The Mongol Empire

The Mongol Empire

[Slide: “Who are the Mongols?”]

On the map below, fill in the area that makes up the Mongol people’s homeland:

What adjectives would you use to describe the landscape of their homeland?

The physical setting of the Mongol people’s homeland greatly affected the characteristicsof their society. Because of the vast open terrain and arid land, the Mongols were primarily ______, in that they had few settled villages and followed the herds upon which they depended and searched for ______. They relied on their animals for survival; for example, the ______wasvery important for travel and warfare. Because of how precarious their lifestyle was, they depended greatly upon trade with other civilizations.

What motives or reasons did the Mongols have for empire?

[Slide 2: “Genghis Khan”]

Genghis Khan, or “Universal ______” lived approximately between 1162 and ______. Genghis consolidates all of the ______tribes together through his aggressiveness and powerful leadership. He then turned to the outside world to create an empire.

Genghis had several things going for him in creating his empire:

1. It was tradition in Mongolian society to rigorously train in battle techniques and the mindset of a ______.
2. The Mongolians were skilled horsemen, called ______, which is an advantage in battle over foot soldiers.
3. It was a part of Mongolian culture that a person could gain power, honor and riches through ______.

[Slide 3: Early Mongolian Empire]

Genghis Khan established his capital at ______. Place this city on the map on the first page. Which of Genghis’ four legacies do you think was the most important? ______

[Slide 4: Kublai Khan]

Kublai Khan was the ______of Genghis Khan, who named himself the “______” in 1260. He conquers all of China by 1279 and establishes the ______Dynasty. He appreciated and adopted many aspect of Chinese culture and institutions, such as the ______at court and ______worship.

[Slide 5: Yuan Dynasty]

Overall, did the Yuan Dynasty benefit China or damage China more? Explain.

[Slide 6: Marco Polo]

Marco Polo was an Italian merchant and ______who traveled through the Mongolian empire and met with Kublai Khan. He was [circle one:] not very impressed/ very impressed with the Yuan Dynasty.

[Slide 7: Decline of the Yuan Dynasty]

Reasons for the decline of the Yuan: 1) Flooding of the ______River, leading to famine, 2) ______successors to Kublai Khan and unrest among the Chinese people because of their mistreatment as ______citizens and their desire to govern themselves.