Do Now – Correct your 7.4 AssessmentDo Now – Correct your 7.4 Assessment• 1a. Genghis Khan was the leader of the Mongols who

conquered a large part of Asia. • 1b. The Mongols gained control of China by attacking and

terrorizing Chinese towns and ruining farmland. • 1c. Opinion + Evidence = Point

– The statement the “The Mongols should never have tried to invade Japan” is valid because attacking Japan contributed to the Yan dynasty’s failure as they overextended their army.

• 2a. Zheng He was the greatest sailor of the Ming dynasty. He led voyages of exploration to Asia and Africa.

• 3a. Isolationism is the act of removing, or isolating, a country from contract with other countries.

• 3b. The Ming changed China by expanding the imperial government’s power and instituting isolationism.

Topic: Topic: The Yuan DynastyThe Yuan Dynasty1279-1368 CE1279-1368 CE

How did the Mongols come to rule How did the Mongols come to rule China? What factors caused the end China? What factors caused the end

of their rule?of their rule?

I. Nomads of the Asian SteppeI. Nomads of the Asian Steppe

• Geography of the Steppe– Steppe—dry grassland of Eurasia (Europe

and Asia —provides home for nomads.– Dry arid climate with extreme temperatures.– Steppe nomads are pastoralists—herd

domesticated animals.– Way of life teaches Asian nomads to be

skilled horse riders.

Visual 1 of Asian steppesVisual 1 of Asian steppes

Visual 2 nomadic tentsVisual 2 nomadic tents

II. Role of the HorseII. Role of the Horse• Mongols have a reputation for being the best horsemen on

Earth.• Mongols could travel up to 80 miles a day• Invention of the stirrup allowed riders to stand and shoot

arrows at a full gallop.– Mongol archers were very deadly and accurate Their

arrows could kill enemies at 200 meters (656 feet)• The Mongols were oriented around extreme mobility. They

carried their houses with them, drank their own horse's blood to stay alive, and could travel up to 80 miles per day.

• The administration and consolidation of the vast Mongol empire was closely tied to the use of the horse.– They had an elaborate priority-mail-system which allowed

orders to be transmitted rapidly across Eurasia

III. Genghis Khan: “The Universal Ruler”III. Genghis Khan: “The Universal Ruler”• Genghis Khan Unites the Mongols

– About 1200, Genghis Khan (universal ruler) unites Mongols.

– A brilliant organizer and strategist, uses brutality to terrorize his enemies.

– By 1225, Genghis Khan controls central Asia.

– Genghis Khan dies in 1227 and his successors continue conquests for 50 years.

– The Mongols conquer territory from China to Eastern Europe

IV. The KhanatesIV. The Khanates

• A.Mongols ruled a huge empire and divided them into 4 areas:– Khanate of the Great Khan (Mongolia & China)

– Khanate of the Golden Horde (Russia)

– Chagatai Khanate (Central Asia)

– Ilkhanate (Persia)

B. Kublai KhanB. Kublai Khan• A New Emperor

– Kublai Khan, grandson of Genghis, conquers China by 1279.

– Kublai established the Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368), a period of peace and relative prosperity.

– Kublai adopts Chinese ways, and builds capital at Beijing.

C. Mongol Rule C. Mongol Rule

– Mongol rulers are tolerant of other peoples and their cultures.

• Kublai is tolerant and does not force the Chinese to adopt Mongol ways.

– Some Mongols adopt local ways, leading to a split among khanates.

• Some Mongols adopt aspects of Chinese culture, like Confucianism.

– Still, Chinese are resentful of rule by foreigners, whom they saw as rude and uncivilized.

Mongol Rule in ChinaMongol Rule in ChinaMongols live separately from Chinese and

follow own laws.Mongols keep control by preventing scholar

officials from gaining too much power and levying heavy taxes.

Taxes used to expand public works projects Kublai extends Grand Canal to Beijing, and builds

a highway.

D. Growth of TradeD. Growth of TradeThe Yuan dynasty favored

a policy of non-isolationism

Mongol soldier presence, kept overland trade routes (Silk Road) safe for Merchants, increasing overland trade

Mongol Emperors welcome foreign traders at Chinese ports, increasing overseas trade.

E. Marco Polo at the Mongol Court– Venetian trader, Marco Polo, visits

China in 1275.– Polo returns to Venice in 1292; tells

stories of what he saw in China.• Fabulous cities, fantastic wealth• Burning “black stones (coal) to heat

Chinese homes• Kublai Khan’s government and trade

in Beijing– These stories were gathered in a

book, but most readers doubt its truth

V. Factors of the Fall of the V. Factors of the Fall of the Yuan DynastyYuan Dynasty

1. Chinese resentment of foreign rule and heavy taxes.

2. Extensive public works projects weakened the economy.

3. Two failed invasions of Japan weaken the Mongol Military.

Bent on conquest, Kublai tries and fails to Conquer Japan in 1274 and 1281.

In 1368, Zhu Yuanzhang leads a rebellion and reunifies China under the Ming Dynasty.

4. Decline of the Mongol Empire– Mongol rule collapses in Persia in the 1330s;

in Central Asia in the 1370s.– By the end of the 1300s, only Mongol rule in

Russia remains, the Golden Horde.