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The Mongol Empire and the Making of the Modern World

Teacher Resources

Driving Question: How did the Mongols manage to build and maintain history’s largest land-based empire?

From the steppes of Central Asia came nomadic tribes who would forever change the face of Afro-Eurasia. The Mongols are known for establishing the largest contiguous land empire ever to have existed. Their methods for growing and maintaining their empire differed greatly from the successful empires that came before and after them. Despite their fierce reputations, the Mongols’ empire also brought a prodigious level of stability and security to the Silk Road.

Learning Objectives:

  1. Explain the process of state building and decline in Eurasia over time.
  2. Explain how the expansion of empires influenced trade and communication over time.
  3. Explain the significance of the Mongol Empire in larger patterns of continuity and change.
  4. Evaluate various sources in order to recognize how history is complicated and enriched by multiple perspectives.
  5. Use graphic biographies as microhistories to support, extend, or challenge the overarching narratives from this time period.

Vocab Terms:

  • empire
  • pastoral
  • plague
  • society
  • subjugation
  • technology
STEP 1

Opener: The Mongol Empire and the Making of the Modern World

Did you know that Marco Polo, in the years before he invented a hide-and-seek water game, was a world-traveling salesman who brought back many previously unknown goods to a thirsty European market?

STEP 2

Written in the Stars: Secrets of the Mongols

Have you ever thought about what your legacy will be? What are the types of things that make an individual, or an empire, memorable years after they are gone?

STEP 3

Graphic Biography: Sorqoqtani Beki

Sometimes you can win a battle and lose the war. You will study Sorqoqtani Beki, and decide if that is indeed the case in her story.

STEP 4

Source Collection: Mongol Empire

There seems to be no middle ground when it comes to the Mongols: they are either seen as “barbarians” or the greatest empire builders ever. You will examine the Mongols to see what you think. Use the Quick-Sourcing Tool to help you analyze these primary source excerpts.

STEP 5

Closer: The Mongol Empire and the Making of the Modern World

Have you ever heard the expression “Who controls the past controls the future”? Rashid al-Din likely understood this. He wrote one of the first histories of the world in order to establish the power of his patron.

Extension Materials
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Wait for It… the Mongols! Crash Course World History #17

Thanks to Genghis Khan, the Mongols emerged as a confederation that was successful thanks to, among other things, a willingness toward adaptability.

Wait for It…The Mongols! Crash Course World History #17 External link

The Mongols started off as small, nomadic pastoral communities. United as an empire by Genghis Khan, they swiftly expanded and energized Eurasian trade and exchange.

Key Ideas

As this video progresses, key ideas will be introduced to invoke discussion.