U368 Mongol Conquest Lecture
First Week, Monday: Introduction & Cycles

 

I.  Introduction to the class
          A.  Subject and Objectives
                    1. The Mongol conquest
                              a.  What do we want to know about it?
                            b. Who did they conquer (and what difference did that make?)
                    2.  The sources
                              a. Historical sources from all over Eurasia
                              b.  Sources complement and contrast to each other
                    3.  How to read history, especially narrative history
                              a.  Telling history is an argument
                              b.  How do we find and evaluate the argument?
          B.  Readings, class format, and evaluations
                    1. Lecture and discussion
                              a.  Reading evaluations
                              b.  Keep up with the reading!
                    2.  Map, Chronology, and Genealogy quizzes
                    3.  Midterm and Final
          C.  Policies
                    1.  Grading
                    2.  Absences, make-up
           D. Website
 
II.   Images of the Mongols
 
III. Cycles (or waves) of history
          A. The waves of conquest: periods one hundred years or so
                    1. Sources
                              a. Herodotus (Greek, 5th century B.C.)
                              b. The Chinese dynastic cycle (Sima Qian, 2nd century B.C.)
                              c. Juvaini (Persian, 13th century A.D.) and Ibn Khaldun (Arab, 14th entury, A.D.)
                    2.  The poor, isolated, & rural (often nomads) vs. the rich, central & urban  
 B.  Mongols classic example of poor conquerors become rich
         C.  The ‘great waves’ (price revolutions): periods 200-300 years
 
                   1.  Sources  
                     a. European, Egyptian, and Chinese price waves
                        b. Iraqi and Iranian price waves:  more profound declines?
            2. Prices stable, then inflations >> spikes and crashes >> stable
            3. Inflation:  expansion, intensive, high rents & interest, rich vs. poor  
D.  Mongol conquest: prices heating up; fall of Mongol states: prices crashing