Asian kingdoms and empires (c.750–1500)

Geography (harsh steppe life built mounted-archer skill), economy (Silk Road trade and wealthy settled neighbours pulled toward conquest), and military-political unification (uniting rival tribes into one fighting force).

A gathering of Mongol chiefs to make major decisions — the 1206 kurultai declared Temüjin 'Genghis Khan'.

Temüjin, born around 1162 into a minor noble Mongol family.

A kurultai (assembly of steppe leaders) united the rival Mongol and Turkic tribes and declared Temüjin 'Genghis Khan', founding the Mongol Empire.

He organised the army into mixed units of 10, 100, 1,000 and 10,000 warriors, deliberately combining men from different tribes so loyalty shifted from clan to the new unit and to him.

A written law code introduced by Genghis Khan, applied to all united tribes regardless of origin — replacing dozens of competing tribal customs.

A relay system of horse stations spaced about a day's ride apart, letting messengers and officials cross the empire quickly by changing to fresh horses — this let a huge empire actually be governed from the centre.

Rank was earned through loyalty, courage and skill in battle rather than birth, so capable soldiers — even former enemies or low-born fighters — could rise to command.

Kublai Khan founded the Yuan dynasty, adopting a Chinese dynastic name and ruling in Chinese imperial style rather than as a pure steppe warlord.

The Battle of Yamen ended Southern Song resistance; the child Song emperor died, and Kublai Khan completed the conquest of all of China under Mongol rule.

Genghis ruled as a mobile steppe warrior-conqueror, legitimised by military success and the Yassa. Kublai ruled as a fixed-capital, Chinese-style emperor, legitimised by adopting Chinese dynastic name and rituals — a shift from pure steppe methods to absorbing conquered systems.

Whether the rise was driven mainly by leadership decisions (unification reforms, the yam, adopting Chinese rule) or mainly by existing conditions (steppe geography, Silk Road wealth, a weakening Song China) — strong essays weigh both and reach a judgement.

The law code issued by Genghis Khan around 1206, covering loyalty, order, and protections including tax/service exemption for clergy of all faiths.

With tolerance — no forced conversion; Kublai Khan employed Buddhist, Muslim, Christian and Confucian advisers at his court.

A relay postal system of staging posts about a day's ride apart, letting messengers change horses to carry news and orders quickly across the empire.

The roughly century-long period from the mid-1200s when Mongol control made Silk Road trade routes safer and busier across Eurasia.

Chinese silk and porcelain moved west; gunpowder technology and Persian/Arab science moved east — exchange flowed both directions.

The Black Death (plague), which devastated populations across Asia and Europe in the 1300s.

Pragmatically — they kept existing local systems running (e.g. Chinese civil service, Persian bureaucrats) but placed Mongol or foreign overseers on top.

The Golden Horde (Russia/Central Asia), the Ilkhanate (Persia), the Chagatai Khanate (Central Asia), and the Yuan Dynasty (China/Mongolia).

Baghdad, destroyed with mass killing in 1258 after resisting Mongol demands.

Korea (Goryeo), which resisted for decades before accepting Mongol overlordship and tribute payments.

A Venetian merchant who travelled to Kublai Khan's court in the 1270s–1295; his account became a key European source on Yuan China and Mongol foreign contact.

Conquest/tribute used military force or the threat of it to extract submission and payment (e.g. Song China, Korea); diplomacy used envoys, foreign advisers and marriage alliances to build relationships without war (e.g. missions to European courts, Kublai Khan's foreign advisers).

Military strength (a feared, mobile army), administration (census, yam relay stations, safe trade routes), and co-option of local elites (letting cooperative rulers/officials keep status).

A council of Mongol chiefs and nobles who chose or confirmed a new great khan.

The Mongol horse-relay postal and supply system that let messages and orders travel quickly across the empire.

The death of the great khan Mongke in 1259 led to a disputed succession between his brothers Kublai and Ariq Boke.

The Yuan dynasty (China), the Golden Horde (Russia/steppe), the Ilkhanate (Persia/Middle East), and the Chagatai Khanate (Central Asia).

1279 (Yuan dynasty formally founded 1271); the Song dynasty fell in 1279.

It was destroyed by a typhoon the Japanese called the 'kamikaze' (divine wind), a major failed overextension.

The Black Death (plague pandemic) and repeated Yellow River floods, both devastating the population and economy.

Zhu Yuanzhang, a Red Turban rebel leader, captured the Yuan capital Dadu in 1368 and founded the Ming dynasty.

Internal weakness: broken succession, overextension, weak later emperors. External shock: Black Death and floods devastated the tax base and triggered rebellion. Strongest essays argue both combined — weakness created vulnerability, shocks provided the trigger.

It reduced resistance and made conquered peoples more willing to cooperate and pay taxes rather than rebel.

Expanding or spending beyond what an empire can sustainably support, e.g. Kublai Khan's costly failed invasions of Japan, Vietnam and Java.