2.2 The Mongol Empire and the Making of the Modern World

THEMATIC FOCUS Governance GOV

A variety of internal and external factors contribute to state formation, expansion, and decline. Governments maintain order through a variety of administrative institutions, policies, and procedures, and governments obtain, retain, and exercise power in different ways and for different purposes.

LEARNING OBJECTIVE Unit 2: Learning Objective B

Explain the process of state building and decline in Eurasia over time.

HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTS KC-3.2.I.B.iii

Empires collapsed in different regions of the world and in some areas were replaced by new imperial states, including the Mongol khanates.

THEMATIC FOCUS Economics Systems ECN

As societies develop, they affect and are affected by the ways that they produce, exchange, and consume goods and services.

LEARNING OBJECTIVE Unit 2: Learning Objective C

Explain how the expansion of empires influenced trade and communication over time.

HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTS KC-3.1.I.E.i

The expansion of empires—including the Mongols—facilitated Afro-Eurasian trade and communication as new people were drawn into their conquerors’ economies and trade networks.

THEMATIC FOCUS Cultural Developments and Interactions CDI

The development of ideas, beliefs, and religions illustrates how groups in society view themselves, and the interactions of societies and their beliefs often have political, social, and cultural implications.

LEARNING OBJECTIVE Unit 2: Learning Objective D

Explain the significance of the Mongol Empire in larger patterns of continuity and change.

HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTS KC-3.2.II.A.ii

Interregional contacts and conflicts between states and empires, including the Mongols, encouraged significant technological and cultural transfers.

ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLES

Technological and cultural transfers:

Transfer of Greco– Islamic medical knowledge to western Europe

Transfer of numbering systems to Europe

Adoption of Uyghur script