How does the following account enlarge upon the character of the Pax Mongolica created by the Mongols by the middle of the thirteenth century? The Franciscan monk, William of Rubruck, was sent by Louis IX of France on an embassy to the great Khan Mongke’s court. He reached Karakorum, the capital of Mongke, in 1254 and came upon a woman from Lorraine (in France) called Paquette, who had been brought from Hungary and was in the service of one of the prince’s wives who was a Nestorian Christian. At the court he came across a Parisian goldsmith named Guillaume Boucher, ‘whose brother dwelt on the Grand Pont in Paris’. This man was first employed by the Queen Sorghaqtani and then by Mongke’s younger brother. Rubruck found that at the great court festivals the Nestorian priests were admitted first, with their regalia, to bless the Grand Khan’s cup, and were followed by the Muslim clergy and Buddhist and Taoist monks.
The above account depicts the character of the Pax Mongolica by the middle of the 13th century:
● It became clear from the above incident that the French Monarch Louis IX had sent his ambassador William of Rubruck to Karakorum, the capital of Mongke in 1254. This depicts that Mongol rulers had established a well-knit relation
with their neighbours.
● Guillaume Boucher proved that Mongol rulers lived with great pomp and show and they had brought servants to serve them from different parts of the world. They were paid good salaries. That is why they reached to serve Mongol court from far away.
● Mongol rulers were not fanatics and anxious to get the blessings of all the people. They recruited administrators and armed forces from people of
all ethnic groups and religions. There was a multilingual, multi-religious regime that did not feel threatened by its pluralistic constitution. The above descriptions display the best aspect of Pax- Mongolica. It is said that in a vast empire, the Mongols had established such a rule that one could walk freely without the fear of robbery.
Why was trade so significant to the Mongols?
How do later Mongol reflections on the yasa bring out the uneasy relationship they had with the memory of Genghis Khan.
Why did Genghis Khan feel the need to fragment the Mongol tribes into new social and military groupings?
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?
‘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?
Look at the diagram showing the positive feedback mechanism on page 13. Can you list the inputs that went into tool making? What were the processes that were strengthened by tool making?
Why do we say that it was not natural fertility and high levels of food production that were the causes of early urbanisation?
What were the features of the lives of the Bedouins in the early seventh century?
Describe two features of early feudal society in France.
Which elements of Greek and Roman culture were revived in the 14th and 15th centuries ?
Compare the civilization of the Aztecs with that of the Mesopotamians.
How did Britain’s involvement in wars from 1793 to 1815 affect British industries?
Comment on any points of difference between the native peoples of South and North America.
What were the major developments before the Meiji restoration that made it possible for Japan to modernise rapidly?
Humans and mammals such as monkeys and apes have certain similarities in behaviour and anatomy. This indicates that humans possibly evolved from apes. List these resemblances in two columns under the headings of (a) behaviour and (b) anatomy. Are there any differences that you think are noteworthy?
Compare the conditions of life for a French serf and a Roman slave.
Compare the Venetian idea of good government with those in contemporary France.
How did long-term changes in population levels affect economy and society in Europe
How did the Qing dynasty try and meet the challenge posed by the Western powers?
Humans and mammals such as monkeys and apes have certain similarities in behaviour and anatomy. This indicates that humans possibly evolved from apes. List these resemblances in two columns under the headings of (a) behaviour and (b) anatomy. Are there any differences that you think are noteworthy?
Compare the civilization of the Aztecs with that of the Mesopotamians.
Write a careful account of how the world appeared different to seventeenth century Europeans.
Which of the following were necessary conditions and which the causes, of early urbanisation, and which would you say were the outcome of the growth of cities:
(a) highly productive agriculture,
(b) water transport,
(c) the lack of metal and stone,
(d) the division of labour,
(e) the use of seals,
(f) the military power of kings that made labour compulsory?
Compare the effects of the coming of the railways in different countries of the world.
What were the Sun Yat-sen’s Three Principles?