Liam Weidner Global Essay

3-30-11

The Mongol empire had grown to such a size to affect lands from China to Russia. There were many positive and negative effects of Mongol rule for both on their social, political, and economic structures. The Mongols had killed many people trying to build such a vast empire. However, the Mongols tried to improve both greatly after conquering them. There were definitely some negative political and economic effects of the Mongols on the lands of Russia and China. The most obvious one was that the Mongols had killed hundreds of thousands of people and destroyed hundreds of cities in their conquests. The Mongols also killed many officials who defied them. In Kievan Russia the princes who were against the Mongols were often killed if they rebelled or were controlled by basquqi, or military governors, until they excepted Mongol rule and were then ruled by darugi, or civilian governors. In China there was opposition to Daoism because many of the Mongols supported Buddhism and there were small feuds between the two. At one time many Daoist monasteries were converted to Buddhist monasteries and the property of some Daoists was given to either monasteries or the Mongol rulers. Other than these situations the Mongols tried to improve upon the existing governments and helped improve the political, economic, religious, and social structures of Russia and China. The Mongols had supported many of the current ideas in China and had also tried and succeeded to improve the economy and political structure. One way is that they tried to improve the status of the lower classes. They made laws to support those in the lower class and to improve the economy and trade. The Mongols believed that in order to have a great economy

you had to start from the bottom and build up from there. The peasants were helped greatly by the Mongols and looked upon highly by them. They got tax remissions. The Mongols also had it set up that each time the peasants had to pay taxes they already had a set amount that they had to pay. There was no surprise in what they would ask from you. The farmers were also given resources, supplies, and granaries to rebuild what was destroyed by past wars between the Mongols and China. There was also laws established that prevented the free roaming of foreign animals in farms and pastures to help the support the locals. Organized groups were also set up consisting of around 50 families. In this there was a leader. The leader was responsible for helping and guiding the others in rebuilding and building the land. Mongols also valued the artisans in China. The peasants were asked to help in the construction of public projects like extending the Grand Canal and the construction of the city of Daidu (present-day Beijing). Artisans were given tax remissions. There were also many improvements on the quality of textiles and porcelains. During the Mongols reign there was the creation of blue and white porcelain that is often attributed to the Ming. Merchants were also placed higher in social status along with peasants and artisans. Merchants were thought highly in the eyes of the Mongols because they saw how important trade was. The Mongols lowered tariffs to help with trade. Ortoghs, or merchant associations, were established to help with long distant trade. There was also an increase in the availability of paper money. Legal codes were made that were less restrictive and onerous than previous ones. The Mongols were very tolerant of religion. Islam was valued and many masques were created. Muslim financial administrators were employed and helped improve the relations between China and the Middle East. Tibetan Buddhism was also liked by the Mongols. They employed Buddhist monks to help rule. The Mongols valued things such as theater and art.

The Mongols had many political and economic effects on Russia also. During the reign of the Mongols in Russia there was the rise of the Orthodox Church. This happened because the goal of the church was to convert people to Christianity and Christianity was one of the more comforting religions to people at this time. It brought them together through similar religious beliefs and similar nationalities. The church also took up some of the political roles of the principalities that were falling apart. The Mongols allowed them to continue their religion and did not mind it at all. There was the creation of the iarlyk where it strengthened the church. It made the church exempt from Russian and Mongol taxes. The church grew in power and size. The peasants found economic, spiritual, and military relief from new monasteries being built in areas. This brought trade to the areas where they were built and then more people would be sent out to make more. During this time the Mongols supported the art in Russia like it did in China. The revival of art was also influenced by the creation of the new monasteries. The language of the Russians was influenced by the Mongol languages; the Mongol and Russian languages were intermingled with each other to form some new saying and words. The Mongols started a census in Russia for the first time in 1257 to figure out taxes. This required a lot of organization. To do this they had a darugi look over a certain amount of land and collect taxes from that area. At one time, all of the darugi were stationed at Sarai, the old capital of the Golden Horde, near presentday Volgograd. Sigmund von Herberstein commented on how efficient the census and the taxes were. He also noted how efficient the yam was. The yam was a system of posts that helped with the transfer of information, goods, supplies, and the transportation of people. Sigmund commented on how he was able to travel 500 kilometers in 72 hours. The yam was overlooked by the basquqi. This helped expand Russia and helped it become more structured. Moscow became a large and powerful city during Mongol reign. It was of little significance since its

creation but had a lot of potential for trade. It became larger when it was a site where many traveled through to get to the rest of Russia. It became favored by the Mongols when Ivan I had defeated the up rise of the people of Tver. It later became a key point for the collection of Mongol taxes and gained power that way. The Mongols are usually made out to be this brutal, savage, and barbaric people. In terms of warfare this is true. With further inspection, the Mongols are actually civilized in how they try to improve upon a system and the economy. They had helped the economy and policies of both Russia and China. They had been very tolerant of most religions and improved on them. They built up the infrastructure and arts of both. The Mongols had a very large impact on Both Russia and China.