Q1 of 6 Page 122

Why was trade so significant to the Mongols?

The Mongols lived in steppe region with extreme climate where there was scarcity of resources. Cultivation of food and crops was not possible thus they had to rely on trade. That’s why trade was so important for Mongols to ensure their survival. They mainly traded with China.


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2

Why did Genghis Khan feel the need to fragment the Mongol tribes into new social and military groupings?

 3

How do later Mongol reflections on the ‘Yasa’ bring out the uneasy relationship they had with the memory of Genghis Khan.

 4

‘If history relies upon written records produced by city-based literati, nomadic societies will always receive a hostile representation.’

Would you agree with this statement? Does it explain the reason why Persian chronicles produced such inflated figures of casualties resulting from Mongol campaigns?

 5

Keeping the nomadic element of the Mongol and Bedouin societies in mind, how, in your opinion, did their respective historical experiences differ? What explanations would you suggest account for these differences?