![Caravane Marco Polo](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0c/Caravane_Marco_Polo.jpg)
The ''Pax Mongolica'' (
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
for "
Mongol
The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal member of ...
Peace
Peace is a concept of societal friendship and harmony in the absence of hostility and violence. In a social sense, peace is commonly used to mean a lack of conflict (such as war) and freedom from fear of violence between individuals or groups. ...
"), less often known as ''Pax Tatarica'' ("
Tatar
The Tatars ()[Tatar]
in the Collins English Dictionary is an umbrella term for different Peace"), is a
historiographical term modelled after the original phrase ''
Pax Romana
The Pax Romana (Latin for 'Roman peace') is a roughly 200-year-long timespan of Roman history which is periodization, identified as a period and as a golden age (metaphor), golden age of increased as well as sustained Imperial cult of ancient Rome ...
'' which describes the stabilizing effects of the conquests of the
Mongol Empire
The Mongol Empire of the 13th and 14th centuries was the largest contiguous land empire in history. Originating in present-day Mongolia in East Asia, the Mongol Empire at its height stretched from the Sea of Japan to parts of Eastern Europe, ...
on the social, cultural and economic life of the inhabitants of the vast
Eurasia
Eurasia (, ) is the largest continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. Primarily in the Northern and Eastern Hemispheres, it spans from the British Isles and the Iberian Peninsula in the west to the Japanese archipelago a ...
n territory that the Mongols conquered in the 13th and 14th centuries. The term is used to describe the eased communication and commerce the unified administration helped to create and the period of relative peace that followed the Mongols' vast
conquests.
The
conquests of
Genghis Khan
''Chinggis Khaan'' ͡ʃʰiŋɡɪs xaːŋbr />Mongol script: ''Chinggis Qa(gh)an/ Chinggis Khagan''
, birth_name = Temüjin
, successor = Tolui (as regent)Ögedei Khan
, spouse =
, issue =
, house = Borjigin
, ...
(r. 1206–1227) and his
successors, spanning from
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...
to
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russ ...
, effectively connected the
Eastern world
The Eastern world, also known as the East or historically the Orient, is an umbrella term for various cultures or social structures, nations and philosophical systems, which vary depending on the context. It most often includes at least pa ...
with the
Western world
The Western world, also known as the West, primarily refers to the various nations and state (polity), states in the regions of Europe, North America, and Oceania. . The
Silk Road
The Silk Road () was a network of Eurasian trade routes active from the second century BCE until the mid-15th century. Spanning over 6,400 kilometers (4,000 miles), it played a central role in facilitating economic, cultural, political, and reli ...
, connecting trade centres across
Asia
Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...
and
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
, came under the sole rule of the Mongol Empire. It was commonly said that "a maiden bearing a nugget of gold on her head could wander safely throughout the realm". Despite the
political fragmentation of the Mongol Empire into four khanates (
Yuan dynasty
The Yuan dynasty (), officially the Great Yuan (; xng, , , literally "Great Yuan State"), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after its division. It was established by Kublai, the fifth ...
,
Golden Horde
The Golden Horde, self-designated as Ulug Ulus, 'Great State' in Turkic, was originally a Mongols, Mongol and later Turkicized khanate established in the 13th century and originating as the northwestern sector of the Mongol Empire. With the fr ...
,
Chagatai Khanate
The Chagatai Khanate, or Chagatai Ulus ( xng, , translit=Čaɣatay-yin Ulus; mn, Цагаадайн улс, translit=Tsagaadain Uls; chg, , translit=Čağatāy Ulusi; fa, , translit=Xânât-e Joghatây) was a Mongol and later Turkicized kha ...
and
Ilkhanate
The Ilkhanate, also spelled Il-khanate ( fa, ایل خانان, ''Ilxānān''), known to the Mongols as ''Hülegü Ulus'' (, ''Qulug-un Ulus''), was a khanate established from the southwestern sector of the Mongol Empire. The Ilkhanid realm, ...
), nearly a century of conquest and civil war was followed by relative stability in the early 14th century. The end of the ''Pax Mongolica'' was marked by the disintegration of the
khanates
A khaganate or khanate was a polity ruled by a khan, khagan, khatun, or khanum. That political territory was typically found on the Eurasian Steppe and could be equivalent in status to tribal chiefdom, principality, kingdom or empire.
Mongol ...
and the outbreak of the
Black Death
The Black Death (also known as the Pestilence, the Great Mortality or the Plague) was a bubonic plague pandemic occurring in Western Eurasia and North Africa from 1346 to 1353. It is the most fatal pandemic recorded in human history, causi ...
in Asia which
spread along trade routes to much of the world in the mid-14th century.
During this time, Mongol elements including the
ʼPhags-pa script
The Phags-pa script is an alphabet designed by the Tibetan monk and State Preceptor (later Imperial Preceptor) Drogön Chögyal Phagpa for Kublai Khan, the founder of the Yuan dynasty, as a unified script for the written languages within the Yu ...
made numerous appearances in
western art
The art of Europe, or Western art, encompasses the history of visual art in Europe. European prehistoric art started as mobile Upper Paleolithic rock and cave painting and petroglyph art and was characteristic of the period between the Paleol ...
(see
Mongol elements in Western medieval art
Mongol elements in Western medieval art can be seen in European works of art ranging from the 13th to the 15th century. They encompass artistic areas such as painting and textile manufacture, and mainly consist in the European use of Mongol 'Phags ...
).
Mongol expansion
''Pax Mongolica'' followed the wake of conquests by the
Mongol Empire
The Mongol Empire of the 13th and 14th centuries was the largest contiguous land empire in history. Originating in present-day Mongolia in East Asia, the Mongol Empire at its height stretched from the Sea of Japan to parts of Eastern Europe, ...
beginning with
Genghis Khan
''Chinggis Khaan'' ͡ʃʰiŋɡɪs xaːŋbr />Mongol script: ''Chinggis Qa(gh)an/ Chinggis Khagan''
, birth_name = Temüjin
, successor = Tolui (as regent)Ögedei Khan
, spouse =
, issue =
, house = Borjigin
, ...
in the early 13th century. In the process of conquering the various tribes in the region, Genghis Khan revolutionised the way Mongolian tribal society was structured. After each new victory, more and more people were incorporated under Genghis Khan's rule, thus diversifying the societal balance of the tribe. In 1203, Genghis Khan, in an effort to strengthen his army, ordered a reform that reorganised his army's structure while breaking down the traditional clan- and kindred-based divisions that had previously fragmented the society and military. He arranged his army into ''arbans'' (inter-ethnic groups of ten), and the members of an ''arban'' were commanded to be loyal to one another regardless of ethnic origin. Ten ''arbans'' made a ''zuun'', or a company; ten ''zuuns'' made a ''myangan'', or a battalion; and ten ''myangans'' formed a ''
tumen'', or an army of 10,000. This
decimal system organisation of Genghis Khan's strong
military
A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...
would prove very effective in conquering, by persuasion or force, the many tribes of the central Asian steppe, but it would also strengthen Mongol society as a whole.
Jack Weatherford
Jack McIver Weatherford is the former DeWitt Wallace Professor of anthropology at Macalester College in Minnesota. He is best known for his 2004 book, '' Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World''. In 2006, he was awarded the Order of th ...
. ''Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World''. New York: Three Rivers Press, 2004. p. 28 By 1206 Genghis Khan's military expansion had unified the tribes of Mongolia, and in the same year he was elected and acclaimed as the leader of
Mongolia
Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million, ...
.
![Bronze cannon of 1332](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Bronze_cannon_of_1332.jpg)
The new Mongol empire quickly moved to annex more territory. The first Mongol conquests were campaigns against the
Western Xia
The Western Xia or the Xi Xia (), officially the Great Xia (), also known as the Tangut Empire, and known as ''Mi-nyak''Stein (1972), pp. 70–71. to the Tanguts and Tibetans, was a Tangut-led Buddhist imperial dynasty of China tha ...
.
[All Empires: Online History Community]
"The Mongol Empire."
Feb. 2007. Web. 22 November 2009 In 1209 the Mongols conquered the Western Xia. Between 1213 and 1214 the Mongols conquered the
Jin Empire, and by 1214 the Mongols had captured most of the land north of the
Yellow River
The Yellow River or Huang He (Chinese: , Standard Beijing Mandarin, Mandarin: ''Huáng hé'' ) is the second-longest river in China, after the Yangtze River, and the List of rivers by length, sixth-longest river system in the world at th ...
.
In 1221 Mongol generals
Jebe
Jebe (or Jebei, mn, Зэв, ''Zev''; birth name: Jirqo'adai (Modern Mongolian: Zurgadai), mn, Зургаадай, ) (death: approximately 1224) was one of the most prominent Noyans (generals) of Genghis Khan. He belonged to the Besud clan, ...
and
Subodei began their expedition around the
Caspian Sea
The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water, often described as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. An endorheic basin, it lies between Europe and Asia; east of the Caucasus, west of the broad steppe of Central Asia ...
and into
Kievan Rus
Kievan Rusʹ, also known as Kyivan Rusʹ ( orv, , Rusĭ, or , , ; Old Norse: ''Garðaríki''), was a state in Eastern and Northern Europe from the late 9th to the mid-13th century.John Channon & Robert Hudson, ''Penguin Historical Atlas of ...
'; Genghis Khan defeated Turkic
Jalal ad-Din Mingburnu
Jalal al-Din Mangburni ( fa, جلال الدین مِنکُبِرنی), also known as Jalal al-Din Khwarazmshah (), Minkubirni or Mengu-Berdi (c.1199 – August 1231), was the last Khwarazmshah of the Anushtegin dynasty, Anushteginid dynasty. The ...
at the
Battle of Indus
The Battle of the Indus was fought on the banks of the Indus River, on 24 November 1221, by two armies commanded by Shah Jalal ad-Din Mingburnu of the Khwarezmian Empire, and Genghis Khan of the Mongol Empire. The battle, which resulted in ...
; the
Khwarezmian Empire
The Khwarazmian or Khwarezmian Empire) or the Khwarazmshahs ( fa, خوارزمشاهیان, Khwārazmshāhiyān) () was a Turko-Persian Sunni Muslim empire that ruled large parts of present-day Central Asia, Afghanistan, and Iran in the app ...
were defeated that same year. In 1235 the Mongols successfully invaded
Korea
Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...
.
Two years later in 1237
Batu Khan
Batu Khan ( – 1255),, ''Bat haan'', tt-Cyrl, Бату хан; ; russian: хан Баты́й was a Mongol ruler and founder of the Golden Horde, a constituent of the Mongol Empire. Batu was a son of Jochi, thus a grandson of Genghis Khan. ...
and
Subodei began their conquest of
Rus'; they invaded
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
and
Hungary
Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...
in 1241. In 1252 the Mongols began their invasion of
Song China
The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the rest ...
; they would seize the capital of
Hangzhou
Hangzhou ( or , ; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), also romanized as Hangchow, is the capital and most populous city of Zhejiang, China. It is located in the northwestern part of the province, sitting at the head of Hangzhou Bay, whi ...
in 1276. In 1258
Hulagu Khan
Hulagu Khan, also known as Hülegü or Hulegu ( mn, Хүлэгү/ , lit=Surplus, translit=Hu’legu’/Qülegü; chg, ; Arabic: fa, هولاکو خان, ''Holâku Khân;'' ; 8 February 1265), was a Mongol ruler who conquered much of West ...
captured
Baghdad
Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...
.
Each new victory gave the Mongols the chance to incorporate new people, especially foreign engineers and
labourers
A laborer (or labourer) is a person who works in manual labor types in the construction industry workforce. Laborers are in a working class of wage-earners in which their only possession of significant material value is their labor. Industries e ...
, into their society. Each new conquest also acquired new trade routes and the opportunity to control
taxation
A tax is a compulsory financial charge or some other type of levy imposed on a taxpayer (an individual or legal person, legal entity) by a governmental organization in order to fund government spending and various public expenditures (regiona ...
and
tribute
A tribute (; from Latin ''tributum'', "contribution") is wealth, often in kind, that a party gives to another as a sign of submission, allegiance or respect. Various ancient states exacted tribute from the rulers of land which the state conqu ...
. Thus, through territorial expansion, the Mongol Nation not only became an empire, but also became more
technologically
Technology is the application of knowledge to reach practical goals in a specifiable and reproducible way. The word ''technology'' may also mean the product of such an endeavor. The use of technology is widely prevalent in medicine, science, ...
and
economically advanced.
Trade network
![Yuan dynasty banknote with its printing plate 1287](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/de/Yuan_dynasty_banknote_with_its_printing_plate_1287.jpg)
At its height, the Mongolian empire stretched from
Busan
Busan (), officially known as is South Korea's most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.4 million inhabitants. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economic, cultural and educational center of southeastern South Korea, w ...
in the east to
Budapest
Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...
in the west, from
Lithuania
Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...
in the north to
Vietnam
Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
in the south. This meant that an extremely large part of the continent was united under one political authority. As a result, the trade routes used by merchants became safe for travel, resulting in an overall
growth and expansion of trade from China in the east to Britain in the west. Thus, the ''Pax Mongolica'' greatly influenced many civilizations in
Eurasia
Eurasia (, ) is the largest continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. Primarily in the Northern and Eastern Hemispheres, it spans from the British Isles and the Iberian Peninsula in the west to the Japanese archipelago a ...
during the 13th and 14th centuries.
Under the Mongols new technologies and commodities were exchanged across the
Old World
The "Old World" is a term for Afro-Eurasia that originated in Europe , after Europeans became aware of the existence of the Americas. It is used to contrast the continents of Africa, Europe, and Asia, which were previously thought of by the ...
, particularly Eurasia.
Thomas T. Allsen
Thomas Theodore Allsen (February 16, 1940 – February 18, 2019) was an American historian specializing in Mongolian studies.
Following the completion of a Bachelor of Arts degree in history from Portland State University in 1962, Allsen attended ...
noted many personnel exchanges occurred during the Mongol period. There were many significant developments in economy (especially trade and public finance),
military
A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...
,
medicine
Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pract ...
,
agriculture
Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...
,
cuisine
A cuisine is a style of cooking characterized by distinctive ingredients, techniques and dishes, and usually associated with a specific culture or geographic region. Regional food preparation techniques, customs, and ingredients combine to ...
,
astronomy
Astronomy () is a natural science that studies astronomical object, celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and chronology of the Universe, evolution. Objects of interest ...
,
printing
Printing is a process for mass reproducing text and images using a master form or template. The earliest non-paper products involving printing include cylinder seals and objects such as the Cyrus Cylinder and the Cylinders of Nabonidus. The ea ...
,
geography
Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth description") is a field of science devoted to the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and ...
, and
historiography
Historiography is the study of the methods of historians in developing history as an academic discipline, and by extension is any body of historical work on a particular subject. The historiography of a specific topic covers how historians ha ...
, which were not limited to Eurasia but also included
North Africa
North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...
.
World trade system: the Silk Road
![Archaic globalization](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/90/Archaic_globalization.svg)
Before the Mongols' rise, the
Old World
The "Old World" is a term for Afro-Eurasia that originated in Europe , after Europeans became aware of the existence of the Americas. It is used to contrast the continents of Africa, Europe, and Asia, which were previously thought of by the ...
system consisted of isolated imperial systems. The new Mongol empire amalgamated the once isolated civilizations into a new continental system, and re-established the
Silk Road
The Silk Road () was a network of Eurasian trade routes active from the second century BCE until the mid-15th century. Spanning over 6,400 kilometers (4,000 miles), it played a central role in facilitating economic, cultural, political, and reli ...
as a dominant method of transportation. The unification of Eurasia under the Mongols greatly diminished the number of competing tribute gatherers throughout the trade network and assured greater safety and security in travel. During the ''Pax Mongolica'', European merchants like
Marco Polo
Marco Polo (, , ; 8 January 1324) was a Venetian merchant, explorer and writer who travelled through Asia along the Silk Road between 1271 and 1295. His travels are recorded in ''The Travels of Marco Polo'' (also known as ''Book of the Marv ...
made their way from
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
to
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
on the well-maintained and well travelled roads that linked
Anatolia
Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...
to China.
On the Silk Road
caravans with
Chinese silk;
pepper
Pepper or peppers may refer to:
Food and spice
* Piperaceae or the pepper family, a large family of flowering plant
** Black pepper
* ''Capsicum'' or pepper, a genus of flowering plants in the nightshade family Solanaceae
** Bell pepper
** Chili ...
,
ginger
Ginger (''Zingiber officinale'') is a flowering plant whose rhizome, ginger root or ginger, is widely used as a spice
A spice is a seed, fruit, root, bark, or other plant substance primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices ...
,
cinnamon
Cinnamon is a spice obtained from the inner bark of several tree species from the genus ''Cinnamomum''. Cinnamon is used mainly as an aromatic condiment and flavouring additive in a wide variety of cuisines, sweet and savoury dishes, breakfa ...
, and
nutmeg
Nutmeg is the seed or ground spice of several species of the genus ''Myristica''. ''Myristica fragrans'' (fragrant nutmeg or true nutmeg) is a dark-leaved evergreen tree cultivated for two spices derived from its fruit: nutmeg, from its seed, an ...
came to the
West
West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sunset, Sun sets on the Earth.
Etymology
The word "west" is a Germanic languages, German ...
from the
Spice Islands
A spice is a seed, fruit, root, bark, or other plant substance primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices are distinguished from herbs, which are the leaves, flowers, or stems of plants used for flavoring or as a garnish. Spices ar ...
via the transcontinental trade routes. Eastern diets were introduced to Europeans as well.
[Michael Prawdin. ''The Mongol Empire: Its rise and legacy''. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction, 2006. Print. p.350.] Indian muslins, cottons, pearls, and precious stones were sold in Europe, as well as weapons, carpets, and leather goods from
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
.
Gunpowder
Gunpowder, also commonly known as black powder to distinguish it from modern smokeless powder, is the earliest known chemical explosive. It consists of a mixture of sulfur, carbon (in the form of charcoal) and potassium nitrate (saltpeter). ...
was also introduced to Europe from China. In the opposite direction, Europeans sent silver, fine cloth, horses, linen, and other goods to the near and far East.
Increasing trade and commerce meant that the respective nations and societies increased their exposure to new goods and markets, thus increasing the
GDP
Gross domestic product (GDP) is a monetary measure of the market value of all the final goods and services produced and sold (not resold) in a specific time period by countries. Due to its complex and subjective nature this measure is ofte ...
of each nation or society that was involved in the trade system. Μany of the cities participating in the 13th century world trade system grew rapidly in size.
Along with land trade routes, a
Maritime Silk Road
The Maritime Silk Road or Maritime Silk Route is the Maritime history, maritime section of the historic Silk Road that connected Southeast Asia, China, the Indian subcontinent, the Arabian peninsula, Somalia, Egypt and Europe. It began by the 2n ...
contributed to the flow of goods and establishment of a ''Pax Mongolica''. This Maritime Silk Road started with short coastal routes in Southern China. As technology and navigation progressed these routes developed into a high-seas route into the Indian Ocean. Eventually these routes further developed encompassing the
Arabian Sea
The Arabian Sea ( ar, اَلْبَحرْ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Bahr al-ˁArabī) is a region of the northern Indian Ocean bounded on the north by Pakistan, Iran and the Gulf of Oman, on the west by the Gulf of Aden, Guardafui Channel ...
,
Persian Gulf
The Persian Gulf ( fa, خلیج فارس, translit=xalij-e fârs, lit=Gulf of Persis, Fars, ), sometimes called the ( ar, اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a Mediterranean sea (oceanography), me ...
,
Red Sea
The Red Sea ( ar, البحر الأحمر - بحر القلزم, translit=Modern: al-Baḥr al-ʾAḥmar, Medieval: Baḥr al-Qulzum; or ; Coptic: ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϩⲁϩ ''Phiom Enhah'' or ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϣⲁⲣⲓ ''Phiom ǹšari''; T ...
, and the sea off East Africa.
Along with tangible goods, people, techniques, information, and ideas moved lucidly across the Eurasian landmass for the first time.
[Robert Findlay, Kevin H. O'Rourke. ''Power and Plenty: trade, war, and the world economy in the second millennium.'' Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2007. Print. p.108] For example,
John of Montecorvino
John of Montecorvino or Giovanni da Montecorvino in Italian (1247 – 1328) was an Italian Franciscan missionary, traveller and statesman, founder of the earliest Latin Catholic missions in India and China, and archbishop of Peking. He convert ...
, archbishop of
Beijing
}
Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
founded
Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
missions in India and China and also translated the New Testament into the Mongolian language.
Long-distance trade brought new methods of doing business from the far East to Europe;
bills of exchange
A negotiable instrument is a document guaranteeing the payment of a specific amount of money, either on demand, or at a set time, whose payer is usually named on the document. More specifically, it is a document contemplated by or consisting of a ...
, deposit banking, and insurance were introduced to Europe during the ''Pax Mongolica''. Bills of exchange made it significantly easier to travel long distances because a traveller would not be burdened by the weight of metal coins.
Islam
Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
ic methods of
mathematics
Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...
,
astronomy
Astronomy () is a natural science that studies astronomical object, celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and chronology of the Universe, evolution. Objects of interest ...
, and
science
Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe.
Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence for ...
made their way to
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
,
East Asia
East Asia is the eastern region of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The modern states of East Asia include China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan. China, North Korea, South Korea and ...
and
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
during the ''Pax Mongolica''. Methods of paper-making and printing made their way from China to Europe. Rudimentary banking systems were established, and money changing and credit extension were common, resulting in large amounts of merchant wealth.
Mongol administration
![Mongol warrior of Genghis Khan](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/eb/Mongol_warrior_of_Genghis_Khan.jpg)
Mongolia's central geographical position on the Asian continent was an important reason why it was able to play such a large role in the trade system.
[Bira Shagdar. "The Mongol Empire in the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Centuries: East-West Relations". ''The Silk Roads: Highways of Culture and Commerce''. Vadime Elisseeff. Paris: Berghahn, 2000. 127–144. Print.] The
Mongol army
The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal member of ...
was easily able to assert strong rule throughout most of the
empire
An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...
.
[Jack Weatherford. ''Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World''. New York: Three Rivers Press, 2004. Print. p.136] The military ensured that supply lines and trade routes flowed smoothly; permanent garrisons were established along trade routes to protect the travelers on these routes.
Complex local systems of taxation and extortion that were prevalent before Mongol rule were abolished to ensure the smooth flow of merchants and trade through the empire.
A system of weights-and-measures was also standardised.
To make the voyage on the trade routes less harrowing, the Mongols went as far as to plant trees along the roads to shade the merchants and travelers in the summer months; stone pillars were used to mark the roads where trees could not grow.
The Mongols sought alliances with other nations and societies to ensure the flow of trade through the empire.
The Mongol army was also used to reshape and streamline the flow of trade through the continent by destroying cities on the less-important or more inaccessible routes. The Mongol military was mostly made up of cavalrymen. This allowed the military to move swiftly and easily over large distances.
The Mongols developed the concepts of liability in relation to investments and loans in Mongol–ortoq partnerships, promoting trade and investment to facilitate the commercial integration of the Mongol Empire. In Mongol times, the contractual features of a Mongol-''ortoq'' partnership closely resembled that of
qirad
The qirad (also known as Muqaradah by Hanafi and Hanbali scholars)Sapuan, Noraina Mazuin. "An evolution of Mudarabah contract: a viewpoint from classical and contemporary Islamic scholars." Procedia economics and finance 35, no. 3 (2016): 349-358. ...
and commenda arrangements, however, Mongol investors used metal coins, paper money, gold and silver ingots and tradable goods for partnership investments and primarily financed money-lending and trade activities. Moreover, Mongol elites formed trade partnerships with merchants from Central and Western Asia and Europe, including Chinese and
Marco Polo
Marco Polo (, , ; 8 January 1324) was a Venetian merchant, explorer and writer who travelled through Asia along the Silk Road between 1271 and 1295. His travels are recorded in ''The Travels of Marco Polo'' (also known as ''Book of the Marv ...
’s family.
The code of Mongol law, known as the ''
Yassa
Yassa (alternatively: ''Yasa'', ''Yasaq'', ''Jazag'', ''Zasag'', mn, Их засаг, ''Ikh Zasag'') was the oral law code of the Mongols declared in public in Bukhara by Genghis Khan'' de facto'' law of the Mongol Empire even though the "law" ...
'' ("Great Law"), decreed strict rules and punishments in many areas of the Mongolian Empire's society, especially those areas concerning trade and commerce. The ''Yassa'' helped suppress the traditional causes of tribal feuding and war, thus helping to ensure a peaceful trading and traveling environment. Theft and animal rustling were outlawed, and the Mongol Empire under
Genghis Khan
''Chinggis Khaan'' ͡ʃʰiŋɡɪs xaːŋbr />Mongol script: ''Chinggis Qa(gh)an/ Chinggis Khagan''
, birth_name = Temüjin
, successor = Tolui (as regent)Ögedei Khan
, spouse =
, issue =
, house = Borjigin
, ...
even established a massive lost-and-found system.
[Jack Weatherford. ''Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World''. New York: Three Rivers Press, 2004. Print. p.69] Harsh penalties including a retribution of nine times the original value of stolen goods helped deter theft on Mongol roads. The ''Yassa'' also decreed complete religious freedom, ensuring that
Buddhists
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...
,
Muslims
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abraha ...
,
Christians
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
, etc., were all allowed to travel freely throughout the empire; religious leaders were also exempted from taxation, as were doctors, lawyers,
undertakers, teachers, and scholars.
The ''Yassa'' did allow for flexibility and it usually adapted, absorbed, or built upon legal systems in remote parts of the empire, thus maintaining a level of openness to various societies and ensuring peace and stability.
In order to ensure Mongol law was enforced, a hierarchy of legal administration was developed. This was headed by the Secretarial Council "chug-shu-sheng" (
Zhongshu Sheng
The Zhongshu Sheng (), also known as the Palace Secretariat or Central Secretariat, was one of the departments of the Three Departments and Six Ministries government structure in imperial China from Cao Wei (220–266) until the early Ming dynast ...
中书省) of the central government which oversaw 10 provincial governments known as "hsing-sheng" (xingsheng 行省). The Xingsheng was further split into smaller districts which handled legal cases. A police commissioner known as "hsien wei" (xianwei 县委) was entrusted with
law enforcement
Law enforcement is the activity of some members of government who act in an organized manner to enforce the law by discovering, deterring, rehabilitating, or punishing people who violate the rules and norms governing that society. The term en ...
and had the authority to arrest suspects. This method of federalising the empire made it easier and more efficient for laws to be administered throughout the continent.
Postal system
The Mongols established the
Yam ( mn, Өртөө, ''Örtöö'', ''checkpoint''), the first system of communication that connected the Far East and the West. Relay stations were set up every 25–30 miles or an average
day's journey
A day's journey in pre-modern literature, including the Bible, ancient geographers and ethnographers such as Herodotus, is a measurement of distance.
In the Bible, it is not as precisely defined as other Biblical measurements of distance; the dis ...
on horse. These stations were introduced by
Ögedei Khan
Ögedei Khagan (also Ogodei;, Mongolian: ''Ögedei'', ''Ögüdei''; – 11 December 1241) was second khagan-emperor of the Mongol Empire. The third son of Genghis Khan, he continued the expansion of the empire that his father had begun.
...
in 1234 and supplied fresh horses and
fodder
Fodder (), also called provender (), is any agriculture, agricultural foodstuff used specifically to feed domesticated livestock, such as cattle, domestic rabbit, rabbits, sheep, horses, chickens and pigs. "Fodder" refers particularly to food g ...
. His brothers
Chagatai Khan
Chagatai Khan ( Mongolian: ''; Čaɣatay''; mn, Цагадай, translit=Tsagadai; chg, , ''Čaġatāy''; ug, چاغاتاي خان, ''Chaghatay-Xan''; zh, 察合台, ''Chágětái''; fa, , ''Joghatây''; 22 December 1183 – 1 July 1242) ...
and
Tolui
Tolui (also Toluy, Tului; , meaning: "the mirror"; – 1232) was a Mongol khan, the fourth son of Genghis Khan by his chief khatun, Börte. At his father's death in 1227, his ''Orda (organization), ulus'', or territorial inheritance, was the ...
and his nephew
Batu Khan
Batu Khan ( – 1255),, ''Bat haan'', tt-Cyrl, Бату хан; ; russian: хан Баты́й was a Mongol ruler and founder of the Golden Horde, a constituent of the Mongol Empire. Batu was a son of Jochi, thus a grandson of Genghis Khan. ...
further extended this network.
The Mongol army administered the
Yam. The Yam stretched across Mongol territory from Eastern Europe to the Pacific Ocean. The routes were well organised, funded, maintained, and administrated by the Mongols. This highly sophisticated system of communication and travel made it relatively easy to send important messages and travel long distances in relatively short amounts of time. As a result of the relatively lucid communication and ease of movement, the Mongols were able to govern their vast empire effectively, thereby ensuring political and economic stability.
Decline
The decline of ''Pax Mongolica'' was a result of a number of factors: incompetent and rivaling leaders, corruption, revolts,
decadence
The word decadence, which at first meant simply "decline" in an abstract sense, is now most often used to refer to a perceived decay in standards, morals, dignity, religious faith, honor, discipline, or skill at governing among the members of ...
, factional struggles, assassinations, external attacks, and disease. The decline of the ''Pax Mongolica'' resulted in a decline of eased trade between East and West.
Decline of Mongol rule
![Mongolia 1500 AD](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a7/Mongolia_1500_AD.jpg)
The Mongol Empire, near the time of its decline, consisted of many different territories. Each territory was defined as a "
khanate
A khaganate or khanate was a polity ruled by a khan, khagan, khatun, or khanum. That political territory was typically found on the Eurasian Steppe and could be equivalent in status to tribal chiefdom, principality, kingdom or empire.
Mong ...
". Due to the isolation of the Mongolian world, many rulers in the 14th century started to focus on their own khanates.
Religious intolerance
Religious intolerance is intolerance of another's religious beliefs or practices or lack thereof.
Mere statements which are contrary to one's beliefs do not constitute intolerance. Religious intolerance, rather, occurs when a group (e.g., a s ...
was one particular factor in the decline of the ''Pax Mongolica''. In
Rus
Rus or RUS may refer to:
People and places
* Rus (surname), a Romanian-language surname
* East Slavic historical territories and peoples (). See Names of Rus', Russia and Ruthenia
** Rus' people, the people of Rus'
** Rus' territories
*** Kievan ...
', the Mongols (known as the
Golden Horde
The Golden Horde, self-designated as Ulug Ulus, 'Great State' in Turkic, was originally a Mongols, Mongol and later Turkicized khanate established in the 13th century and originating as the northwestern sector of the Mongol Empire. With the fr ...
), gradually lost power and territory due to intolerance specifically geared towards different religions. The Rus' Mongols converted to
Islam
Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
and joined the
Egyptian Mamluks
The Mamluk Sultanate ( ar, سلطنة المماليك, translit=Salṭanat al-Mamālīk), also known as Mamluk Egypt or the Mamluk Empire, was a state that ruled Egypt, the Levant and the Hejaz (western Arabia) from the mid-13th to early 16th ...
for political reasons. At one point in the war, the Golden Horde even fought the
Persian Mongols.
The eastern part of the Golden Horde,
White Horde
The eldest son of Genghis Khan, (who established the Mongol Empire) Jochi had several sons. When he died, they inherited their father's dominions as fiefs under the rule of their brothers, Batu Khan, as supreme khan and Orda Khan, who, although ...
, had friendly relations with the Ilkhanate and the Great Khan. The
decentralisation occurred because communication was so difficult due to the collapsing trade system and the rivalry between Mongol princes. Eventually, the
Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
Mongol leader
Ghazan
Mahmud Ghazan (5 November 1271 – 11 May 1304) (, Ghazan Khan, sometimes archaically spelled as Casanus by the Westerners) was the seventh ruler of the Mongol Empire's Ilkhanate division in modern-day Iran from 1295 to 1304. He was the son of ...
converted to Islam in 1295. This contributed to the growing power of
Nawruz; a Muslim
Oirat general.
In China, descendants of
Kublai Khan
Kublai ; Mongolian script: ; (23 September 1215 – 18 February 1294), also known by his temple name as the Emperor Shizu of Yuan and his regnal name Setsen Khan, was the founder of the Yuan dynasty of China and the fifth khagan-emperor of th ...
claimed the Mongols weakened their power by becoming "too Chinese". This led to
Yuan emperors separating themselves from their subjects in order to stress their Mongol identity and to reject their Chinese culture. Kublai Khan once promoted Chinese culture and the importance of its practice but under the Yuan emperors this was prohibited. As the Chinese culture was changing, intolerance became more common. Some Chinese thought that the Mongols were planning to kill Chinese children and perform sexual rituals on them. As a result many Chinese became
xenophobic
Xenophobia () is the fear or dislike of anything which is perceived as being foreign or strange. It is an expression of perceived conflict between an in-group and out-group and may manifest in suspicion by the one of the other's activities, a ...
towards the Mongols. This xenophobia led Chinese rulers to expel the Mongols from China and form the
Ming dynasty
The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...
.
Bubonic plague
The segregation and fragmentation of the respective khanates in the Mongol Empire were not the only factors in contributing to the decline of the ''Pax Mongolica''. The outbreak of
bubonic plague
Bubonic plague is one of three types of plague caused by the plague bacterium (''Yersinia pestis''). One to seven days after exposure to the bacteria, flu-like symptoms develop. These symptoms include fever, headaches, and vomiting, as well a ...
, or
Black Death
The Black Death (also known as the Pestilence, the Great Mortality or the Plague) was a bubonic plague pandemic occurring in Western Eurasia and North Africa from 1346 to 1353. It is the most fatal pandemic recorded in human history, causi ...
, also played a devastating role in the decline of the ''Pax Mongolica''. Because the Mongol Empire bridged once isolated regions, it made it easy for the Black Death to spread rapidly. Historian
William H. McNeill has noted that the plague was transferred from ground rodents living in southern Chinese and Burmese Himalayan foothills to Mongol soldiers when they
invaded
An invasion is a military offensive in which large numbers of combatants of one geopolitical entity aggressively enter territory owned by another such entity, generally with the objective of either: conquering; liberating or re-establishing con ...
the area in 1252.
[William J. Bernstein. ''A Splendid Exchange: How Trade Shaped the World.'' New York: Grove Press, 2008. Print. p. 139.] In 1331 the
plague
Plague or The Plague may refer to:
Agriculture, fauna, and medicine
*Plague (disease), a disease caused by ''Yersinia pestis''
* An epidemic of infectious disease (medical or agricultural)
* A pandemic caused by such a disease
* A swarm of pe ...
was noted in China,
and from East Asia it was carried west along the
trade routes
A trade route is a Logistics, logistical network identified as a series of pathways and stoppages used for the commercial transport of cargo. The term can also be used to refer to trade over bodies of water. Allowing Good (economics and accounti ...
by merchants and Mongol soldiers who were able to so freely and quickly travel across the continent during the ''Pax Mongolica''. Plague-infected fleas hitched rides in the manes of
horses, on the hair of
camels
A camel (from: la, camelus and grc-gre, κάμηλος (''kamēlos'') from Hebrew or Phoenician: גָמָל ''gāmāl''.) is an even-toed ungulate in the genus ''Camelus'' that bears distinctive fatty deposits known as "humps" on its back. ...
, or on
black rats
The black rat (''Rattus rattus''), also known as the roof rat, ship rat, or house rat, is a common long-tailed rodent of the stereotypical rat genus ''Rattus'', in the subfamily Murinae. It likely originated in the Indian subcontinent, but is n ...
that nestled in cargoes or in
saddlebags. The Black Death is estimated to have killed one-third of China's population and 25-50% of Europe's population.
Demographically weakened, the Mongols were not able to exert their rule over remote domains in their empire, which began to revolt once the plague broke out. These revolts disrupted the production of goods and flow of trade, which ended the ''Pax Mongolica''.
[Laurence Bergreen. ''Marco Polo: From Venice to Xanadu.'' New York: Vintage, 2007. Print. p. 358.]
Effects on trade
Over the next 300 years, China became increasingly isolationist and inward-looking. China prohibited foreigners, foreign trade, and languages other than Chinese.
Confucianism
Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China. Variously described as tradition, a philosophy, a religion, a humanistic or rationalistic religion, a way of governing, or ...
and
Taoism
Taoism (, ) or Daoism () refers to either a school of Philosophy, philosophical thought (道家; ''daojia'') or to a religion (道教; ''daojiao''), both of which share ideas and concepts of China, Chinese origin and emphasize living in harmo ...
were reinstated as the national religions, and the Chinese experienced cultural stagnation.
[Janet Abu-Lughod. ''Before European Hegemony: The World System A.D. 1250–1350''. New York: OUP, 1989. Print. pp. 340–348.] During the early years of the
Ming dynasty
The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...
, despite the voyages of
Zheng He
Zheng He (; 1371–1433 or 1435) was a Chinese mariner, explorer, diplomat, fleet admiral, and court eunuch during China's early Ming dynasty. He was originally born as Ma He in a Muslim family and later adopted the surname Zheng conferred ...
, trade with the rest of the world overall declined.
This is attributed to wars, epidemics and widespread disruptions rather than "symbolic policy change".
Economic difficulties also contributed to the decline as an important world trade player.
The
Black Death
The Black Death (also known as the Pestilence, the Great Mortality or the Plague) was a bubonic plague pandemic occurring in Western Eurasia and North Africa from 1346 to 1353. It is the most fatal pandemic recorded in human history, causi ...
quickly spread to the rest of the world trade system, and the long-distance trading that was common and applauded during the ''Pax Mongolica'' almost entirely stopped.
See also
*
Pax Romana
The Pax Romana (Latin for 'Roman peace') is a roughly 200-year-long timespan of Roman history which is periodization, identified as a period and as a golden age (metaphor), golden age of increased as well as sustained Imperial cult of ancient Rome ...
*
Pax Sinica
''Pax Sinica'' (Latin for "Chinese peace"; ) is a historiographical term referring to periods of peace and stability in East Asia, Northeast Asia, Southeast Asia, and Central Asia led by China. A study on the Sinocentric world system reveals ...
*
Pax Britannica
''Pax Britannica'' (Latin for "British Peace", modelled after '' Pax Romana'') was the period of relative peace between the great powers during which the British Empire became the global hegemonic power and adopted the role of a " global pol ...
*
Pax Americana
''Pax Americana'' (Latin for "American Peace", modeled after ''Pax Romana'' and ''Pax Britannica''; also called the Long Peace) is a term applied to the concept of relative peace in the Western Hemisphere and later in the world after the end o ...
*
Pax Ottomana
*
Mongol Empire
The Mongol Empire of the 13th and 14th centuries was the largest contiguous land empire in history. Originating in present-day Mongolia in East Asia, the Mongol Empire at its height stretched from the Sea of Japan to parts of Eastern Europe, ...
*
History of cartography
The history of cartography refers to the development and consequences of cartography, or mapmaking technology, throughout human history. Maps have been one of the most important human inventions for millennia, allowing humans to explain and navig ...
References
Further reading
* Weatherford, Jack. ''Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World'' (New York: Crown; 2004) .
*
Thomas T. Allsen
Thomas Theodore Allsen (February 16, 1940 – February 18, 2019) was an American historian specializing in Mongolian studies.
Following the completion of a Bachelor of Arts degree in history from Portland State University in 1962, Allsen attended ...
. ''Culture and Conquest in Mongol Eurasia'' (Cambridge Studies in Islamic Civilization Cambridge University Press; March 25, 2004) .
* Jackson, Peter. ''The Mongols and the West: 1221-1410'' (Longman; 2005) .
* Askew, J. B
The Myth of the Pax Mongolica: Re-visiting the Evidence of European Trade with China in the Mongol Period ''
New Zealand Journal of Asian Studies
The ''New Zealand Journal of Asian Studies'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal that was founded in June 1999. It is the official journal of the New Zealand Asian Studies Society. The journal covers a broad range of Asia-related topics. It is pu ...
'' 19, 1 (June 2017): 53-76.
External links
*
{{Good article
Latin political words and phrases
Mongol
The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal member of ...
History of the Mongol Empire
13th century in international relations
14th century in international relations