The Mongol Peace and the Silk Road's Decline
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Question
What is the Pax Mongolica?
Answer
The 'Mongol Peace' — the period when one Mongol authority controlled most of the Silk Road, making trade safer and cheaper.
Question
What was the yam system?
Answer
A Mongol relay network of postal stations about 30–40 km apart with fresh horses and guards, speeding up safe travel and communication.
Question
What was a paiza?
Answer
A metal safe-conduct tablet issued by Mongol officials that let traders pass checkpoints without harassment.
Question
Why did the Mongols actively encourage foreign trade?
Answer
They needed trade tax revenue to fund their empire, so they made roads safer and taxes predictable to attract more merchants.
Question
Name three political centres of the Mongol khanates and their regions.
Answer
Khanbaliq (Beijing, Yuan China), Sarai (Golden Horde, Volga River), Tabriz (Ilkhanate, Persia).
Question
Who was Tamerlane (Timur) and when did he rule?
Answer
A Turco-Mongol conqueror (r. 1370–1405) who claimed descent from Genghis Khan and built a new empire across Persia and Central Asia.
Question
What was the significance of Samarkand?
Answer
Tamerlane's capital city, which he built into a major centre of trade, art, and learning by relocating skilled craftsmen there.
Question
What is meant by 'political and cultural integration' under the Mongols?
Answer
Previously isolated nomadic societies and settled empires were connected into one political system, letting ideas and administration move across former borders.
Question
Give two examples of religions that spread further due to Mongol-era exchange.
Answer
Buddhism spread further into Mongol territory; Islam spread deeper into Central Asia and China; Christian missionaries also reached the Mongol court.
Question
What caused the Silk Road's fragmentation after the Mongol Empire?
Answer
The empire split into rival khanates, and after Tamerlane's death in 1405 no single power remained to guarantee safety or unified taxes.
Question
Why did seaborne trade rise as the Silk Road declined?
Answer
Advances in shipbuilding and navigation let merchants move goods by sea more cheaply and safely than crossing multiple fragmented, unsafe land territories.
Question
Compare trade conditions under the Pax Mongolica versus after its collapse.
Answer
Pax Mongolica: one authority, standardised taxes, safe roads, military protection. After collapse: multiple rival rulers, local tolls, banditry, declining safety.
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Topic 20.1 hub
Trade and exchange: The Silk Road in the medieval world (750–1500)
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