Chapter 13 Terms

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Genghis Khan

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The tile of Temujin when he ruled the Mongols (1206-1227). It means the "oceanic" or "universal" Genghis Khan was the founder of the Mongol Empire

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Mongols

Back 2

A people of this name are mentioned as early as the records of the Tang Empire, living as nomads in N. Eurasia. After 1206 they established an enormous empire under Genghis Khan, linking western and eastern Eurasia.

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steppe

Back 3

Treeless plains, especially the high flat expanses of N. Eurasia, which usually have little rain and are covered with coarse grass. They are good lands for nomads and their herds. Living on the steppes promoted the breeding of horses and the development of military skills that were essential to the rise of the Mongol Empire.

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nomadism

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A way of life, forced by a scarcity of resources, in which groups of people continually migrate to find pastures and water.

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bubonic plague

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A bacterial disease of fleas that can be transmitted by flea bites to rodents and humans; humans in late stages of the illness can spread the bacteria by coughing. Because of its high mortality rate and the difficulty of preventing its spread, major outbreaks have created crises in many parts of the world in many countries.

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Il-khan

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A secondary or peripheral khan based in Persia. The Il-khans’ khanate was founded by Hulegu, a grandson of Genghis Khan, was based at Tabriz in modern Azerbaijan. It controlled much of Iran and Iraq.

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Golden Horde

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Mongol khanate founded by Genghis Khan’s grandson Batu. It was based in southern Russia and quickly adopted both the Turkic language and Islam. Also known as Kipchak Horde.

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Rashid al-Din

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Adviser to Il-khan ruler Ghazan, who converted to Islam on Rashid’s advice.

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tax farming

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A government’s use of private collectors to collect taxes. Individuals or corporations contract with the government to collect a fixed amount for the government and are permitted to keep profit that they collect over that amount.

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Timur

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Member of prominent family of the Mongol’s Jagadai Khanate, timur through conquest gained control over much of central Asia and Iran. He consolidated the status of Sunni Islam as orthodox and his descendents the Turids, maintained his empire for nearly a century and founded the Mughal Empire in India.

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Ibn Khaldun

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secondary or peripheral khan based in Persia. The Il-khans was founded by Hulegu, a grandson of Genghis Khan, was based at Tabriz in Modern Azerbaijan. Controlled much of Iran and Iraq.

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Nasir al-Din Tusi

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Persian mathematician and cosmologist whose academy near Tabriz provided the model for the movement of the planets that helped inspire the Copernician model of the solar system.

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Alexander Nevskii

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Prince of Novgorod.

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tsar

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Rulers of Russia after the Mongols were known, was used only for foreign rulers.

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Ottomans

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Turkic people who advanced from strongholds in Asia Minor during 1350s; conquered large part of Balkans; unified under Mehmed I; captured Constantinople in 1453; established empire from Balkans that included most of Arab world.

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Mamluks

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Dynasty that ruled Egypt and the Levant as an independent state from 1250 until 1517 and as vassals of the Ottomans until 1811. Originally Turkish Kipchak slaves, later also Kurdish and Circassian, they formed a disciplined and well-trained military force that ultimately displaced the Ayyubids.