Chapter 17
Nomadic Empires and Eurasian Integration
CHAPTER OVERVIEW
Nomadic tribes played a dominant role in Eurasia between the eleventh and fifteenth centuries. Persia, Anatolia, and India were transformed after conquests by Turkish tribes. The Mongols created the largest empire of all time, stretching from China to Russia, during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. Even after the collapse of the Mongol empire in the fifteenth century, a resurgence of Turkish power continued the influence of these nomadic tribes. The Turkish and Mongol conquests inspired closer connections between the Eurasian lands by facilitating cross-cultural communication and exchange, with increased trade being the best example.
THEMES
Clan-based tribes of Mongol and Turkish nomads directly and indirectly encouraged Eurasian integration during the postclassical era. Desire for fertile pasturelands drove the expansion, which ultimately led to the emergence of the largest land empire in world history. Military skill and success characterized both Mongol and Turkish cultures, particularly mounted cavalry forces, which were the physically toughest and best-trained troops ever seen in world history. Religious curiosity and tolerance encouraged conversion of Mongol and Turkish rulers to a variety of world religions, and peace and stability facilitated the spread of others across Eurasia, although some rulers, such as Mahmud of Ghazni, sought to impose religious uniformity across their domains, with lasting results for areas like northern India. The reign of Chinggis Khan and his successors created a pax Mongolia across large areas of the Eurasian steppes, linking closely together vast areas for the first time. Chinggis replaced traditional tribal political structures with centralized authority directed from his glorious steppe capital Karakorum. Stability and security revitalized Eurasian land trade. At no time since has the area enjoyed the same levels of economic prosperity.
LECTURE STRATEGIES
Chinggis Khan and Khubilai Khan
Chinggis Khan and Khubilai Khan are natural topics for a lecture. They are both fascinating and often misunderstood characters. It is important for students to place an individual human face and personality on the sometimes bewildering nomadic societies. Discuss the nature and talents of Chinggis Khan, and how these gifts allowed him to rise to the top of nomadic society. This topic allows for an examination of the complex and shifting nature of nomadic politics and diplomacy. The social world of these tribes can also be explored at this point. Khubilai Khan is a perfect follow-up. Once again, examples from Marco Polo would be helpful. Discuss the consolidation of empire under Khubilai Khan. Examine his complex personality, from his violent conquests to his fascination with religion and culture. How did he influence China? How was he influenced by China? Compare the differing natures of these two rulers to other rulers, such as Chandragupta and Ashoka Maurya. Timur the Lame is another fascinating character.
Case Study: Nomadic Lifestyles
Examine the nature of the nomadic lifestyle of the Turkish and Mongol tribes. How was it different from the more settled lifestyle of the societies they traded with or raided? This type of existence is foreign to students today. Examine the fluid social system. What were the main religious concepts? How would these factors clash with the social and religious structures of the more sedentary societies? In what ways did the Turkish and Mongol tribes facilitate trade and cultural integration? How tolerant were these tribes? It’s easy to view them as merely conquerors. How did they treat the peoples of their empires? Discuss Khubilai Khan’s promotion of Buddhism and support of other religions. How was Persia transformed religiously by the Mongol conquest and then by the later conversion of the Ilkhan Ghazan?
The “Other” Turkish and Mongol Leaders
Examine the “other” Turkish and Mongol leaders. Even if you discuss the Mongols as more than a brief interruption of Chinese history, it is easy to slide over the other Mongol tribes and to ignore the Turkish tribes. Discuss the significance and contributions of Chaghatai in central Asia, the Golden Horde in Russia, and the Ilkhanate in Persia. Not only are these leaders and tribes influential, but such discussions give a more complete sense of how huge the Mongol empire was. It is important to discuss Osman—especially in relation to the notion of being on the border between the Islamic and Christian worlds—to set up the later rise of the Ottomans. Tamerlane was a great conqueror and has entered the popular imagination in a way that few others have.
Case Study: Sorghaghtani Beki, the “Mother of Great Khans”
As a military culture, much emphasis is placed on the role of men in Mongol society. However, women played a vital role in ensuring the success of Mongol growth and expansion. Give a lecture that focuses on Sorghaghtani Beki, the “Mother of Great Khans.” Information on her can be found at Use Sorghaghatani Beki as an example of the critical role played by women in the success of nomadic societies. Ask students to examine and consider women’s current status in Eurasian societies. Has their status changed significantly? If so, for better or worse?
TEACHING SUGGESTIONS
Marco Polo
An obvious primary source for discussion would be Marco Polo. Not only have most of the students at least heard of Marco Polo, but the descriptions are very vivid. The accounts give the students a glimpse of how different societies viewed each other. The stories clearly show the students how China (even under Mongol rule) was so far ahead of the Europeans in so many areas. After all, Marco Polo was coming from the part of Europe that would provide the inspiration for the Renaissance. Nevertheless, his accounts of China display a sense of wonder that makes the whole place seem unreal. What is his view of China? What is his interpretation of Khubilai Khan? How was Polo treated by the Mongols? Would this treatment have been typical of the Mongols? What does the question of Marco Polo and trade reveal to the students about the contributions of the Mongols in bringing about greater integration in Eurasia? Ibn Battuta’s journeys, in The Travels of Ibn Battuta, doesn’t relate to this chapter as directly as does Marco Polo’s adventures, but they do provide great examples of an increasingly inter-related world.
Savage or Sophisticated?
An examination of the popular perception of these nomadic tribes compared to the reality of their existence and contributions would be a great topic for discussion. The common view, and one that has been held too long, is that these tribes were nothing more than ignorant, extraordinarily violent savages. Obviously, the focus has been on the damage they caused to the more sedentary states they came into contact with. One of the nice things about this text is that it is arranged to give an entire chapter to these tribes; most texts just toss in brief descriptions of the Turkish and Mongol tribes on the periphery of other societies. Such historical treatment only worked to reinforce the notion that these tribes were barbarians whose sole role in history was a destructive one. Ask the students to consider what ways these tribes influenced Eurasia. How did they influence Eurasian trade and integration? Why have they been misunderstood?
Turkish and Mongol Tribes’ Relation to Nature
Ask the students to consider what a study of the Turkish and Mongol tribes can tell us about the relationship between human beings and nature—or between human beings and animals. Modern students, and especially Americans, live rather compartmentalized lives in which they have little direct contact with nature. These tribes, on the other hand, had an extraordinarily direct connection to their environment and their animals. Their lives were dependent on their understanding of nature in ways that most people today, and even the more sedentary urban societies of their own time, could scarcely understand. Ask the students to discuss this relationship. The passage from Marco Polo about the Mongols bleeding their horses would be
a great place to start. What do students living a pre-packaged, suburban lifestyle make of that quote?
Comparing Central Asian Nomads’ Impact on Other Societies
Divide the class into groups. Assign each group one of the societies discussed in Part III of the textbook, “The Postclassical Era, 500 to 1000 C.E.” Those societies are Byzantium, Islam, China, India, and western Europe. Each group should present an overview of how the central Asian nomads had an impact on their culture after 1000. When you are finished, discuss and try to form consensus on which culture was most severely affected by nomadic incursions and why.
IM – 17 | 1