Aim: How did the nomadic lifestyle help the Mongols to become successful warriors?

Do Now: Talk about the test

Homework: Finish the worksheet on Genghis Khan, if we don’t finish it in class; In 1-2 paragraphs, write a detailed description of your plan for your history project.

• The western steppe runs from Central Asia to eastern Europe.

• The eastern steppe covers the area of present-day Mongolia, and was the first home of the Huns, the Turks, and the Mongols.

• Very little rain falls on the steppe, but the dry, windswept plain supports short, hardy grasses. Seasonal temperature changes can be dramatic. In Mongolia, temperatures can range from -57 F in winter to 96 F in the summer. Rainfall is somewhat more plentiful and the climate milder in the west than in the east.

The Nomadic Way of Life

• The Mongolian pastoral nomads relied on their animals for survival and moved their habitat several times a year in search of water and grass for their herds. Their lifestyle was precarious, as their constant migrations prevented them from transporting reserves of food or other necessities.

• Rarely having the luxury of surpluses to tide them through difficult times, they were extremely vulnerable to the elements. Heavy snows, ice, and droughts jeopardized their flocks and herds and heightened their sense of fragility.

• The spread of disease among the livestock could spell disaster. Herders hunted and farmed to a limited extent but were dependent on trade with China in times of crisis.

• Sheep provided food, clothing, and shelter for Mongol families. Boiled mutton was an integral part of the Mongol diet. Wool was used for clothing, rugs, blankets or for the outer covering of the yurts [tents].

• Dried sheep dung was collected and used for fuel. Women, and secondarily children, were responsible for gathering the dung.

© 2004 Asia for Educators, Columbia University

• The Bactrian or two-humped camel permits the Mongols to transport heavy loads through the desert and other inhospitable terrain. The camel is invaluable not only for transporting the folded yurts and other household furnishings when the Mongols move to new pastureland, but also to carry goods designed for trade.

• Mongols valued the animal's wool, drank its milk (which can also be made into cheese), and ate its meat.

© 2004 Asia for Educators, Columbia University

• Horses offered mobility to the Mongols, permitting them to roam the steppes in search of pasture for their flocks, as well as to round up other horses that have been allowed to graze freely faraway from an encampment.

• Riders gathering the horses together were equipped with a pole at the end of which was a special lasso. Children, who became skilled riders at an early age, assumed this responsibility on occasion.

• In traditional times horses gave the Mongols the decided tactical advantage of mobility in conflicts against sedentary civilizations. They could, for example, initiate a hit-and-run raid on a Chinese village, fleeing to the steppes and thus evading the less mobile Chinese forces.

© 2004 Asia for Educators, Columbia University

• The national dress, worn both by men and women, is a form-fitting robe known as a del. The del was often woven out of silk frequently imported from China.

• Elite women often had exquisite jewelry, which constituted a considerable quantity of the family’s wealth.

• The Mongols developed a circular felt-covered dwelling, the yurt, adapted to the difficult conditions of their daily life (cold, wind, sun) and easy to be moved, as they can be raised and dismantled in 30-60 minutes.

Genghis Khan

Genghis Khan a Prolific Lover, DNA Data ImpliesHillary Mayell for National Geographic NewsFebruary 14, 2003

Genghis Khan, the fearsome Mongolian warrior of the 13th century, may have done more than rule the largest empire in the world; according to a recently published genetic study, he may have helped populate it too.

An international group of geneticists studying Y-chromosome data have found that nearly 8 percent of the men living in the region of the former Mongol empire carry y-chromosomes that are nearly identical. That translates to 0.5 percent of the male population in the world, or roughly 16 million descendants living today.

Established the largest land empire ever!