. Under him from Asia into central Europe. The riders were nomads—people with and his descendants, no permanent home. They moved from one grazing spot to another the Mongols created with their herds of horses, sheep, camels, goats, and cattle. Over the the largest empire ever centuries, these nomads battled such people as the ancient Greeks, the controlled by one family. Romans, the Persians, the Chinese, and the Arabs. This 16th-century Persian Of all the nomadic warriors of central Asia, the fiercest were the miniature, painted 300 years after his death, shows Mongols. In the 13th century, starting in their homeland of Mongolia, his lasting influence. just north of China, the Mongols spread out to the south and west. Under the leadership of Chinggis Khan (ca. 1162–1227) and his descen- dants, the Mongols quickly built an empire that stretched from Korea to eastern Europe—the largest continuous area of land ever controlled by one ruling family. This empire soon split into four mini-empires. The last major rul- ers who had ties to the old Mongol empire were the Mughals of north- ern India. They first governed in the 16th century. They traced family ties to Chinggis Khan and the later Turkic-Mongol ruler Timur (1336– 1405), who was more commonly known in English as Tamerlane. By the time of the Mughals, the old Mongol culture had just about disappeared in most of the lands that once formed their empire. The Mongols had adopted the ways of the people they conquered and blended into their societies. Only in their homeland of Mongolia and a few other pockets of the eastern steppes did the traditional ways endure. 7 GEP-Mongols 5.indd 7 7/31/09 9:58:15 AM EMpiRE of ThE Mongols CONNECTIONS This willingness to learn from conquered people and What Are Connections? take on their culture was one of the Mongols’ great- Throughout this book, and all the books in the great est strengths. They borrowed Empires of the past series, there are Connections boxes. the best of what their former They point out ideas, inventions, art, food, customs, and enemies had to offer in poli- more from this empire that are still part of the world today. tics, art, and social structure. nations and cultures in remote history can seem far away The Mongols’ other major from the present day, but these connections demonstrate strength was their military how our everyday lives have been shaped by the peoples might. They had great skills of the past. on horseback and showed tremendous discipline on the battlefield. As they conquered each land, they recruited new soldiers, then moved their ever-increas- ing army to new territories. The World of The 12Th CenTury For several centuries before the rise of Chinggis Khan, the Mon- gols were just one of many nomadic tribes that lived on the Central Asian steppes. Different Turkic peoples ruled the steppes for a time, and the Chinese also influenced the region. The tribes of Mongolia blended with the Turks, creating what is sometimes called a Turko- Mongol culture. By the 12th century, the tribes of Mongolia included the Tatars, the Mongols, the Kereyids, the Naimans, and the Merkits. These Mongolian tribal peoples lived on the land mass called Eur- asia. This continuous stretch of land includes most of Europe and Asia. At its height in the second century, the Roman Empire dominated the western half of Eurasia. At about the same time, the Han dynasty of China was the major power in the east. By the 12th century, both these empires were long gone, and a number of smaller empires and king- doms competed for influence in the region. The Roman Empire had split in two even before its fall in the fifth century. Western Europe then broke into many different kingdoms and principalities (small states ruled by princes). The Byzantine Empire, which traced its political roots to the Romans, ruled parts of Eastern Europe. 8 GEP-Mongols FNL.indd 8 8/4/09 2:22:11 PM Introduction In the Middle East, a single great Islamic Empire had arisen in the seventh century. It then broke up into smaller empires. In South Asia, Turks and Mongols India had developed a great culture that was more than 3,000 years Throughout this book, old. But by the 12th century, native Indian rulers were losing power to Mongol is used to outsiders. The northern part of the country eventually came under the describe the people of control of Turks, who had become Muslims. Mongolia during the time Farther east in Eurasia, the powerful Han dynasty ruled China. of the Mongol Empire. When it fell, the Song and Jin dynasties competed for power. (A dynasty is Mongolian, when it is used, refers to the mod- a family that keeps control of a government over many generations, with ern-day people of Mon- rule often passed from a parent to a child.) A number of smaller empires, golia. In a similar way, some Turkic, also competed for influence on the edges of China. Turkic or Turk or Turko Throughout the world at this time, religion played a greater role in refers to past peoples, politics and daily life than it usually does today. Religion inspired great not the current inhabit- art. It could also be the cause of bloody wars. Eastern and Western ants of modern Turkey. Europe were divided by their religion, as each claimed that its type of Christianity was the true faith. Islam was dominant in the Arab world and in Persia. The Islamic influence spread into Central Asia, where Turkic tribes lived. In India, Hinduism and Buddhism (both native to India) were the main religions until the Muslim conquests began. In China, Buddhism competed with Daoism (a native Chinese religion) as the main faith. The Mongols had their own religion, but they often accepted the beliefs of the people they conquered. The empires that dominated Eurasia in the 12th century were mostly sedentary—they were built around permanent towns and cities that focused on farming and trade. They had great wealth compared to the Mongols. But in most cases they could not match the military skill of the nomadic warriors. They also had political and religious differences that kept them from working together to fight the Mon- gols. Those differences made it easier for the Mongols to expand their empire. The ConquesTs Begin The first Mongol khan (supreme ruler) emerged toward the end of the 11th century. A little later, the Mongols battled the Tatars. The Mongol chieftain Yesugei (d. ca. 1175), a relative of the first khan, killed a Tatar leader named Temüjin (d. ca. 1167). Yesugei then named his newborn son after the fallen Tatar, which was a common practice of the day.  GEP-Mongols 5.indd 9 7/31/09 9:58:23 AM