B. Territorial Location & size at height of power (map): From Russia down to southern China
C. System of government & rule & names of noted rulers and their accomplishments: The Mongol Empire created by Genghis Khan was not a unified state but a vast collection of territories held together by military force. Because it was controlled by so many military leaders, all theoretically responsible to the great khan, the empire carried within it the seeds of its own breakdown.
Central power rested with the khan and his councillors. Although they were well organized militarily, the Mongols had no developed concept for ruling settled populations. The various territories were under the authority of military commanders. New conquests were not administered just economically exploited. In areas that were under subjugation longer, there was some growth of administration. Local bureaucracies, though dominated by Mongols, usually followed administrative patterns that had been locally developed. This was especially true in China, with its
ancient and vast bureaucracy.
While Genghis Khan was still living, he divided the empire between his four favorite sons. Tului, the youngest, received the original Mongol homelands and parts of northern China. Ogadai received western Mongolia and part of northwestern China. Chagatai was given most of Turkestan in Central Asia. The oldest son, Juchi, received southwestern Siberia, western Turkestan, and Russian lands stretching north of the Black Sea. A fifth section of the empire was later added when Hulagu, a son of Tului, conquered Iran, Iraq, and Syria in the 1250s.
D. Major Religious beliefs & practices:
E. *Major Accomplishments, Achievements, and contributions: The largest empire ever seen
F. Major reasons for decline and fall: Genghis Khan and his eldest son, Juchi, both died in 1227. At a convocation of Mongol leaders, Ogadai was appointed supreme khan. Juchi’s lands in the west were inherited by his son Batu. Ogadai made his capital at Karakorum in central Mongolia. He immediately set out to add more of China to the Mongol conquests. By 1234 all but the southernmost region of China had been incorporated.
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