Mongols

By djwoodward
  • Jan 1, 1200

    The Rise of the Mongols

    For centuries, the Mongol people had roamed the easter steppe in loosely organized clans. It took a military and political genius to unite the Mongols into a force with a single purpose-conquest.
  • Jan 1, 1215

    Genghis Khan Unites the Mongols

    "In retribution for every hair on their heads it seemed that a hundred thousand heads rolled in the dust," wrote a court historian of Genghis's revenge.
  • Jan 1, 1221

    Genghis the Conquerer

    First, Genghis Khan was a brilliant organizer. He assembled his Mongol warriors into a mighty fighting force. Sencond, Genghis was a gifted strategist. He used various tricks to confuse his enemy. Third, Henghis adopted new weapons and technologies used by his enemies. Genghis put captured Chinese engineers to work building catapults and creating gunpowder charges. Finally, Genghis Khan used cruelty as a weapon. He believed in terrifying his enemies into surrender.
  • Jan 1, 1227

    The Death of Genghis Khan

    Genghis Khan died in 1227 - not from violence, but from illness. His successors, however, continued to expand his empire. In less then 50 years, the Mongols conquered territory from China to Poland. In so doing, they created the largest unified land empire in history.
  • Jan 1, 1250

    The Mongol Peace

    From the mid-1200s to the mid-1300s, the Mongols inposed stability and law and order across much of Eurasia. This period is sometimes called the Mongol Peace. The Mongols guaranteed safe passage of trade caravans, travelers, and missionaries from one end of the empire to another.
  • Jan 1, 1279

    Kublai Khan Conquers China

    Throughout China's long history, the Chinese feared and fought off invasions of northern nomads. China sometimes lost terriotry to nomadic groups, but no foreigner had ever ruled the whole country. The first to do so was Kublai Khan.
  • Jan 1, 1368

    Beginning a New Dynasty

    The Yuan Dynasty lasted less than a century, until 1368, when it was overthrown. However, the Yuan era was an importantperiod in Chinese history for several reasons. First, Kublai Khan united China for the first time in 300 years. Second, the control imposed by the Mongols across all of Asia opened China to greater foreign contacts and trade. Finally, Kublai and his successors tolerated Chinese culture and made few changes to the system of government.