Empires of the Steppe

Mongke

Grandson of Chinggis Khan. Son of Tolui. Became great khan after the Toluid Revolution. Conducted a census, systematically over the entire empire, in 1252 for the purposes of military recruitment and taxation.

Yasa

Unified Mongol law code, created by Temujin

Kublai Khan

(1215-1294) Grandson of Genghis Khan and founder of the Mongol Yuan Dynasty in China. Son of Tolui, succeeded Mongke as Great Khan in 1260.

Ogadei

3rd & youngest son of Genghis Khan; succeeded him as Great Khan. This made the transition smooth (no fight). Territory divided up for the other brothers, but Ogodei remained great khan. Succession after him was....messy.

Uighur

A Turkic tribe of Uighur-speakers (Turkic language) who controlled their own centralized empire from 744 to 840 in Mongolia/Central Asia (Kazakhstan?). Built large magnificent cities with great imperial luxury. Replaced by the Kirghiz in 840. Uighurs fled eastward and today there is a major Uighur population in the Xinjiang region of China. After fall of Uighur empire, they moved away from their pastoral-nomad roots to succeed the Sogdians down in the Tarim Basin as the merchants and "culture-bearers," and had many religions represented within their community. Used the Aramaic alphabet (used for written Sogdian) to write Uyghur language, and because of this, Aramaic was later adopted by the Mongols as the written script.

Qitan

A nomadic people that would invade China and form the Liao dynasty. After the fall of that dynasty survivors would flee west and form the western Liao dynasty. Which the mongols would take over

Tarim Basin

A region along the Silk Route where the mummified human remains have been uncovered. Located in modern day western china. It was fought over between Chinese dynasties and nomads many times. The silk road ran through here strengthening its importance.

Ferghana Valley

A rich agricultural valley

Temüchin (Temujen)

Became Genghis Khan. Born in a Mongol family of high socio-political standing, but after the death of his father lived an impoverished, adventurous childhood. Had many military victories that led Mongolians to see and refer to him as khan. Made khan by assembly in 2016. Claimed mandate of heaven.

Baghdad

Capital of Abbasid dynasty located in Iraq near ancient Persian capital. Seat of the Caliph (religious figurehead - Sunni Muslim). Sacked and burned by the Mongols in 1258. Caliph executed for being incompatible with the Khan's vision of power, city depopulated. Viewed in very apocalyptic terms at the time, still impactful for Islamic history. End of a golden cultural age for the Abbasid Caliphate.

Compound Recurve Short Bow

Discovered around 1000 BC It allowed for easy firing of a bow from horse back. It replaced the chariot

Jochi and the Jochid line

Jochi inherited the ulus that included Northwestern territory. Would become the Golden Horde after conquering Rus/sack of Kiev.

Quiriltai

Meeting of the elders of the Mongol tribe that "elect" or decide on the new leader (khan). The selecting of the khan is quite political, meaning that the decision is often made before the meeting is called, and the meeting merely confirms the negotiations that occurred beforehand. This is the means by which Genghis becomes the first Khan.

Shi'ism

One of the two main branches of Islam. Shias recognize Ali, the fourth caliph, and his descendants as rightful rulers of the Islamic world. Religion in the Fatimid Caliphate, ruled from Cairo (elite were part of the Ismailis). The Order of Assassins were also Shias.

Tanistry

Process the Mongols used to choose a new leader. Under tanistry, all male heirs had to physically fight for the right to succession by defeating their rivals in battle in order to prove their worth. This was the tradition in Central Asia, Mongol Empire, and the Ottoman Empire, etc.

Ulus

Subdivisions of land given to each son of Genghis Khan from the territory of the Mongol Empire. Territorial inheritance ascribed to each of the descendants of the sons of Genghis Khan.

Tengri

Supreme sky god of the Steppe/Mongols. Part of a shaman religion. Most important belief was that Tengre conferred the right to rule on a particular clan, which made it important that Mongol successors could connect themselves to Genghis' blood line because that was the way to legitimize.

Tatars

Term used by Europe and Middle East to refer to the Mongols. Also used to refer to a nomadic group that had a lot of power among Mongolian tribes before the rise of the Mongols because they received monetary support from the Chinese (Jin dynasty wanted to make sure they were friends with the most powerful group who could keep the situation to the west in check). Eventually the Jin were conquered and the Tatars' power decreased.

Indo-Europeans

The largest language family group on earth. Speakers of these languages are living or have lived in the steppe for thousands of years. You can trace migration patterns by tracing these languages and how they spread

Taklamakan Desert

This Desert (in China) is known for splitting the Silk Road into branches running north and south of it. It is bounded by mountain ranges. Name means "once you go in you will not come out". It is a desert in the Tarim Basin. Due to its inhospitably it acted as a natural barrier for the nomads, Chinese, and trade routes.

Tolui and the Toluid line

Tolui was the son of Genghis Khan who received the Mongolian heartlands (Ilkhanate) in his ulus. His ancestors seized power by taking the Great Khanate after Ogodei's son Guyuk finished his brief stint on the throne. This was known as the Toluid Revolution. Destroyed the House of Ogodei. Backed by the House of Jochi.

Khwarezm (Khwarezmshah)

Turkic dynasties descended from Turkic nomads of the Eurasian steppe. City-state. Thru-point for trade from the northern forests (Finno-Ugric and Slavic peoples) to the Middle East (Arab people among others). This city had its own language which continued to be spoken for centuries despite being conquered by Persian speakers. Kwarazmshah Dynasty-- later conquered the Seljuks in 1194, but were conquered by the Mongols in 1218. Most shahs/sultans of this dynasty were originally slave soldiers before using their training to usurp their leaders and seize power. Muslim. Capital: Bukhara (burned by the Mongols because they did not surrender).

Bortei (Börte)

Wife of Genghis Khan. Became engaged to the then 9-year old Temujin at the age of 10. Was kidnapped at one point and later rescued by Temujin.